Animation is the art of taking a static image and giving it the illusion of depth, weight, and motion. While animation is most commonly associated with film and television (particularly traditional hand-drawn animation), it is becoming increasingly prevalent in the digital sphere. Many young and old students may be interested in learning this vibrant and unique art form. Since animation is such a diverse field of study, everyone will be able to find something unique to their interests to do with their training. Some students will learn the basics of 2D animation, while others will learn how to build digital 3D assets for film and television. Some students can learn to animate for web design projects, digital marketing campaigns, or even video games.
Most modern animation and almost all professional animation done today is computer-assisted animation. This means that learning how to animate assets in a summer program will involve learning to use computer applications designed to assist in the animation process, most commonly Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro. Students will become familiar with animation techniques and learn how to use animation software to create vibrant, evocative, life-like animations perfectly suited for whatever project they are working on.
For Adults & College Students
Despite what you may think, summer is an excellent time for adults and college students to start learning new animation skills. A wide range of full-time and part-time training programs are available for students interested in learning 2D or 3D animation. Students can find courses that meet in person or online. Noble Desktop has built a Class Near Me tool that is perfect for anyone interested in finding and comparing live online or in-person summer animation classes in their area.
Noble Desktop
Motion Graphics Certificate: July 10th–September 1st, 2024 (Weekdays)
Students interested in a career in animation should consider enrolling in a course like Noble Desktop’s Motion Graphics Certificate program. In this class, students will receive hands-on instruction in designing and animating 2D and 3D digital assets using Adobe After Effects. Students will learn how to animate text, graphics, images, videos, and other objects and then how to add those animated objects to a completed video or web design project. This course will help students prepare for a career in animation. On top of the immersive skills training, all students will receive one-on-one career mentorship sessions and participate in professional development courses (such as building a demo reel to take onto the job market). This course is a perfect fit for adults or college students preparing for a career in animation.
Video Editing and Motion Graphics Certificate: July 10th–September 1st, 2024 (Weekdays)
Students looking for a more robust training program may want to consider Noble Desktop’s Video Editing and Motion Graphics Certificate course. This course is aimed at students who are looking to work in the film, television, and video production industries, and it pairs motion graphics training in Adobe After Effects with video editing instruction using Adobe Premiere Pro. This course aims to train students how to build digital assets for video production and edit those assets into footage professionally and unobtrusively. This course offers students the same professionalization training they can expect, including one-on-one mentorship and demo reel-building seminars. By the end of the course, students will be ready for entry into the job market.
Adobe After Effects Bootcamp: June 12th–June 14th, 2024 and July 17th–July 19th (Weekdays)
Students looking to learn animation skills but who aren’t ready to pivot to a new career may want to consider enrolling in a focused skills development bootcamp, such as Noble Desktop’s Adobe After Effects Bootcamp. In this course, students will learn the basics of using Adobe After Effects to animate simple titles, texts, photos and graphics. They will also learn how to utilize After Effect's more advanced features, including animating using layers and 3D spatial animation, and animated lighting. This course won’t provide students with enough training to let them switch careers immediately after completion. Still, it will lay the groundwork for future training or let students begin using After Effects in their current career position.
Future Media Concepts
Introduction to Adobe After Effects
Future Media Concepts is an online Adobe Certified training provider that offers students several lessons in Adobe After Effects. In their Introduction to Adobe After Effects course, students will learn how to create cinematic title graphics and transitions, add or remove objects from a shot and create digital weather effects like fire or rain. Students need to have a working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, and the class is intended for students who expect to use the program professionally.
Intermediate Adobe After Effects
In this mid-level After Effects course, students will take their basic skills and build upon them to master some of the intermediate functions of the animation application. Students will learn how to incorporate text, graphics, and animation into existing video files and seamlessly insert their animations into a final project. This course requires students to have completed the introductory level course or an equivalent training program to understand the basics of After Effects.
Advanced Adobe After Effects
The final program in Future Media Concepts’s Adobe After Effects training program, the Advanced Adobe After Effects course will teach students how to work with the 3D animation features of After Effects, including how to model 3D animated images and how to use elements such as light and texture to add the illusion of weight and depth to your animations. This course will also teach students how to work with programs like Adobe Cinema 4D and model animated images using multiple cameras. By the end of this course, students will be equipped with all the skills they need to start working with Adobe After Effects in a professional capacity.
Lumenbrite
After Effects Essential Skills 1 and 2
This pair of introductory courses will teach students the basic and intermediate skills associated with 2D and 3D animation using Adobe After Effects. Students will learn how to animate title cards, text, graphics, and photographs, then they will learn how to use After Effects to integrate those animated assets into other Adobe Creative Cloud projects. Students who enroll in both courses will learn advanced After Effects techniques, including how to model and render 3D animated assets and how to track the speed of an animated effect to a video file to make it look natural in a finished project. This pair of courses is an ideal fit for students looking to become familiar with After Effects for daily use in their present creative job.
headTrix, Inc.
After Effects Bootcamp
headTrix, Inc. offers a comprehensive After Effects Bootcamp for students looking to learn the fundamentals of Adobe After Effects and its uses alongside other Adobe Creative Cloud applications. In this course, students will learn how to use After Effects to animate simple 2D assets, like title cards and text, and they will quickly move onto more advanced animation techniques, such as animating 3D effects and working with chroma keys. By the end of this course, students should be comfortable working with complex 3D animated assets and making subtle decisions concerning things like sound and lighting to make their 3D animations feel as real as possible.
For High School Students & Teenagers
Aspiring creatives may be looking at the wide range of possibilities offered by 2D and 3D digital animation training and considering whether or not it is right for them. Any aspiring creative or filmmaker can stand to benefit from learning animation skills, and high school students who want to work in a creative industry may want to get a jumpstart on their animation education. There are many options available to them, so Noble Desktop is ready to help, having built their Classes Near Me tool to help students find and compare high school animation classes in their area.
NextGen Bootcamp
Animation with After Effects Live Online: August 12–15, 2024
High school students looking to learn digital animation techniques may wish to enroll in NextGen Bootcamps Animation with After Effects program and receive live online instruction from expert animators. In this summer program, students will learn the basics of using After Effects to create animated 2D texts and graphics, make 3D layered animations, incorporate audio and video in your animations, and prepare those animations for publication on social media platforms. This course offers students a robust education in the basic uses of After Effects and will set them up for long-term success if they pursue further training in a college level animation program. As a bonus, by the end of the course, students will have built a sample demo reel of animations that they can add to their application when applying for a spot in a college animation program.
Video Editing & Animation Certificate Live Online: August 5–15, 2024
Students looking to work in the film and television industry are likely to want to expand their skills beyond Adobe After Effects. In NextGen Bootcamp’s Video Editing & Animation Certificate program, students will learn how to use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit film, including lessons in how to edit digital animated assets created in After Effects into a finished film project. This course will introduce students to essential filmmaking skills, including the technical art of editing and the creative art of 3D digital animation. Anyone aiming to work on film or television projects stands to benefit from learning these techniques and even if you don’t aspire to work as a professional Editor or Animator, creatives of all stripes can take advantage of knowing how different aspects of the filmmaking process operate.
Animation with After Effects NYC: August 12–15, 2024
Some students may find that they prefer live, in-person instruction to remote skills training. For those students who prefer live training and live in the New York area, NextGen Bootcamp offers an in-person version of its Animation with After Effects summer program. Here, students will learn all of the important skills they need to become skilled After Effects animators in a state-of-the-art computer lab from live instructors ready to provide them with feedback and assistance. Plus, students will be able to work alongside a cohort of like-minded students and collaborate on video projects, which is a vital skill to learn for anyone hoping to work in the animation industry.
Video Editing & Animation Certificate NYC: August 5–August 15, 2024
Students can also take NextGen bootcamp’s Video Editing & Animation Certificate course at the NextGen campus in Manhattan. Students enrolled in this course will receive live, hands-on instruction in Premiere Pro and After Effect skills and they will be able to begin collaborating with their colleagues on animated video projects. This course serves as an ideal introduction for students to the technical skills they will need to work on a film or television set and they will learn how to work alongside colleagues and other animators to bring a complex, multi-faceted video project to life.
The New York Film Academy
3D Animation
The New York Film Academy offers online and on-campus summer filmmaking camps that cover a range of important creative skills, including 3D animation. In this course, students will learn the basics of 3D animation and how to collaborate with other creatives and filmmakers on complex projects. Over the course of this program, students will learn time-tested animation techniques and become familiar with industry-standard tools in preparation for further training in the field of animation. This course is a wonderful opportunity for students looking for a future in animation to lay the groundwork for long-term success.
Interlochen
High School Animator: June 24th–15 23rd, 2024 and July 15th–August 6th
Interlochen is a summer arts academy that offers a wide variety of different art programs, including a summer animation camp. In this program, students will learn the basics of digital animation and explore the medium's history, giving them the training they need to understand why certain artists make the decisions they make regarding animated films. This course is aimed at students who want to learn animation for film and television, and the course concludes with a group screening of the work produced during the course. This is an ideal course for aspiring filmmakers looking to network and build their demo reel.
UConn
Animation Studio: July 2nd–July 8th, 2024
The University of Connecticut is one of many colleges and universities that offer summer classes for students interested in learning skills at a college level. In classes such as UConn's Animation Studio course, students will learn important animation skills and techniques using industry-standard applications, like Adobe After Effects, with the goal of preparing them for further training in a 100-level course. These courses are an ideal fit for students who know that they want to pursue further training in animation and want to lay the foundation for long-term success. Some of these courses provide college credit, so students interested in this option should explore the programs available through local institutions and online.
For Kids & Preteens
While animation is a robust and historically important art form, it is undeniable that it has become associated with younger children over the past hundred years. Young children may find a lot of pleasure in watching cartoons or animated online videos and be interested in learning how to make their own. These courses are a great way for children as young as seven to explore new creative outlets and develop skills they can improve upon for the rest of their lives.
Animation Production Group
Intro to Animation
The Animation Production Group is a training center dedicated to providing online animation instruction to students grades K-12. In their Intro to Animation course, they offer weekly online lessons covering basic animation techniques and practices. Students will receive direct support from teachers and be able to participate in regular Q&A sessions intended to help them better understand the processes and techniques that they will master as they continue on with their animation training. By the end of the course, students will have a basic understanding of how to animate hand-drawn and digital images and they will be ready to move on to more advanced animation training, either through the Animation Production Group (which offers more intensive classes) or another service provider.
Interlochen
Animation Camp: June 24th–July 15th, 2024 and July 16th–August 6th
Interlochen offers a Summer Animation Camp for students in grades 6-9 that teaches the basic principles of animation and a wide array of different animation techniques that students can use to create their own short films. This course emphasizes the fundamentals of visual storytelling and the use of animation as a tool to aid in telling stories. This course is less focused on computer aided animation and students will get hands-on instruction in techniques like stop-motion animation, clay and puppet animation, and hand-drawn animation. Still, the techniques that students learn in this camp will be invaluable to their future creative endeavors.
iD Tech
Private After Effects and Premiere Pro Tutoring: On-Demand
iD Tech offers private tutoring sessions in the use of Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro for animation. These tutoring lessons are divided into a dozen one-hour lessons and parents can enroll their children in single lessons individually or they can buy them in packages of 4, 8, or 12 at a discounted price. In this class, students as young as seven can learn the basics of digital animation techniques and begin drawing and animating their own cartoons and assets. There are also options available to teach students how to animate simple 3D projects in programs like Minecraft or Roblox.
Why Summer is the Perfect Time to Learn Animation
Regardless of your age or experience level, summer is an excellent time to pick up a new skill, including learning digital animation techniques. Learning animation skills will likely take more than a single summer, but since it can be daunting, taking the first step is important, and summer courses offer an ideal opportunity for animation novices to try their hand at learning new skills.
K-12 students stand to benefit the most from a summer session because they have a significant amount of free time and energy to devote to their training. Not only will this help them structure their time during the summer break, but they can opt to enroll in programs that focus on the specific skills they want to learn, rather than hoping that they can piece those skills together in whatever courses their regular school offers.
Adults looking to learn animation skills won’t have a convenient break from their responsibilities during the summer, but there are still reasons to consider exploring your options for summer training programs. Since many training programs are either taught by higher education institutions or by instructors who work at those institutions, students may find that there are more options available over the summer months, giving them a better opportunity to find the right program for them. In addition, during the summer months, the days are longer and the weather is nicer. Many people find that this gives them more energy to dedicate to extracurricular activities like an after-work training program. While it may seem minor, it can be the difference between completing a course and getting burnt out.
How to Choose the Right Summer Animation Course
Choosing the right summer animation program can be a difficult decision, given that there are so many options that all aim to teach different skills. While every course is different, there are a few things you can consider when looking for the right program for you or your child.
Parents looking for programs for their grade or middle school children will want to find programs that allow their children to grow creatively. These programs will be built to instill in students a love of the creative arts and a desire to spend more time practicing and perfecting their craft. Students won’t become master animators in a summer, so you’ll want to find a program that will help your child decide if they want to stick with their animation training as they grow older.
High school students are far more likely to be already set on pursuing a creative education after they graduate. For these students, they will want to look for summer programs that help them best achieve their long-term goals. For some students, this will mean looking for a pre-college course that helps them prepare for a college-level animation program. For others, this will mean finding a program that emphasizes portfolio development so they have a better chance of getting accepted into a prestigious animation program in college. Some students may need more rudimentary training and want to find a course that teaches them the important skills they need to learn, like Adobe After Effects, so that they can practice and prepare for more advanced training.
Adults pursuing summer animation training will need to be more attentive to their immediate professional goals since they won’t have the luxury of extra free time in the Summer. Students hoping to change careers and work in digital animation will want to look for career-focused training programs, like Noble Desktop’s Motion Graphics Certificate program. These courses aim to provide students with professional development instruction so they can enter the job market as soon as they complete the program. If you are interested in a new career in animation, programs like this are built to suit your needs. Students interested in animation who are less certain that they want to make a significant career change can consider a course like Noble’s Adobe After Effects Bootcamp. These courses aim to teach students important animation skills that they can bring to their personal or professional lives, but anyone hoping to shift careers will likely need more training.