MA Character Animation

MA Character Animation at Central Saint Martins is a practical course that also encourages research and contextual thinking. We will teach you how to make your characters do much more than move – we will teach you to make them perform. You will learn timing, software, storytelling, character design, film language and take life drawing lessons. Alongside this, you will also explore historical and critical approaches to animation.

Animation is used extensively across a wide variety of fields. Increasingly, animation gives voice to disparate and often overlooked cultural experiences and social contexts and thereby empowers communication. At the same, there is an expanding range of media and platforms that are opening up fresh areas of ethical challenge for animators who need to engage with cultural and critical thinking.

The technologies used to create animation are evolving at a rapid rate – programmes dominate the market one year and then are obsolete the next. Rather than encouraging dependency on specific software, MA Character Animation fosters universal techniques and adaptable, practice-based knowledge. You will learn skills which can be applied to different software packages, technical processes, creative approaches and distribution technologies in the future.

Animation is a universal medium. It can communicate concepts and narratives without the use of spoken language.  Reflecting multi-cultural visual and storytelling traditions, MA Character Animation attracts applicants from a wide range of practices and cultural backgrounds. Studying on the course offers an exciting opportunity for you to learn about other cultures and develop international networks. You will be encouraged to investigate, experiment and apply a range of different visual and performance approaches to your own work.

MA Character Animation enjoys close links with the industry. Teaching includes lectures by working professionals as well as opportunities for live projects with external agencies. The course is committed to ensuring it remains commercially and artistically relevant in a fluctuating field. The staff team consists of experienced professionals, who continue to work as consultants and freelancers in the animation and creative industries. The course also encourages a networking community by maintaining links with graduates, many of whom are now in high profile employment.

We are committed to developing ethical character animation practices. To achieve this, we are working to embed UAL's Principles for Climate, Social and Racial Justice into the course.