BSc (Hons) Computer Animation and Visual Effects
University of Portsmouth
Key Information
Campus location
Southsea, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
3 - 4 years
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
GBP 9,250 / per year *
Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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* for UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students/EU residents | £17,000/year: international students
Scholarships
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Introduction
The UK's animation and visual effects (VFX) industry leads the world in producing blockbuster visuals for entertainment media, reinventing its technical and creative capabilities. With indie talent also thriving on the South Coast, there’s no better place to start your visual effects career than at Portsmouth.
Our Computer Animation and Visual Effects degree course will help you build skills in key areas such as concept drawing, 3D animation, physics-based simulation, and compositing, with guidance from a team of industry experts from across the entertainment and advertising sectors. Using our spectacular facilities, software and equipment, you'll enhance your artistic and technical expertise and improve your research skills in the technology you'll work with, which is vital to your development as an all-around artist.
You can also specialise and develop your professional portfolio through placement opportunities, client projects and the modules you’ll choose from your second year.
Transform yourself into an exceptional VFX artist, producer, animator, and stagecraft at Portsmouth – ready to take the creative and communication industries by storm.
Course highlights
- Maximise your creativity and learning by using world-class facilities like our Motion Capture Studio and Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality – housing the most advanced cinematic-standard equipment and virtual production suites of any university
- Familiarise yourself with professional software used in the industry, including NUKEX, Maya, 3DS Max, ZBrush, Houdini, Katana and Mari
- Learn from a team of experts who are industry leaders across various entertainment and communication sectors, including film, animation, advertising and computer games
- Collaborate with other students on other courses by getting involved in our annual University GameJam
- Gain valuable industry experience by taking an optional placement
- Take advantage of our strong industry links to build professional contacts, such as attending guest speaker lectures and the chance to win sponsored prizes for your final year project
- Improve your language skills by studying a foreign language as part of the Institute-Wide Language Programme (IWLP)
Accreditation
This course is professionally accredited by JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Support) and SideFX as a Houdini Certified School.
We also work with visual effects studios, game developers and professional bodies such as TIGA (The Independent Games Association) to make sure the course stays up-to-date with industry trends.
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Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Curriculum
Modules
Year 1
Core modules
- Eportfolio – 20 credits
- Skills and Principles for Animation – 20 credits
- Visual Communication – 20 credits
- Modelling For Animation & Vfx – 20 credits
- Introduction To Compositing – 20 credits
- Programming For Animation & Vfx – 20 credits
Year 2
Core modules
- CGI Lighting and Look Development – 20 credits
- Project Initiation and Career Management – 20 credits
- Real-time Animation Project – 20 credits
Optional modules
- Creative Technologies Study Exchange – 60 credits
- CCI Self-Employed Placement – Full Year – 40 credits
- CCI Work Placement – Full Year – 40 credits
- Animation Programming and Scripting – 20 credits
- Design and Visual Research for Cinema and Game – 20 credits
- Designing for Animation – 20 credits
- Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice – 20 credits
- Introduction to Visual Effects – 20 credits
- Modern Foreign Language (IWLP) – 20 credits
- Professional Experience – 20 credits
- Sculpting and Rigging for Film – 20 credits
- Student Enterprise – 20 credits
- Commercial Asset Production for Real Time – 40 credits
Year 3
Core modules
- Creative Professional Development – 20 credits
- Final Year Project – 40 credits
Optional modules
- Advanced Compositing for VFX – 20 credits
- Advanced Creature FX and Rigging – 20 credits
- Advanced Visual Effects and Environments – 20 credits
- Animation and Setup for Computer Animation – 20 credits
- Motion Capture Applications – 20 credits
- Real-Time Interactive Group Project – Stage One – 20 credits
- Real-Time Interactive Group Project – Stage Two – 20 credits
- Applications of Virtual Reality – 20 credits
- Intermediate Visual Effects – 20 credits
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry, and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Placement year (optional)
Between your second and third years, you can complete an optional work placement to gain professional experience and enhance your skills. It's also a great incentive for employers once you graduate.
You can work for a company, organisation or agency, or you can go self-employed and start your own business with fellow students or by yourself.
Whatever you decide – or even if you just want some employability advice – our exclusive Creative Careers team can support you every step of the way.
Placement experiences
Our previous placement students have worked in a wide range of technical roles, including compositing, rigging, texturing, and modelling.
Many of them have gained their industry experience in our leading facilities at the University, including CCIXR. Others have completed their placements at a number of renowned companies, including:
- Industrial Light & Magic
- Framestore
- Moving Picture Company (MPC)
- Procter & Gamble
Career Opportunities
The computer animation and VFX industry continue to grow as volume demand increases and increasingly complex effects require innovations in technologies and workflows. The sector’s unique fusion of art (in its traditional and modern forms and techniques) and science (via the advanced hardware and software used) offers fascinating career, research, and education enhancement opportunities for graduates.
London is home to six of the world's largest award-winning visual effects companies, many of whom we have strong industry connections, and independent effects studios are emerging in the southeast of England. Our Master's degrees in Creative Technologies and Computer Animation are natural progressions for graduates who wish to research more into the science behind their skills.
Graduate roles
Many of our graduates have worked in roles such as:
- Serial riggers
- Animators
- Motion capture technicians
- Stagecrafter
- Freelance artists
Graduate destinations
Many of our graduates have gone on to work at either the University of Portsmouth or multi-award-winning special effects companies behind some of the biggest film and television franchises in the world. These include:
- Industrial Light & Magic (The Mandalorian, The Irishman, Black Panther)
- Moving Picture Company (1917, The Lion King)
- Double Negative (DNEG) (Tenet, Chernobyl, Blade Runner 2049, Black Mirror, Ex Machina)
- Milk VFX (Ex Machina, Doctor Who, Sherlock)
- Framestore (Blade Runner 2049, The Midnight Sky, Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Marvel)
Creative Careers
Our in-faculty Creative Careers team has extensive recruitment experience and knows the creative sector well, making it easier for students to find placements within the creative industries.
They can guide you through every step of the application process, including:
- Searching for the ideal job through their database of vacancies
- Giving tips on how to write an interesting CV that will catch employers' attention, no matter the role
- Organising mock interviews, so you can hone your technique and familiarise yourself with the recruitment environment
- Writing your startup business proposal – if you're going down the self-employment route
- The team will continue to give you support throughout your placement year.
Facilities
English Language Requirements
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