Pre-College Art & Animation

Even with all the amazing advancements in digital art tools, the key to success for production artists is still a strong visual development process and the foundational art skills to execute that process. This track prepares students for the rich and rewarding experience of being a production artist for video games, animation, and more.  Within your Project Lab, students in the art track serve as the game team’s resident artist, developing characters, backgrounds, and other essential components for their game.

During this four-week-long program, you will get to experience what life is like for DigiPen college students who are working to complete their Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation to become game artists. The students in this track take three (3) core academic classes plus the game project lab that involves all of the students from all of the Pre-College tracks to work together to complete a game:

• ART: Art Foundations
• ANI: Animation Techniques (with Lab)
• CG: Computer Graphics Tools (with Lab)
• GAM: Game Project Lab

Tuition includes:

• Art supplies and materials (Please note that students registering after July 18, 2020, may not have their supplies delivered prior to the first day of class)

Prerequisite:

• No prior experience or knowledge is required but participants must be entering their Junior or Senior year of high school, or have graduated high school within the last 18 months. 

Schedule:

• Each day, students will take 2 academic courses or course labs (9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Pacific time, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific time), plus the game project studio in the afternoons (2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific time).

Technical Requirements:

Students must have access to a computer as well as additional hardware and software. Some programs or courses may indicate additional technology requirements, and not all programs are Mac compatible.

• Windows PC or Mac computer
• Display with minimum resolution of 1024 x 768. While it is not mandatory, it is recommended to have a second monitor connected to the computer to extend the desktop. This allows the student to more easily follow what the instructor is demonstrating while concurrently being able to see the software environment that the student is working within.
• Headset with microphone
• Three-button mouse
• Broadband internet connection
• Current, major internet browser (Chrome, Firefox)
• Latest version of Adobe Reader

Orientation Session:

Please note that in order to ensure that students have their home computers set up correctly for the class, and to orientate students to learning in an online environment, there will be a 30-minute scheduled orientation session that will run the week before the workshop is scheduled to start. Information about this will be sent to students by the instructor the week before the start of the workshop.