
Animation
Animation at SMFA consists of a hands-on, artist-driven curriculum that provides students with a solid foundation in a variety of 2D, 3D, hand-made, and digital techniques while encouraging the exploration of a student’s voice and ideas.
We emphasize the conception, completion, and exhibition of student work and engagement with the wider public. Experimentation is encouraged through traditional and hybrid techniques that may overlap with disciplines as diverse as photography, installation, sculpture, papermaking, or beyond.
Whether you’re building puppets for stop motion, transforming your knitting into an abstract animation, translating your oil paintings into a time-based medium, or integrating digital character designs into your web content, Animation can provide the support for all of these techniques and more.
Sample Courses
FLM 0111 - Animation Basics
Through in-class exercises, demos, screenings, and visiting artist lectures, you will learn various techniques of animating, and how to record and mix a soundtrack for animation.
FLM 0138 - Animation Integration
This course is designed for students who specialize in another area such as film, sculpture, painting, photography, performance, video, ceramics, drawing, etc. to consider the possibilities for animating their work and learning the techniques necessary for integrating animation into their art practice.
FLM 0160 - Drawing for Animation
Students in this course will animate all their work on paper using a variety of dry and wet media and will gain knowledge of the physics of motion, squash and stretch, time-based blurring, perspective in motion, kinesthesia, and the use of light and shadow.
FLM 0112 - Stop Motion Animation
This course will focus on puppet and object animation, including both old- and new-world styles.
FLM 0156 - Animation 2
Animation 2 offers a more in-depth study into animation techniques, principles of animation, ways of generating ideas, and directing for animation.
Featured image above: Ellie LaCourt, BFA '18, "Life Cycles", 2018, Hand-drawn Animation, (left) and "Maintain Yourself", 2018, Stop-motion Animation, 00:03:50 (right).

Growing and Taking Artistic Risks: Gabriella Melchiorri, BFA '20
Gabriella Melchiorri, BFA '20 and 2018-2019 SMFA Polly Thayer Starr Intern, is expanding her own artistic practice while encouraging creativity in others.

Student Profile: Liz Maelane '19
As an artist specializing in film and animation, Liz uses her experience in performance art to influence her craft.