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Bachelor of Animation
Min. 6 Trimesters
2 Years Full Time
On Campus
Get industry knowledge, use advanced animation tools, and collaborate across disciplines to produce real-world applications.
Specialise in:
- 3D Modelling
- Character Animation
- Visual Effects
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Associate Degree of Animation
Min. 4 Trimesters
FULL TIME
On Campus
Get qualified in 4 Trimesters with an industry-recognised course in Animation. Use advanced animation tools, and collaborate across disciplines to produce a showreel.
Specialise in:
- 3D Modelling
- Character Animation
- Visual Effects
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Diploma of 3D Animation
Min. 2 Trimesters
7 Months Full Time
On Campus
Our diploma has been built in a way that gives you plenty of face-to-face time with expert lecturers and many hours on the latest tools.
Become a:
- 2D/3D Animator
- Character designer
- Editor
Bachelor of Animation
Make your dream career a reality by bringing the world in your head to life.
Animation is pure imagination. Few industries allow you to create what has never been seen before, which is very, very cool. Animation is also a profession where technical expertise and application is as important as raw talent, and this is where SAE come in.
Our Bachelor of Animation is all about building your character and credentials by giving you hands-on experience in 3D modelling, rigging, design, textures, lighting, rendering and compositing. Basically, everything you'll need to create the career you want.
At SAE you won’t find yourself in a lecture with 300 people or even in a traditional lecture at all. You’ll be in a studio environment using software like Maya, Autodesk 3D MAX, ToonBoom, Substance painter, Z-Brush and Adobe Creative Suite to help bring your ideas to life.
Your growth and development will be assessed through the completion of industry-based projects, not theoretical based essays. This will ultimately help you build up a body of work and portfolio to share with potential employers or first client.
In preparation for an industry that commands agility and adaptability, you’ll cut your creative teeth on projects initially in partnership with your course peers. As your skills develop and you work on more dynamic projects, you’ll apply your capabilities on cross-discipline projects. By the end of your course you could be collaborating with fellow students across SAE’s global network.
Ultimately, this is all about a qualification that will expand your career. There is work placement as part of your course, to provide practical experience and help build your network. We’ll also equip you with employability skills, giving you professional strategies in communication and self promotion.
For those wanting to go the extra, and thousands of miles, you can complete up to two trimesters of your course at selected SAE campuses across the planet. Suddenly, real-world experience just went worldwide.
Student work: Chris Chan, David Coghlan and Ho Yin
Find out more about Studying Animation at SAE
Graduate roles may include
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- NOTE: Perth Campus does not specialise in Visual Effects.
- Brisbane
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Perth
Your learning experience
- Learn advanced-level industry-standard animation tools, such as Autodesks 3DS Max and Maya and the Adobe Creative Suite.
- Experience an Animation course designed in collaboration with industry partners, develop the skills the film and interactive media industries want.
- Work with artists, designers, web, mobile and games developers, film makers, animators and audio specialists.
- Learn from Animation industry veterans who are masters of their craft.
- Develop high-level special effects in collaboration with film makers.
- Learn and apply narrative theories to produce compelling animated films.
- Work with games developers to produce rich worlds, assets and animation for interactive media titles.
- Learn in a collaborative, studio-based environment where your teachers are also your mentors.
- Learn and apply industry-standard project management methodologies from day one.
BACHELOR OF ANIMATION
The Animation degree program is broken up into discrete stages, each designed to promote different skills.

Stage I – Foundational Skills Development
In Stage I, students will undertake a number of foundational units which will give students the essential technical skills and knowledge not only relevant to the chosen discipline area, but also give students the skills required to collaborate with other creative media students and professionals in later stages of the Animation course.
- Storytelling for contemporary media
- Principles of design
- Fundamentals of drawing
- Foundations of 3D graphics
- Principles of animation
- Project management and professional etiquette
- Critical and creative thinking
- Contemporary industry overview
YOUR CAREER BEGINS TODAY
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Stage II – Interdisciplinary Projects, Media and Cultural Studies
In Stage II we show students how their Animation work contributes to and interacts with broader culture and media practice. This knowledge will enable students to work with a variety of other disciplines and artists and expand their potential on the global stage.
Students complete a number of real-world projects with students not only in their own discipline, but also in all other SAE disciplines.
Stage II has three studio modules with projects based on the following areas;
1. 3D Modelling
In 3D Modelling, students will examine modelling techniques, terminology and methods. Students will develop and implement 3D production pipelines to create such things as environments, vehicles, creatures and characters. Students will need to research industry best practices and keep up to date with current trends in CGI production. This specialisation will further explore texturing and shading, lighting and rendering.
2. Character Animation
In the Character Animation specialisation, students will focus on the principles of character animation such as posing, motion studies, body mechanics, facial animation and much more. Students will also learn to develop effective and user-friendly animation rigs that serve as a means to control and animate a character, similar to the controls of a puppet.
3. Visual Effects
In the Visual Effects specialisation, students will explore the areas of computer modelling, texturing, lighting, rendering and compositing with an emphasis on incorporating assets into a range of digital media. Students can investigate topics such as match moving, particle systems, dynamic simulations and colour grading. By the end of the Animation course, students will be able to composite a range of disparate elements into a cohesive final product.
Stage III
Stage III is the final part of study. Here you will undertake an interdisciplinary project of choice to be the final and most ambitious portfolio Animation project that a student will undertake.
Students will also finalise their studies by undertaking an Animation elective module and completing a compulsory internship.
Career Options
- 2D/3D animator
- Modeller
- Rigger
- Visual effects artist
- Environment artist
- Game asset artist
- Technical artist
- Character artist
- Concept artist
- Post-production for broadcast media
- Architectural visualiser
- Product visualiser
- Spatial GIS data processor
- Educational media production
- Motion graphics designer
- Art director
- Creative director
- Project manager
- Team leader
Employers
SAE Animation graduates have been involved with many well-known creative media companies, including:
- Big Ant Studios
- The Voxel Agents
- Trickster Games
- CSIRO
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University
- Ignition Studios
- VR Solutions
- Chroma
- Buzinga
- Firemonkeys
- Learning Seat
- Thales Australia
- Visual Playground
- Iloura
| Trimester 1 (1st Year) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Employability Skills in the Creative Industries | Animation Studies and Practice | Drawing for Animation | Foundations of Computer Graphics |
| Introduction to Animation | |||
| Trimester 2 | |||
| Employability Skills in the Creative Industries | Intermediate Computer Graphics | Animation Production | |
| Contemporary Industrial Practices | |||
| Trimester 3 | |||
| Media Studies | Animation Studio 1 | ||
| Trimester 4 (2nd Year) | |||
| Cultural Perspectives | Animation Studio 2 (Modelling) | ||
| Trimester 5 | |||
| Major Project Development | Animation Studio 3 (Modelling) | ||
| Trimester 6 | |||
| Work Placement | Elective | Major Project Production | |
- Creative Industry Unit
- Elective Unit
- Discipline Specialisation Unit
- Multi Discipline Unit
Note:
Elective unit is selected from any other bachelor course, trimester 1 or 2 units.
Studios are professionally oriented production units modeled on real-world work environments.
Exit point options:
Option to complete studies with an Associate Degree of Animation after 160 credit points/first prescribed 16 units. The associate degree provides graduates with the basic core skills for entry into the industry, or to cross-skill into a related creative industry. Graduates will have broad technical knowledge and skills at a paraprofessional level.
You will learn
- Storytelling
- Drawing
- 3D graphics
- 2D & 3D animation
- Post production
- Principles of design
- Industry knowledge
- Studio practice
- Principles of animation
- Animation tools
- Project management
| Trimester 1 |
|---|
| Employability Skills in the Creative Industries |
| Animation Studies and Practice |
| Drawing for Animation |
| Foundations of Computer Graphics |
| Introduction to Animation |
| Trimester 2 |
| Employability Skills in the Creative Industries |
| Intermediate Computer Graphics |
| Animation Production |
| Contemporary Industrial Practices |
| Trimester 3 |
| Media Studies |
| Animation Studio 1 |
| Trimester 4 |
| Cultural Perspectives |
| Animation Studio 2 (Modelling) |
| Trimester 5 |
| Major Project Development |
| Animation Studio 3 (Modelling) |
| Trimester 6 |
| Work Placement |
| Elective |
| Major Project Production |
- Creative Industry Unit
- Elective Unit
- Discipline Specialisation Unit
- Multi Discipline Unit
Note:
Elective unit is selected from any other bachelor course, trimester 1 or 2 units.
Studios are professionally oriented production units modeled on real-world work environments.
Exit point options:
Option to complete studies with an Associate Degree of Animation after 160 credit points/first prescribed 16 units. The associate degree provides graduates with the basic core skills for entry into the industry, or to cross-skill into a related creative industry. Graduates will have broad technical knowledge and skills at a paraprofessional level.
You will learn
- Storytelling
- Drawing
- 3D graphics
- 2D & 3D animation
- Post production
- Principles of design
- Industry knowledge
- Studio practice
- Principles of animation
- Animation tools
- Project management
-
DURATION(S):
6 Trimesters
-
INTAKES:
May 2019
Sep 2019
Feb 2020
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NEXT INTAKE:
Enrol By: 27 May 2019
Start Date: 27 May 2019
End Date: 14 Jun 2019
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COURSE TYPE:
Bachelor
Entry requirements
Applicants for degree courses must satisfy one of the following minimum entry criteria:
- Completion of an Australian Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) or equivalent, OR
- Completion of a diploma level qualification issued under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), OR
- Experience Based Entry for applicants who do not meet the requirements above. 'Enquire Now' or call 1800 723 338 directly for more information.
Fees and Payments
Fees: view our current Fee Schedule for information on SAE course fees.
Payment options: Fee-Help, or upfront trimester instalments.

