Instead of trying to cover every aspect of a complex subject, this postgraduate course specialises in one area - animation of characters. You'll broaden and challenge your contextual awareness of animation while gaining advanced skills in communication, project management and technique.

MA Character Animation's distinctive features include:

• Links with Drama Centre London enabling unrivalled use of performance techniques through classes in Storytelling, Acting and Movement Studies
• Classes in Animation History & Theory, Life Drawing and Anatomy that complement the technical animation curriculum
• Simulated work experience through team projects, with each first-year student allocated a current practitioner as mentor
• Wide-ranging commercial and creative partners in London and beyond, including the National Gallery
• An extensive alumni networking community

The course, which is supported and advised by Visiting Professor Shelley Page, Dreamworks, builds on CSM's SKILLSET Media Academy status.

MA Character Animation lasts 60 weeks structured as two consecutive periods of 30 weeks each (i.e. two academic years) in its 'extended full-time mode'.

MA Character Animation is credit rated at 180 credits, and comprises 2 units. Unit 1 (60 credits) lasts 20 weeks. Unit 2 (120 credits) runs for 10 weeks in the first year and 30 weeks in the second year.

Both units must be passed in order to achieve the MA, but the classification of the award of MA derives from your mark for Unit 2 only.

We expect you to commit an average of 30 hours per week, within which your taught input will normally be scheduled over three days in first year and two days in second year. The course structure is intended to allow you to pursue your studies while also undertaking part-time work, internships or care responsibilities.

Course rationale

From the internet and mobile phones to television commercials, games and special effects for blockbuster movies, animation is everywhere. The medium, which today takes many different forms, has permeated our visual culture.

Technologies used to create animation are evolving rapidly. The competitive nature of the software market means certain computer programmes dominate in one year before becoming obsolete the next. Against a backdrop of constantly changing industry standard software, MA Character Animation fosters a specialist, practice-based knowledge you can apply to different software packages, technical processes, creative approaches and distribution technologies in the future. Instead of focusing on a narrow range of software-specific skills, you'll build universal skills and contextual awareness of character animation.

Originally called the London Animation School, MA Character Animation grew out of an initiative by the Guild of British Animation, which represents the interests of many of the UK's top animation houses. Many existing courses, it was felt, failed to equip students with either the right skills or level of experience for swift assimilation into useful roles in the workplace. In partnership with Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, funding was raised from the Central London Training Enterprise Council (FOCUS TEC) to provide quality animation training.

Animation is a universal medium capable of communicating concepts and narratives without spoken language. A popular art form in a global marketplace, it appeals to all cultures, inviting them to apply their own visual and storytelling traditions. A feature and strength of MA Character Animation is that it attracts applicants from a wide range of practices and cultural backgrounds. About a quarter of students come from the UK, a further quarter from within the EU, while half are from outside Europe representing a wide range of nationalities. It adds up to an exciting opportunity to learn about other cultures and to develop international networks. You'll be encouraged to investigate and apply a range of different visual and storytelling traditions to your own work.

Course outline

MA Character Animation aims to develop both creative and technical skills. Learning to animate is about much more than software. At the core of engaging and effective animation is an understanding of motion, characterisation and the portrayal of performance. Our hands-on, practical approach focuses on creating innovative animated characters that can move convincingly and perform with emotional and psychological nuance. The curriculum covers motion analysis and performance based animation, from the simplest bouncing ball techniques to movement in animals, acting in humans and the representation of speech.

Lectures and critiques deliver a programme of rigorous enquiry into key areas of the theory and context of character animation. Established links with the other courses in our School of Performance mean this postgraduate course offers an unparalleled application of performance methodologies to the practice of animation. Because animation is the representation of performance, the MA Character Animation course team strongly believes that all animators benefit from a study of movement and acting. As a result, MA Character Animation emphasises the analysis of characterisation through acting and the study of motion through drawing. Drawing is an important part of the course - animation classes are supported by life drawing workshops and drawing field trips. You'll also have workshops in relevant software techniques.

Throughout the postgraduate course you'll be expected to extend your present knowledge and understanding and apply them to new areas of professional practice. You'll keep a blog from the start of the course in which you document your work and reflect on your progress. Working as an animator demands professional skills - you'll be encouraged to develop your experience in problem solving, project management, planning, and communication while working both collaboratively and independently.

We encourage a networking environment through collaborative team projects, simulated work placements, group critiques, and an industry-based mentoring programme that gives you continuous external input. You'll also benefit from regular visits from practitioners in all aspects of production and live projects with external agencies. Our goal is to help you become a reflective, innovative practitioner able to locate yourself within the animation industry.

Unit 1 - Character and Movement Analysis (60 credits)

Unit 1 is an intensively taught period of 20 weeks designed to develop and extend your understanding of animation principles. Animation techniques are covered in depth and applied to traditional, pencil-drawn 2D and 3D digital techniques in a series of short exercises. The critical analysis of motion - including the articulation of movement, basic anatomy, timing, weight and effort - will be supported by contextual studies in life drawing, acting, and animation history and theory.

Throughout this unit we expect you to keep a blog in which you record your work in progress and reflect critically on your creative process. You'll also be encouraged to contextualise and present your ideas confidently in public via presentations, group 'crits', feedback from tutors and assessments. You'll be allocated a mentor to provide further insight into professional roles and conventions and to advise you on your development. The unit culminates in a simulated work placement in which you assist a second-year student on their final graduation film. All exercises for this unit are assessed in a final mark at the end of the unit. You'll get an idea of your progress through crits and assessments throughout the unit.

Unit 2 - Applied Character Animation (120 credits)

Unit 2 enables you to become a self sufficient, critical practitioner with clear career aspirations and the confidence to pursue your goals.

The Unit begins with a project based on a 'live' brief set by an external agency that prepares you to move from shorter animation exercises to developing your own style and individual area of specialisation in a short film. A second, collaborative project is based around working in a team. You'll then devise your own brief and develop a proposal by negotiation with teaching staff for a self-directed graduation film that you can complete as an individual or in a team.

Throughout this unit you'll be encouraged to contextualise and present your ideas confidently in public through project proposals, essays, reports, reflective blogging, pitching, presentations and group crits. We encourage a networking environment through a programme of visiting practitioners, screenings, discussions, collaborative projects and buddy groups. You'll be allocated a first-year student to assist you for two weeks on your graduation film. All the projects for this unit will be assessed in a final mark at the end of the unit. You'll be given an idea of your progress through crits and assessments throughout the unit.

Teaching staff and resources

Our MA Character Animation staff team consists of experienced professionals who continue to work as consultants and freelancers in the animation, multimedia and software industries. MA Character Animation also encourages a networking community by maintaining links with ex-students, many of whom are now in high-profile employment.

MA Character Animation benefits hugely from being in the heart of London, a thriving international centre for innovative design, the production of commercials, and post-production special effects. Advertising agencies and film companies come from all over the world to have creative work done here.

Based in London near the animation and post-production facilities of Soho, MA Character Animation has close links with the industry. Live projects with external agencies have included Cartoon Network, the National Theatre Archive, and the National Gallery.

Through lectures, demonstrations and workshops by working professionals, as well as through its successful mentor scheme, MA Character Animation maintains and values its links with the animation industry. We are committed to ensuring it remains commercially and artistically relevant in a volatile and fast-moving field.

MA Character Animation works closely with industry to ensure our graduates have the creativity, professionalism and specialist technical skills required for employment. Industry recognition was confirmed in 2007 when Central Saint Martins was awarded SKILLSET Media Academy status specialising in Animation, Communication Design and Performance.

Short films created by MA Character Animation students have been nominated for prizes at:

Austin, Texas IFF Short Animation Award | BAF | Bitfilm Festival, Germany | British Animation Awards | Cinanima Onda Curto Award, Portugal | CobraVision (ITV4) | Dervio International Animation Festival | Edinburgh IFF McLaren Award for British Animation | Festival Internazionale del Cinema d'Arte | Foyle Film Festival Animation Award | Junior Animator Award | MESH (Channel 4) | Microsoft Xbox Outstanding Student Award | Propeller TV Studentfest | Soho Rushes | Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Audience Prize | Virgin Media Shorts People's Choice.

Over 80 per cent of our graduates find employment in the animation industry, in London and beyond. They work in Oscar-winning special effects teams on films such as Gladiator, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter; acclaimed television series like Walking with Dinosaurs and Charlie and Lola; commercials; award-winning websites; TV graphics and games.

Our graduates are employed by companies like Aldis Animation, BBC, Studio AKA, Cartoon Network, Chase Animation Studios, Cinesite, Dreamworks, EA Games, Flush Draw, Framestore, HRA, Michael Dudok de Wit, the Mill, Moving Picture Company, Richard Purdum Productions, Passion Pictures, Pesky, Saatchi & Saatchi, Slinky Pictures, Tiger Aspect, Tandem, Twelve Foot Nine, Uli Meyer Studios, Unit 9.

Selection to MA Character Animation is determined by the quality of your application (including a personal statement and supporting material). You'll also need to meet the minimum entry requirements as indicated below, but please note that these qualifications alone won't be sufficient to secure entry to the course.

Minimum entry requirements

We consider applicants who have already achieved an educational level equivalent to an Honours degree. You can demonstrate this educational level by:

• Having an Honours degree or an equivalent academic qualification
• Having a professional qualification recognised as equivalent to an Honours degree
• Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be shown to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required
• A combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning that, taken together, can be shown to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

English language requirement

All classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language, we strongly recommend you send us an English language test score together with your application to prove your level of proficiency. If you have booked a test or are awaiting your results, please clearly indicate this on your application form. When you have received your test score, please send it to us immediately. The standard English language requirement for entry is IELTS 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in any one paper, or equivalent. For further information visit the Language Centre website.
 
Applicants who will need a Tier 4 General Student Visa should check the External English Tests page which provides important information about UK Border Agency (UKBA) requirements. 

What we look for

Typical MA Character Animation applicants, who have a mature and independent approach to their practice, are either:

1. Visual artists or designers who've specialised in figurative work and who want to explore kinaesthetic and performance methodologies in a time-based medium. They should have good drawing skills and a well-formed aesthetic language and be able to demonstrate a body of work in which they've developed designs and ideas for characters. They're also expected to show the potential for applying their character designs to the animated form; OR

2. Graduates of general animation courses who want to apply specialist movement psychology to animation of characters and to develop a performance-led approach to animation. These applicants may already have completed a body of animated work, but they're now looking to extend their understanding and application of concepts of character, performance and storytelling.

Student selection criteria

We normally interview all applicants to confirm the appropriateness of the postgraduate course to your needs and your potential to succeed on the course. Selection for interview is by submission of a portfolio of work. The portfolio should consist of:

• Work that includes a range of drawings indicating your interest in the observation and analysis of human and animal forms
• Work that shows a perception of time (e.g. storyboards, character designs, figure studies in motion)

We select applicants using the following criteria:

• The quality of the applicant's observation
• Visualisation skills as evidenced in the portfolio
• The commitment and potential to realise your objectives within the timeframe of the postgraduate course

Portfolio and interview advice

In your portfolio we want to see your potential as a future character animator and examples of your visual language. We want to see that you can observe and draw from life, especially human beings and animals, and that you have some awareness of a time-based medium. You can demonstrate this through observational drawing, storyboards, character designs that show a variety of poses and facial expressions, print-outs or production stills of animations or films you have completed.

Additionally, if you're interested in developing 3D animation work, we'd like to see evidence that you can think in three dimensions and have spatial awareness. This could take the form of architectural or technical drawings, designs for products, photographs of sculptures or stage design or work produced using a 3D computer programme. We also want to see that you have a basic knowledge of a 3D computer programme. This could be shown through prints.

Please remember - our course team is very well placed to spot work copied from books. It's our job to teach you animation so we don't expect you to have completed lots of animations, just to exhibit a demonstrable interest in animation. Graphic design, typography, interactive CDs, abstract paintings, rocket ships, aliens and writing don't give us what we need to judge your potential for character animation.

If you're sending animation, please put it on a DVD (PAL format, Region 2, rather than VHS). If you send your work on CD, please ensure its format can be read on a PC. Images/scans of drawings should be JPEG format. We will not accept slides. Any movies should be in QuickTime or AVI format with a popular, non-specialist compression type used. We won't accept the URL of a web-based portfolio instead of a more traditional portfolio. Your work will be returned to you after the selection process has been completed.

If you're invited to interview it's a good idea to bring examples of current work (i.e. work completed since your application). The interview gives you the opportunity to demonstrate an objective, critical and reflective relationship to your work.

MA Character Animation welcomes discussion with potential applicants about the appropriateness of their initial proposals. We encourage applicants to use every opportunity to make contact with us before applying.

Home/EU and International aplicants

Download your MA Character Animation application pack:

• MA Character Animation application pack - international [Word, 0.5mb]    
• MA Character Animation application pack - home/EU [Word, 0.5mb]  

Each form contains detailed information about the application process.

Your application must include -

• A completed application form
• Copies of your latest qualifications certificates
• A personal statement. This should outline why you want to be accepted onto this course, how you intend to develop your practice while you are at Central Saint Martins and what your future career aspirations are
• Two references, at least one should be an academic or professional reference
• Documentation of your work in the form of up to 20 slides or images on CD (4Mb limit per image) and/or relevant documentary material (eg DVDs max 10 minutes duration) and appropriate supporting information. Text files should be in Word 2007 or PDF format. This should evidence your current creative practice.

Please ensure your application is complete. If you're sending references separately, please state this clearly. We recommend you send your application by recorded mail. Due to the large number of applications we get, we cannot send confirmation that your application has been received.

Further information for International applicants

Our website includes all the information you need to successfully apply. However, if you still have unanswered questions about the admissions process, please contact us. Email: international@csm.arts.ac.uk 

The University has a dedicated team to help prepare you for your studies. For help on visa requirements, housing, tuition fees and language requirements visit the University's International section.

The Language Centre offers international students quality language training from qualified and experienced teachers. The Pre-sessional Academic English Programme is available to all international (non-EU) students who have been offered a place on a full time course at the University of the Arts. For further information visit the Language Centre website.

We also offer a number of short courses that enable students to improve their portfolios and English skills before applying to their chosen course. For further information visit our Short Course section.

Home/EU applicants please send your completed application to: Student Administration, MA Character Animation, Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, University of the Arts London, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA.

International applicants please send your completed application to: International Office, MA Character Animation, Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, University of the Arts London, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA.

When to apply

Home/EU Applicants

Early - 6 February 2012. We advise students to apply as early as possible because places are limited.

Late - 14 May 2012. Applicants for this second deadline will be considered only if and when vacancies are available following the earlier deadline. Applications made after the May deadline may be considered for the waiting list, but priority will be given to those who applied before the deadline.

Home/EU applicants who want to apply for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) bursary should apply to the college before the 6 February deadline. Please contact the Course Leader in advance if you intend to apply for this funding

International ( non EU) Applicants

We highly recommend that you apply before 1 March 2012 as places are strictly limited.

Deferred entry

Entry can only be deferred in exceptional circumstances. Please contact us before submitting your application if you’re considering applying for deferred entry.

What happens next?

We read and consider all application forms and personal references. Please note we give particular attention to your project proposal and references.

Subject to your meeting the entry requirements and consideration of your application form, preliminary selection is based on your project proposal and documentation of work and supporting information. You may then be invited to attend an interview. For candidates applying for external funding, interviews will be scheduled prior to funding body deadlines.

Can't attend the interview?

If you're a home/EU or international applicant unable to attend for interview, the Course Director would hope to discuss your application by telephone.

In the case of applicants unable to attend for interview and unable to discuss their application by telephone, a decision regarding the offer of a place on the course will be made on the basis of a review of the application materials. We keep notes about decisions made following the initial application review and the interview process.

Selection is by two members of staff (normally the Course Leader and one other), and offers of places are made on the basis of our selection criteria. Applicants are informed of the decision via either the Student Administration or the International Office.

Open days

Open days are a great opportunity to meet staff and students and to find out at first hand about courses, teaching and student life. Visit the open day section for dates to book your session. Bookings can only be made online, not by phone or email.