Professors Jonathan Trueblood and David Morrison Highlight Distinctiveness of Point Park's Animation Program
"Our program is always growing and changing to mirror the ever-changing industry. Our professors are working artists who continue to work in the field while teaching. We use this experience and knowledge to direct changes to the curriculum and ensure that our students are fully prepared to work in the field upon graduating."
Why should you choose to major in animation at Point Park University?
One thing that sets us apart from most other schools is that you are animating your first semester at Point Park. Animation is all about practice and experience and this gives our students an extra year of animation that most other programs do not have.
In your first two years of school you take two hand-drawn animation classes, two 3D animation classes, two motion graphics classes, two drawing classes, a visual development class and an art history class.
This allows our students to experience many aspects and areas of animation that they may not have considered, or known of, before and makes them more well-rounded. You really get a huge amount of animation in your first two years. Then you can decide which of those paths works best for you and really focus on that area in your last two years.
Our professors have lots of industry experience and are always working to stay up-to-date on all software, technology, trends and the animation industry as a whole.
Tell us more about the animation labs.
Our fully-loaded animation labs have a large selection of industry-standard software and technology. The labs are equipped with tablet monitors that allow students to draw directly on the screens. We are very committed to ensuring that our students have access to the newest and best the industry has to offer.
While all the new computers and software are great, we also stress how important animation fundamentals and principles are and how to translate them to the software we use. Since technology is always changing, knowing animation principles should always be the foundation that your education is built on. Stressing these fundamentals prepares our students to enter any of the different areas of the animation industry.
Where have graduates of your program landed internships and jobs?
Our students have interned at several animation and graphic design studios including Animal, PMI Digital, Deep Local, Phenomenon, Untitled and even the Disney College Program. A good number of the internships have turned into freelance or full-time work after the students graduated. It's been great experiences for them to see what studios are like.
Recently our graduates have been doing well with finding work in the industry. They have worked at Warner Brothers Animation, ABC Mouse, Bob's Burgers, The Pittsburgh Penguins, American Eagle, Allegheny County Parks Department and various other studios in Pittsburgh. They've also done a ton of freelance remote projects like music videos and TV commercials.
What should prospective students and their parents know about this program?
Our program is always growing and changing to mirror the ever-changing industry. Our professors are working artists who continue to work in the field while teaching. We use this experience and knowledge to direct changes to the curriculum and ensure that our students are fully prepared to work in the field upon graduating.
Pursuing a degree is a big investment of both time and money. We understand this and take it very seriously. Our program is smaller, and this allows us to spend a lot more time one-on-one with our students to ensure that they are receiving the best education that we can offer them.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Point Park University strives to be an inclusive environment where all students are welcomed. Our faculty and staff believe in creating an atmosphere that ensure students of all races, backgrounds, and sexuality feel safe and comfortable so they can focus on their studies. Specifically, in our animation program we make every effort to get to know all of our students and cater our teaching methods to best suit each individual’s needs. Hard work goes hand-in-hand with diversity and inclusion in our program.