Animation

Animation sits at the meeting point of art, storytelling, and technology. It encompasses the creation of moving images across an enormous range of contexts, from feature films and television series to motion graphics, visual effects, advertising, games, and digital interactive media. What unites these diverse applications is the craft of bringing images to life through time, using principles of movement, timing, and design to engage, move, or inform an audience.

It is a field that demands both technical skill and creative vision, and practitioners who combine the two are consistently in demand.

At the University of Portsmouth you will develop the artistic insight and technical abilities needed to work effectively across both 2D and 3D animation and filmmaking. You will study character animation, narrative structure, visual design, and digital production workflows, building a portfolio that demonstrates your range and creative voice. The three-year programme includes a sandwich year, giving you the opportunity to work in the industry before you graduate, and a year abroad is available, broadening your creative perspective and your experience of animation cultures in other countries.

A work placement is built into the degree, ensuring that you leave with professional experience alongside creative and technical skills.

The animation industry is large and growing, and graduates move into roles across film and television production, games development, advertising, digital media, and interactive design. Many work in specialist studios as animators, character riggers, motion designers, or visual effects artists, while others move into direction, production, or art direction as their careers develop. The storytelling and visual communication skills developed through an animation degree also transfer into illustration, graphic design, and digital content creation.

Some graduates continue to postgraduate study, deepening their specialism or moving into research in animation history and practice.