Student Success
Inside VanArts: This is Character Animation!
For an exciting inside look at what studying animation at VanArts is all about, check out our YouTube Playlist of behind-the-scenes studio footage, interviews with students, grads and faculty, and much more!
Watch the videos that interest you the most, or simply sit back and Play All!
Curriculum
Term 1
The first term of the year begins with the principles of animation: Initiating Force, Path of Action, Lead/Follow, Timing/Spacing, Physics and Body Mechanics. The aesthetics of a shot, psychology of line, shape, composition, lighting and colour are covered in Story/Visual Language. Life Drawing is essential for all animation students, as strong drawing skills build confidence and all animators benefit from simplified structural drawing for planning animation. 3D animators learn Maya Fundamentals in animation interface, preferences and file management, and basic modeling is introduced for creating props and environments. Photoshop is introduced to support assignments, presentations, and texturing, and the History of Animation is offered for an in-depth look at how the art form has evolved.
Timing/Spacing Physics & Body Mechanics Path of Action Lead/Follow Initiating Force
Term 2
Term 2 advances the study of animation through more detailed body mechanics and introduces acting, character awareness, thinking and dealing with the environment to strengthen content believability. Story/Visual Language advances to deal with the psychology of cinematic image, acting and story structure while storyboarding assignments prepare you for Term 3 assignments and Term 4 demo projects. Life Drawing continues, advancing body construction awareness and dynamic posing. In Maya class, organic modeling is taught using existing character models, building clothing, hair and props that will support your storytelling efforts through character animation.
Storyboarding Adobe Premiere Harmony Maya Body Mechanics
Term 3
Acting and Performance is the focus of Term 3 animation assignments. The course takes an innovative look at ‘the animator as actor’ role. You will observe students from our Acting Department, studying their body language, timing and interaction. Dialogue, sound FX and music are introduced. In Story/Visual Language you will develop, storyboard and create assets for your Term 4 demo project. Workshops in Adobe Premiere prepare you for creating, editing and adding audio to story reels and final projects. Life Drawing advances body construction awareness and dynamic posing. The application of techniques learned in Maya 1 and 2 aid in the building of sets and character assets for the short story project.
Character Performance Pantomime Dialogue Editing & Audio Dynamic Poses Asset Building
Term 4
The term is for honing Character Animation skills while creating your Character Animation demo reel. You have a choice of completing a short film, as designed and story boarded in Term 3, or completing a sequence of assignments to strengthen your skills as a character animator. Harmony classes introduce software components specific to your film project. Lighting and rendering are taught in the Maya course to help enhance the visual presentation of your demo reel project, as well as providing visual polish on previous animation assignments. Life Drawing advances body construction awareness and dynamic posing to help strengthen your animation poses. You also explore artistic expression through line and proportion.
Check out our Animation Playlist on YouTube for samples of student films & demo reels.
Honing Skills Lighting Rendering Demo Reel
Faculty
Wayne Gilbert
Head of 2D/3D Character AnimationAbout
Wayne Gilbert
Head of 2D/3D Character Animation
Wayne Gilbert has worked in the industry for 35+ years on films ranging from Star Wars to Care Bears, including Rock and Rule, The Mummy 2, Pilsbury Doughboy commercials, 7 TV specials and video games Bounty Hunter, Skate and Skate 2. His credits include Sr. Animation Director, Sr. Lead Animator and Art Director having worked at studios such as Nelvana, ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), Walt Disney Canada and EA Black Box. Wayne has lectured internationally at post-secondary schools and professional venues, won 2 Clio Awards, created 5 animated short films (including the award-winning Let Go), and has authored several books (including Simplified Drawing for Planning Animation and Planning Character Animation: 3D-2D). His personal work is focused on writing and story development for film.
Charles Phillips
InstructorAbout
Charles Phillips
Instructor
Charles is an accomplished animator, historian and certified Harmony Instructor, who studied film-making at John Abbott College’s Creative Arts Program in Montreal in the early 1980s and also attended the Sheridan College Classical Animation Program in Oakville, Ontario. His many credits for television series and commercials were earned at studios in Montreal and Toronto, and on various independent projects in Vancouver. His eclectic background includes experience in radio broadcasting, as well as comic book and anime wholesale distribution. Charles is a cornerstone of the school, having initially worked underneath Lee Mishkin, Academy-Award winning founder of VanArts‘ Classical Animation Program.
Daniel Laszlo
InstructorAbout
Daniel Laszlo
Instructor
Daniel Laszlo is a graduate from the VanArts 2D Character Animation program, and has since worked in the Vancouver area for Bardel Entertainment, Atomic Cartoons, Titmouse, and Wild Brain, on an assortment of series for television and streaming. These character and effects animation credits include Pirate Express, Littlest Petshop, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (TV Series), My Little Pony: The Movie, Archibald’s Next Big Thing, Chip and Potato, & Trolls: The Beat Goes On! His personal drives are studying the masters of old, and exploring visual storytelling in various mediums.
David MacLeod
InstructorAbout
David MacLeod
Instructor
David is a graduate from the early days of the Vancouver Film School. He’s worked for companies such as Rainmaker, Bardel, Heavy Iron Studios, Relic Entertainment, EA, Disney Interactive, and Sony Animation. David began his career on some of the very first CGI-animated television shows, such as Reboot, Beast Wars, and War Planets. At THQ, he worked on Sponge Bob SquarePants, the Dawn of War series, and Space Marine games. David supervised and directed the animation for the award-winning Company of Heroes series, the number one highest-rated real-time strategy game of all time. Returning to TV and film, he worked on Escape from Planet Earth, Ratchet and Clank, Open Season, Scared Silly, Surfs Up 2, as well as Imaginary Mary and number of the Barbie/Mattel DVDs. Born in Vancouver, he has a passion for west coast camping and is an avid angler, fishing from Vancouver Island to Haida Gwaii.
Fernando Gil
InstructorAbout
Fernando Gil
Instructor
Fernando Gil has over 25 years of experience in illustration and animation as a Senior 2D Animator, Supervisor and Creative Director for commercials, TV series and feature films in Mexico and Vancouver. He has worked for studios such as Atomic Cartoons, Titmouse and clients like Disney, Dreamworks and Sony Imageworks.
Scott Hastings
InstructorAbout
Scott Hastings
Instructor
Primarily a visual artist producing illustrations, graphic designs, motion graphics, websites, and video production, Scott Hastings is also an active musician and entertainer. Some of his contracts include Layout & Design for Rogers Communications, Graphic Design for Actress Rebecca Romijn, Album Designer for Ludwig Recordings, and Producer of an animated explainer video for MS Filter Systems Inc.
Scott’s career started at the Gulf Islands Film & Television School as 3D Animation Program Manager, Soundtrack Composer, Video Mentor and co-producer of the school’s official YouTube Channel launch. He won awards for his short 3D animated music video Frog Song and created opening credit animations for the documentary Contact the People (2002 Sundance Film Festival premiere), Sound design for National Film Board short films Suckerfish by Lisa Jackson and The Collector by Kassia Ward, and Richard Reeves’ camera-less animated film 1:1.
Thomaz Magno
Instructor - Life DrawingAbout
Thomaz Magno
Instructor - Life Drawing
Thomaz Magno has been drawing professionally since 2006, starting as a graphic designer in Brazil.
In 2010 he moved to Canada to pursue a career in animation, and here in Vancouver he has worked full-time for animation studios such as Icon Creative, Titmouse, and Atomic Cartoons as a designer and concept artist.
He has participated in traditional live painting and online competitive digital speed painting forums,
illustrated two published novels, works on sculpting in clay and VR, and freelances from his home studio working on concepts for clients like Framestore NY and Spark Animation.
Overview
Program Duration
12 MonthsNext Start Dates
September 2, 2025 March 9, 2026 September 8, 2026 March 15, 2027Studying animation at VanArts places your focus specifically on character animation through body mechanics and performance, and strong foundation training in modeling, lighting, character building and story/visual language.
Choose your stream: 2D (using ToonBoom's HARMONY) or 3D (using MAYA). Both softwares are the industry standard for work in animated feature films and TV series.
This is a full-time intensive program with classes every weekday for an entire 12 months. It can be taken in-person on our Vancouver campus, or fully online from anywhere in the world.
If you want to be a professional CHARACTER ANIMATOR, this is where you belong.
Skills You Will Learn:
• Character animation & storyboarding
• Body mechanics, pantomime, dialogue, & performance
• Harmony (2D) or Maya (3D)
• Adobe Photoshop & Premiere
• Life drawing
• Short film & demo reel production
Career Opportunities:
• Character Animator
• Character Designer & Build Artist (Harmony)
• Storyboard Artist
• Layout Artist
Alumni Credits include:
PTIRU Approved
This program has been approved by the Registrar of the Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit (PTIRU) within the System Integrity Branch (SIB) of the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.
Degree Pathways
The 2D and 3D Character Animation diploma programs are designed to make you industry-ready upon graduation — but if you’d like to continue into further studies, as a VanArts grad you can pursue a pathway towards a degree.
We have articulation agreements in place with several well established universities/colleges in Canada, Australia, and the UK, allowing you to complete a degree in as little as 1-2 years after your studies at VanArts.
Advantages include:
• dual credential from two recognized institutes
• savings in time & tuition cost
• (for international students) eligibility to apply for post-grad work permit
This list represents the pathways, universities and specific degrees available for graduates of Character Animation at VanArts to consider.
Tuition Costs
Canadian
$28,750.00 CADInternational
$36,750.00 CADAdditional Information
How to Apply
To enroll in this program, you must be at least 19 years of age OR a high school graduate.
• If you are undecided on a program or have no portfolio/art background, consider our 6-month Art Foundation program. Taking this program first meets the portfolio requirement for all 1-year diploma programs and discounts your tuition.
If you already know you want to focus on 2D or 3D Character Animation, apply now with the following steps:
Step 1 – Complete and submit the application form (+ $100 Application Fee)
Step 2 – Send us the following materials:
• Portfolio (12 pages of your best drawings. Some pages should include sketches of characters in sequential action poses. The other pages may include life/figure drawings and location/object sketches, showing an understanding of form and perspective. See samples below.)
• Letter of Intent (one-page letter telling us about your background, your passion for photography, and why you are applying to this program)
• Photo ID (passport photo page or other ID to confirm your birthdate & citizenship)
• If under 19, photo or scan of High School Transcript
• If ESL, official test scores for minimum English assessment (IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo & more all accepted)
See our full English & Admission requirements here for more details.>>
Once all materials are received, we will review to consider your acceptance into the program.
Tuition Payment Schedule
10% deposit upon acceptance to hold your seat
40% six weeks prior to start date
50% by end of Term 1 (3 months into studies)
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Visit our Financial Aid page.>>