Bachelor of Science in Animation, Environment & Character Design Concentration

Build the virtual world of your dreams. Our program will teach you 3-D modeling, character design, compositing, character animation and more. Imagine creating environments and characters that you can actually play. Let’s start building!

The Animation Bachelor of Science degree program is a 120 semester credit hour degree program that is delivered 100% online through our unique Learning Management System (LMS)—a secure web-based platform that employs modern multimedia technologies and is accessible 24 hours a day via the Internet. Online students use this system to view video content, receive and submit project work and assignments, take tests and quizzes, communicate with instructors and classmates, and review grades and course progress. Our online learning environment utilizes a combination of interactive and web-based media to create a variety of instructional materials in support of dynamic, self-directed, and collaborative learning activities. These activities can provide students with a more diverse range of learning options and promote more meaningful collaboration between students and instructors.

Ion Şipilov / Unsplash

What to Expect

Our Online Animation Degree with a concentration in Environment & Character Design begins with the fundamentals of computer-generated art. We focus on the production pipeline by deconstructing both a finished film shot and a complete video game level. Students will develop necessary knowledge of the animation industry, terms, and learn the interfaces for a compositing package and a game engine.

• Our Bachelor of Science in Animation program is 120 credit hours and 36 months in length.
• Every class is delivered 100% online through our unique Learning Management System (LMS).
• Courses include Modeling Fundamentals, Environment for Games, Character Design, and Shading & Lighting 1 & 2.

How it Works

Our degree program is delivered 100% online through our Learning Management System, a secure web-based multimedia platform that is accessible 24 hours a day.

The Los Angeles Film School - Learning Online from The Los Angeles Film School on Vimeo.

Gear and Software

Creative people need creative tools. As a digital animator, your computer becomes your canvas, palette and paintbrush all-in-one. As a student, you’ll receive a TechKit which includes your own powerful laptop loaded with selected industry software.*

*Specific types of gear and gear info subject to change without notice.

Objectives

The Bachelor of Science in Animation with a concentration in Environment and Character Design is designed to provide students the knowledge and understanding of 3-D modeling, materials, textures, pipeline workflows, and integration, designing and developing both characters and environments for both film and games in the Computer Animation industry. The knowledge learned will qualify students for entry-level positions in the computer animation film and game industries as Character Modeling, Environment, and Look Development Artists. Besides the degree program’s strong 3-D computer-graphics focus, students will build other skills in peripheral media and complete digital courses that will enhance their opportunities in related fields. In addition to technical proficiency and creative development, the curriculum helps students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills that contribute to life learning and provide tools that will help sustain a long and productive professional career in the computer animation and entertainment and media industry.

Hollywood Is Our History

Almost 100 years after the dedication of Sunset Boulevard, The Los Angeles Film School opened its doors. In a story that includes iconic moments, from the creation of the Walk of Fame to the Hollywood Sign, we are a new chapter. Sunset went from being a cattle path at the turn-of-the-century to the world-famous boulevard where our campus is located today.

Where it all Began

RCA Studio B

Our foundation is built on a rich history of Hollywood entertainment – literally. Our building located at 6363 Sunset Boulevard was originally the historic RCA building, a recording studio, which was used by legendary music artists such as Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, Henry Mancini, and others, from the time it opened its doors on April 21, 1964, through the 1970s.

Denise Jans / Unsplash

Our Mission is Your Education

Let’s Grow Together

When we opened LAFS, our goal was to establish a school where current industry professionals could share their knowledge with a new generation of filmmakers, but that was just the start.

In 2009, we introduced an associate degree in Computer Animation, broadening our educational offerings significantly. In 2012, we premiered our first bachelor’s degree program with Entertainment Business. Our growth continues even now, as we build robust online degrees in Graphic Design and Digital Filmmaking, just to name a few. We’ve come a long way, but the journey has been rewarding and exciting and is far from over.

Online Degrees

Our exciting online Bachelor’s and Associate degree programs are delivered 100% online through our exceptional Learning Management System.

Digital Filmmaking – Online

Bachelor of Science Degree Program

Our students learn the entire scope of production. Our program prepares you to have the aesthetic values, critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills needed to help you pursue a long and productive career in the entertainment industry.

Entertainment Business – Online

Bachelor of Science Degree Program

Entertainment business professionals are the driving force behind the success of every movie, concert, album, sports team and performer. With our online program, you’ll learn how to develop the creative ideas needed to launch and promote entertainment brands.

Graphic Design – Online

Bachelor of Science Degree Program

Our program prepares you to become a visual innovator. Learn how to conceptualize ideas, create compelling visuals and convey messages through photography, motion graphics, print, web and experience design.

Music Production – Online

Associate of Science Degree Program

Learn what it takes to transform a song from a concept to a well-produced and successful recording. Our online program focuses on three areas of study: composition, production and the business side of managing music.

Animation – Online

Bachelor of Science Degree Program

Build new worlds with the skills you’ll learn from our online computer animation program. You’ll develop your individual artistic style while learning the same software and techniques the professionals use to create graphics for film, TV, games and more.

Sunset Boulevard

A Timeline

1904

22 miles long and following an old cattle path, Sunset Boulevard was dedicated in May of 1904. Sunset may have been its name, but the boulevard’s grand opening was the dawn of a new age in L.A. history, as a parade of automobiles, horse-drawn carriages and electric railcars puttered over the roadway that now connected downtown to the then-independent city of Hollywood.

1923

Situated on Mt. Lee with 45-foot-tall letters, the Hollywood Sign was originally created in 1923 as an advertisement for a local housing development called “Hollywoodland”. In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stipulated that “Land” must be removed, spelling out “Hollywood” to reflect the whole district, not just the development.

1929

The first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16th, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of 270 people. The cost for a guest ticket to the ceremony was only $5 and the very first Academy Award was given to Emil Jannings as Best Actor for his performances in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh.

1958

Made up of over 2,300 stars, The Walk of Fame runs 1.3 miles from Gower to La Brea. In the early 1950’s, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president, E. M. Stuart, proposed the Walk as a means to “…maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.” Construction began in 1958.

1911

October 27th, 1911, The Nestor Motion Picture Company opened the first movie studio located within Hollywood by renting what was then the shuttered Blondeau Tavern building on the corner of Sunset and Gower for $40 a month. The very first motion picture stage was built behind the tavern.

1927

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre opened May 18th, 1927. The first wet-cement handprint and signature was from construction foreman, Jean Klossner who autographed his work by the right-hand poster kiosk, where it can still be seen today.

1942

Founded on June 4th, 1942, Capitol Records was the first West Coast-based label in the U.S. In 1956, just west of Hollywood and Vine, the Capitol Records Tower opened. The building’s design was based on graduate school drawings by Lou Naidorf and it’s only coincidence it resembles a stack of records on a turntable.

1999

Almost 100 years after the dedication of Sunset Boulevard, the historic RCA Building at 6363 Sunset, used by Elvis and The Rolling Stones, becomes The Los Angeles Film School. In May of 1999, Oliver Stone leads the inauguration ceremony and begins our part in Hollywood’s golden legacy.