Greetings everyone!

First, I hope this is the most appropriate forum I could have placed this in...

I'm hoping that a few of you may have some recommendations for me.

I'm searching for any 3D animation schools which offer fairly short programs. By short, I mean in the area of a year. School location is of lesser concern for me.

My plan is to complete one of these schools, and if everything works out for me, move on to a bachelor degree school like Full Sail. I know it sounds, well, counter productive, but I'm trying to ensure my success before going after a hefty loan for a 4 year school right off the bat. I'm open to suggestions from you guys as well.

I feel I can do very well in animation, but my artist skills are not currently 100% (although, they are decent). I need to get started drawing again like I used to, to hopefully perfect my true animation abilities in-turn.

Would you guys who have been through all of this out there say that drawing abilities relate to animation as much as shear ability to develop ideas in the mind? I feel that I could render some very good ideas with a program to help, and can even visualize them very clearly when I imagine, but it seems tough at times to get them to look good on paper.

One of the schools I have looked at is DAVE school in Orlando FL. It seems to be what I am looking for, but I would like to look at some others in comparison before making a final decision. Does anyone have any comments about this school in particular?

I appreciate any help with this topic.

Thanks!

Hi Marshall
Do you mean something like Gnomon?

Here are some links you can check:

Vancouver Film School - http://www.vfs.com/
Offers full and part-time courses in classical animation as well as 3D animation and digital effects.
CalArts - School of Film/Video - http://www.calarts.edu/
Includes detailed information on the famous Character and Experimental animation programs.
The Art Institutes - http://www.artinstitutes.edu/
Over 22 schools across the U.S. offering Bachelor's and Associate's Degrees in many areas of Design and Media Arts.
Miami International University of Art & Design - http://www.artinstitutes.edu/miami/
Strong focus on character and story telling, also emphasis on cinematic techniques, including traditional film production and video editing. Demo REEL and mastering real world situations are the focus of the curriculum.
Max the Mutt Animation School - http://www.maxthemutt.com/
Private Toronto school specialising in representational art and animation.
Gnomon School of Visual Arts - http://www.gnomonschool.com/
Gnomon specializes in high-end computer graphics training for the entertainment industries.
Center for Digital Imaging Arts - http://www.digitalimagingarts.com
The Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University offers extensive, practical, hands-on training in the rapidly emerging digital arts fields.
Academy of Digital Animation - http://www.coyote3d.com/
Intensive program designed and delivered by experienced industry professionals.
Vancouver Institute of Media Arts (VanArts) - http://www.vanarts.com
One-year certificate and two-year diploma programs in classical and computer animation. Part-time and summer intensive courses also offered.
Mesmer Animation Labs - http://www.mesmer.com
A high-tech training center for the information age, specializing in cuting-edge tools for graphics, animation, and special effects. Mesmer is an authorized training facility for Softimage, Alias/Wavefront Maya, and NewTek graphics tools.
The Animation Academy - http://www.theanimationacademy.com/
Founded in 1998 and located in Burbank, California, the international capital of the industry. The school specializes in training artists for careers in traditional character animation.
AWN Animation School Directory - http://www.awn.com/newsstand/00schooldir.php3
A comprehensive worldwide list of animation courses and schools.
Redhouse College of Animation - http://www.redhousecollege.com
Animation program provides professional career training in animation. The traditional skills taught apply to Classical Animation, Computer Animation, Flash and stop motion.
New Media Campus - http://www.newmediacampus.com/
Located in Regina and Saskatoon, NMC teaches Classical Animation, 3D Animation, and Multimedia In-class and Online
3D3 World Training - http://www.3D3world.com
3D animation, web design and multimedia training in Tuscany, Italy.
Jacksonville University - http://art.ju.edu
JU prepares students for entry into careers as professional artists, designers, and animators.
Animation Exploration - http://www.visualartsbrampton.com/
Weekly Brampton, Ontario course taught by Sheridan instructor, former Disney animator.
Cartoons By Kids - http://www.cartoonsbykids.com
A cartoon workshops that teach basic drawing skills and 2-D animation to kids. Founded by Emmy winner Byron Vaughns.
Animation Portfolio Workshop - http://www.portfolioworkshop.com
Two former instructors from Sheridan College Classical Animation offer a program in how to assemble a portfolio to enter animation school.
Classical Animation at Sheridan College - http://www.sheridanc.on.ca/academic/arts/animation/index.html
Information on applying to the program, as well as links to other Animation programs at Sheridan.
The Center For Character Animation - http://www.hometown.aol.com/toonschool/cfca.html
Traditional animation school located in Levittown, Long Island, headed by Emmy Award Winning animator Brian Mitchell. Teaches classes in design, storyboarding, animation, assistant animation, and anatomy.
The Animation Design Center - http://www.animationdesigncenter.com
Learn to draw characters, backgrounds and props for the animation industry.
Moving Ideas Animation - http://www.movingideasanimation.com
Moving Ideas Animation offers classes in traditional animation and modern animation in flash located in sydney Australia.
Minneapolis College of Art and Design - http://www.mcad.edu/degree/fs-bfa_anim.htm
Information on the four year animation degree.
The institute of character animation - http://www.icacalifornia.com
ICA is a animation school taught by currently employed animation professionals bringing their experiance to a new and exciting educational animation program.

Dave School - http://www.daveschool.com/
The Digital Animation and Visual Effects School

_________________
Andyba, 3d artist
skills: 3d modeling, texturing, rendering, 3d character animation, compositing
3d software experience: 3ds max, Maya, Softimage XSI, Deep Paint 3d, Body Paint 3D, Wings 3D, Z Brush
2d software experience: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After effects, Macromedia Flash, Freehand

nice post guys... Thanks a lot. Appreciate this.

This online school looks cool try:
animationateam

animationateam.com seems to be a great online school for creature animation.
Check their Animation Reel here:
http://www.vimeo.com/9859530
_________________
Andyba, 3d artist
skills: 3d modeling, texturing, rendering, 3d character animation, compositing
3d software experience: 3ds max, Maya, Softimage XSI, Deep Paint 3d, Body Paint 3D, Wings 3D, Z Brush
2d software experience: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After effects, Macromedia Flash, Freehand

Wow! Nice resource.
I was looking for 3D animation schools myself.
Thank you Andyba.

First, I hope this is the most appropriate forum I could have placed this in...

I'm hoping that a few of you may have some recommendations for me.

I'm searching for any 3D animation

Where does DAVE School fit on that list?

I'm actually pretty interested in online schools myself. I'm thinking of going to TheRydanWorkshop. I went to their open house the other day and I saw their online environment and met their teachers. They seem pretty cool.

I want to learn 3D, but has no chance!

I think i'll go research all of those schools and find the best one for me. Though I still think I could learn it faster by myself than in a class room.

If I want to learn animation, do I really need to go to art school that specializes this or regular universities ?

Clautius, an art school that specializes in digital animation will be more useful for becoming an animator than whatever you mean by "regular university".
_________________
Andyba, 3d artist
skills: 3d modeling, texturing, rendering, 3d character animation, compositing
3d software experience: 3ds max, Maya, Softimage XSI, Deep Paint 3d, Body Paint 3D, Wings 3D, Z Brush
2d software experience: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After effects, Macromedia Flash, Freehand

Sweet post. Lot of good information here