Hello everybody, exactly as the title states, I’m wondering what would be the better option between the two art schools for someone who would like to major in the animation industry.
@Piestar098 : I have a daughter who attends Art Center (in her second year) for Illustration, Entertainment Arts. I can tell you that it is a very intense program, requiring lots of homework and little free time. My daughter really enjoys it, but it can be overwhelming at times and time-management is key. It really is a professional bootcamp where they believe mileage is important (as in don’t draw 20 heads, instead draw 300 so that it becomes muscle memory). This approach is certainly not for everyone, but they sure create graduates who are industry-ready.
Otis has the reputation of not being as intense or polished as Art Center. I don’t have first-hand experience with that, so maybe others can address if that is true. I personally think if a students tries hard to meet industry standards, it doesn’t matter where they attend. But that’s up to each student to take that initiative. It seems to me that Art Center forces the industry-ready issue by requiring students to be very professional in their work and presentation.
Otis has a freshman foundation year, where all students take the same classes to build their basic skills before specializing. That allows students a chance to dabble before specializing. Art Center builds specialized foundation classes into each major starting freshman year. So, you are taking only those foundation classes that apply to your major. That means students really need to be pretty committed to a major upon entering the school. Of course, students can change majors at Art Center, but that means more foundation coursework downstream.
Since Art Center doesn’t have dorms, it provides a different student experience than Otis. Currently they have 2 campus sites, the original one on a hill and a second one a few miles away utilizing renovated space in former office buildings. They have major plans to revamp that campus in a beautiful way, but that will take many years. My daughter said that by living off campus and driving to classes every day she almost feels like she is “going to work”. She loves that environment because she feels more independent. She never really wanted the traditional school experience, but this type of environment may not be for everyone. I do think freshman need to be pretty mature to manage on their own. Otis does have dorms and a traditional campus setting.
I cannot address any specifics about Art Center’s Animation program except that it is relatively new (maybe 4-5 years old now?). My daughter tells me that most of her classes are taught by industry professionals (either currently working or retired). So they teach students current standards and give a ton of professional insight, which she says has been invaluable.
I think the key to choosing between these two colleges is to really look inward and be honest with yourself about self-motivation, workload management, how mature/independent you are, what you want out of the college experience, etc. to discover which environment you’ll thrive in best.