Video Game Animation · One-Year Program
One year to animate in AAA studios.
This one-year program (36 weeks of classes from September to July, aligned with French school holidays) teaches you to produce professional gameplay animation and integrate it in a real-time game engine. It prepares you for a junior gameplay animator position in a studio.
Gameplay animation follows different rules from film animation: the priority is not the beauty of the movement but its responsiveness, because players must instantly feel what they command. From the very first week, every animation is integrated and tested in Unreal Engine, just like in a studio. Each student works on their own character from start to finish and builds their portfolio week after week, up to a professional demo reel.
Audience: 2D/3D animation students and professional animators transitioning to video games. Prerequisites: command of the 12 principles of animation and of a 3D package (Maya or Blender).
What you will cover
A year structured like a real production: you start from the core reflexes of gameplay animation and progress, module after module, to a fully playable character and its opponent, ready to be shown in a demo reel. Each step builds on the previous one, and everything is continuously tested in Unreal Engine, like in a studio.
1 · Fundamentals (8 weeks)
You define your character’s identity and animate its essential building blocks (idle, walk, run, jump, first attack), learning to think responsiveness before aesthetics.
2 · Locomotion & Motion Capture (8 weeks)
You build a complete AAA-level locomotion system and discover the motion capture pipeline used in studios, from retargeting to characterization.
3 · Combat (10 weeks)
You turn your character into a fighter: combo, heavy attack, dodge, parry, hit reactions and death, up to a balanced system that feels good to play.
4 · NPC (10 weeks)
You bring an autonomous enemy to life, stage the player-versus-NPC confrontation in a dedicated level, then capture and edit your professional demo reel.
What you will get
An experience close to a real feature-film production.
Live sessions with a working mentor, in small groups.
Shots tailored to what recruiters expect.
A certificate of completion for professional training.
Guided by a feature-film professional
Vanessa Ruffra
Senior Character Animator Gameplay · Quantic Dream, Ubisoft
Video game animation is a craft of its own: where film can polish every shot, games demand interactivity, real time and the feeling of control. It is a demanding, technical…
Filmography:
Heavy Rain · Beyond: Two Souls · Assassin’s Creed · Ghost Recon · Prince of Persia
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Book a call with the team, or request a free review of your demo reel.