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The award-winning Animation/Illustration program prepares students for challenging careers in print, feature film and television animation, and interactive entertainment by providing courses that encourage conceptual thinking and professional practice. The curriculum requires the development of exceptional proficiency in drawing, and students considering the major should love to draw and have significant aptitude in that area. Courses requiring the use of electronic media are offered to advanced students who, having mastered traditional animation and illustration techniques, are equipped to explore computer-generated imagery.

The curriculum in Animation/Illustration is enhanced by a unique distance-learning classroom in which students are given the opportunity to show their work to leading professionals through weekly closed circuit television transmissions originating in Los Angeles. Additionally, an active seminar series brings distinguished artists to campus to work with students on a variety of topics including advanced drawing, layout, special effects, and painting. Students are offered the chance to travel to animation and illustration studios and many join our yearly trips to Los Angeles, New York, and London.

Although any art student can take the beginning courses in animation or illustration, passage of a mandatory portfolio review is required for admission to the BFA program. Once admitted, students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale in all art and design courses. Animation/Illustration students are required to complete a three-unit professional internship as part of their degree requirements. An active placement program helps to insure our student's success in the field. In the past three years, students have contributed to films shown in festivals worldwide including the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah and the Annecy Animation Festival in Annecy, France. Recent graduates of our program have gained employment at major studios such as Walt Disney Feature Animation, PIXAR, Industrial Light and Magic, Electronic Arts, Blue Sky, and DreamWorks and have lent their talents to television production, interactive entertainment, and more than forty major motion pictures.

From Adobe Customer Showcase, 2006 "San José State credits the success of the program to the generosity of local corporations, the dedication of faculty, and the work ethic of the program's students. Since 1998, San José State students in the Animation/ Illustration program have benefited from the classes, equipment, and enrichment opportunities usually available only at private institutions. As a result, graduates have competed favorably for prestigious positions in the entertainment industry, where the recruitment effort has been international."

Wanted by top studios: Future animators By Janet Kornblum, USA TODAY 8/10/2005 Last year, in an effort to both recruit new animators and make sure colleges had the right kind of curriculum to turn out high-quality professionals, DreamWorks initiated a program in which employees go into classrooms to either teach or critique students' work, depending on the needs of the school. So far, they've been in seven top schools in the USA and Canada, including San Jose State University, Ohio State University in Columbus and Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla. It also has programs at other schools, says Marilyn Friedman, who runs DreamWorks' outreach program. "We need this kind of collaboration for our program to fly," says Courtney Granner, a professor in the school of art and design at San Jose State. Classes also help students keep up; even at the best schools, professors can't give the same up-to-the-minute information that working professionals can.

Faculty: Faculty members in the Animation/Illustration Program are all involved professionally and working on a national and/or international level.

Animation/Illustration Faculty/ Advisors:
Alice A. Carter, Professor (Program Coordinator)
J. Courtney Granner, Professor (Program Coordinator)
John Clapp Assistant Professor

Adjunct Animation/Illustration Faculty:
Alvin Thompson
Barron Storey
Cameron Chun
David Chai
David Gustlin
Elizabeth Briggs
Sheldon Borenstein
Thomas Holt

For more information contact:

Deborah Wijas
Design Secretary ART 118
School of Art and Design
San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0089

Phone: (408) 924 -4343
Fax: (408) 924-4326
Email:Deborah.Wijas@sjsu.edu

For complete information on art and design program requirements, see the College of Humanities and the Arts, School of Art and Design in the San Jose State University catalog.