Location-based entertainment, gaming, film and video, architectural design, virtual reality, broadcast television, advertising, education, and law are among the industries that need skilled animators. Graduates of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Media Arts & Animation program develop skills including traditional and digital animation, design, illustration, compositing, and 3D computer modeling.

Students begin the Media Arts & Animation program with a foundation in drawing, color, character design, and computer applications. Under the guidance of an industry-experienced faculty, students examine advanced 2D and 3D animation principles as well as story development, background design, scenic layout, and special effects.

Along the way, students learn and become experienced with program-specific software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, After Effects and Flash, Autodesk 3D Studio Max and Maya, Pixelogic Z-Brush and Digicel FlipBook Pro. All courses in the Media Arts & Animation program are also available online. Finally, students create a digital portfolio that showcases their conceptual and creative focus within the program range of traditional and digital 2D and 3D techniques. The portfolio enables students to showcase their collection of skills to potential employers upon graduation.

Entry-level opportunities available in the Media Arts & Animation field include computer-generated lighting, compositing and rendering artist; 3D modeling and texturing artist for the video game and film industries; computer-generated special effects and broadcast graphics artist for video post-production; and forensic artist. In addition, the need for 2D and Flash animators continues to grow to support Web-based corporate communications, e-commerce, and marketing.

The mission of the Media Arts & Animation Bachelor of Science degree program is to prepare students for entry-level positions creating 2D and 3D imagery for employers that produce traditional and digital illustration, modeling, animation, and motion graphics.