Best 3D Animation Schools in the World 2021
2021 Update! The Best 3D Animation Schools and Colleges in the World. Find the best places to learn 3D Animation and become industry ready.
The 2021 Best 3D Animation Schools and Colleges in the World rankings is something we take very seriously and no external influences or payments are entered into at any point. Our rankings focus on the quality of students portfolios that are submitted to our judging panel which best reflect the recruitment interview process.
We feel that traditional school rankings that include peer and employer reviews, faculty to student ratio, citations and other data are not adequate when ranking the best creative schools. For a complete breakdown of how we rank the best schools for 2021 please read how we rank the best schools and how we analyse the data in the sections located at the bottom of this page.
The Rookies World School Rankings® are not like other education based ranking systems. They are driven and judged by industry professionals without the interference of paid advertising dollars that cloud the judgement of other ranking sites.
• Scott Thompson, founder of Think Tank Training Centre.
What is 3D Animation
It is the process of generating three-dimensional moving images in a digital environment. Careful manipulation of 3D models or objects is carried out within 3D software for exporting picture sequences giving them the illusion of animation or movement. However, this is completely based on the technique used for manipulating the objects. The procedure of generating 3D is sequentially categorized into three main sections and these are modeling, layout and animation and rendering.
Modeling is the phase that describes the procedure of generating 3D objects within a certain scene. Layout and animation phase describes the process followed for positioning and animating the objects within a certain scene. Lastly, rendering described the end result or output of completed computer graphics. The process of production is successfully completed with the careful combination of the sections mentioned above and also some other sub-sections.
Top 3D Animation Schools and Colleges in 2021
The official rankings for 2021 have been calculated based on the performance of students work submitted to our industry panel. Full details can be found further down the page about how we calculate and rank schools.
Learn more about how we rank schools.
| Rank | School | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ringling College of Art and Design | United States | 78.06 |
| 2 | ArtFX School |
France | 73.76 |
| 3 | Think Tank Training Centre |
Canada, Online | 66.60 |
| 4 | Lost Boys | School of Visual Effects |
Canada | 66.57 |
| 5 | Animum Creativity Advanced School |
Spain | 65.59 |
| 6 | Gnomon |
Online, United States | 63.93 |
| 7 | 3dsense Media School |
Singapore | 61.85 |
| 8 | School of Visual Arts |
United States | 61.51 |
| 9 | PIXL VISN | media arts academy |
Germany | 58.86 |
| 10 | ESMA |
France | 57.82 |
| 11 | The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College |
Denmark | 57.42 |
| 12 | ECV Creative Schools & Community | France | 57.28 |
| 13 | Vancouver Film School | Canada | 56.19 |
| 14 | Academy of Art University |
United States, Online | 55.63 |
| 15 | Netherlands Film Academy | Netherlands | 55.25 |
| 16 | New3dge |
France | 53.99 |
| 17 | CG Spectrum |
Online | 53.97 |
| 18 | Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment |
Belgium | 52.47 |
| 19 | Lightbox Academy | Spain, Online | 52.01 |
| 20 | The One Academy of Communication Design |
Malaysia | 50.92 |
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Top entries submitted by 3D Animation students from these schools and colleges
Follow these links below to view some of the incredible entries that our judging panel were tasked with reviewing. These entries showcase the quality of work created by students which helped rank their schools.
Detailed information about the top schools and colleges for 3D Animation
The following schools are the top 3D Animation educational facilities for 2021 and offer great courses and curriculum that produces students that are ready for the challenges faced by professional artists working in 3D Animation. Follow the links below to find out more about these schools, their facilities, team, success stories, student artwork and more.
1. Ringling College of Art and Design
Since 1931, Ringling College of Art and Design has cultivated the creative spirit in students from around the globe. The private, not-for-profit, fully-accredited college offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in thirteen disciplines and the Bachelor of Arts in two. The College’s rigorous curriculum employs the studio model of teaching and immediately engages students through a comprehensive, program that is both specific to the major of study and focused on the liberal arts. The Ringling College teaching model ultimately shapes students into highly employable and globally aware artists and designers. www.ringling.edu...
2. ArtFX School
ArtFX is a private digital arts college, training its students in CGI, VFX, 3D Animation and Video Games. Located in Montpellier (France), the school was created by professionals of the film, video games and visual effects industries.As the only school in Europe specializing in compositing CGI into live-action footage, ArtFX is a reference for CGI and CG animation training. At ArtFx you will develop professional level skills and build a solid network of contacts thanks to our close partnerships with professional artists. Thanks to these connections our graduates also have a 99% placement rate in major post-production studios within France and around the world.As a private establishment of higher education technical training, ArtFx is a member and co-founder of the Network of French Film An...
3. Think Tank Training Centre
Founded in 2005 in Vancouver BC, Think Tank Training Centre specializes in the latest software, techniques and technologies used by 3D artists working in the film, television and video game industries. In 2018 we ranked #1 in Canada (#4 worldwide) for Game Development, and #2 in Canada (#3 worldwide) for Visual Effects, and have consistently placed in the top four in previous years. Think Tank's campus is an inspirational place of learning, delivering a one-of-a-kind mentorship program which gives our students the edge as they transition into fully-fledged working professionals....
4. Lost Boys | School of Visual Effects
Complete your training in Effects, Lighting, or Compositing.The award-winning Lost Boys Studios operates this extraordinary school of visual effects. With its roots as an internationally renowned VFX boutique with 20+ years of excellence. Lost Boys has both pioneered and mastered craft-centric specialized Diploma & Certificate Programs for feature film VFX production delivered from within a studio environment. Focused & specialized training sets a solid foundation for growth, puts you in demand, and maximizes your career potential. Alumni enjoy a combined placement rate of 99% at jobs found within their field of study. Lost Boys is your best chance at a career in VFX....
5. Animum Creativity Advanced School
We constantly network and advise with Industry Stakeholders and academic partners globally to ensure we are constantly industry relevant. We network with Epic Games, Unity 3D, Rokoko, Reallusion, GSU, NYU, Southern Institute of Technology, Ara Institute, Yoobee Colleges, and more.Students are regularly hired by Epic Games, Weta Group, Eleven FX, Graphic Monk, Geo AR....
6. Gnomon
For over twenty years, Gnomon has educated many of the world’s best digital artists. Called “the MIT of visual effects” by Fast Company magazine, Gnomon offers a variety of educational options to help students reach their goals in the entertainment industry, with both degree and vocational certificate programs, specialized courses for high school students and over 100 individual courses for professional enrichment. Visual effects artists launched Gnomon with the support of the entertainment industry to help meet the demand for well-trained creative talent in the growing field of digital entertainment. Our graduates are professionals working on the latest blockbuster films and games, and have positions at film and video game studios around the world....
7. 3dsense Media School
3dsense Media School is a pioneering digital arts school in Asia, preparing students for careers in the media and entertainment industry for over 13 years. Dedicated to providing a real-world education, 3dsense aims to mold the next generation of elite digital artists and designers for the global industry. Some of the properties her alumni have worked on include Interstellar, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Avengers, The Hunger Games series, Assassin’s Creed, Game of Thrones and many more. 3dsense was recently ranked top 20 in the world and 1st in Asia in the CG Student Awards 2015, School of the Year category.Besides education, the school also plays a major role in fostering a vibrant arts & design industry through its events and masterclasses....
8. School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts has been a leader in the education of artists, designers and creative professionals for nearly seven decades. With a faculty of distinguished working professionals, dynamic curriculum and an emphasis on critical thinking, SVA is a catalyst for innovation and social responsibility. Comprised of more than 6,000 students at its Manhattan campus and nearly 37,000 alumni in 75 countries, SVA also represents one of the most influential artistic communities in the world....
9. PIXL VISN | media arts academy
PIXL VISN was founded in 2010 by industry professionals Andrei Stirbu and Robb Innes. We offer an accelerated 15-month 3D Animation and Visual Effects training program in a modern facility equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, located in the heart of Cologne, Germany. Instructors at PIXL VISN are a part of the industry: They work in relevant positions at major studios around the world helping to create major Hollywood feature films, hit television series and blockbuster video games. Our graduates have worked on productions like “Avengers: Endgame”, “Game of Thrones” and “Disney’s Dumbo”. In the official “World School Rankings® 2019” at “The Rookies”, PIXL VISN ranked 3rd in the ranking of the best Animation schools in the world and 10th in the ranking of the world's best Visual Effects schools....
10. ESMA
ESMA CG School is a hiher education institution located in Montpellier, Toulouse, Nante, Lyon and Montreal, with more than 25 years of experience.Recognized for the quality and richness of its artistic teachings, the school offers two courses related to CG Animation and FX: a Prépa Entertainment and a Professional Cycle CG Animation & FX.Our ambition: to offer a teaching in adequacy with the professional environment in order to prepare our students for the various artistic professions and to facilitate their insertion and their success in the world of work....
11. The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College
The Animation Workshop/VIA University College (TAW) enjoys a strong and wide reputation due to the top educations we provide for the international film industry, yet we are much more than a school. The Animation Workshop is located in Viborg, Denmark. It is a part of VIA University College’s School of Business, Technology and Creative Industries and has expertise in the areas of education, culture, communication, and business development. To this effect, it benefits from a strong international network of artists, professionals, companies, funding institutions, and partner schools....
12. ECV Creative Schools & Community
Founded in 1984, ECV - École de Communication Visuelle is located in 5 majors French cities: Paris, Bordeaux, Nantes, Aix-en-Provence and Lille. The school of visual communication offers a 5 year-program in visual communication, graphic design and animated film.
The ECV provides an interdisciplinary, multimedia approach to the study of visual communication, and educates students in the traditional arts through a strong core curriculum. Furthermore, the school builds a creative environment that is both supportive and challenging, helping students to shape a complex world of cultural diversity and changing technologies.
...
13. Vancouver Film School
Vancouver Film School is Canada's premier post-secondary entertainment arts institution and one of the most distinguished in the world. The 13 production-oriented programs at VFS span one year or less and cover all aspects of visual media. Students are guided by industry veterans as they create the professional-quality reels and portfolios that get them noticed on the global stage. Recent VFS graduates have gone on to work on some of the hottest properties in entertainment, from film to animation to video games....
14. Academy of Art University
Since 1929, Academy of Art University has helped prepare aspiring artists and designers for professional careers by offering 135+ accredited degree options in more than 40 areas of study. Choose from animation and visual effects, game design and development, illustration, fine art, communications, filmmaking, and more. We are first and foremost a professional school—a purpose-based art and design school where students develop their talents and acquire the specific skills sought by the creative marketplace. Our hands-on curriculum is taught by some of the finest minds working in today’s creative and innovative industries—professional artists and designers who bring their industry expertise to the classroom. Academy students graduate with a solid creative foundation, business savvy, and an entrepreneurial spirit that tends to stick with them for life....
15. Netherlands Film Academy
The academy is the only recognised institute in the Netherlands that offers training to prepare for the work in the various crew disciplines. Specialisation is possible in fiction directing, documentary directing, screenwriting, editing, producing, sounddesign, cinematography, production design, and interactive multimedia/visual effects. ...
16. New3dge
New3dge, located in Paris, is a private school of higher education specialized in the fields of Game Art, 3D Animation&VFX and Concept Art. We have tailored our student program and our teaching methods alongside some of the major players in these fields. We recruit our educators from our network of respected professionals around the globe. At New3gde, we give our students the opportunity to learn skills and work with cutting edge technology in an ever-evolving environment, guaranteeing their integration in the video game, 3D animation/VFX field and Concept Art. Our current placement rate is 92% More infos at : www.new3dge.com...
17. CG Spectrum
CG Spectrum was founded on the principle that students learn best through personalized, hands-on education taught by industry professionals who specialize in the discipline they are teaching. By giving students access to the most talented artists in the industry as their mentors, this helps ensure that CG Spectrum students are the best connected, best trained and best prepared for life beyond school in their respective fields. Our mentors meet students from around the world online for small classes or 1-on-1 specialised industry diploma courses. This personalised education gives our students an advantage, by allowing them to network with artists of major studios, regardless of their geographic location.
In addition to the unique 1-on-1 approach to training, CG Spectrum mentors spend a majority of their time working within the student files to show them how they would approach t...
18. Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment
Digital Arts & Entertainment (DAE) is a state-of-the-art, yet accessible, English-taught Bachelor’s degree. Fully accredited, 3 years, amounting to 180 ECTS credits. DAE is taught at Howest, a modern and unconventional university of applied sciences, situated in a small but beautiful historic city in Flanders, Belgium, in the heart of Western Europe. At DAE you can choose between 4 study majors: Game Development, Game Graphics Production, Independent Game Production or 3D Production & VFX. It is an industry-approved and award-winning curriculum, with alumni in leading companies and studios all over the world, such as Blizzard, Bungie, Ubisoft, DICE, Rocksteady, Guerrilla Games, Larian, Unity, Studio Gobo, Sumo Digital, ILM, MPC, DNeg and many more.
We offer an open, inclusive and international community where you will work on real-life, team-based and industry-assessed project...
19. Lightbox Academy
Lightbox Academy is a Digital Arts School located in Madrid that came into being thanks to the most lauded Animation Film Production Company in Spain: Lightbox Animation Studios. The school’s academic offer encompasses the production pipelines in animation, series and videogames.
Having started with a foot already in the door allows Lightbox Academy to present a training program adapted to the real workflow in any studio or production company nowadays. The students learn to work in a professional manner, using the same software and the same mechanisms that are used at all major studios. And this method, the practical method, is further boosted by our teachers: working professionals in the digital industry who find a way to balance their work as teachers with their activity as professionals in the entertainment industry.
...
20. The One Academy of Communication Design
For over 25 years of creative education excellence, The One Academy has been renowned as one of the best art and design colleges in Asia with over 2,500 existing students in two of our main campuses. We are committed to our role as a world-class education provider by nurturing creative pioneers who can brace and surpass international standards.To achieve this, we provide comprehensive courses, for instance, Film Visual Effects and Digital Animation with Game Development, in collaboration with industry masters such as Andrew Gordon, Pixar animation director, Eduardo Pena, concept artist of The Hobbit trilogies, and also Ubisoft, to name a few....
How we calculate the school rankings
Data is based on the quality and performance of student work that is submitted to our judging panel for the Rookie Awards.
We feel that traditional school rankings – that include peer and employer reviews, faculty-to-student ratio, citations and other data – are not adequate when ranking the best creative schools. This might work in industries with more traditional career paths, however, when it comes to technical and creative roles, such as Visual Effects, Feature Animation and Games, it’s a lot more complicated.
Why our rankings are more accurate than others
School Rankings systems used by other websites focus on Incoming Student Skills. schools rank higher based on how selective they are. In other words, schools are rewarded by only accepting students with straight A's. This is like ranking hospitals by how sick their patients are when they arrive!
What we do at The Rookies, is rank school based on Outgoing Student Skills. We focus on how well a school has prepared a student for the job they've been training for. This the real sign of a top school and it can only be achieved by reviewing every single entry multiple times by highly respected people working in the industry.
The Judging Process
Each entrant is reviewed by members of the official Judging Panel which includes over 150 highly influential and respected industry veterans. The Judges were asked to score entries based on criteria including — creative skills, technical skills, presentation, variety of skills, complexity, raw talent, and employment potential.
School Calculations
Based on the results of student submissions we received this year we have released the following in-depth breakdowns about the best schools.
Each school is awarded a final score based on the performance of each student representing their academic facility.
When analysing the average scores of each student per school there are three possible data formulas available to use: mean, median and mode.
The Rookies uses median. The median is the middle point of a number set, in which half the numbers are above the median and half are below. A median is intrinsically understandable. It is the middle number when the values are put in order.
- Schools with < 8 student entries are excluded from ranking.
- Incomplete student entries are removed from calculations. No penalties.
- Each student receives a performance score. Max 100 points.
- Median students score calculated per school. Max 100 points.
- Each category finalist receives 10 bonus points toward School Score.
- Each category runner up receives 15 bonus points toward School Score.
- Each category winner receives 20 bonus points toward School Score.
Is your school missing from this global ranking?
Over 4,000 international students represented their school by submitting their work to the Rookie Awards 2021 and were reviewed by industry professionals.
To make sure your school is considered for next year's rankings, please email us or chat with us live right now to learn more.