This blog post came about while reflecting on my many years of working with students to develop their animation portfolios. I felt it was time to make a list of features of students that are what I’ve noticed to be the biggest determiners of success. 

The students that get accepted show up.  This is the first and most critical step.

How, as a parent, you can support your kid in studying animation. I get this question a lot as an animation tutor for students across the globe. Parents often don't know very much about the field or skills required for animation. Here is a list of my top tips for parents to actively support their child's dream of working in animation!

Sheridan College has a long history of producing talented animators who go on to have successful careers in the industry

Growing up, my parents were teachers at the same highschool I attended, so they knew just as well as I did- their son wasn’t meant to be a scientist. I’d had an interest in the arts since childhood, but going into the tenth grade (with discussions of university on the horizon) it was time to take things seriously. At the time I drew often, but my learning consisted of youtube videos (BAM Animation is a holy grail) and artists I followed on Instagram (At the time, an artist by the name of Koteri.ink had me floored). But I knew that if I was gonna pursue art as a career I had to be diligent and find a school that would secure me a job.

In this vlog I interview Connor, a past student of mine who was accepted into Sheridan College's animation program for the 2023 year.

I've worked with over a hundred students who have successfully made it through Sheridan College's notoriously difficult portfolio process. I'm Garth, the Animation Tutor, and I teach my online courses and personal mentorships to ensure all of my students have the best possible pre-College education and understand all of the necessary skills to get accepted at top animation colleges such as Sheridan, CalArts, Gobelins, The Animation Workshop, RISD, Capilano, SVA, and many more. My students have been accepted all around the globe!

It is very common for applicants of Sheridan College’s Animation program not to get in the first time they apply, especially those who are applying straight from high-school. In fact, if you do actually get into Sheridan from high-school, you are in the minority! Most students take some kind of introductory College-level art program for a year or so, such as Art Fundamentals at Sheridan, or even take a year off to build up their skills on their own. As a company dedicated to helping students close the knowledge gap between many high-school art programs and what’s required to be accepted into Animation, we feel that we’ve created a better way to proceed, and that’s what this blog post is about.

With all of the available online resources, many young artists may ask themselves, “Can I get a good art education for free online?” This is a really great question, especially if you are from a low-income family and don’t have access to many of the privileges that come with going to college or university, or taking any online paid courses. It doesn’t need to be said how engaged everyone is in the online world today; simply search YouTube to find educational content, and much of it is very well done. With so many great instructional videos, it begs the question: why go to art school and pay so much money for an education that could be found online cheaply or for free?