Ben is a final year BSc (Hons) Computer Animation & Visual Effects student who has just come to the end of his degree. He’s shared in the post below what he’s enjoyed about the course and some advice for anyone looking at studying the course here at BU. 

I would 100% recommend Bournemouth University to anybody interested in animation, games, VFX, or computer graphics in general. The modules are kept up to date with industry standards and the way in which they are delivered introduces you to the essential technical and artistic concepts for 3D art in a way that makes them stick. In addition to improving our skills in areas that we may have already had some experience with or knowledge of, the course also taught us about areas of 3D art which we weren’t all previously familiar with, such as the maths and programming behind computer graphics. These concepts have proved to be essential to working in a technical art role in the industry, and I would have had a much harder time discovering and learning about these skills without the course. The lecturers were consistently helpful and very easy to talk to whenever any of us found ourselves in need of assistance, with some providing particularly insightful advice on the animation and games industries.

Additionally, the second-year group project was a great opportunity to develop teamwork skills and learn about what is needed (in terms of hard skills and project management) to complete a project.

Another great thing about the university is its involvement in industry events, such as Siggraph and BFX. Attending these events was a massively valuable opportunity to hear from and talk to people currently working in the industry.

I would definitely recommend doing a long placement. It can be difficult to find one, but it’s definitely worth getting together a portfolio and applying for all the placement opportunities that are available. A job in industry gives you insight into how things work in a professional environment and transforms the concepts that you learn at uni into real practice. Additionally, working in a full team of industry employees gives you an experience in collaborative working that can’t be fully replicated by the smaller-scale group projects at university. The placement also gives you a full year to focus on putting your skills into practice, which helps you to learn more about where your skills lie and what you enjoy doing.

The course helped with my new role in industry by providing me with a holistic knowledge of computer graphics, animation and real-time graphics for games. It also helped by giving me opportunities to experiment in applying these skills freely, such as the second year group project and the open brief assignment for the Real Time Graphics module. This helped me to practice what I’d learned, understand more about the gaps in my knowledge/skills and gain experience working alongside other artists.

Another important thing the course provided was plenty of artefacts to show in my portfolio. By including the results from my assignments for the various modules I was able to demonstrate the range of skills required for a role in technical art.

I’m very grateful for my time at Bournemouth University and the valuable knowledge and skills that I’ve gained from the course. I’m also very grateful for all the lecturers who put the course together and delivered it in the way that they did.

Find out more

Computer Animation, Games & Visual Effects courses