Our diploma programs have 4 intakes for application:

Winter Term: opens in January 
Spring Term: opens in April 
Summer Term: opens in July 
Fall Term: opens in September/October

Apply for the scholarship here: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/vanas-scholarships 

Yes, you can. You must be 19 years of age or older OR have a high school diploma. Please see your program of interest for specific requirements for each diploma program.

 Apply for the scholarship here: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/vanas-scholarships

Yes, you can. You must be 19 years of age or older OR have a high school diploma.

Apply for the scholarship here: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/vanas-scholarships

If you have any sketches, animation designs, drawings or other art work please follow the link and fill out the form: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/vanas-scholarships

There is no due date for the scholarships, it works on a firstcome first serve fashion.

Start your application here: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/vanas-scholarships

For the tuition information please follow the link: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/tuition-fees 
Apply for the scholarship here: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/vanas-scholarships 

The amount of scholarship depends on your portfolio level, work experience and previous education.VANAS Scholarships range from 10% - 50%.

 Please fill the scholarship form: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/vanas-scholarships

Yes, you can. We offer online and combined programs. Our online programs are delivered via our online VANAS campus website. You can take our programs from anywhere in the world as long as you have a high-speed internet connection.

Yes, we are an accredited online school, please review our partners here:

https://www.vanas.ca/vanas/educational-partners

It depends on the delivery option you choose. For the online dioloma programs you do not need a study permit.  You can take our programs from anywhere in the world as long as you have a high-speed internet connection.
You can also choose a combined option and study within Canada.  In this case you’ll need to apply for a visa, and you’ll receive a study permit.  Canada immigration will assess your background for this. Upon successfully completing the program, you’ll receive official diploma and accredited transcripts. 

Please start your application here: https://www.vanas.ca/apply-now

Please watch our free online webinars here: https://www.vanas.ca/resources/webinars 

Our Introductory courses have 4 intakes for application:

Winter Term: opens in January 
Spring Term: opens in April 
Summer Term: opens in July 
Fall Term: opens in September/October

Start your application here: https://www.vanas.ca/apply-now 

Yes, our introductory programs are 16+. For applicants under the age of 19, you must have your parent or guardian compete and sign your student enrolment contract and schedule a time to speak with our admissions representative.

You can start your application here: https://www.vanas.ca/apply-now

Yes, our introductory programs are open to students 16+. For applicants under the age of 19, you must have your parent or guardian compete and sign your student enrolment contract and schedule a time to speak with our admissions representative.

You can start your application here: https://www.vanas.ca/apply-now

Our scholarships are only available for the diploma programs;however,there are incentives for teams enrolling in our introductory programs, read more here: www.vanas.ca/admissions/teams-wanted

Please refer to the tuition page: https://www.vanas.ca/admissions/tuition-fees 
Want to pay less? Apply with the team: www.vanas.ca/admissions/teams-wanted

Yes, you can. All our introduction courses are delivered online via our VANAS campus website. You can take our programs from anywhere in the world as long as you have a high-speed internet connection. 

Please start your application here: https://www.vanas.ca/apply-now

Please watch our free online webinars here: https://www.vanas.ca/resources/webinars 

The use of animation in movies is to bring worlds that don’t exist in real life. It has been and it will be the purpose of true animation studios (Disney, Pixar, etc.), to create stories that will engage their audiences, bringing believably (not reality or photo realism)

As for Visual Effects in movies, the use is to supplement the real life world with computer generated elements (explosions, water effects, natural phenomena), these will share the screen with the actors to enhance their scenes or make them believable.

And there’s also Digital Matte Painting, which is directly involved to create real life environments (backgrounds, set extensions, etc.) that will be safe for the actors and their performances (i.e. the impression of jumping off a cliff), and also will cut down significantly the budget. For instance, to build a real world set will take time and money, a Matte Painter can reproduce that in weeks and with a significantly lower budget than building it in real life.

These are two completely different disciplines, I will explain them very briefly and as a broad concept down here for simplicity:

a) 2D Animation, is typically hand drawn, it comes from traditional animation and now evolving into 2D digital animation. The main focus is on movement and bringing life to 2D characters.

b) 3D Animation has many sub-branches, in essence and the proper way to describe it will be that is focusing on movement as well. (3D modeling, lighting, rendering are other disciplines frequently confused as animation).

c) Video Game Design means designing the game strategy, there’s no drawing skills or draftsmanship involved at all. Video Game Designers (the real ones) are thinking about strategies, player phycology, game balance, progression, monetization, etc. Some of these game designers also design board games, since again, they deal with game rules and how to engage the players throughout a game.

While all of the 3 may be happening at once in the same studio, these should and must be different departments.

A thank you card signed by every student mentioning an “aha” moment of what they learned with that teacher. Nice and simple and very meaningful, your teacher will cry.

Most of the architects that come to our school, we channel them to Digital Matte Painting. Architects have the sense of space and scale, and in the Animation, Visual Effects and Video Game industries, we are building sets, locations and environments every single day. These positions need the Architect’s technical mind, with their sensitivity of design.

Have a look atFAME, all courses for the Digital Entertainment industries (Animation, Visual Effects, Video Games) by artists that make the movies and video games you love. It’s free.

You’ll typically find workstations that are fully equipped with Graphic Cards to support 3D animation, High End Compositing Software and Render capabilities. Windows is a good operative system, however many of the large studios have been migrating to Linux as an OS, it’s more robust, reliable and secure. All of these stations are connected in an internal network to share assets.

The only Mac’s you’ll see, are typically in the Video Editing department called “Editorial”. In 2D animation studios perhaps you’ll see more Mac’s, however it’s not the first choice in large studios.

The 3D animation that have a 2D look, is basically a 3D model (character) that has a toon-shader as a material. This material will render the edges of the 3D model as if they were made with pencil, and the polygonal faces of the object will be rendered with a flat color.

This is a great technique, however nothing beats real 2D animation or it’s look.

Yes, joints have been implemented in 2D animation software for a long time, check out Toonboom animation software, and recently Animate CC (previously flash). Now, the joints in 2D animation are still kind of tricky, and many of the 2D animators still don’t get use to their functionality. :)

These 2 software have completely different purposes. AE is for compositing layers, Premier is for Video Editing. You can technically achieve both in either software however, it will be more difficult and time consuming.

Now more than ever, Animation has plenty of platforms. In the past, the platforms were newspapers, then film, then TV. Today, we have mobile devices, the internet, Netflix, etc. And the content is being consumed at an exponential rate. Therefore more content needs to be produced by animators.

For the second part of your question:

Any field has and will have competition, it drives prices/wages to be competitive. However, as in any industry; you have to always keep evolving and innovating, picking your clients based on the quality you are delivering. Competition will make you better and you will find your unique selling proposition.

"I have created single-handedly 17 short films and loved every minute of it. Short films are what will define you as a Film Maker as opposed to an animator, they will sharpen your story-telling skills, your connection with your audience and your ability to see the Full Picture.

Most of the Film Makers out there create their own Short Films because they have something to say to the world. They typically are very determined, have great stamina to not only to finish the short film, but to finish in first place.

Go for it, start with 1 min short film, then create a second one with 2 min in length, then 3, 5, 10, etc."

Mario Pochat, CEO at Vancouver Animation School

Degrees are not as important as the quality of your portfolio, this is what will get you the interview, and eventually the job.

The only time I’ve seen degrees being important, is to work overseas, where the consulate officer will ask you for your academic credentials (they don’t care about the portfolio), and also if you decide to go into teaching, you’ll need a bachelors degree/master degree.

In 6 months you’ll learn the animation foundations for sure, however since animation is an intangible art, you’ll take a bit more time to develop. And like everything else, passing from good to great, and from great to excellent, will take you a bit more time! 

It has never left! There’s a lot of 2D animation production happening around the globe, and it is one of the most beloved forms of animation for the majority of true artists!

If you mean that would you like to see it in the big screen, that is totally a budget decision, just like any other industry, they have to find ways for a faster and more efficient production that brings more revenue. There’s nothing wrong with that.

And if you look around the globe, 2D animation production is booming, in particular in development countries, where there are more traditional artists creating their own intellectual properties.

In reality, all animation studios around the world use more less the same software and tools (It wasn’t the case in the 70’s when there was no off the shelf software), because these tools now are standard, and available for everybody, any one or any studio can develop their own animation productions without a lack of tools.

If you are asking who is developing these tools and who is the leading country, that would be mostly USA, since they have acquired other tools (mainly developed in Canada). There are a couple of great tools coming from Japan and France for 2d animation.

There are other startups developing new tools or add-ons or plugins that are great, however the adoption is slow.