The Introduction to Animation: Context and Processes course at the Royal College of Art introduces participants to animation through conceptual and technical processes across six online sessions.

For 40 years, the Royal College of Art has been a leader in auteur animation. To celebrate this legacy, this new short course invites you to discover animation practice introduced through the lens of our world-leading critical research.

It is designed for aspiring, emerging and developing participants interested in broadening their knowledge and skills through animation practice.

This inspiring course in animation practice and critical exploration will introduce students to hands-on animation experience alongside conceptual insights, fostering pathways to creativity and technical processes.

Students will gain a conceptually enriched understanding of animation grounded in the practice of making and discovery, through the process of practical, critical and reflective research.

Expert-led sessions will guide participants through collaborative engagement with sequential processes, expanding ideas about what animation is and what it can do.

We welcome cross-disciplinary graduates, junior creatives, established artists and anyone with an interest in how animation is developed and made.

School: Royal College of Art
Course: Introduction to Animation: Context and Processes
Type: Short course
Location: online, remote
Course dates: 1, 4, 8, 11, 15 and 18 June 2026 (six sessions across three weeks)
Application deadline: 17 May 2026

Find out more about the course and apply ›

What will I learn during this course?

– Stimulating, creative and thought0provoking insight into the critical thinking and skills necessary for animation
– Primary and secondary research relationship to idea development
– To create short animated sequences using a variety of media
– An introduction to sound and editing to picture
– The importance of unpacking animation structure through animatics
– An understanding of animation structure gained through practice
– Experience the environment and methodologies of the MA Animation programme at the RCA
– The knowledge to present your practice in an academic context
– Experimental drawing and fieldwork techniques
– Present your work and engage with feedback
– Improve your verbal presentation skills
– The value of reflection in practice

What are the requirements?

– A good level of the English language
– 21 years or older

What facilities and resources are available?

– Live talks, interactive workshops and homework
– Live lectures case studies, guided assessments and presentations
– Participants interact with the faculty and peers in breakout rooms in real time
– Through the Miro platform, participants engage in cross-functional teamwork with the use of visual collaboration tools
– The Moodle platform hosts a range of useful resources to enable the learning experience, including comprehensive timetables, pre-reading materials, course slides, curated videos, tutorials and session recordings
– Through the Slack platform, participants stay connected and communicate throughout the whole duration of the course. In this space, the academics, facilitators and delegates get to network, plan the course activities, share documents and files during the live sessions or offline

Who teaches this course?

– Bunny Schendler, associate lecturer, animation MA
– Samantha Moore, head of programme, animation MA, senior tutor (research), communication MPhil/PhD

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