Studying Animation
in France
The course is also available in English at the Lyon, Montpellier and Bordeaux campuses.
ESMA’s 3D Animation & Special Effects Professional Cycle is designed to train the big names of tomorrow’s animated film industry. In 5 years, students will acquire all the skills needed to create and animate characters, sets and graphic elements, which will then enable them to join animation studios, video game studios or 3D communication agencies.
This course in 3D Animation Cinema requires a solid grounding in drawing, and is open in year 1 to students with a baccalauréat or a level 4 qualification, on the basis of their academic record and a motivational interview (portfolio demonstrating a culture of images, a personal universe and a solid grounding in drawing recommended).
The course is validated by the RNCP37415 title Expert en conception et réalisation – Animation 3D et Effets Spéciaux, level 7 (equivalent to Bac+5), registered on 27/03/2023.
Certificate holders: ETPA-Ecoles Créatives, Ecoles Créatives Montpellier, Ecoles Créatives Nantes, Ecoles Créatives Lyon – Bordeaux, Ecoles Créatives Rennes.
Our key figures :
- 100% success rate (2024)
- 1st school in the world in the ‘Excellence in 3D Animation Production’ category (The Rookies 2024 competition)
- 90% overall job integration rate after 6 months (2021)
CG Animation & Special Effects Professional Cycle
(PRODUCTION OF GRADUATION SHORT FILMS)
The Entertainment Preparatory Year
Open to students with a baccalauréat or equivalent level 4 qualification, this first year of the Professional Cycle in 3D Animation and Special Effects enables students to learn how to draw, as well as the beginnings of animation. Focusing on technical apprenticeships and advanced artistic practices, this year aims to provide students with the solid foundations they will need for the rest of their course.
The Entertainment Prep course is available in English at the Lyon, Montpellier and Bordeaux campuses.
A level 7 RNCP qualification, equivalent to Bac+5
In 5 years, the 3D Animation & Special Effects Professional Cycle provides all the theoretical knowledge and technical skills required to become a 3D Animator, 3D Director or Special Effects Supervisor, for example. This 5-year degree course, validated by the RNCP37415 Expert en conception et réalisation – Animation 3D et Effets Spéciaux (Level 7) registered on 27/03/2023, is widely acclaimed by professionals and enables tomorrow’s creative minds to start their careers in optimum conditions, by joining the world’s biggest animation or video game studios.
The course is available in English at the Lyon, Montpellier and Bordeaux campuses.
& After ?
- 3D Animator
- 3D Artist
- Concept Artist
- Rendering artist
- Rigging artist
- Modeller
- Compositing artist
- Lighting artist
- Character designer
- FX artist
- CFX Artist
- Groomer Artist
- Graphiste 3D ...
Harmony
Promotion 2023
Pirate Fair
Promotion 2023
T’as pas du Feu ?
Promotion 2023
A Furry Escape
Promotion 2023
Flight 666
Promotion 2023
A Cookie's Adventure
Promotion 2022
Roald
Promotion 2022
Swing to the Moon
Promotion 2022
Malacabra
Promotion 2022
Flipou
Promotion 2022
The other me
Promotion 2020
Gladius
Promotion 2020
Stranded
Promotion 2020
Le Roi Tulipe
Promotion 2020
. 
SENSES
Promotion 2019
SKID
Promotion 2019
.
Avec le Do de la Cuillère
Promotion 2019
Une Lanterne dans la Nuit
Promotion 2019
Polaire
Promotion 2022
ESMA has a very strong background in animation cinema and that’s really what we’re looking for. This allows us to have specialized students, very focused on their careers. Students are passionate and highly motivated by what they do.
Erik SMITT
Director of photography at Pixar Animation Studios
word of alumni
At school we were taught to develop our artistic vision and to acquire all the necessary technical knowledge to be able to evolve in the world of CG and FX. All these years at ESMA have really brought me a lot and if I had to do it again, I would do it again!
Thibault STOYANOV
Rigging Supervisor, Illumination MacGuff
Promotion : 2010
Professional quote
Dana RAAD
Talent Acquisition Manager – The Focus
PROFESSIONAL QUOTE
We had fel previous years that the level rising, but this year of 2015, there are many very beautiful movies, especially in all which is realistic.
Fédérico Costa
Artistic Supervisor, Delapost
professional quote
My training at ESMA provided me with the basics that allow me today to work in one of the best agencies in the world: Weta Digital!
Garrick Rawlingson
Animator, Weta Digital
Promotion : 2013
professional quote
Lionel FAGES
Director & founder of Cube Creative studio
Professional quote
To be able to work in the world of video games, several qualities are necessary: being creative and autonomous, being proactive, having a good team spirit and knowing how to work with others but also being able to face new challenges. ESMA conveys all these values to its students.
Arielle DETHOMAS
Lead Animator at Ubisoft Annecy
A vocation
With its Professional Cycle in 3D Animation and Special Effects, ESMA sets the bar high in terms of ambition for its students.
Over 5 years, our teaching teams help them acquire the creative tools and develop the technical and artistic skills they need to develop animation projects.
The first year of the Entertainment preparatory course is open to students with a baccalauréat or equivalent level 4 qualification, and is designed for those who are interested in careers in animation, video games and design, and who already have some artistic experience.
On completion of the course, they will have all the skills required to join animation, special effects, video games or advertising studios.
Professional training
By discovering each stage in the process of creating an animation project (pre-production, production and post-production), students will be able to put their knowledge into practice and perfect it with a view to becoming professionals. Storyboarding, layout, character design, but also modelling, rigging, animation, lighting, rendering, special effects, etc.
Emphasis is also placed on increased use of the various creative software packages, so that by the end of the course, students have mastered all the nuts and bolts.
Regular meetings with professionals from the cultural and creative industries (workshops, masterclasses, conferences, etc.) are also an opportunity for students to create their own network and develop their career plans.
What’s more, students have the opportunity to do an internship at the end of the 3rd and/or 4th year of the course, which also contributes to this professionalization. This enables them to put the skills they have acquired into practice under real professional conditions.
A graduation film
During the last 2 years of the course, students work in groups to produce a short animated film.
The students think through the entire animation project, from scriptwriting to visual and technical development, pooling all the knowledge and skills they have acquired during their course. This final film is then presented to a jury of professionals, who meet each year to judge the quality of the projects, and also to meet the future creative talents of tomorrow, with a view to professional development.
At ESMA, we are proud of our students’ job placement rates: just 6 months after validation of the RNCP Expert en conception et réalisation – Animation 3D et Effets Spéciaux qualification, our students have a job placement rate of 90%. (2021)
The rigour of the teaching offered at ESMA, the personalised pedagogical support and the support that the course receives from animation professionals are some of the keys to this success !
Description of the targeted professions
The targeted jobs are in the film, audiovisual, video game and advertising sectors, in companies that produce audiovisual products incorporating digital images :
• Animation studios producing animated films for cinema or television : feature films and short films, television series.
• Post-production companies responsible for producing special effects for films, animated advertisements, TV channel packages, etc.
• Video game studios for the production of graphics and animations
• Computer graphics studios for industrial, architectural, scientific, medical and other applications
• Advertising agencies
Download the training sheet Download the rates brochure