Aspiring animators learn to write and draw their animated movies – no drawing experience required, just limitless imagination
Aspiring animators learn to write and draw their animated movies – no drawing experience required, just limitless imagination
Make your own animated film and meet Hollywood’s most accomplished professionals at the world-famous UCLA Animation Workshop. The Traditional Animation track teaches students how to write, storyboard, and draw their own animation film. No drawing experience is required, just limitless imagination!
The Traditional Animation Summer Institute will be offered as an online program with synchronous course meetings, practical exercises, and guest speakers. Students will learn traditional hand-drawn animation methods using a Wacom tablet/mouse, and utilize Pencil2D and Adobe Premiere to complete their animated projects.
Under the supervision of UCLA faculty, students will complete a series of exercises and learn the animation process from storyboard to post-production. Throughout the course, students will learn about the history of animation as well as contemporary industry practices, and prominent guests from the industry will visit the classroom to share their experiences and answer student questions about their career and working in Hollywood today. Each student will create an animated short film with sound and these final projects will be screened at the conclusion of the program – friends and family are welcome!
About the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media
At the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, we are committed to being a world-renowned interdisciplinary professional center, dedicated to cultivating exceptional humanistic storytellers, trailblazing industry leaders, and insightful scholars. Rooted in our rich heritage as a top-tier entertainment institution, we champion diverse and innovative voices that have the power to enlighten, captivate, and usher in transformative change for a brighter future. For more information, please visit the department website or contact summer@tft.ucla.edu.
Film and Television Summer Institute – Traditional Animation Program
In this six-week long track college students and aspiring animators learn to write and draw their animated movies. No drawing experience required, just limitless imagination.
Symposium
In the exclusive Summer Institute Animation Symposium, students meet and listen to some of Hollywood’s most accomplished professionals. High-wattage guests have included Meg LeFauve (writer, Inside Out); Jared Bush (writer/director, Zootopia, Moana); Raymond Persi (writer/director/animator, The Simpsons); high-level executives, visual development artists, and artists from the biggest animation creators like, Marvel Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, Illumination, Warner Animation, Adult Swim; and many others.
Closing Ceremony & Networking
Applications are reviewed and admission to the program is granted on a rolling basis starting February 15th. Applying at your earliest convenience, prior to June 13th, is highly recommended.
Eligible applicants who submit all requirements successfully and timely, will be reviewed and notified via email of an admission decision within 3 weeks.
Applicants are required to provide the following during the online registration process:
- Value statement: ALL applicants will be prompted to provide a short value statement reflecting their pursuit of participation in a UCLA Summer Sessions Institute (250 word maximum).
- Responses to all of the following essay prompt:
- Why would you like to participate in the program and what do you expect to gain from the experience? (150-200 words)
PRE-COLLEGE ONLY:
- An unofficial transcript from grade 9 to present reflecting a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. All previous high school grades (9th grade to present) must appear on the transcript for an application to be reviewed. Applications missing grades will be denied.
- If your school transcript utilizes a different grading system, please submit your transcript as is. If available, please attach a translation/equivalency guide.
- INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: If you are an international student, a transcript refers to your complete secondary academic record. To learn more about converting your grades into a US-based GPA, please click here.
- If your school has a translation/equivalency guide, please also include it with your transcript. If you do not have a translation/equivalency guide, please still submit your most up-to-date transcript as is for staff to review.
The Traditional Animation program is by instructor consent only. To participate, you must apply and receive acceptance into the program. Students will be notified within three weeks of an acceptance decision.
Film and Television Summer Institute – Traditional Animation Program will be conducted virtually (online). All meeting times will take place in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), unless otherwise noted on program schedule and syllabus. Participants must log-in to virtual sessions at the times indicated on the program schedule.
Students in the virtual program will not be offered housing.
Coursework
FILM TV 104, 179, 180A, 180B; 12 units
Grading Basis
Students will receive a letter grade upon completion. See University Credit, Grades and Transcripts for more information about academic credit.
In order to successfully complete the program, students must not have more than 2 excused or unexcused absences.
UCLA Summer Sessions Summer Scholars Support
Qualified students attending grades 9th – 11th in Spring 2025 in the state of California may be eligible for Summer Scholars Support, a need- and merit-based scholarship offered by the UCLA Summer Sessions Office. Students must be 15 years old by the first day of Summer Sessions 2025 on June 23rd in order to participate in a Precollege Summer Institute and/or apply for Summer Scholars Support. A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available to support enrollment in SCIP/eSCIP, one Summer Course, or a Precollege Summer Institute.
Summer 2025 deadline to apply: March 15.
International students may enroll in the Film and Television Summer Institute – Traditional Animation. International students enrolling in this program do not qualify for F-1 visas.
Online Courses: International students who enroll in courses and programs that are offered exclusively online are expected to participate from where they are without traveling to UCLA.
More information for international students attending Summer Sessions can be found here.
Program Dates: June 23 – August 1, 2025
Program Type: Virtual
Program Eligibility: 9th-12th grade in Spring 2025, college students, and aspiring filmmakers, including international students
This program is not F-1 eligible.
Application deadline: June 13, 2025
Enrollment deadline: June 20, 2025
The schedule and syllabus are subject to change. Enrolled students will be given updated materials closer to the program start date.
Fees and Payment Info
The program fee includes the unit fees for the UCLA coursework offered as part of the program and thus varies by UC student status. In addition to the program fee, students are assessed other campus and administrative fees during the summer. This is a summary of fees that commonly apply to the selected student type.
Actual tuition and fees are subject to change by the University of California. Visit the fees, payment, and financial aid section for important disclaimer, as well as more details on fees, payment instructions, and information on delinquency, refunds, and financial aid.
Meet your instructors
Instructors for the UCLA Film and Television Summer Institutes are UCLA Department of Film, Television and Digital Media faculty.
Alexandra Rosenberg
Instructor – FTV 104 Animation SymposiumRosenberg is an industry veteran with over 12 years of animation experience and the VP of Production for Digitoonz Media and Entertainment, an animation studio with studios in the US and India. She’s previously worked for Netflix Animation, Illumination Entertainment, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disney Television Animation. Select Credits include: Migration, The Super Mario Brothers Movie, Wreck it Ralph 2, Moana, Zootopia, and Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure. Alex has a BA in Film History and Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College and an MFA in Producing from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television. She has a background in production and development for animation and began her career working in live action television production. Alex lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
Evan English
Instructor – FTV 179 Animation Production WorkshopEvan English is a freelance director and comic artist lecturing at UCLA and Riverside City College. Specializing in storyboarding, film history, character animation, and visual literacy, he is dedicated to demystifying animation techniques. His clients have included Gallery Nucleus, Yohannes Studios, Fair Shake Press, and Andreas Deja Productions.
Jay Shipman
Instructor – FTV 180A Introduction to AnimationJay Shipman is a 2018 MFA graduate of UCLA’s Animation Workshop. Jay’s student film, The Lineman, screened at several festivals and was chosen as a semifinalist for the 2018 Student Academy Awards.
Since graduation, Jay has worked in animation, production, and puppet fabrication on various stop-motion projects throughout the industry. Productions include Alien Xmas, Crossing Swords Season 2, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Mickey Saves Christmas, Mickey and Friends Trick or Treats, and Doc McStuffins: The Doc and Bella Are In!
Jay has taught courses in animation fundamentals, 2nd-year MFA animated film production, stop-motion animation, and storyboarding/writing for animation.
Lourdes Stephanie Mercado
Instructor – FTV 180B Writing for AnimationLourdes Stephanie Mercado has been working in the animation industry since 2019 on works such as Oscar-nominated Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Alien X-Mas, and Santa Inc. Mercado’s work ranges from Puppet fabrication to Story Artist.
Mercado has taught different animation aspects since 2020, including animation production, general animation, and storyboarding.
Mercado received her B.A. in Media Arts in 2016 and later went on to receive her M.F.A. in Animation from UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television in 2020.
Film and Television Summer Institute – Traditional Animation FAQ
Qualified students may sign up for more than one program as long as the dates do not overlap. For example, a student may take Traditional Animation and then TV Writing.
Applicants from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Traditional Animation is intended for both beginning and intermediate levels.
Please have the following supplies for your Summer Institute:
Equipment:
- Wacom Intuos Creative Pen Tablet (Small, Black) or similar. If you own a drawing monitor, such a Wacom Cintiq, that is also acceptable.
- Computer mouse (Logitech M100 or equivalent)
Technology:
- Computer with the following:
- microphone (built-in to your computer or USB plug-in or wireless Bluetooth)
- webcam (one which is built-in to your computer or one that connects to your computer via USB)
- minimum 500GB Storage Capacity
- internet connection – broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE). Minimum bandwidth is 600kbps (up/down) and recommended is 1.5 Mbps (up/down)
Software:
- Pencil2d: https://www.pencil2d.org/. It is free software and covers the essentials needed for the program.
- Adobe Premiere Pro will be available to students. Please check Adobe website for system requirements to support Adobe Premiere Pro: https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/systemrequirements.html
Art Supplies:
- Sketchbook – at least 6 x 8 inches
- Pens – any type the student is comfortable drawing with or interested in experimenting with. (Ballpoint, ink, watercolor, sharpie, india ink, etc.)
- Pencils – no. 2 or any other type (graphite, charcoal, watercolor, etc.)
- Erasers – (optional) rubber eraser
Students will need a laptop or desktop computer with a working webcam and microphone as well as a reliable internet connection.
Students will need to check with their academic counselor to see if the coursework included in the program will count towards their graduation requirements or if credit will transfer to their home institution. For UCLA students, courses may fulfill a major or minor requirement, or count as upper-division course credit.
No, students from all different majors are welcome to apply.
Students with outside commitments, such as an internship, that conflict with the program dates are not eligible to enroll. We would strongly encourage these students to apply for the Summer Institute another year when they have the time to focus on this intensive immersion experience.
Still have questions? Check out the general Summer Institutes FAQ.