Level 3 Extended Diploma in Games Art and Animation (UAL)

The course is taught by a team of specialist lecturers including working professionals, who aim to help you to gain the most from the course. You are also allocated a personal tutor who will guide you through the course as well as organising any support that you may need. The course is delivered through a mixture of practical workshops, lectures and self directed study.

This course aims to equip you with the design and production skills required for work in the games industry or progress to university. While on this course we will develop your understanding of the design process applied to a range of computer game platforms. Taught at our brand new Digital and Creative Hub at Cauldon campus, opposite Staffordshire Univerity and Hanley Park, the Art, Games and Media department is equipped with a variety of specialist facilities and equipment, including Graphic Tablets, 3D Printers, a Motion Capture suit, and a range of Virtual Reality Headsets. On this course, you will primarily be developing on your 3D art skills, including 3D modelling, texturing, and 3D animation, using industry standard software such as 3Ds Max, Unreal Engine, Substance Painter, Substance Designer and Autodesk Maya. This course has a time span of 2 years. In year 1, you will have 2 projects, where you will learn and build on necessary skills related to 3D art. After the 2 projects are done, you will be developing your own Final Major Project where you will create your own project proposal, and once approved, develop this with help from the tutors. In the final year, you will be taught skills to further your knowledge on 3D art and will consist of 3 self-driven projects that will be pitched to tutors for approval.

This course is assessed by continual assessment, rather than exams, and students will need to research, plan and produce practical work. All assignments have interim assessment points, when the lecturer assesses the work and shows the student how to improve their grades. Students requiring any support in producing written work, organising themselves or managing their time can access our academic mentors. All student work is moderated by the awarding body.

4 GCSEs grade A*-C/grade 4 and above, Level 2 Diploma, appropriate NVQ Level 2 or Intermediate qualification. You will have a pre-induction interview/assessment to make sure this is the right level for you.

You will also continue to study maths and English Functional Skills or GCSE in order to improve your employability and progression opportunities. On successful completion of this course you will be awarded a UAL Level 3 (Extended) Diploma in Creative Practice, Art, Design and Communication. Please note: It takes 2 years to complete this full Level 3 qualification. Progression to the second year of the course is subject to successful achievement of the first year of the course.

With an Extended Diploma in Games Development you can progress into employment or on to a range of university courses including animation, graphic design, interface design, games and multimedia design courses.