Online courses have become insanely popular in recent years, and they keep getting better and better.

We’ve come a long way since the days of random YouTube tutorials. Online video courses are now highly-produced, and a very effective alternative to traditional schools.

Animation is no different.

Yes, going to a 4-year art program at a great school is awesome, but it’s not the only way to learn animation.

Here are 5 reasons why you should consider learning animation with online courses.

It’s cheaper. Much cheaper.

Art schools are insanely expensive. Spending 20-40k dollars a year (while most likely getting into debt) is a huge decision, and it’s getting less and less valuable.

Online courses, even the expensive ones, will only set you back a few hundred dollars (maybe a few thousands if you’re doing an online certificate program which lasts for several months).

That’s still not even close to how much a traditional art college costs. This makes it much more accessible to a wide range of artists who in the past would have to give up on their dreams, or borrow a ton of money.

It’s a great test-drive

Maybe animation isn’t for you? Wouldn’t it be great to find that out before spending tens of thousands of dollars + precious years of your life?

Taking an online animation course is a cheap and efficient way to check if you’re up for the task. See if you like it.

You can always decide to pursue a degree after the fact, but this is a great way to do your research and make sure going down this path is right for you.

You don’t really need a degree anyway

One of the benefits of working in a creative industry like animation is that your work speaks loudly than any credential in your resume.

If your demo reel is good – you will be hired. No one will care what school you didn’t go to.

Just make sure to follow our demo-reel guidelines and you’ll maximize your hiring chances.

You can take them while working

A great thing about online courses is that you can take them on your spare time.

If you’re transitioning from a different profession, or working full-time for any other reason, you can take these courses on the weekends, evenings and lunch breaks.

You can customize your own learning path

One of the awesome things about online education is that you can combine sources from different places.

In a traditional school you have to stick to the program (usually 3-4 years) and often take a lot of courses you have no interest in, or that don’t really contribute to your personal growth path.

For example, I knew I wanted to be an animator, but I was still forced to take a mandatory Mel scripting course (a programing language). I, personally, have a very difficult time with coding, and the course was excruciating for me. It wasted a lot of my time, and I never used that coding language in my work.

With online courses, you can construct your own learning path.

Yes, our courses do include a constructed path for you to follow, but it’s only made out of things you NEED to know to animate, and nothing else. Plus, you can always skip a lesson you find irrelevant.

It’s a great way to maximize your education

The last way online courses can benefit you is actually WHILE being a student in a traditional program.

When I went to art school I CONSTANTLY looked for online tutorials (online courses weren’t as popular back then, but there were still a few) and watched whatever I could get my hands on.

Doing that while at school really pushed my skills and motivated me to work harder and get better. School can only take you so far, and it will guide you in the right direction, but it’s up to you to make sure you push yourself to master your craft.

Get started today

A bonus reason to learn animation online – you can start today! No waiting for the semester to start, or waiting to hear if you’re accepted or not.

You can decide learning animation is for you right this moment, and get started within 5 minutes. So what are you waiting for?