What is our selection process?

After submitting your UCAS application, we may ask you to provide additional information to support your application. We make offers based on the information submitted and meeting the minimum academic requirements for entry onto the course.

Do I need to prepare anything in advance?

We will send you a portfolio questionnaire - there are no right or wrong answers to the two questions. Simply be honest, the answers just help us get an idea of where you're headed, who you are and why you want to come on our course.

Four pieces of your best work

The Animation team have viewed hundreds of large portfolios over the years and more often than not, the most discussion happens around just four examples within the portfolio – those four examples always happen to be the four pieces of work the applicant is most proud of.

So, instead of asking you to send us 10 or 20 examples of your work, we only want to see four pieces, whether they are life drawings, photography, pictures of something you have sculpted or modelled, sketches or video based work (animation or live action).

It might seem difficult to select just four pieces of work to show us but don't worry, all you have to do is pick four things that you are most proud of, excited about or simply enjoyed making whether that example was created as part of the work for a course you are on or something that you did in your own time.

To submit any online work, please paste a URL link into a single text document and upload this along with your other portfolio pieces.

Drawings

We love to see drawings in a portfolio, especially life drawings. They help us understand how you draw or ‘mark make' and observe. We can tell a lot from just one drawing whether it has been done digitally, in pencil, charcoal, biro, crayon or felt tip.

Character designs

If you want to show us an example of character designs as one of your four pieces, please make sure that they are original designs and not copies of existing characters. Unless you are a developed manga artiste, please do not include 'Manga Style' friend portraits.

Paintings

Paintings help us understand your use of colour, observation and detail. Try to pick a piece that is complete, but if it's a work in progress and you love how the painting is turning out so far, please feel free to photograph it and use it as one of your four pieces of work in the portfolio.

Photography

Choose photographs that help portray your sense of composition, subject matter, texture or scenario. No selfies and no casual photography - a good example should convey a lot of different photographic abilities to us.

Sculptures / modelling

This can cover both 3D and physical sculpting or modelling. This type of work will really help us see how you perceive objects in three dimensions. You can show off a prop you built or a sculpture you did out of clay or plasticine as a photograph, or if it is a 3D sculpture, you could render it rotating and include it as a piece of video based work.

Sketches

We love to see raw, unfinished sketches. Sketchbook sketches, the private ones you keep that you don't want anyone else to see – let us see! We can tell a lot from your sketching style, your ideas and form of line.

Choose your favourite page from your sketchbook, scan it in or clearly photograph and use it as one of your four portfolio pieces.

Video based work

This can cover animation, live action or mixed media work but basically if it's time based, it can be put together and uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo and this can count as one of your four pieces of portfolio work. Don't worry if your submission doesn't have video work, it's just an option.

Text descriptions

To accompany each piece, you can write up to 200 words to put the work you are submitting into context. You might want to explain how you made it, how you came up with the idea for it, what you did on it if it was something created as part of a group, or simply why you wanted to show it to us.

Simply save your text descriptions as a single text file to upload with your four other portfolio pieces

What are we looking for?

Overall, please don’t worry or second guess about what to send. There are two basic criteria for what you should send:

• do you love the pieces of work you want to show us?
• are the pieces of work clear and easy to see?

Also, don’t worry about not sending in specific animation work as part of your portfolio submission. Remember that you are applying to an animation course and there are things that we will teach you how to do, so it’s not a fundamental requirement to have already created animation work.

Who is on the selection event panel?

The course leader and members of the animation team will review your four pieces of work, UCAS application and portfolio questionnaire.

What decisions can be made on my application?

Our decision will be communicated via UCAS track, so please check your account regularly.

You will receive one of the following decisions:

Conditional offer for the course that you have applied for – you must fulfil certain criteria (usually based on the qualifications you are currently taking) before you can be accepted on the course. If the requirements are met, the offer becomes unconditional.

Unconditional offer for the course that you have applied for – usually made when you have already completed your qualifications and met the academic requirements we are asking for.

Change of course offer for the BA Honours Animation with Foundation Year. If your interviewer decides that you do not yet have the skills and attributes necessary to make a successful start on the degree course that you have applied to, you may be offered a place on this course. This takes the form of a foundation year, run in-house by our tutors, and will build your creative skills and attributes. If you complete this foundation year successfully, you will automatically progress onto the degree course.

Unsuccessful – unfortunately we are not able to offer you a place on the course. We do not feel that you have the necessary skills or experience to be successful on one of our courses. However, this does not prevent you from applying in the future, should you undertake further study to develop your skills and experience.