The Open College of the Arts Animation for Beginners

Animation for Beginners is an online, part-time short course from The Open College of the Arts. It explores animation literacy from the inside out, helping learners understand how movement works, how animation creates meaning, and how professional work achieves its effects.

The course is designed for people who want to build confidence in analysing and making animated media, even if they are completely new to the subject.

Learners study through OCA Learn with practical tasks, weekly reflections and coaching conversations, alongside opportunities to share work and exchange feedback with peers. Across the 10 weeks, the course introduces core animation principles such as timing, weight, character, staging, secondary action and exaggeration, while also supporting students to create simple sequences using accessible tools.

By the end of the course, learners produce a curated presentation that brings together professional animations and their own practical work, explaining the connections between them and showing how their thinking has developed. There is no formal exam; successful participants receive personalised tutor feedback and a CPD certificate.