Animation at Teesside is world class

The University of Teesside has soared into the top 20 of a global animation league.

For the first time, the prestigious international journal for 3D artists, 3D world magazine, has launched the Computer Generated Imaging (CGI) Global Ivy League. The league lists the world’s top 20 animation schools, placing the University of Teesside in joint fourth position for the UK and 18th in the world.

The magazine complied the rankings by measuring the animation schools’ visibility with the 3D industry. They did this by examining the number of students’ animations screened at six key animation festivals. These festivals included the University’s own Animex, the international festival of Animation and Computer Games, which first took place in 2000. The Animex Awards competition was launched three years later.

3D world describe their CGI Ivy League as ‘the most comprehensive and objective ranking of the world’s 3D training yet produced’.

Graham Dean, Assistant Dean for the University’s School of Computing, said: ‘3D World is such a well-respected journal in the animation community. Their external validation clearly shows the quality of our students’ work and the quality of our engagement with the animation industry through Animex.’

Previous speakers at Animex include Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson; and Jason Schleifer, a member of the vast animation team behind the hugely successful Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

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