The School of Art’s Animation Lab opened last fall. According to Associate Director Heather Holian, a Disney and Pixar scholar who teaches the history of animation, it’s part of the plan to make UNCG a destination school for the next generation of animators.

In the state-of-the-art lab, UNCG student animators create 2D and 3D projects using industry standard equipment. “This is a professional training program, so we need to offer a professional workspace,” Holian says.

Created just over two years ago, the major has grown rapidly. So has the camaraderie. Animation faculty member Dan Hale ’01 describes the lab as both a work space and a general “home base” for students. “As our program has grown, we’ve built this wonderful sense of community,” he adds.

Animation undergraduates Amelie Novio and Finley Lewis praise the professional-grade technology. “It’s so nice to see that as the animation program is growing, the technology is, too,” says Novio.

Recent graduate Vincent Vang ’24 BFA agrees. “This lab will definitely prepare students for future jobs.”

Holian says the department is going to keep dreaming big: “Walt Disney used to say ‘It’s kinda fun to do the impossible.’ I think back to a time when we were told that an animation program wasn’t going to happen here. We just weren’t going to take that answer.”

Holian believes UNCG’s education can rival the best available. “We give a top-notch education, and with this new lab we are very competitive. That is going to continue as we add faculty and expand our curriculum.”

Meanwhile, Hale says, interest from young animators continues to grow. “The more we offer, the more students seem to want it.”

Photography by Sean Norona ’13. Courtesy illustrations.