Collège Salette/ESMA- École Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques’s ACS “3D Animation & Visual Effects” allows you to work in all areas of animation: animation film studios, television studios, video game producers, visual effects companies. Throughout the program, students will acquire the skills necessary to make an animated short film, from script writing to post-production management. It is a question of using 3D technology to promote creativity. At the end of the 6 sessions, the student has a perfect command of character design, modeling, texturing, lighting, compositing, etc. This versatility will allow him to work in a team or in a specialized position.

In the world of computer-generated imagery, the FX artist mainly operates during the post-production stage. His goal : to put his skills at the service of image processing.

As his title suggests, the CG animation supervisor is the keystone of the animation team: in direct relation with the director, he has a very clear idea of his expectations, which he transmits to his team of animators, in pre-production. He also ensures the liaison with the other studios that will eventually work on the same project, in order to guarantee the coherence of the animation.

The texturing artist develops textures in the fields of animation, video games, websites, television, with such technicality that they appear with a great realistic appearance whether on animated characters, environments or accessories.

The 3D illustrator is a specialist in the creation and modification of digital images or computer graphics

The CG industry is plentiful of artists and technical experts. Among them, the CG generalist and the CG Real-Time generalist offer the advantage of being able to work in different positions on various and for very different types of projects.

Working downstream of the designers’ graphic work (character designer, set designer…), the 3D animator brings characters, objects and sets to life.

Between the designer and the CG animator, the CG modeller takes part in the digitisation phase of a project. His purpose is to give volume, and express an object, a character or a set in 3 dimensions. He is called upon to work in multiple areas.

The Grooming Artist works on everything from hair, eyebrows, beard, threads, animal furs. It is about giving shape to very fine geometries.

The texturing artist develops textures in the fields of animation, video games, websites, television, with such technicality that they appear with a great realistic appearance whether on animated characters, environments or accessories.

The surfacing artist adds texture and colour to characters, environments and CG accessories in an animated function, in order to enhance their visual appeal based on the design style defined by the artistic director, the production designer and the film director.

The character designer is, above all, an artist ! He is inspired by a universe and an environment to sketch coherent characters for an animation, a comic book or a video game project. Just as comfortable with a pencil as with a computer, the character designer works in a highly creative environment.

In the context of a CG production, the CG director (also known as the CG project manager) is THE person at the heart of the project. Artist, technician and pilot at the same time, he follows the various stages of the project, from its reflection to its conception, and perfectly masters its subtleties.

The compositor is both an artist and a technician. His work consists in assembling, mixing several sources of images or special effects.

This preparatory year gives the students the opportunity to acquire the theoretical and practical knowledge to integrate a training in the animation field.

The Rendering Artist colours, paints, sculpts and shapes like any other artist, although its medium remains exclusively digital. He makes artistic choices.

The Design Preparatory Class is assuredly the gateway to artistic studies. During one year, the students acquire the basic knowledge and experience needed to pursue artistic studies.

The Graphic Design Bachelor’s degree program is a 2 year curriculum, which ambition is to prepare the students to enter the professional fields of graphic arts, advertising, publishing and multimedia.

Whether in Montpellier, Toulouse, Nantes or Lyon, ESMA offers trainings in Graphic Design the students can join after a Baccaulareate in applied arts (STD2A) or a Design Preparatory Class.

With a Bachelor’s degree (2 years) and a Master’s degree (3 years), the school’s ambition is to make the students discover and pratice graphic design in all its dimensions, and prepare them to move into the professional field of visual communication and graphic design.

The Previs Artist allows a director, or a FX supervisor through digital technology to experiment with different options for staging and artistic direction.

In digital animation, lighting is an important element which participates to the realism of a scene.

The rigger provides characters with the digital framework that will allow them to move in a realistic and coherent way.

Often at the head of small or medium-sized companies, 3D studio managers are director, manager and administrator at the same time.

Among the high-responsibility positions in the CG industry, the FX supervisor is quite essential. Whether he works on an animated film or on a live-action film, his function is above all to provide a mentoring role.

In the world of CG animation and special effects, as in live-action cinema, many author-directors work independently. This peculiarity has a strong influence on their activity. A journey far from a comfortable ride along a quiet river.

Professionals of image often aspire to the position of independent author-director after having worked in several studios, sometimes in different positions, when they feel the need and the ability to take things in charge. Because one thing is certain : on a commercial, a clip or an animated short film, the author-director assumes the role of leader.

On a 3D project (video game, animation film, 3D communication…), the 3D artistic director is the ultimate referent. He works closely with the director / project manager whose intentions he understands and integrates perfectly. Overall, he manages the artistic and creative supervision of a 3D computer graphics project.