Academy of Art University

Maestría en Artes (MA) en Desarrollo Visual

Graduate students will meet the following student performance criteria:

Artistic Ability

• Demonstrate strong drawing and compositional skills
• Create value studies that demonstrate an understanding of lighting, composition, and space

Research and Critical Thinking

• Apply visual research to design solutions

Visual Development

• Aplicar elementos de color y diseño consistentes con el aspecto general de la película.
• Design elements to support the narrative
• Demonstrate continuity in visual storytelling

Presentation Skills

• Create visually compelling, professional-quality presentation materials
• Pitch ideas clearly and professionally

Professional Readiness

• Produce a cohesive portfolio tailored to reflect career goals

Academy of Art University Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Academy of Art University will demonstrate the ability to:

• Produce a body of work suitable for seeking professional opportunities in their chosen field of art and design.
• Solve creative problems within their field of art and design, including research and synthesis of technical, aesthetic, and conceptual knowledge.
• Communicate their ideas professionally and connect with their intended audience using visual, oral, and written presentation skills relevant to their field.
• Execute technical, aesthetic, and conceptual decisions based on an understanding of art and design principles.
• Evaluate work in their field, including their own work, using professional terminology.
• Recognize the influence of major cultural and aesthetic trends, both historical and contemporary, on art and design products.
• Learn the professional skills and behaviors necessary to compete in the global marketplace for art and design.

Academy of Art University offers some of the best training and hands-on experience to help accelerate your career. We pride ourselves in doing an exceptional job preparing you to excel as a future visual development artist. Our degree programs are designed to equip aspiring artists and designers with a comprehensive toolbox of marketable skills that lead to success in the visual development industry.

Art Director

The job of the art director is to oversee and unify the visual look of a project. You'll control the overall look of the project, and make creative decisions based on mood, style, and target audience.

Character Designer

As a character and creature designer, you'll help create the standard appearance for a character including poses and gestures.

Concept Artist

Collaborate with creative and art directors to generate images that clarify their vision and create visual representations of the ideas that will be realized in films, animated movies, comics, and video games.

Matte Painter

As a matte painter, you'll create paintings to be used in photography and special effects to combine disparate elements into a single final image.

Production Artist

Working with art directors and designers, production artists are responsible for creating assets across various marking initiates in keeping with the visual style of the product.

Vector Artist

Using standard tools, a vector artist recreates images for high-resolution output for billboards, printing, and 3D modeling.

Unit Requirements

Degree Requirements

• Successful completion of Final Portfolio Review
• A minimum grade of C in all required 36 units
• Minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and the following Academic Study requirements:
  • 1 Art Historical Awareness & Aesthetic course

Curriculum

Semester 1

• ANM 610: Figurative Concepts (Major)
• FA 630: Color Theory (Major)
• GLA 624: History of Visual Development (Graduate Liberal Arts)

Semester 2

• FA 602: Dibujo de cabeza (principal)
• ILL 610: Clothed Figure Drawing (Major)
• ILL 625: Perspective for Characters & Environment (Major)

Semester 3

• ANM 633: Drawing and Design for Animation (Major)
• ILL 660: Digital Painting (Major)
• VIS 660: Fundamentals of Environments and Prop Design (Major)

Semester 4

• ANM 685: Storyboarding Principles (Major)
• VIS 611: The Visual Elements of Story (Major)
• VIS 670: Portfolio Development (Major)