Computer Animation and Visual Effects BSc (Hons)

The UK's animation and visual effects (VFX) industry leads the world in producing blockbuster visuals for entertainment media, reinventing their technical and creative capabilities. With indie talent also thriving in the South Coast, there’s no better place to start your visual effects career than at Portsmouth.

Our Computer Animation and Visual Effects degree course will help you build skills in key areas such as concept drawing, 3D animation, physics-based simulation, and compositing, with guidance from a team of industry experts from across the entertainment and advertising sectors. Using our spectacular facilities, software and equipment, you'll enhance your artistic and technical expertise and improve your research skills in the technology you'll work with, which is vital to your development as an all-round artist.

You can also specialise and develop your professional portfolio through placement opportunities, client projects and the modules you’ll choose from second year.

Transform yourself into an exceptional VFX artist, producer, animator, and stagecrafter at Portsmouth – ready to take the creative and communication industries by storm.

The computer animation and VFX industry continues to grow as volume demand increases and increasingly complex effects require innovations in technologies and workflows. The sector’s unique fusion of art (in its traditional and modern forms and techniques) and science (via the advanced hardware and software used) offers fascinating career, research, and education enhancement opportunities for graduates.

London is home to six of the world's largest award-winning visual effects companies, many of whom we have strong industry connections with, and independent effects studios are emerging in the southeast of England. Our Master's degrees in Creative Technologies and Computer Animation are natural progressions for graduates who wish to research more into the science behind their skills.

Graduate roles

Many of our graduates have worked in roles such as:

• Serial riggers
• Animators
• Motion capture technicians
• Stagecrafter
• Freelance artists

Graduate destinations

Many of our graduates have worked at either the University of Portsmouth or multi-award-winning special effects companies behind some of the biggest film and television franchises in the world. These include:

• Industrial Light & Magic (The Mandalorian, The Irishman, Black Panther)
• Moving Picture Company (1917, The Lion King) 
• Double Negative (DNEG) (Tenet, Chernobyl, Blade Runner 2049, Black Mirror, Ex Machina)
• Milk VFX (Ex Machina, Doctor Who, Sherlock)
• Framestore (Blade Runner 2049, The Midnight Sky, Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Marvel)

Placement year (optional)

After your second or third year, you can complete an optional work placement to gain professional experience and enhance your skills. It's also a great incentive for employers once you graduate.

You can work for a company, organisation or agency, or you can go self-employed and start your own business with fellow students or by yourself.

Whatever you decide – or even if you just want some employability advice – our exclusive Creative Careers team can support you every step of the way. 

Careers and Employability Service

Our Careers and Employability Service has extensive recruitment experience and knows the creative sector well, making it easier for students to find placements within the creative industries.

They can guide you through every step of the application process, including:

• Searching for the ideal job through their database of vacancies
• Giving tips on how to write an interesting CV that will catch employers' attention, no matter the role
• Organising mock interviews, so you can hone your technique and familiarise yourself with the recruitment environment
• Writing your startup business proposal – if you're going down the self-employment route

The team will continue to give you support throughout your placement year.

Learn more about placement year degrees 

Placement experiences

Our previous placement students have worked in a wide range of technical roles, including compositing, rigging, texturing, and modeling.

Many of them have gained their industry experience in our leading facilities at the University, including CCIXR. Others have completed their placements at a number of renowned companies, including:

• Industrial Light & Magic
• Framestore
• Moving Picture Company (MPC)
• Procter & Gamble

Featured placement

Krit Singhania – Procter & Gamble

Krit, working as a Research and Development intern, reveals the highlights of his placement experience – including some of the fascinating programming and VR projects he's working on.

Read about Krit's placement