Graduate Certificate in Creature Effects

    Graduate Certificate in Creature Effects

    Duration0.5 year(s)
    Tuition Fee
    AUD 15,568 / Semester
    Next IntakeJune 5, 2026
    Graduate Certificate in Creature Effects

    About

    Adelaide University’s Graduate Certificate in Creature Effects will prepare you to work as a CFX TD in the visual effects industry. Designed in partnership with award winning VFX company Rising Sun Pictures (RSP), and delivered on site in their Adelaide studio, you’ll develop advanced skills in industry standard software like Maya and be taught by experienced CFX artists and supervisors.

    In this immersive qualification you’ll learn the specialised techniques and knowledge essential to crafting creature effects, alongside the career management skills and professional practice standards needed to work in a VFX studio. While learning the process of creating realistic creature and asset effects, you’ll get the opportunity to plan, iterate and deliver a project to meet a production brief and deadline to industry standards.

    You’ll graduate career ready with expertise in current trends, technologies, and professional practices, along with local, national and international industry contacts, with first-hand experience of how a world class VFX studio operates.

    Requirements

    Entry Requirements

    To be eligible, an applicant must have achieved at least one of the following minimum entry requirements and demonstrate they fulfil any prerequisite and essential criteria for admission. In cases where there are more eligible applicants than available places, admission will be competitive with ranks based on the entry criteria.

    • A completed bachelor degree (AQF level 7) or higher from a recognised higher education institution; OR
    • A completed Advanced Diploma (AQF level 6) from a registered training organisation (RTO); OR
    • Three years experience in the visual effects industry or the creative industries with a relevant showreel of visual effects work.
    • All applicants must submit a CV and a 60-second visual effects showreel.

    English Program Requirements

    IELTS Overall 6.5 | IELTS Reading 6 | IELTS Listening 6 | IELTS Speaking 6 | IELTS Writing 6

    Career

    Career outcomes

    The weird and wonderful creatures we see in film, television and video games showcase boundless creativity. Iconic creatures can look very different – ranging from the photo-realistic rendering of the lion pride in Disney’s The Lion King and the fuzzy 3D models of Sonic the Hedgehog in Sonic 3, to the blood-curdling and visceral monsters like Stranger Things’ Demogorgon or the Colosseum animals in Gladiator 2.

    The specialist skills you’ll develop in this program will provide a direct pathway into a career as a creature technical director, while the knowledge and understanding you gain of the broader VFX industry, could lead to a variety of other roles. Maybe you’ll work for Rising Sun Pictures bringing digital creatures to life for the latest Hollywood blockbuster, or perhaps you’ll move interstate to work at Framestore or Industrial Light and Magic in a production role, and lead a team, ensuring projects run on time and to budget.

    You could work in the following roles:

    • Creature technical director: building, developing and programming the software for artists to create believable fur, feathers and skin on creatures
    • Production coordinator: ensuring all aspects of a production run on time and to budget
    • VFX producer: responsible for running VFX projects
    • VFX supervisor: ensuring VFX shots are ready for post-production
    • Technical services operator: responsible for monitoring and controlling the rendering process within the production of VFX shots.

    Industry trends

    Australia’s screen industry is growing. Careers in post, digital and VFX are on the rise both in Australia and globally. In 2023, the industry was worth $714 million, a 21% increase from the previous year (Screen Australia, 2023). Adelaide University will prepare you to meet the demands of this growing industry on both an Australian and international stage, through working with leading industry partners and a globally relevant curriculum. Apply your specialised skillset across various roles in VFX and beyond.

    Fee Information

    Tuition Fee
    15,568 / semester
    Graduate Certificate in Creature Effects
    University of Adelaide
    University of Adelaide
    Australia

    Australia, Adelaide