"The Animation School is integrating AI as a tool that supports artists rather than replaces them. Its approach combines emerging technology with established animation fundamentals, placing storytelling, creative judgement, design and technical understanding at the centre of the learning process."

The Animation School’s approach to AI starts with a clear principle: new technology should expand what artists can do without removing the creative thinking behind the work. The school will begin implementing AI tools into the curriculum next year to support areas such as creative writing and story development while continuing to explore how emerging technologies can fit into animation education.

That approach sits alongside a curriculum built around core animation skills. Students in the Diploma in Digital Animation study storytelling, visual development, technical artistry, animation principles and the full production pipeline from concept through to post-production. Later stages of the programme include character development, modelling, texturing, rigging, screenwriting, storyboarding and collaborative short-film production.

This creates an important distinction between using AI and relying on AI. The School’s current Diploma application requirements state that portfolios must contain original work created by the applicant and that traced, copied or AI-generated work will not be accepted. Applicants are still assessed on areas such as storytelling, technique, proportions and overall creative ability.

The goal is therefore not to choose between traditional craft and new technology. It is to develop artists who understand both, and who can make informed decisions about when technology strengthens an idea and when human skill should lead the process.