![A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.](/sites/default/files/styles/60_7_2000x233/public/2023-05/youvisit_columbus_ceramics_0423.jpg.jpeg?itok=nFrI1pO9)
![Sketches of a black woman for an animation exercise](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2023-06/__dryburghkessa_characterdesign-2560x1195.jpeg?itok=imZq4bV_)
2D Animation in the 21st Century
Character design work by student Kessa Dryburgh
![Sketches of a black woman for an animation exercise](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2023-06/__dryburghkessa_characterdesign-2560x1195.jpeg?itok=imZq4bV_)
The course starts with typical animation exercises—a ball bouncing, a character walking. The first major assignment is to create movement in a digital photograph using Adobe Photoshop tools. By the end of the term, students generate finished animations with music and sound effects that are uploaded to YouTube, then shared in a digital gallery.
Character design work by student Kate Acquilano
![Sketches of a bunny-like figure](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2023-06/acquilanokate_character_design-1668x2388.jpeg?itok=KM8gK9Rk)
Students' instincts and curiosity have already primed their imaginations for animation. Years spent in a digital landscape, creating social media personas and video game avatars, provide fertile ground for using self-created moving pictures to explore everything from fantasies to institutional critiques.
A screenshot from student Kate Acquilano's final critique
![A still of animation of a blue bunny-like figure on a Zoom call](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2023-06/acquilanokate_finalcritique-1-2560x1198.png?itok=uVRVBf8l)
While leading the class for the last few years, Lecturer Anneli Goeller (MFA 2019) has been thrilled by the forward-thinking work the students create. "It’s interesting to talk to younger students about these things,” said Goeller. "Younger people are always on the forefront of what’s next.”
A Zoom screenshot from a meeting of 2D Animation
![A screenshot of a Zoom call](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2023-06/__zoom_lastdaygoodbyes1-2132x1308.png?itok=Qaaye0L5)