Animation and Gaming
Certificate of Achievement (C) Multimedia Arts and Technologies (MAT) · Santa Barbara City College · 2026-2027 Catalog
Overview
The Animation & Gaming curriculum develops students’ aesthetic and technical competence by providing training with professional software in production processes. The program builds a foundation in 2D and 3D Animation, production pipeline and game development for entertainment, serious games and simulations. Our courses give students a core background in visual arts and screen design, also providing technical skills in media development, production and distribution.
The program prepares students for employment at entry-level positions in game development firms or for transfer to media, animation and gaming programs at 4-year institutions. The program provides a technical overview of the processes in the field that will prepare students for entry jobs as a tester, production assistant, content developer, character animator, 3D modeler, graphic artist or interactive web programmer in the gaming industry.
Requirements
Certificate of Achievement Requirements
Complete all Major Requirements for the Certificate of Achievement with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better. Candidates for a Certificate of Achievement are required to complete at least 20% of the major requirements through SBCC.
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Major Requirements | ||
| Required Core | ||
| MAT 103 | Introduction to Multimedia | 3 |
| MAT 111A | Photoshop for Media Production | 1 |
| MAT 112 | Digital Drawing | 3 |
| orMAT 134A | Classical Animation I | |
| MAT 116 | Interactive Design I | 3 |
| MAT 131 | Digital Imaging I | 3 |
| MAT 136 | Introduction to 3D Animation | 3 |
| MAT 137 | Visual Effects for Film, Television and Gaming | 3 |
| orMAT 118 | 2-D Animation techniques | |
| MAT 138 | 3-D Character Animation | 3 |
| MAT 141 | 3-D Modeling | 3 |
| MAT 145 | Video Game Design | 3 |
| MAT 167 | 3-D Environments Design | 3 |
| MAT 205 | Portfolio Development | 3 |
| Total Units | 34.00 | |
Recommended Courses
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ART 140 | Studio Art Foundations (2-D) | 3 |
| ART 141 | Studio Art Foundations 3D | 3 |
| FP 181 | Production Sound for Film and Television | 3 |
| MAT 121 | Computer Interface Design | 3 |
| MAT 134B | Classical Animation II | 3 |
Learning Outcomes
- Develop digital drawing skills using bitmap and vector drawing tools to create story-boards, character sheets, animation poses and turnaround studies.
- Use Timing, Staging and other principles of Animation to create short stories and work with 2D animation techniques and output the animation to video.
- Create complex 3D models, apply complex color and textures to them according to design and story.
- Create a digital lighting system and render Photo-realistic images in 2D using Mental Ray.
- Set up a skeleton for a 3D model and animate a character according to a storyboard.
- Animate the character according to the dialog in the story.
- Analyze story, design and game play of released games in the market or their own projects, and identify problems and successes in those areas.
- Create game assets optimized for game engine use.
- Work with a Game Engine to create basic game-play for a game prototype.
Recommended Sequence
Make an appointment with your SBCC academic counselor through Starfish to create a Student Education Plan that reflects a recommended course sequence for this program that is tailored to your individual needs.
How to schedule an Academic Counseling appointment.