Pre-College Program Catalog | Academy of Art University

PCADE Catalog

Explore our Spring 2024 catalog of tuition-free art and design classes that you can take as part of the Pre-College Art & Design Experience (PCADE) at Academy of Art University. Browse the different art and design classes we have available and select the courses that you would like to attend for our next term from February 17, 2024—April 5, 2024 (for Fall term you can take up to 2 classes).

Your application form must be filled out completely before making your class selection

Available Courses

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3D Creature and Character Modeling

This course introduces students to form through digital sculpting. These techniques are used by 3D modelers in the animation, visual effects, video game, and toy industries. Students will explore the ...

Advertising Essentials

Students are introduced to the different creative skills central to the advertising business. They learn both through twenty-minute conceptual exercises and through being taught the basics of developi...

AI for Creatives - AI Virtual Pre-College Class

A 6-week program that delves into the dynamic synergy of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and creativity. Participants will grasp AI fundamentals, utilize AI for ideation and content creation, and explore...

Car & Motorcycle Design

This is an introduction to the fundamentals of car and motorcycle design. Students will gain the basic skills and concepts of the transportation design process. They will complete a car/motorcycle des...

Character Design

Students will learn how to quickly combine a variety of simple shapes to lay the groundwork for creating detailed character designs. The class will concentrate heavily on laying out simple shape combi...

Comic Book Illustration

Students explore the styles and techniques of comic book illustration and storytelling through penciling, lettering and inking. Basic illustration skills such as anatomy, perspective and composition a...

Digital Character Design

Introduction to character design techniques utilized within the animation and games industry. Students will explore concepts such as quick drawing, line-of-action, volume, and caricature that will be ...

Exploring Animation

A survey of animation techniques, with each week covering a different area of animation. The presentations include visual examples, and explore the principles of animation that are covered in the acti...

Figure Drawing

This introductory drawing class focuses on fundamental principles of drawing the nude human figure. An understanding of proportion, gesture, balance, and value will be developed in charcoal drawings f...

Graphic Design

Students learn to think conceptually and to develop their visual communication skills through understanding the combination of image and message. They gain knowledge about the design principles of typ...

Interior Architecture & Design

Students gain an understanding of the profession, industry skills and relationship of interior architecture and design to other design disciplines. The class incorporates a residential project to expl...

Introduction to Acting

Students develop their understanding of the art of acting by participating in exercises and beginning scene study. The rehearsal of scenes is an integral part of the course. Work is done with partners...

Introduction to Game Programming

Students learn the basic concepts of programming by creating an iterative project that incorporates logic, functions, loops, and different types of data.

Introduction to Illustration

This course will introduce you to the steps illustrators take to get from an idea to a finished illustration. The many uses for illustration, from bookcovers and concept art to children's books and ma...

Introduction to Maya

Students will design, model, texture, light and animate a character using Maya 3D animation software. This class will be a broad overview of the tools that are used in movies, TV shows and games.

Introduction to Visual Design

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of digital conceptualization, design and implementation for interactive media. Using Adobe Creative Cloud, students will learn the basics of digital...

Introduction to Visual Effects

This is an introduction to the visual effects pipeline. You will be walked through the process of creating a short film featuring live action, animation, and other visual effects. We will start with t...

Motion Pictures & Television

Students learn how moving images and sound work together to tell a story. Students shoot and edit a short narrative or documentary on videotape. Cameras and editing equipment are provided.

Music Production

This course will present Logic Pro X software. You will learn how to create audio with Logic PRO, including using loops, beats, and musical virtual instruments. You will also learn industry standard t...

Painting: Still Life

This course is an introduction to arranging, sketching and painting successful still life paintings. Students will learn to indicate the illusion of three dimensional objects through color and value w...

Photography

This course offers an introduction to both the technical and creative aspects of photography. Students will learn about digital camera operations and make proper exposures. Creative framing choices an...

Product & Toy Design

Students learn how to brainstorm and develop a new idea. They discover how to further develop a design and create a 3D mock-up. Different presentation techniques using pen, markers and chalk are taugh...

Screenwriting Basics

Want to get hands-on work writing for television or screen? Thinking about screenwriting as a career? Get your feet wet writing short scenes while learning the basics about screenwriting. This course ...

Sketching for Game Art

This course is designed to equip students with some of the foundational sketching tools needed to begin learning concept art for games. Students will learn everything from basic anatomy to some of the...

VIS for Animation and Video Games

In this course, you will take an idea from concept to completion. You will focus on composition, figure drawing, character design, perspective, storytelling, and color and value. You’ll creae a cine...

Writing for Comics

This class is devoted to developing scriptwriting skills for comics, for either major/independent publications or self-publication. Students will complete exercises and compose an original eight-page ...