BFA in Digital Art and Animation

Artists are critical in establishing the unique style and creative vision for video games and animated films. The experience, originality, and human touch an artist brings to projects will always be vital as technology continues to advance. Equipping students with both classical art skills and cutting‑edge technological tools, our bachelor of fine arts degree takes you step by step through professional art production and prepares you for a versatile career in the digital arts.

A top ranked education

DigiPen is Ranked 1st in Animation School Programs in Washington State.

Source: Animation Career Review, 2025

Our BFA in Digital Art and Animation degree program welcomes creatives of all experience levels to develop their skillset, incorporate industry‑standard software into their workflow, and push their artistic potential. You’ll start by building a solid foundation in the traditional arts focused on observational drawing, perspective, tone, color, composition, and animation. Then you’ll apply those fundamentals to 3D modeling, digital sculpting, visual effects, lighting, texturing, simulations, technical art, and 3D animation. As you progress through the program, you’ll repeatedly join multidisciplinary teams and work alongside programmers, designers, and audio specialists to build a playable video game or a 3D animated film. After graduation, these projects — along with your portfolio — will serve as a ready‑to‑go materials showcasing your experience for jobs in game, animation, other computer graphics‑related industries.

Unreal Engine Academic Partner

Provides software licenses, subscriptions, co-marketing options, and Marketplace credits.

Official Houdini Certified School

Recognized for teaching courses using industry-leading 3D animation software. Provides SideFX license.

Students leave our four‑year undergraduate art program as artists with strong skills covering classic and modern concepts and a willingness to embrace technology. This forward‑thinking mindset can be applied to the game and animation film industries and beyond.”

Matt Brunner

Program Director

A Byte-Sized Program Breakdown

Study Art in the Digital World
Learn digital art and create powerful, affecting imagery with a foundation in traditional art and a deep understanding of 3D digital art and computer animation.
Collaborate Across Disciplines
Craft multi-year game or animation projects where you’ll lend your artistic talents to team-based collaborations with students from different degrees.
Learn From Seasoned Pros
Engage with experienced faculty from across the game and film industries and build connections with local companies like Bungie, Microsoft, and more.
Shape Your Career Path
Design your education around specific jobs you can get with a digital art degree by choosing specialization tracks in animation, rigging, character creation, and environment design.
Invest in Your Future Career
Prepare for a career in sectors like the game industry where roles in the visual arts make an estimated annual salary of $124,000.*

*Based on 2025 Game Industry Salary Report survey respondents in the United States. Source: GDC

Explore Admissions

Admissions Requirements

Start Your Application

Funding Your Education

Alumni Highlights

Turn your passion into your career.

No matter how you slice it, DigiPen graduates go far. Through our comprehensive courses and project-focused methodology, our graduates bring their unique perspective and visual identity to the characters and worlds of games, film, and more.

Networking Mixers
Industry Company Days
Reverse Career Fairs
Internship Support
Course Audits for Alumni

Technical Artist
Character Modeler
Animation Rigger
Environment Artist
Visual Effects Artist

A Growing Lasting Network

Two DigiPen animation students pose together in graduation caps and robes.

Student Teams

Skills aren’t formed through books and lectures alone.

It’s a yearly endeavor — students form teams and collaborate to create an original video game or 3D animated short film from start to finish. Every member of the team brings a unique perspective to the project, and your newfound expertise from your degree program can secure you a relevant role within your team.

DigiPen animation students collaborate on a digital sketch pad.

Focus Areas

Graphics

Build proficiency in game engines, rendering software, visual effects, and interactive mechanics to bring your team's world to life.

Art/Animation

Create the 3D models, characters, animations, and storyboards that visually shape your game or film’s story and emotional impact.

First Year

Kick off the program with traditional art.

Develop and refine your 2D art skills as you dip into the basics of real-time engines and your initial team project.

A black and white sketch of a Japanese tsubo niwa, a small outdoor courtyard within the home.

Second Year

Introduce technology into your workflow.

Tap into new animation and 3D art pipelines and start coding as an artist. Your first multidisciplinary team game or animation project begins.

A wireframe 3D model of a two-story house and a front yard.

Third Year

Select your art concentration and create a new team project.

Become an expert in your chosen specialization tracks, focusing your academics on your interests while working on a robust junior‑year team project.

A 3D model of two floating creatures and a woman with purple hair.

Fourth Year

Be the artist you dream of — and prepare for your career!

Showcase your digital art talents with a comprehensive portfolio of work that includes your final senior project.

An intricate 3D model with shading and shadows of a centaur-like creature with dragon and bird influences.

Academic Concentrations

Your Degree, Your Way.

Take your education in the direction you’re most interested in. In your junior year, pick a primary and secondary track to focus your final two years of coursework on specific digital art disciplines.

Animation
Explore the principles of movement and breathe life into characters and scenes through keyframing, kinematics, and more.
Character Rigging
Implement the digital joints and bones that control 3D character movement in video games and animated films.
Character Creation
Design characters using techniques in digital sculpting, costume design, texturing, surfacing, and more.
Environment Creation
Learn how to craft worlds using 3D layouts, texturing, lighting, and rendering.

Eyes of the Forest’s mouse hero, Thistle, looks at the camera cast in a soft glow in front of a dense, gloomy forest.

Student Stealth Game Eyes of the Forest Gets WA State Gaming Expo Spotlight

Find Out What Makes Us Different

Chat directly with a student ambassador or tune into an online info session — there’s always a way to learn more about DigiPen.

Ask-a-Dragon on Discord

Anatomy of a Student Team

April 1, 2026 Event Details

Curriculum

Instructors with Industry Insight.

From your first day of class to the day of your commencement, our renowned faculty and network of diverse professors have curated your academic progression to transition you into the workforce with ease and confidence.

Our Faculty