Course Syllabus

Fall 2025 | ART-1420-VO01 - Digital Animation

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Darren Spafford
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Dana Lee

General Education Requirements

Arts and Aesthetics

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course is a hands-on introduction to creating simple animations. Students gain proficiency with illustration and animation concepts and import images and sounds. Students also learn the correct usage of frame actions.

Essential Objectives

1. Demonstrate proficiency in the animation development environment including managing the workspace, usage of stage properties, timelines, and property panels.
2. Demonstrate importing graphic, audio, and video content.
3. Design an object using drawing tools and layers to prepare for animation.
4. Define effective use of storyboards and animatics to deliver a compelling story and explain the movements of animated objects and characters.
5. Demonstrate proficiency in animating graphics using tweens and frame by frame animation, and apply blurring, selective animation, speed lines, onion skinning, and squash/stretch effects to add convincing or exaggerated motion to characters and objects.
6. Demonstrate synchronization by animating dialog, sound effects, and/or music soundtrack.
7. Discuss the artistic and design considerations of creating effective presentations.
8. Examine, discuss, and critique animated works including some reference to historical, social, and cultural contexts with an emphasis on global or cultural diversity.
9. Display finished works in a professional manner.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Prohibited: The use of generative AI is not allowed in this course, with the exception of spellcheck, grammar check and similar tools. This course rests in the value of students engaging in the learning process without relying on AI-generated content. Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills independently, owning their learning journey from start to finish. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

In this course, you’ll be learning how to plan, create, and animate original work using pose-to-pose methods, keyframes, and timeline control. While tools like ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly, or image generators can help you brainstorm or troubleshoot, they won’t build your skills as an animator—and that’s the point of this course.Animation is about decision-making, control, and intent. AI doesn’t understand your timing, your story, or your creative voice. If you rely on it to generate your work, you're skipping the most important parts of the learning process.

What is allowed:

• You may use AI to help brainstorm ideas or generate rough reference material (like poses or character inspiration).
• You may ask AI to explain animation principles or help you troubleshoot a software issue.
• You may use built-in software tools (like onion skinning, tweening, or interpolation) as intended.

What is not allowed:

• You may not submit animations that were generated or heavily assisted by AI tools (e.g., motion-generating plugins, AI keyframe interpolation, or fully generated video).
• You may not use AI to design your entire character, background, or concept without your own interpretation or contribution.
• You may not use AI to skip doing the frame-by-frame or timeline work yourself.

Why this matters

This course is about learning the craft of animation—timing, spacing, motion, and expression. Those things come from your hands, your eyes, and your decisions. If you're not actively practicing those skills, you're not learning to animate.Use AI as a reference or a sounding board—but not as a substitute for the work. If you’re unsure whether something is okay to use, just ask. I’d rather help you early than fix a problem later.

Methods

This course will utilize the following teaching methods as necessary:

• Overview/Annoucement -Each week will have an overview and annoucement explaining what we will be working on with more detail for how the week will work.
• Course Resources- Text and videos were specifically designed for this course as demosntrations, tutorials, and follow-alongs to be used a practice each week to gain confidence before attempting assignments.
• Discussions- Discusisons are like our "in-class conversation" to talk, chat, brainstorm, and get ready for each week as a group. It is expected that we will make a post and reply to two (2) colleagues each week.
• Quizzes - Multiple choice and matching style quizzes are used weekly to assess vocabulary, test skill/concept understanding, and engage in problem-solving. Quizzes can be seen before being taken.
• Activities & Assignments- Assignments are a weekly method of seeing if (1) you were able to review the resources; (2) followed along to try and practice; and then (3) complete the assignment as expected. Each assignment has a clear description and a rubric you can use to determine your own score each week before, during and after weekly progress.
• Reviews - At the end of each week, we will have an opportunity to check-in, see how things are going, and talk about some of the key topics we learned each week via a reflection where you are expected to discuss your experience, workflow, challenges and triumphs, and have a direct conversation with the instrutor each week about your work and progress in the course.
• Help (As Needed) - The instructor for this course is available by email and live Zoom sessions with a few days notice.

Evaluation Criteria

• 60% Assignments & Activities
• 15% Quizzes
• 15% Discussions
• 10% Midterm/Final

Additional Notes:

• Late Assignments are NOT Allowed
• Missing 2 of 12 Summer classes is an automatic loss of credit
• Missing 3 of 15 Spring/Fall classes is an automatic loss of credit
• Help is available by email and/or Zoom as needed

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

YOU WILL NEED A PC , MAC, or LINUX COMPUTER (not an IPad, netbook, or mobile device or tablet)
We are using free software in this class along with free resources. The progrum we are using requires a lot of memory (RAM and ROM) so older computers may experience more lag.

Participation Expectations

• Login Frequency - Log into this course 3+ times/week vs all in 1 day
• Discussions - Use discussions to reflect on the previous week, discuss the upcoming one, share, ask questions, and help one another
• Resources - View and use resources included with the course
• Tasks - Be on time, read task descriptions and rubrics carefully
• Communication - Regularly check your email and provide timely (24-48 hours) responses to questions, emails, comments and other feedback as needed.This includes asking for help when you need it instead of falling behind.
• Preparation - Read and review all resources and tasks including task descriptions and rubrics prior to attempting the assignment
• Effort - Complete tasks beyond the minimal requirements. Follow tutorials, practice, try concepts no your own and gain confidence with weekly skills before trying the assignment
• Professionalism - As part of an online community, you are expected to demonstrate professionalism in your interactions with peers and the instructor. This includes meeting deadlines, being accountable for your work, and upholding academic integrity in all assignments.

Additional Notes

• Late Assignments are NOT Allowed
• Missing 2 of 12 Summer classes is an automatic loss of credit
• Missing 3 of 15 Spring/Fall classes is an automatic loss of credit

Missing & Late Work Policy

All assignments must be submitted on time, including the weekly discussion, assignment, quizzes, and reviews.Timeliness is essential not only for this course but also for success in this career. Each week builds on the previous one, so falling behind can quickly snowball into larger challenges. Participation and staying on schedule are expectations for everyone, even in an online format.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

Apply Now for this semester.