JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. -- School is almost out for the summer, but there's already a waitlist for a popular Shawnee Mission program for next school year.
The Animation and Game Design Signature program brings students from all Shawnee Mission high schools to the Center for Academic Achievement. Those students learn 2D and 3D animation in a variety of classes.
"The classes have become very popular," said Bryan Johnson, the Animation and Interactive Media Instructor for the Shawnee Mission School District. "There is a waitlist for all of the classes right now. We try to accommodate the juniors and seniors that want to take it first. Then, if there's room, we will take the sophomores."
Johnson said the need for animation, especially motion graphics, has exploded in recent years.
"Everybody wants it," he said. "They want it on their websites and in their commercials. There's just a big need, especially for motion graphics, nowadays. Any kind of 3D animation is sought after."
While many students take the class to learn a fun new skill, others excel and make a career out of it.
"I've followed several students into the industry and they are doing it," he said. "But high school is about exploration, so if this is something they think they might want to do, they can get in here and see what it is all about before they spend $70,000 on art school."
"It is a really popular career right now," said Maya Colvin, a Shawnee Mission North senior. "I think it would be interesting to pursue. I'd like to do something in art."
Colvin placed first in Character Animation at the eMagine Media Festival, a contest open to all Kansas City area high school students.
"When I was little my dad used to tell me about how people animated," she said. "We'd be watching the Flinstones and he'd say, 'Have you ever noticed how the background is just the same thing over and over again?' I didn't think that normal people could do it!"
For more information on the program click here.
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