VISIONARIES WANTED!
At John Paul the Great Catholic University, we believe in the power of beauty to transform culture. We’re shaping the next generation of artists and innovators with academic excellence, unparalleled creativity, and an authentic community centered on Jesus Christ.
JPCatholic’s Animation program features industry professionals, hands-on projects, and rigorous preparation for your career in creative media. Our unique curriculum model combines a well-rounded overview of the entire Animation pipeline with the flexibility to specialize in your area of interest by taking a track of courses suited to your goals.
Choose from Animation electives within three different tracks: Story Art & Directing, 3D Art, and Animation. In addition to the the hands-on coursework in Animation, you’ll also take our core curriculum which includes Theology, Philosophy, Humanities, and Business.
ANIMATION CURRICULUM
STORY ART & DIRECTING
Focus your Animation electives on Drawing, Screenwriting, Story Development, Storyboarding, and Directing.
3D ART
Focus your Animation electives on Observational Drawing, Life Drawing, 3D Modeling, Texturing, Lighting, Character Modeling, and Environment Design.
ANIMATION
Focus your Animation electives on Life Drawing, Storyboarding, Character Rigging, 2D Animation and 3D Animation.
CORE CURRICULUM
THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY
Grow in faith and understanding, with a rich sequence of coursework in Scripture, Theology, and Philosophy.
BUSINESS
Prepare yourself for the industry with foundational skills in marketing, management, and entrepreneurial thinking.
HUMANITIES
Study the human condition by actively engaging in an exploration of art, literature, culture, politics, economics, and more
what makes us different?
Our Authentically Catholic Community
Our campus is a place where students can grow both professionally and spiritually. We’re a unique community of artists and innovators, centered around our faith in Jesus Christ and the beauty of the Catholic faith. Immerse yourself in an abundance of opportunities for spiritual growth, including Daily Mass, Confession, Adoration, Rosary, Retreats, and Service Projects.
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Our Small Campus Environment
With a total student body under 300, JPCatholic offers a warm, tight-knit campus community. Foster lifelong friendships, form creative partnerships, and surround yourself with a supportive environment that encourages your growth in both virtue and artistic excellence.
Our small classroom sizes offer the chance for one-on-one mentorship from industry professionals who still work in their field.
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Graduate in 3 Years
Our unique academic model prepares students for the real-world pace of professional life in the industry, with a focus on hands-on projects, internships, and portfolio preparation. The program is structured on a year-round quarter system, and you graduate with your Bachelors Degree in just 12 quarters. Each quarter is 10 weeks long, with about 3 weeks of break between each quarter.
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Alumni Success
JPCatholic alumni have found success in a variety of paths, ranging from Hollywood to independent media organizations, and from large corporations to nonprofits to their own entrepreneurial start-ups. View our placement rate and alumni jobs by clicking below.
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Located in San Diego County
John Paul the Great Catholic University is centered in north county San Diego, just a 35-minute drive from downtown in America's Finest City. Southern California is famous for its fantastic weather, beautiful beaches and mountains, and bustling metropolitan areas. Our campus is just 15 miles from the beach, a short trip by car or train. And with Los Angeles and Hollywood within striking distance, students have even more opportunities for internships and networking.
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Quarter in LA
As an upperclassmen, you can have the opportunity to study at a satellite campus in Burbank, located right up the street from the Warner Bros. studio lot. These 10 weeks open up a host of new opportunities for internships, networking, and experiencing life in the entertainment capital of the world.
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Meet the Faculty
- Prof. Riley is a screenwriter with 20 years of experience, whose first film, After The Truth, an award-winning courtroom thriller written with his wife, Kathleen Riley, sparked international controversy when it was released in Germany.
- He is a veteran of the Warner Bros. script department, Riley is the author of The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style. From 2005 through 2008, he served as director of the acclaimed Act One Writing Program in Hollywood, which trains Christians for careers as writers and executives in film and TV.
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- Prof. Hulburt received his MFA in Animation and VFX from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
- He worked for CBS Interactive - GameSpot.com, creating motion graphics and animations in addition to live video and graphics production at E3 and ComicCon.
- He work as a 3D artist for 'Junior Giants Foodiecats,'. He specializes in 3D modeling and texturing with additional skills in rigging, lighting, animation, and rendering.
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CHRIS RILEY
MAX HULBURT
Professor of Story
Professor of Animation and Design
- Prof. Nicolini taught drawing and painting in her San Diego studio and instruction with life drawing and anatomy to the in-house animators at Sony Online Entertainment.
- She worked as an illustrator for a product manufacturing company whose clientele included such well-known motion-picture studios as Disney, Warner Brothers & Lucas Films. There she applied her talents to designing products related to such films as The Little Mermaid, Hercules, Pocahontas, Winnie the Pooh, and the Star Wars Trilogy.
- She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration under the direction of Dick Oden at California State University Long Beach, and an MFA from the Laguna College of Art and Design.
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- Prof. Hamersveld worked for over 30 years in the entertainment industry as an animator with Warner Bros., Walt Disney, J. Ward Productions and Hanna-Barbera studios. His credits include: "The Pink Panther"; "Road Runner"; "George of the Jungle"; numerous TV series; and several commercials including "Capt'n Crunch" and "Star Kist-Charlie The Tuna".
- Currently, he is an Animator/Animation Director working on children's games and direct-to-videos for Mattel Toys, Fisher-Price Toys, McGraw/Hill Publishers, and many more.
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JACQUELINE NICOLINI
ERIC VAN HAMERSVELD
Professor of Art
Adjunct Professor of 2D Animation
- Prof. Sartain is a 3D artist with 10+ years of experience in the video game industry, he is currently a Senior Environment Artist at Sony - San Diego.
- He has worked with clients such as Bungie/Activision, SyFy, Disney/Pixar, and Cartoon Network/D3, and has working on nine shipped titles including Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny 2, Defiance, and Cars Mania: Maters Tall Tales.
- He specializes in environment and prop art with strong skills in modeling, texturing, lighting, special fx, animation and setup..
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- Prof. Castro is a Senior Cinematic Artist at High Moon Studios since 2006 and has been part of a team that has shipped three titles since then, with more on the way.
- He began his career in 2003 working as character animator and pre-viz artist at Sony Cinematics Solutions Group in San Diego. He worked next as a Character Finaler on the movie 'The Barnyard' at Omation Studios.
- He seeks to create short films with a positive messages that can express God's will in his life and to share His message of hope and love for all.
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NATE SARTAIN
GEorge CASTRO
Professor of Art & Design
Professor of Animation
- Prof. Brady is a director, creative producer and animation supervisor who has worked at Pixar, Industrial Light and Magic, Imagi Studios, Rhythm and Hues, and Pixomondo.
- He has directed animation for Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee, John Lasseter and Martin Scorsese, and on such films as Everyone's Hero, Astro Boy, TMNT, and Toy Story 2. He supervised scenes for The Hunger Games, Hugo, Green Lantern and Spiderman.
- He is the head of story and animation for Light Chaser Studios in Beijing working remotely from his home in Los Angeles.
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COLIN BRADY
Professor of Animation
STUDENT SHOWCASE
VISIT STUDENT SHOWCASE
“I have the privilege of being a part of the design team at Drive Studio - I am involved with the entire spectrum of the creative process, including creating concepts, building 3D models, compositing, animating and video editing.”
NATE SJOGREN,
Class of 2011
Broadcast Designer at Drive Studios
“Even by sophomore year, my knowledge and production has far surpassed where I thought I would have been at this point in my academic career. The professors are wonderful!”
STEPHANIE FRANCO
Class of 2015
© 2017 John Paul the Great Catholic University