Sunderland College
Course Tutors
Matt Hall is an ex-industry animator, working for companies such as Eutehcnyx and Zerolight. Matt has worked on eight shipped titles, on multiple platforms, including the well-received Nascar game series and Warhammer: Storm of Vengeance. Matt quickly gained his position at Eutechnyx after graduating from Animation Design at De Montfort University. He has a wealth of expertise in 3D software, such as Maya and Motionbuilder, with over 10 years’ experience in 3D modelling, keyframe animation and motion capture animation.
Chris Jeffrey is a specialist indie developer whose work includes the “Space is Key” series, "Squishy Sports" “PlatCORE”, “Eleventh Hour”, “Above Average Guy”, “Stop Trump” and “The Dream Eater”. Chris founded ChrisJeff games whilst learning how to make games while in college in 2006. Since then he has developed a number of successful games, hitting an audience of over 100 million players. As an indie developer Chris’s clients include Armor Games, Mochi Games, MTV, Flowplay, Defy, Big Fish Games, Addicting Games, Mini Clip, Newgrounds, Kongregate, Nickelodeon and ABC3.
Tony Pringle is a specialist game artist with key skills as a Texture Artist, 3D modeller, Illustrator and Concept Artist. Tony’s industry experience includes working on titles including Test Drive 5, Test Drive 6, Test Drive Overdrive, Demolition Racer, L.A. Rush and Need for Speed. Tony worked with The Pitbull Syndicate, Infogrammes (Atari), Midway and Dark Black.
Gary Tibbett is the specialist animator and particle effects (VFX) artist. Gary worked as an animator at Coatsink and as a character, environmental and cutscene animator at Ubisoft. Gary has developed games and VR Experiences for PC, PS4, Vita, Vive, Oculus Rift and Gear VR.
Sunderland College continues to invest in NextGen to ensure we are the leading provider of Level 3 Games, Animation & VFX courses in the region. We have six specialist, dedicated NextGen studios. We also have a VR lab (with HTC Vive, Gear VR, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR), green screen and motion capture facilities, TV studio, and recording studios, within the stunning Arts Academy. You can see a sample of some of the students’ work here.
Sunderland College also works with Hartlepool Sixth Form College to deliver the NextGen course there. Find out more here: NextGen at Hartlepool Sixth Form College.
About the Course
The Games, Animation and VFX sectors are academically stretching but vocationally focused. The NextGen / AIM Qualifications Level 3 Extended Diploma in Games, Animation and VFX Skills teaches the fundamental up-to-date skills and knowledge identified by employers as necessary to succeed in these industries.
Industry engagement is the foundation of the NextGen course, it is written and overseen by world leading Games, Animation and VFX studios. The curriculum has been created and is updated by these employers to meet their current and future industry skills needs. Students learn directly from industry through inspiring masterclasses with professionals, industry set tasks and work experience, special events, and through real industry feedback on their project work.
NextGen students have access to a comprehensive library of online masterclasses, as well as using, learning, and mastering industry standard software. The course prepares learners with the knowledge, technical, and soft skills needed to excel in the next stage of their career path and is the tried and tested route of getting into the creative skills pipeline.
Progression routes
Knowing they have the sought-after skills and knowledge these dynamic industries demand, graduating students of the NextGen AIM Extended Diploma go on to Higher Education, Industry Apprenticeships, or Employment.
Course duration
2 years - Full Time