Pre-College Program Catalog | Academy of Art University

PCADE Catalog

Explore our Fall 2024 catalog of tuition-free, scholarship based, art and design classes that you can take as part of the Pre-College Art & Design Experience (PCADE) at Academy of Art University. Browse the different art and design classes we have available and select the courses that you would like to attend for our next term from September 4, 2024—October 15, 2024 (Online) and September 14, 2024—October 12, 2024 (On-campus).

Your application form must be filled out completely before making your class selection

Available Courses

« Back to the Catalog

3D Creature and Character Modeling

This course introduces students to form through digital sculpting. These techniques are used by 3D modelers in the animation, visual effects, video game, and toy industries. Students will explore the ...

AI for Creatives - AI Virtual Pre-College Class

A 6-week program that delves into the dynamic synergy of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and creativity. Participants will grasp AI fundamentals, utilize AI for ideation and content creation, and explore...

Art in Architecture

This course will teach students the abstraction techniques used to derive architectural design concepts. Architectural design is an exercise in creating three-dimensional compositions for people to in...

Car & Motorcycle Design

This is an introduction to the fundamentals of car and motorcycle design. Students will gain the basic skills and concepts of the transportation design process. They will complete a car/motorcycle des...

Character Design

Through the exciting process of character design student will learn how to quickly combine a variety of simple shapes to lay the groundwork for creating detailed character designs. Students will expl...

Creating Dream Spaces

Join us for an exciting two-week design bootcamp in which you will explore the world of Interior Architecture & Design, while getting the opportunity to design a room for your favorite fictional c...

Digital Character Design

Introduction to character design techniques utilized within the animation and games industry. Students will explore concepts such as quick drawing, line-of-action, volume, and caricature that will be ...

Exploring Animation

A survey of animation techniques, with each module covering a different area of animation. The presentations and discussions will include visual examples of the topic and will explore the principles o...

Fashion Blogging & Social Media

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a fashion blogger? This course will set you on the right path, as you will conceptualize and produce your very own professional-looking blog. You will also explore ho...

Fashion Construction

You’ll learn how to operate an electric sewing machine, source fabrics, and deconstruct/reconstruct old garments into original finished designs. You will work on two exciting projects,...

Figure Drawing

This introductory drawing class focuses on fundamental principles of drawing the nude human figure. An understanding of proportion, gesture, balance, and value will be developed in charcoal drawings f...

Graphic Design

Students learn to think conceptually and to develop their visual communication skills through understanding the combination of image and message. They gain knowledge about the design principles of typ...

Introduction to Acting

Students develop their understanding of the art of acting by participating in exercises and beginning scene study. The rehearsal of scenes is an integral part of the course. Work is done with partners...

Introduction to Fashion Design

This experience will introduce young people who love fashion and want to discover more of its creative possibilities and modes of design. Reflective of the design processes students will be introduced...

Introduction to Maya

Welcome to the world of 3D modeling and animation. We are going to look at the production pipeline that is common to most animation studios. To start a project, a character designer draws the concept,...

Introduction to Styling

This experience will introduce young people who love fashion and want to discover more about trends and style. Reflective of the analysis and prospective thinking processes students will be introduced...

Introduction to Visual Effects

This is an introductory course to the visual effects pipeline. You will be walked through the process of creating a short film featuring live action, animation, and other visual effects. We will start...

Music Production

This course introduces you to the world of creating soundtracks for visual media - films, games and more – using industry standard digital audio workstations. You will learn how to use virtual instr...

Painting

This fun and exciting course teaches basic painting principles including drawing, mixing and understanding color and value, and various techniques of painting. Students begin with two days of painting...

Photography

Learn to use your smartphone to create visually dynamic images like a pro. In this course, you will be introduced to the technical and creative aspects of photography using mobile phone capture techno...

Product & Toy Design

This fun course will teach you how to brainstorm and develop an idea for a new toy. You will utilize different presentation techniques using pens, markers, and chalk to develop your design and then cr...

Sketching for Game Art

This course is designed to equip students with some of the foundational sketching tools needed to begin learning concept art for games. Students will learn everything from basic anatomy to some of the...

VIS for Character Design and Video Games

Students will explore the process of development for animated and live action films by taking an idea from concept to completion. There will be a focus on composition, figure drawing, character design...