WHERE ARTISTS BECOME THE PROFESSIONALS STUDIOS HIRE
Animation · Story · Character Design · Previsualization
2100 Hours of hands-on training in 2 years- From $62,000
The First Trade School for Animation
Built by Hollywood Animators
Real pipelines. Real credentials- without the university debt.
Most four-year university animation programs deliver roughly 800 hours of hands-on training. Hollywood Animation Academy delivers 2,100 in two years for half the cost. That is not a small difference. That is an entirely different level of preparation.
HAA is a state-certified private school in Missouri, and that distinction is the reason those numbers are even possible. Unbound by the federal accreditation requirements that force traditional colleges to fill schedules with general education curriculum, every hour here is animation. Not a department. The entire school.
Our experience-crafted curriculum balances traditional Disney animation and modern Anime alongside the most cutting-edge 3D pipeline training available — simulating the real studio environments students will enter as working professionals.
Students don't just study real productions — they learn from the artists and directors actively working on them.
Through our focused One Year and Two-Year certificate programs and our studio-level Mastercraft Program, students build exactly what studios evaluate: a portfolio that demonstrates proof of skills studios need to see.
Our founder, Gavin Dell, is a Kansas City native who spent decades in professional animation and built HAA to bring serious, studio-caliber training back to the Midwest — the kind that rivals CalArts and SCAD.
Studios where our faculty have worked
Dan Jeup | Pixar
Visiting Instructors This month
April 17
Harley Huggins | Blizzard Cinematic Director
We’re excited to have Harley join us on campus to review portfolios!
April 23 and April 24
Dan Jeup | Pixar Story Supervisor, Animator + Director
We’re thrilled to have Dan on campus for two days to work in person with our seniors as they finish their portfolio work.
You won’t just learn animation.
You’ll train the way professionals train.
Program Paths
Start where you are with an introductory online class:
Introductory Online Classes - Beginners 15 and up
Creative Edge - Intermediate level for those with experience in Storyboard Pro or Maya
One-Year Foundational Certificate
Two-Year Professional Certificate
Mastercraft Certificate (Advanced Industry Prep for graduates and professionals)
Each path leads to a studio-ready portfolio, industry connections, and the professional skills studios hire.
Explore your path and choose your program!
Mentored BY INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS
These are student projects developed under professional- level guidance and studio-style critique.
When students are taught by instructors who evaluate portfolios for major studios, they gain direct insight into current industry standards and expectations.
LEARN MORE ABOUT:
REGISTER by April 24th for our Summer Animation courses!
Taught in person and online daily by our founder, Gavin Dell, who has over 30 years of experience at Disney, Warner Bros, Universal, and more!
June 1st thru 24th
Animation Fundamentals and Design - ages 10-14
Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30 to 11:30 am
$1500
June 2nd thru 25th
Rising Artists - ages 15 and up
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30am to Noon
$1,995
how many hours are students actually learning animation?
Animation instruction hours only
100% Animation Curriculum | All instructors are working animation industry veterans averaging 25+ years of professional studio experience.
HAA delivers equivalent animation content (within 120 hrs) in half the time, less than a third of the cost.
The #1 Ranked Program; HAA delivers +660 more hours of animation instruction at a third of the cost.
HAA delivers 2.6x more animation instruction than SCAD's Animation major.