Animation BFA and BA Portfolio and Creative Statement Requirement

Students who apply to our BFA or BA Animation programs are required to submit a creative statement and portfolio in addition to their online application. If you have any questions about the requirements detailed below, please contact a DePaul Animation professor.

Creative Statement

The creative statement is not an academic essay and will be more personal, but it should still be presentable and checked for spelling and grammatical errors (use any Word-type software to check). It should be one to one and a half pages in length, and address the following questions:

What are your creative inspirations? Why do you want to study animation, and why are you applying to DePaul?

Creative Portfolio

This is a collection of examples that demonstrate your creativity and interests. Your work will be evaluated more for creative potential than on slick finish. No previous animation experience is required for acceptance (we can teach you that!). While drawing ability helps in most areas of animation, it isn’t necessary for all forms (3D animation, for example).

Your portfolio should include one or more of the following: scanned images, photos, video, and/or stories.

• Images/photos: Image or photo submissions should be kept to a total of 10-15 examples. These may include: drawings, comics, sketches, doodles, digital art, designs, photography, storyboards, cartoons, paintings, illustrations, character designs, 3D renders, etc. You can also include photos of your ceramics, costumes, sculptures, dioramas, sets, or puppets. These images may be scanned, or you can shoot them with a camera (or phone). Make sure to use bright, even lighting so we can see your work at its best.
• Video: A video submission should be no longer than 3 minutes. This can be a short film that shows your creativity, imagination, composition, and storytelling. It can be shot on a phone or camera. You can also include animation of any kind, such as stop motion, hand-drawn, 3D, or computer, but animation isn’t required. If you’ve created highly creative custom content for games, such as Minecraft movies or LittleBigPlanet, or a game you’ve created by yourself or with friends, we encourage you to submit video capture or stills. If you worked on a team, please describe what parts you created.
• Stories: Submissions of creative writing, poetry, or screenplays, should be limited to 3 pages.