Digital Animation portfolio
The Digital Animation program admission requirements include a portfolio submission. This page offers detailed information about what's required in your portfolio. Your portfolio helps NSCC evaluate your abilities to ensure you have a reasonable probability of success in this program.
Important: This program uses SlideRoom, a third-party portfolio management software platform, for portfolio submissions. Once you have reviewed the requirements and prepared your materials, you'll need to create a SlideRoom account, upload your portfolio, and complete any required submission forms. An application fee of $15 USD is required for each portfolio submission in SlideRoom.
Portfolio contents
Your portfolio consists of the following items, to be submitted digitally:
- Perspective drawings – 1 clean perspective drawing and 1 page of your rough sketch work that shows the horizon line and vanishing points
- 3 life drawings – 2 full body life drawings and 1 page of rough hand sketches
- Character head rotation exercise
- 3 pieces of personal, original artwork
Perspective drawings
There are two components to this section. Before starting, identify a room to sketch that contains furniture / other objects. Please review the instructions carefully to ensure your submission meets the requirements. Please note that this should be drawn in 2-point perspective.
Part 1. Rough Sketch Work
- Content: Include one page of rough perspective sketches of the room. The sketches should showcase your process and planning.
- Requirements: Your rough sketches should clearly demonstrate:
- The horizon line
- Vanishing points (2)
- Perspective guidelines for the room and objects
- Placement and layout of furniture and objects
- This page is meant to illustrate your exploration of the design, showing how you approached the composition and perspective. Your rough sketch work will be evaluated as part of the vanishing point component in the marking rubric.
Part 2. Clean Perspective Drawing
- Content: Create a detailed, finished perspective drawing of the same interior room you illustrated in your rough sketches.
- Requirements: In this final drawing, include detailed illustration of all furniture and objects in the space, ensuring everything is in correct proportion and follows accurate perspective principles. Use well-defined vanishing points to give your image depth and a realistic, three-dimensional appearance.
Important Notes:
- Both components need to depict the same interior room.
- The rough sketch work shows your process, while the clean perspective drawing represents the final, polished version of the room design.
Tips, tutorials and examples
- View a 2-point perspective tutorial from Hello Artsy
- View a 2-point perspective tutorial from schoolofsketching.com
- View a YouTube video with a 2-point perspective tutorial
- Get as far back as your can to draw the entire room (don't draw close-up).
- View the following examples of student works:
Pictured here: A sketch by Stephanie Simons.
Pictured here: A sketch by Yiting Sun.
Pictured here: A sketch by Stephanie Simons.
Life drawings
Include the following:
2 full body drawings
Provide 2 full body drawings. These drawings should demonstrate your ability to draw the full body human form (not portraits) with the same sense of 3-dimensionality and structure as the perspective drawings.
1 page of rough hand sketches
Provide 1 page of rough hand sketches (at least 4 examples) to further demonstrate your ability to draw from life. It's important to plan out work and experiment with proportions, posing and line quality as part of the process of drawing. The rough hand sketches will be evaluated as part of the hand structure and proportions component of the marking rubric.
Examples
View the following examples of student works:
Pictured here: A life drawing by Stephanie Simons.
Pictured here: A life drawing by Yiting Sun.
Pictured here: A life drawing by Stephanie Simons.
Pictured here: A page of sketches by Stephanie Simons.
Character head rotation exercise
Print the character head rotation template (PDF 66KB). Use the front view of the head as a reference and draw the 3/4 view and profile view of the same head on the same page, next to the front view of the head.
Try to imagine the head as a solid, 3-dimensional object rather than lines. Try to maintain the same “volume” and size as the original. Use the geometric shapes and the guidelines in the template to help you.
Personal, original artworks
Submit your 3 pieces of personal, original artwork. You're encouraged to send in a variety of artwork that shows the breadth of your skills and interests. We're looking for your creative potential in drawing, painting, storytelling, entertainment, characterization and design.
Examples of personal artwork include sketchbooks, paintings, caricatures, animation, sculpture, 3-dimensional work, comic/graphic novel work, etc. You're encouraged to be thoughtful and conscientious in the selection of the art to be submitted and to prioritize personal artwork samples.
Do not submit copies of existing, copyrighted work or characters.
Original Work and AI Use
Portfolio submissions must be fully original and created solely by the applicant. This means:
- AI tools must not be used to generate any content (e.g., text, images, audio, or video)
- Work created by others must not be submitted
The use of standard tools and plug-ins within audio, video, and graphic design software, including those with AI components, is permitted to support your original work. The portfolio is intended to demonstrate your individual creative ability; submissions that do not meet these requirements may not be considered.
| Completed | Portfolio components |
|---|---|
| 1 clean perspective drawing and 1 page of rough sketch work | |
| 3 life drawings - 2 full body and 1 page of rough hand sketches | |
| Character head rotation (use template provided) | |
| 3 pieces of personal, original artwork |
Portfolio Submission via SlideRoom
NSCC uses SlideRoom, an online platform, to collect portfolio submissions. There is an application fee of $15USD for each portfolio submission per program.
To submit your portfolio, follow these required steps:
Step 1: Carefully review the portfolio requirements listed on this page.
Step 2: Prepare, create, and gather all required files for your submission.
Step 3: Once your materials are ready, visit the NSCC Digital Animation SlideRoom submission page to complete your portfolio.
In SlideRoom, you will be required to:
- Create a SlideRoom account
- Enter your NSCC Student ID number (included in your most recent email from NSCC Admissions after applying on nscc.ca)
- Upload your portfolio according to the program requirements listed on this page
- Submit your portfolio by the posted deadline (Atlantic Time)
You may begin your submission, save your progress, and return to SlideRoom at any time before submitting. Once submitted, changes cannot be made.
Upon successful submission, a confirmation screen and submission number will be provided for your records.
- For technical support, visit the SlideRoom Applicant Help Centre
For questions about portfolio requirements, contact NSCC’s School of Access, Business, Creative Industries and Education at
File types and upload requirements
Preferred Formats
- PDF (.pdf)
- JPG / JPEG (.jpg), PNG (.png): Images and artwork
Note: .tif and .tiff are supported but are often too large—please convert them to a high-quality PDF or JPG before uploading.
Do Not Upload
- Working files (.ai, .psd, .indd) → export before uploading
- Web-only formats (.webp, .avif)
File Size Limits
- Images: ≤ 10 MB
Assessment
Learners in the Digital Animation program devote many hours to drawing. The development of these drawing skills enables them to draw any character, object, building, room or landscape from any point of view, and makes it appear 3-dimensional using a precise linear style.
The admissions committee will look at your portfolio for evidence of your potential to reach this goal and to be successful. Your total combined score must be a minimum of 60% for acceptance into the program.
| Developing: 0 to 4 points |
Competent: 5 to 7 points |
Exemplary: 8 to 10 points |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanishing point | Artwork appears incomplete, missing too many details, lack of vanishing point and horizon line. | Artwork demonstrates an understanding of perspective, clear application of vanishing point and horizon line. | Artwork demonstrates an exceptional understanding of perspective, application of vanishing point and horizon line, high level of detail in drawing. | /10 |
| Solid structures | Artwork feels unfinished, more dimension and details needed to better define the shape of objects. | Artwork demonstrates a clear understanding of 3 dimensional structure, good level of detail used to define the shape of objects. | Artwork demonstrates an excellent understanding of 3 dimensional structure, high level of detail used to define the shape of objects so they appear solid and realistic. | /10 |
| Use of lines/amount of detail | Artwork feels unfinished, line quality is choppy and makes some objects look unclear, more details needed. | Artwork demonstrates a good level of detail applied to give the objects character and style. Good line quality, clean line work evident. | Artwork demonstrates outstanding line quality and was finished with a great deal of patience evident by the high level of detail present. | /10 |
| Total points | /30 |
| Developing: 0 to 4 points |
Competent: 5 to 7 points |
Exemplary: 8 to 10 points |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy drawing the human figure | The human figure is not drawn to the correct proportions or structure. Drawing is missing a significant amount of detail. | Demonstrates a moderate understanding of 3-dimensional form. | The human figure is drawn to the correct proportions and structure and demonstrates an excellent understanding of 3-dimensional form. | /10 |
| Hand structure and proportions | Either structure or proportions need more development. | Good structure and proportions. | Excellent structure and proportions. | /10 |
| Total points | /20 |
| Developing: 0 to 4 points |
Competent: 5 to 7 points |
Exemplary: 8 to 10 points |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good drawing structure/line quality | The character head is not drawn to the correct proportions and structure. Poor line quality and lack of 3-dimensional understanding is evident. Did not make use of all guidelines provided. | The character head is mostly drawn to the correct proportions, demonstrates a moderate understanding of 3-dimensional form, clean line quality. Makes good use of the guidelines provided. | The character head is drawn to the correct proportions and structure, demonstrates an excellent understanding of 3- dimensional form and has successfully included variation in line quality to denote weight. | /10 |
| Volume | Volume and shape are not consistent across all 3 views. | The volume and shape are mostly consistent, some minor fixes needed. | Good consistency in volume and shape. Effective use of guidelines provided. | /10 |
| Accuracy | Both additional views of the character head exhibit proportional and shape issues. Accuracy of the drawings is greatly decreased. | Additional views of the character head exhibit minor proportional and shape issues. Accuracy of the drawings can be greatly improved with some minor tweaks. | The character is drawn to the correct proportions and structure, demonstrates an excellent eye for details and high level of accuracy in the application of those details. | /10 |
| Use of guidelines | Didn't use guidelines. | Used some guidelines. | Good attention to details with accurate use of guidelines. | /10 |
| Total points | /40 |
| Developing: 0 to 4 points |
Competent: 5 to 7 points |
Exemplary: 8 to 10 points |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elements of design: Line, texture, colour, shape/form, space and value | Artwork submission shows a basic level of understanding the elements of design, more practice needed. | Artwork submission demonstrates planning and shows moderate awareness and application of the elements of design. | Artwork submission demonstrates careful planning and shows a high degree of awareness and application of the elements of design. | /10 |
| Variety and quality | Artwork submission demonstrates minimal variety of style or subject matter, more variety and exploration of subject matter would strengthen the portfolio. | Artwork submission demonstrates a good variety of style or subject matter. Effort and perseverance evident in the quality of work submitted. | Artwork submission demonstrates an excellent variety of style or subject matter. Effort and perseverance evident in the quality of work submitted. | /10 |
| Craftsmanship/skill | Artwork submission demonstrates a developing artistic ability but more practice is needed. | Artwork submission demonstrates a good artistic ability and willingness to devote time toward skill development. Good attention to detail. | Artwork submission demonstrates a high level of artistic ability and willingness to devote time toward skill development. Excellent attention to detail. | /10 |
| Total points | /30 |
| Developing: 0 to 4 points |
Competent: 5 to 7 points |
Exemplary: 8 to 10 points |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extent to which the applicant follows all application specifications, including completing required components and submitting materials correctly. | Inconsistent adherence; missing elements or incorrect submission details that impact quality. | Mostly follows requirements; minor errors or small deviations that do not affect completeness. | Fully adheres to all application specifications; all required components are complete and submitted properly with no errors. | /10 |
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