Toon Boom is aggressively expanding its reach to the Indian animation market by launching new 125-seat studio Minte Animation and hiring Hans Van der Sluys as their sales agent. According to a report released in Economic Times, the country’s animation and VFX industry grew by 16.4 percent last year and is expected to be worth INR131.7 billion by 2021, fuelled by a push for original content from Subscription Video On-Demand (SVOD) services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. To meet the burgeoning need for professional animators, Toon Boom is proud to announce its first Authorized Training Centre (ATC) and Certiport certifier in India, Pixels Academy.
Located in Hyderabad, the booming technological and political capital of India’s Telangana state, Pixels Academy is a world-class digital media institution, with state-of-the-art training and facilities to equip students for careers in 2D and 3D animation, visual effects and gaming. Teachers and industry experts empower pupils with the job-ready and lifelong learning skills to become effective innovators, communicators, and leaders within the creative economy.
Pixels Academy’s core values are:
- To provide the best educational experience for the holistic development of students, both artistically and professionally
- Growth through creativity, invention, and innovation
- Integrating honesty, integrity and business ethics into all aspects of business processes
Much like animation itself, Pixels Academy’s mission is decidedly globalist — aiming to bridge the gap between Hyderabad and Hollywood, and Indian students and the international industry, through innovation and collaboration. By offering courses and Certiport certifications in Toon Boom Storyboard Pro and Harmony, it is also training pupils in the world’s gold standard 2D animation software, used in 80 percent of productions, and connecting them to major studios and a thriving educational and economic ecosystem.
The academy differentiates itself by focusing on small student-to-teacher ratios, with only 10 pupils per class, ensuring each gets the attention they need. Pixels also has exceptional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, fostering sustainable business practices by working towards continually evaluating opportunities to reduce the environmental footprint of physical operations, and expanding learning opportunities for low-income students and creating educational equality by opening doors to differently abled pupils.
Mahesh Sriramula, the CEO of Pixels Academy, strongly believes that an education institute should focus on holistic development of its students, both artistically and professionally.
At Pixels Academy, students can expect the highest quality of animation education. They are taught the fundamental techniques in Storyboard Pro and Harmony needed to succeed as professionals, while also learning invaluable soft skills like confidence, accountability, teamwork, and leadership. It has a hands-on atmosphere, with teacher interaction encouraged and relevant practical experience offered. As with all Toon Boom ATCs, Pixels is also committed to investing in the thoughtful selection, training and professional development of its instructors.
Success can also be measured in student satisfaction and personal development, as well as consistently high rates of graduation, job placements, and career achievements. To that end, Pixels has established partnerships with home-grown industry heavyweights including M9FX, Firefly, Green Gold, DQ and Prime Focus, plus international leaders like Toon Boom and our partners.
