China Academy of Art has made outstanding contributions to the development of Chinese art films. In the early days of Shanghai Animation Film Studio, nearly one third of its employees came from China Academy of Art (formerly Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts), among whom were a group of famous animation directors such as Ma Kexuan, Xu Jingda (alias Ada) and Lu Chengfa.

In 2002, China Academy of Art established the Department of Animation, which was one of the earliest units engaged in animation teaching and research in China. In 2004, it was awarded the “National Animation Teaching and Research Base” by the National Radio and Television Administration. In 2006, the School of Media and Animation was established. On the basis of the Department of Animation, the Department of Film and Television, the Department of Photography, and the Department of Network and Games were newly established. The School was awarded “National Characteristic Specialty Development Base” by the Ministry of Education. Film discipline was rated as Zhejiang’s provincial key program. In 2011, the academy was authorized to confer master’s and PhD degrees in Drama, Film and Television recognized by the Ministry of Education. In 2015, the School of Media and Animation was renamed the School of Film and Animation and put forward the goal of developing “film and television studies with characteristics of Eastern visual cultures”. In 2017, it was awarded “China Culture and Art Government Award — Best Animation Education Institute Award” by the Ministry of Culture, and the Animation specialty was listed among the first batch of national first-class specialities in the national Double Ten Thousand Plan.

In May 2022, in order to continue to promote the construction of “double first-class” colleges and universities, and optimize the layout of disciplines, the former School of Film and Animation were divided into two independent schools, namely, the School of Animation and Games and the School of Film Art, opening a new chapter. The School consists of the Department of Animation, the Department of Interactive Media and Games, and the Department of Illustration and Comics. The teaching covers animation, game design art, digital interactive art, illustration and comics and other professional directions.

As the first-level master and doctoral program of Drama and Film discipline of the Ministry of Education, the construction base of characteristic specialties of higher education institutions of the Ministry of Education, and the advantageous specialty of Zhejiang higher education institutions, the Animation specialty takes “humanistic care in the digital age” as its height, and is committed to the exploration in the fields such as local Chinese animation, illustration comics, and interactive media and games. After years of expansion and accumulation, it has been rated as the fifth batch of key programs in colleges and universities in Zhejiang province, the provincial talent training model innovation experimental area in Zhejiang province, Zhejiang “humanistic animation theory and practice” key innovation team, and “animation innovation technology teaching, practice and theory research” innovation team in colleges and universities in Zhejiang province, etc.

The Department of Animation is committed to creating high-quality animation products with Chinese cultural heritage and humanistic spirit. Relying on the background of fine arts, the teaching and practice emphasize the experimentation of integrated media and new technologies, the exploration of creative language, and the training of creative thinking to build a demonstration platform for animation teaching. It aims to cultivate high-level animation film talents and scholars with certain aesthetic accomplishment and social observation ability, comprehensive painting and modeling ability, and mastery of film and television audio-visual technology in the context of the current era.

The Department of Interactive Media and Games adheres to a forward-looking pioneering spirit to explore the path of innovating on the basis of what has worked in the past in this discipline and specialty, with the construction purpose of “conveying the value of Chinese culture, defining the future social landscape, broadening the boundaries of discipline development and promoting the concept of industry diversity”. It aims to cultivate innovative and compound “four-way” talents with international frontier vision and deep roots in Chinese culture. In recent years, it has taken the national trend futuristic interaction and game innovation orientation as the practical direction, actively thinking about the complementary advantages of college game education and the industry, as well as collaborative education and model innovation, and exploring the values of game creation in education, society, health, and economy, etc. besides its entertainment attribute. Facing the future super digital scene, the department continues to carry out interactive and game innovation exploration, and practices the dual-track road based on game noumenon research and professional practice-oriented top-notch talent training.

The Department of Illustration and Comics takes “inheriting cultural traditions and seeking aesthetic modernity” as the guiding ideology. The teaching and practice are carried out in three fields: commercial illustrations, literary picture books, and long-form comics. The department attaches great importance to the cultivation of creative concept, and guides students to make attempts and innovations in the aspects of graphic language, performance techniques and visual expression, etc., aiming to cultivate pioneering illustrators and comic artists.

The School of Animation and Games will continue to adhere to the traditional Chinese context, construct Eastern poetry with a broad international perspective, take picture modeling integration and innovation as the guiding ideology, break through the barriers of disciplines, and continue to be committed to the mutual drive, transformation and experimental innovation of artistic thinking and audio-visual language in the context of art. It will focus on the practice and exploration in artistic directions such as humanistic animation, interactive media and games, and illustration and comics in the context of drama and film studies.