Character Design and Development Certificate | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Character Design and Development Certificate

Learn character design as you gain skills that can be used to design for a range of media, including video games, illustrated books, animation, comics, films, and more.

Cost per course: $600 noncredit, $989 for credit. Each course is available to take for 1 credit.

Total cost: $2,400 noncredit, $3,956 for credit.

student working on a character design project

At the completion of the certificate, students are able to:

  • Create original artworks using sophisticated digital painting techniques.
  • Learn and apply character design skills such as research, storytelling, sketching, refining, and illustrating a final character.
  • Create pre-production art emphasizing key story beats, characters, props, and environments.
  • Develop a portfolio of characters, concepts, and environments that can be used across a range of contemporary media.

COURSES

  • Digital Painting Techniques
  • Character Design and Development
  • Concept Art
  • Advanced Character and Concept: Portfolio Project

Course Schedule (Subject to change)

Spring 2027: Digital Painting Techniques, Character Design and Development
Summer 2027: TBD

Address

2501 Stevens Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404

Contact Us

612.874.3700
800.874.MCAD (6223)
Fax: 612.874.3701

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Land Acknowledgement

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) acknowledges it is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. This is the ancestral homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe people, who were forcibly exiled from the land because of aggressive and persistent settler colonialism. We recognize that this place has a complex and layered history. As a community dedicated to creativity, MCAD is committed to ongoing efforts to support and advocate for American Indian Nations and peoples.


Nondiscrimination Policy

MCAD admits students of any race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, or marital status to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, or marital status in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.