Why India’s top animation schools are the hidden face of American cartoons

India is the secret weapon of the world’s top animation studios. It doesn’t fit their branding, and they don’t publicize it, but before recognizable American voiceovers are synced in, many of the productions you see on Cartoon Network, Nick Jr. and other mainstream channels get rigged, storyboarded, and produced by talent out of colleges like IIT Bombay’s Industrial Design Center and Symbiosis, a leading animation educator in Pune.

HostJane
Better Work
2 min readMar 14, 2024

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What isn’t a secret is that India’s animation industry has exploded in recent years. Massive investment and increased takeup of B.Sc courses in 3D Animation and VFX by new undergraduate students has overtaken interest in Liberal Arts. The animation industry is not oversaturated and the main reason why is the supply demands to American TV networks behind-the-scenes use of Indian animators.

Rajkapoor, one of the top animators on HostJane shared his perspective with HostJane and now produces freelance work for both institutional and independent projects with client buyers from Perth, Australia to Atlanta, Georgia.

Hectic demands for production schedules, network bosses hungry for ratings in an AI-driven economy means Indian animation studios draw not only from colleges, but also from a wealth of experienced freelance pools with degreed and veteran talent from the below animation courses.

IDC at IIT Bombay has grown to become one of the world’s top animation colleges and a center of excellence for recruiting to top Indian studios

Here are the top 20 animation schools in supply to U.S. studios:

  1. IDC IIT Bombay
  2. Amity University, Uttar Pradesh
  3. Arena Animation
  4. The Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT)
  5. VIT School of Design
  6. Artemisia College of Art & Design (ACAD), Madhya Pradesh
  7. Chandigarh University, Punjab
  8. Loyola College
  9. MAAC India — Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics
  10. Indian Institute of Film and Animation
  11. National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad
  12. Pearl Academy
  13. Webel DQE Animation Academy, West Bengal
  14. NSHM, Kolkata
  15. Bangalore University
  16. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University
  17. Fergusson College, Pune
  18. Toonz Academy
  19. Whistling Woods International, Mumbai
  20. Mahatma Gandi University, Kerala

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