From creative passion to industry experience: Josh's animation journey at Solent

Reflecting on his first impressions of Southampton Solent University, Josh says, "This uni and its workspace made me fall in love and feel inspired from the get-go with its great environments and teachers."

Looking ahead, Josh hopes to either build a career as a freelance animator or join an animation studio, with the long-term ambition of one day running his own company. Through his studies, he has been developing both the technical and professional skills needed to achieve those goals. "By practising and understanding important techniques to better my skills and applying them to real-world equipment and software," he explains, "I'm also preparing myself business-wise for personal growth and becoming a successful candidate."

A key part of Josh's experience has been gaining hands-on industry exposure. Through Solent Creatives, the university's student-led agency, he has worked on live client projects, creating professional animation content for safety and wellbeing videos. These opportunities have given him valuable insight into client expectations and the realities of working in the creative industries. As Josh explains, "Solent Creatives have especially aided me in getting to work for clients who wanted industry-style animation for their safety brief videos or wellbeing."

Alongside this practical experience, Josh has benefited from hearing directly from industry professionals and Solent graduates. Guest speakers have shared their experiences of working in animation and freelancing, providing valuable advice and helping him better understand what it takes to build a successful career in the sector. Josh says, "I have viewed many guest lecturers, who graduated from Solent University and earlier students of my teachers who have gone on to work in industry and freelancing who taught very important factors into how to become successful at both."

Josh credits much of his progress to the support of his lecturers, who have consistently encouraged his development through constructive feedback and guidance. As he puts it, "My goals are their goals." Their ongoing support has helped him refine his work and continue pushing his creative abilities further.

One of the most important lessons Josh has learned during his time at Solent is the value of resilience. Aware of the challenges that come with pursuing a creative career, he has learned not to fear setbacks. His advice is simple: "Expect rejection. It happens a lot in the industry and in the real world but never let it define you. Failure is the greatest teacher."

For anyone considering studying animation, Josh encourages them to make the most of every opportunity. Reflecting on his own university experience, he says, "Time here has gone way too quickly, and I hadn't realised upon starting, but my time here at uni has been some of the best years of my life. Don't waste a minute panicking about the future of work. Building new relationships and friends is just as important as your grades."

Find out more about our Digital Arts, Animation, Games and VFX courses.