Duoc UC

Duoc UC is a Chilean non-profit professional institute affiliated with the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, delivering technical and professional education across regional campuses including Santiago, Concepción, and Viña del Mar. Creative training is organized primarily within its School of Communication and School of Design, emphasizing practical, competency-based learning structured around production pipelines.

Digital Animation Pipeline

The flagship offering for visual effects and animation is the eight-semester professional degree in Digital Animation (Animación Digital). The program follows a chronological progression across pre-production, production, and post-production in both 2D and 3D workflows.

Foundational training focuses on traditional and digital drawing, spatial observation, proportion, volume, and lighting. Applicants must complete a mandatory in-person admission examination testing spatial awareness and visual communication abilities, prioritizing artistic fundamentals ahead of technical software training.

As coursework advances into digital production, instruction covers modeling, character acting, rigging, texturing, rendering, and visual effects integration. Technical training is supported by official institutional credentials:

• Houdini Training Center: Certified procedural modeling, simulation, and VFX workflow integration through SideFX alignment.
• Toon Boom Center of Excellence: Industry-standard vector animation, character rigging, and node-based compositing for 2D production.

Modular Milestones and Practical Training

The Digital Animation degree uses an embedded certification model that verifies specific competencies at key stages:

• Drawing for Animation
• Visual Development
• Narrative and Character Animation
• 3D Technological Tools
• 3D Acting and Animation
• Development of Animated Projects

Students complete a labor practice during the fifth semester and a final professional practicum in the eighth semester. An intermediate exit point allows students to graduate early with a technical title in Visual Development for Animation.

Visual Design and Concept Pathways

Complementing the animation track, the School of Design offers a professional degree in Illustration for Global Contexts (Ilustración para Contextos Globales). The program covers traditional dry and wet media alongside digital illustration and project workflows. Beginning in the fifth semester, students choose specialized tracks in virtual environment design, authorial design, or editorial project management, developing concept art and world-building skills for entertainment and games.

All relevant creative programs are conducted entirely in person across day and evening schedules, utilizing specialized computer labs and critique environments.