Well i live in Central, NY and from what i have seen you could start out at Mohawk Valley Community College. They actually have a two year AAS program in Animation. The focus initially is on drawing skills, from there you take Story Boarding, Animation I, Animation II, Animation III, Film Direction, Animation Independent Study and there are a few others which slip my mind now. I just applied there myself even though i already have a two year degree in Fine Art. I want to take all of the Animation classes they offer and then transfer on to a four year school to pick up my BFA. Unfortunately i need to work during the day to support a family so i will need to go in the evening. Because of this it will take me a bit longer than those that have the luxary of going during the day full time.
After that there is Purchase which is outside of NYC. SUNY Buffalo offers a BFA in Computer Arts. SUNY Fredonia, Brockport and Oswego offer some courses as well. Not exactly an Animation Major perse but definitely animation related. There are probably others as well but at this point i haven't looked any further.
I know a number of State schools offer quality BFA programs in Studio Art as well as Illustration. If you boil it all down, Animation is learning how to SEE things and about timing.
Obviously if your traditional art (particularly figure drawing) skills are honed and you learn how to see things then that part is taken care of. As far as timing goes that is typically taugth through trial and error as well as practice IMHO. It also helps to study animation films one frame at a time. I am amazed at how much Disney uses exaggeration in their traditional 2d films. It goes by so fast most folks don't notice it. But it most definitely has a huge impact on the overall impact and "snap" of an animation.
Also bear in mind that once you have your two year degree you could easily transfer to just about any four year degree school in the country. Just have a quality portfolio (which you will have if you apply yourself) and a decent GPA for academic courses and your almost guaranteed to get in regardless of where your applying.
I know in NYC there is the School of the Visual Arts, that is supposed to have a pretty good Animation program. There is another school down there whose name currently escapes me, but they too are also supposed to have a pretty good program.
Again, all this info is just to try and help out a fellow "traveler" on his quest to get the best animation education possible for his time and money.
Regards,
john
