Animation Degree System Recommendations

The following hardware and tools will be required for use while pursuing an animation degree from Huntington University. Note that system requirements may change without notice. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they meet the minimum system requirements for this program. 

External SSD HD

Portable External Hard Drive — Due to the nature of the program, it is recommended that every student purchase an external hard drive.  

  • 512 GB or greater
  • USB-C preferred

Laptop Recommendations

If you wish to work on your DMA projects outside of the lab, a powerful computer will be required that could cost $1500 or more. If you are fine working in the lab, the specifications of your laptop do not necessarily need to match these recommendations.  Film students will primarily work in labs with Mac computers whereas Animation and Game Development students will primarily work with Windows computers.

Mac Recommendation:

  • MacBook Pro (14” or 16”)
  • M2 Processor or above
  • 16 GBs of RAM or above
  • 1 TB of storage or above

Windows Recommendation: 

  • Intel Core i5 (Core Ultra 5) Series OR AMD Ryzen 5 Series (CPU) 
  • Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 or AMD RX 6900 (Graphics Card) 
    Note: The GPU is the most important piece of hardware for digital artists! 
  • 16GB RAM (Memory) 
  • 1 TB  SSD for Storage  
  • For recommendations, feel free to contact the IT Services Help Desk at helpdesk@huntington.edu. 

Pen Displays and Drawing Tablets 

The DMA labs have Wacom Cintiqs for you to work on during class and for projects. These require pens which may be rented from the equipment center, however, students may choose to purchase their own so that they don't need to be returned.  The pens that are required for the Wacom Cintiqs in the labs are the Wacom KP504E Pro Pen 2

Alternatively, you may find it easier to animate/draw/paint/sculpt digitally on your personal computer if you have either a Pen Display or a Drawing Tablet of your own. Here are some of our recommendations listed below:

Pen Displays  (Monitor that can be Drawn on) 

  • Huion KAMVAS PRO 22 Drawing Monitor
  • Huion KAMVAS GT-191 V2 Drawing Tablet 
  • Wacom DTK2200 Cintiq 22HD 
  • Wacom Cintiq 22 Drawing Tablet 
  • Wacom Cintiq 16 (Will also need a separate monitor) 
  • Wacom One (Small and inexpensive, but will need separate monitor as well) 

Drawing Tablets  (Not a Monitor) 

  • Wacom Intuos Pro (comes in Small, Medium and Large) 

Stand Alone Tablets 

  • 11” or 13” iPad Air (will require 2nd generation Apple Pencil)
  • 11” or 13” iPad Pro (will require Apple Pencil Pro)

Purchase Links