THE DIPLOMA in classical animation at the Senior College, Ballyfermot, Dublin, is probably better known and respected internationally than here in Ireland. At home animation is still seen by many people as simply a fancy form of drawing, despite the fact that it comprises one of the biggest sectors in the American entertainment industry.

Such lack of knowledge comes from the relative smallness of the industry here. There are a few small companies, but generally all the major animation opportunities are in the United States.

The course co-ordinator, Thelma Chambers, says anyone who wants to do the course will have to have more than just drawing ability. "Yes we expect people who can draw," she says, "but we want students who understand movement - this is what animation is all about".

Students on the course find the most demanding element is the sheer amount of drawing they have to do - six hours a day every day. But, after the three years, the quality of the work they can produce seems to be very strong - certainly if an endorsement by the biggest name in world animation, Walt Disney, means anything.

The course at Ballyfermot is one of 12 worldwide programmes officially linked with Disney. This involves placements, jobs, special consultancy to the programme and masterclasses given by experienced Disney animators.

It's not surprising that competition to gain entry to the course is so fierce. Many people do the one-year certificate in animation drawing studies before going on to do the full classical animation diploma. Entry is via portfolio and special drawing project. With only 15 to 20 people on the course, many applicants go away disappointed.

Once a person gets on the course, he or she will be taught a wide variety of subjects, most of them a long way from simple drawing. For example, there are courses on animation history, film making, film structures and layout and design.

In second year some time is spent making students aware of human anatomy and how the human body moves. This involves visiting the Royal College of Surgeons and inspecting dead bodies. Many students on the course say that unless an understanding of how the human body moves is grasped an animator will not reach full potential.

Jerome Morrisey, principal at Senior College, Ballyfermot, says that all graduates from the course secure employment immediately. "Worldwide there is a deficit of animators, particularly in the United States. Most of our graduates are head-hunted by the large international animation studios. There is tremendous money to be made at the moment".

The most buoyant employment area is computer animation. This usually involves animations being scanned into a computer and then used creatively for the final product. There is also work on what are called in the animation industry "in-betweeners" - people who work on animations at the stage between the original drawing and the final moving character.

A sizeable number of students on the Ballyfermot course are also hoping to do what is called "layout animation", drawing the scenery and background for an animation. The Irish animation scene is small, but companies such as Terraglyph and Brownbag are well known internationally and have over the past few years hired many Ballyfermot graduates.

STUDENT Declan Doyle, in his second year of the course, says he hopes to get a job with Disney. He is uncertain about his chances, but he hopes that his skills in computer animation will at least secure him a steady job at home. His classmate Marie Morrissey, who says she was always good at art in school, is intent on getting a job as a layout animator. She, too, is interested in taking the Disney option, although she has a preference for Paris above the US.

She speaks favourably of masterclasses given by Disney animators. "We had a class with one of them recently, and you notice in the week after he went the improvement in everyone's work".

She has been most impressed with the range of subjects that the course contains. "We have, for instance, a visual language class, that really pushes our imaginations and makes us get more out of our drawing". She says that this subject is particularly good at making students "aware of things".