Can you eventually become a visual effects artist with a BS degree in Computer Science?

A CS degree is hugely useful. Visual effects artists range from almost-pure-artists to almost-pure-programmers... In other words, in the visual effects industry you will find artists, programmers, and (most commonly) people who are a mix of the two. Having a CS degree is a huge plus, and perhaps one of the best routes into the industry, provided that your focus as you get your degree remains on graphics.

I'll just add to the other responses and say that it's absolutely a valid path to start out with a CS degree as an entry into the VFX world.  Certainly worked well for me, and the ability to dive into technical problems myself, rather than waiting for a full-time coder to look into something, meant that I could get shots done more efficiently.  You may find yourself starting out as a coder, or as a technical director, or (most likely at the outset) someone who's providing more of a support role that's technical in nature (sysadmin, technical assistant, etc.) One thing I would say is that you may want to make sure that you get comfortable with coding plugins, i.e. get familiar with the SDKs of the major VFX packages like Maya/Max/Nuke/etc., and see what you can do to extend those tools.  Most facilities base their pipelines on these standard packages and would much rather extend an existing tool instead of write a new one from scratch.

Yes. I did a Computer Science about 20 years ago and went into programming jobs straight after. Later I became a software development manager. About eight years ago I decided I'd had enough of IT and that it was time to do what I always wanted to do, so I taught myself VFX using Maya and After Effects, which I bought with my end-of-year bonus. I had around 75 shots to make for a friend's zero-budget film so my learning curve was steep. Along with the wealth of online tutorials and lots of books it gave me a good understanding of the basic techniques. My background as a programmer and my degree in CS, plus my management (and life) experience have made me more of a problem solver and 'techy' rather than a full-blown artist. But that's fine with me. I think there needs to be a good mix of talents in VFX. I now flit between being a VFX lead and being Supervisor on UK TV shows and feature films. I don't regret changing career and I certainly feel that my computer science background has never hindered me in any way - quite the opposite!

A degree is useful but not mandatory to be a VFX Artist. That applies to ANY artistic job.

What country do you live in? What countries are you comfortable living in? Do you want a life outside of work? Do you want a family? Do you value stable employment? How much debt will you need to pay off once you graduate? I'd say CS is actually the better route at this point. It'll be a lot harder to enter the art side of things than with an animation or vis effects degree, but you're more employable if you only care about being "in the industry."

Yes, you can, and there are plenty that do so. DreamWorks, Pixar, and ILM are a few studios that have many positions which require a good deal of engineering ability. Though, realize that you will be working to get a select few jobs in a niche market that is far more competitive than tech... but it's an incredible experience for someone just coming out of college and having grown up a movie or animation geek. As having experience in both VFX and a little bit in tech, here's a list to help you make a more informed decision of the two. Pros Get to work on incredibly cool projects that will be seen around the world Watching others experience enjoy your team's work on the big screen is one of the most rewarding moments of the entire process Able to work with like-minded yet unique individuals who are passionate about what they do and aren't in it just for the big paycheck Meet, work with, and learn from the people who defined your childhood Always able to learn new unrelated skills from renown artists Can get first crack at tickets to major conventions like Comic-Con for free or discounted Free movie screenings and wrap parties Could win an oscar! Ooo shiny Far more competitive to get into than tech. I consider this a pro as it feels like a huge accomplishment after taking the road less travelled when you land a job Ability to freely contribute to research which could help refine industry standards Any role in VFX will sound sexier in conversation than saying you work on integrating multi-platform functionality into a cloud-based monetization service. Ok, both sound sexy, but you don't have to explain yourself as much You get to jump up all excited and derpy pointing out your name in the credit roll to your friends and family... or do it suavely on a date If you opt to freelance after many years in the industry, you'll have the ability price your working rate fairly, work on projects you have interest in, and live in other countries for a few weeks to months at a time You meet and work with a wide spectrum of talent, not just engineers Get to be part of a close community of creative people who love to work on fun projects together outside of work Cons Pay is under market value. Perks are seldom compared to tech Internships are usually low paid or unpaid (as opposed to the bountiful courtships offered to students looking to work in tech) No equity or profit sharing 12 -15 hour days without proper overtime, though this is not as harsh for engineers Ability to work remotely doesn't exist under most pipelines Don't expect to switch to a purely creative role within the same company Can be laid off without warning due to bad decisions made by an elite few, having nothing to do with your own performance Micromanagement tends to be very prevalent. This can be a good or bad thing depending on your work style You may need to move around to keep employed. Those areas where VFX is thriving is currently Vancouver and studios based in China, India, and Singapore. Seniority plays a huge role in most decisions. While productions can benefit from years of experience, reluctance of management to adapt new and better tools keeps pipelines old and kept running by hacks. Incorporating new and efficient functionality requires developing a new pipeline alongside the current one. With staff positions few, having a dedicated team to work on it is costly The development of a blockbuster movie can be a slow moving freight train. Even if the people watching the train pass by see that's it's on the fire, if the engineers driving it has the blinders up, the train rolls on damaged. The time it would take to fully break to a stop, fix the problem, and get it slowly rolling again, you've just lost millions of dollars in cargo. Layoffs. Heartbreak Don't expect recruiters outside of VFX to understand what your value is, thus, making a clean switch is tough. If you want to go into tech, you'll feel out of your element when you start learning from scratch. In many cases, it's necessary given the different theories from CS that are focused on among various fields. It can get depressing at times to look at your counterparts in tech who are able to afford to travel the world, work remotely, start families, be financially stable, and work on their own startups and passion projects without fear of going into debt. You can get there, too, as long as you value yourself correctly Some companies, both small and large alike, will moot some of these points I listed above, but this is my general experience. You have quite a few roles you can pursue. If you have an artistic eye, you can opt for various TD or technical artist roles which let you delve into both worlds of art and engineering. You could even market yourself as the fabled unicorn!  Most CS programs will aim to prepare you for going into what is commonly seen as your standard Silicon Valley job, not necessarily, VFX. Either way, completing a CS degree and having projects to show will put you in a great position to do either one. Try and set up summer internships in both tech and VFX to see what's right for you. Work on projects outside of your normal classwork that tailor towards the role you are interested in pursuing. Grab some friends and make short films. If your college has a film program, find a need and develop some tools to make their lives easier. The experience will pay off no matter what you choose and any industry is always hungry for an engineer with an artistic eye.

As a Visual Effects artist what I can say from experience is that a degree is by no means a necessity, but a general advantage for the workplace. I think when you graduate from University you've been somewhat setup for the workplace with crazy essay deadlines, handling projects on your own and just general life experience, you mature a lot whilst in Uni. As for the technical knowledge for a VFX artist, that depends on the role I suppose. I'm a 2D artist and not having a background in computer science isn't something that has compromised my performance. I started as a Roto Artist, which doesn't involve much technical knowledge, well, you do need to know the fundamentals of how Motion Blur works, basics about cameras etc. This is all stuff you pick up on the job. After working in Roto for a while you will probably dive into Nuke every now and then and pick up some Prep work. This process of working your way up in the VFX (2D) ladder is almost like training, as you can't really jump from University to becoming a Digital Compositor. Anyway, as a Prep / Paint artist you'll be doing many of the same jobs over and over, removing markers, cleaning up green screens, wire removals etc. This is where you will possibly benefit from having a computer background knowledge, once you've got a good grasp of the Nuke workflow. Python knowledge can really speed up your workflow, whether you develop a gizmo to read in 10 plates at a single click or to zap away pesky nan (non existent) pixels, you will be saving 5 minutes here and there which will potentially have you get a shot out of the door 2 hours earlier, or even more, which is ultimately the goal, get the work done to the highest standard in as little time as possible. I did my degree in 3D Animation and I feel that this has definitely helped me out, not in my every day work but it helps with having a better understanding of the VFX Pipeline. Try to be like a sponge and soak up every bit of it. I have a good knowledge of the 3D pipeline, modelling, lighting, rendering from my degree plus everything I've learnt as a 2D artist. This just helps when you have questions about your 3D renders you may receive, sometimes there could be problems and you could go to the artist directly and cut out the middle man. Anyway, I've probably drifted away from the point of your question, and I noticed it was asked over 2 years ago, but I hope this helped! Best of luck.

Certainly, a lot of VFX jobs including lighting and shading require at least basic knowledge of scripting.  If you look at the job listings of major studios like Disney and Pixar, they list CS as a degree that can get you a job there.  It is worth noting that Ed Catmull, the creator of computer animation, is a CS major.

yea, absolutely. Read http://goo.gl/zv6OiE