Agree about looking into UNT, UT-Dallas, Sam Houston, and Texas A&M as quality, affordable in-state options.
Of note, Sam Houston and Texas A&M both belong to National Student Exchange. NSE is an exchange program that allows up to 2 semesters at any other participating school, paying no more than what the student is already paying in-state. Some fun schools participate, including some in California.
https://nse.org/exchange/find-campus/
If your student is a National Merit Semifinalist as opposed to just National Merit Commended (her school should have told you in early September), this opens her up to some schools where she can get a full ride. Most of these big merit schools are not known for animation, but even so they may be worth strongly considering. Your studet is a strong student overall, and for such students it is never a bad idea to get a quality well rounded “regular” education for the bachelor’s degree; the art can be learned later. For example I have some friends who got bachelors from quality schools that did not offer their desired majors (graphic design, film etc) so instead they got degrees in subjects such as English, History, Studio Art etc. Later they took selected classes at art schools to add the specific technical skills they wanted. None of them have ever regretted this path, and feel that their “regular BA” is a big part of what made them successful.
If your D is a NMSF here is the list of big merit schools:
Big merit NMF/NMSF schools and their specialties
Best wishes to your smart and talented D!!!