2D-3D Animation & Digital Arts

Introduction to Computer Graphics is a five-part module (with lab time included) and is broken into six components:

e Life Drawing 1

Storyboarding Studies

Illustration & Layout Design

After Effects Studies

3D Process Studies 1

LAB – 3D Process Studies 

After covering the basics, students should now have a firm grasp on their equipment and some general techniques within the digital art medium. This module aims to push the creative and technical skills of the students by introducing new age methods of media & design. Students will be introduced to the world of 3D and polygons within Autodesk Maya.

They’ll be first taught the interface of Maya while being guided through and completing various challenges within the realm of basic 3D modelling, texturing, lighting/rendering and basic animation. Taking these more technically proficient skills and combining them with their knowledge gained about the Adobe suite will allow students to also enter the world of film/shot language, storyboarding, composition, digital editing, filmmaking and visual effects by using leading industry software; Adobe After Effects. Lastly, students will also enhance their 2D illustration skills with an introduction to the study of human form in Life Drawing as well technical drawing in Illustration and Layout Design. These compounded skills work in tandem to help the students find their creative path in computer graphics and digital art.

The video game industry is one of the largest and most successful industries in the world and it’s still growing annually. In this module, we breakdown the variaus components of video game production from the initial pitch, pre-production and post. The components in this module are:

e Game Production Studies

« Concept Art 1

« 3D Animation 1

e LAB – 3D Animation

In this four-part module, students will study the video game pipeline, examining the various hurdles involved with getting a game produced, marketing a game and the mountainous creative undertaking involved in the production of a game. Students will also enhance their skills in both animation and 3D design by further exploring industry standard techniques from animation cycles to 3D environment and asset design. This module also acts as an introduction to an essential part of the creative digital art pipeline: concept art. Understanding and being able to perform conceptual design related tasks will help students think more creatively and outside the box. Increased Lab time will also be provided to help students overcome the volume of work expected of them, with time dedicated for starting the building blocks of their online portfolios.

Conceptual design is the equivalent of idea generation in an artist’s toolkit. Whether it be creating digital characters or realizing imaginative worlds and objects for production, concept art is essential in bolstering an artist’s portfolio in this industry. In this four-part module (with labs), the students will explore the various skill sets required to become a concept artist first by introducing students to the world of digital sculpture. The Components in this module are:

Life Drawing 2

Concept Art 2

Digital Sculpting 1+ LAB

3D Process Studies 3 + LAB

Using the Maxon produced industry standard software ZBrush, students will not only study and utilize this essential program interface but also learn how to generate high quality detailed assets quickly and efficiently. Students will also learn how to apply these assets to both Maya, Photoshop, and Substance Painter to create quality production pieces worthy of portfolio glory. Ample lab time will also be utilized to further enhance the polish and quality of these production pieces.

Designing a character is equally one of the most appealing aspects of digital art from a student’s perspective and one of the most challenging to properly execute. This 3-part module complete with LABS, explores character production fram all angles including design and animation. The components in this module are:

Digital Sculpting 2 + LAB

3D Animation 2 + LAB

3D Art & Design 1 + LAB.

In both the Digital Sculpture and the more advanced 3D Art & Design, students will learn the character production pipeline from top to bottom; starting from early concept sketches, to high resolution sculpting in Zbrush and lastly optimized production ready models in Maya. We then explore the relationship between those character designs and animation, learning the necessary skills to design a functional character that can perform animation effectively. More advanced skills will be explored to help make the character models look as polished and industry-ready as possible for portfolio development. Lab time is also increased to accommodate the demand of the workload for these new production heavy tasks.

Design is only half of the battle in the production pipeline for modern high-quality entertainment, the remainder comes from the more technically inclined components of the industry. After a deep exploration into high-quality design, students will now take that compounded knowledge and use it as a template to better understand the technical skills involved in the production pipeline, starting with character Rigging. The components in this module are:

Digital Sculpting 3 + LAB

3D Animation 3 + LAB

3D Art & Design 2 + LAB.

In this three-part module (with extra lab time), students will learn how to construct a functional 3D skeleton with controls allowing an animator to perform complex tasks in a production. This skill set will complete the full circle knowledge base of the industry standard practices used to breathe life into characters and worlds. Students will also study more complex 3D art tasks including basic effects, foliage simulation and advanced lighting.