Animation

This course focuses on the principles of three-dimensional drawing. Emphasis is placed on fundamental concepts such as diminution, foreshortening, convergence and shading. Concepts such as horizon lines, vanishing points, and picture planes will be covered. Perspective drawing methods will be applied to rendering interiors, exteriors, objects and figures.

Students in this course will study the development of color perception, harmony, expression, visualization, and the application of color in traditional and digital imagery using a 2D, 3D, or 4D format through a series of problem-solving exercises and projects.

This course allows students to further their understanding and application of the core principles of animation including squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, overlapping action, arcs, timing, and exaggeration through lectures and hands-on projects. Students will also be introduced to the basics of lip-sync and character animation.

This course allows students to further their understanding and application of the core principles of animation including squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, overlapping action, arcs, timing, and exaggeration through lectures and hands-on projects. Students will also be introduced to the basics of lip-sync and character animation.

This course focuses on the core principles of animation as applied to 3D characters, covering techniques including posing, timing, weight, anticipation, squash and stretch, overlapping action, and staging.

This course provides an overview of the production process used to create digital assets for pre-rendered and real-time entertainment projects. Using industry-standard tools and methods, students will learn to create production-ready 3D models. Hard surface modeling and UV mapping workflows will be covered. Students will also learn the basic principles of 3D texture mapping as well as methods for optimizing models for 3D game engines. This course uses Autodesk Maya, Algorithmic Substance Painter and Unity.

This course provides an overview of the tools and methods used to texture, light and render 3D characters and environments for pre-rendered or real-time scenes. Areas covered include surface materials, UV mapping, texturing, scene lighting, and rendering for production or portfolio development.

This course focuses on the principles of three-dimensional drawing. Emphasis is placed on fundamental concepts such as diminution, foreshortening, convergence and shading. Concepts such as horizon lines, vanishing points, and picture planes will be covered. Perspective drawing methods will be applied to rendering interiors, exteriors, objects and figures.

Students in this course will study the development of color perception, harmony, expression, visualization, and the application of color in traditional and digital imagery using a 2D, 3D, or 4D format through a series of problem-solving exercises and projects.

This course explores the process of designing compelling characters for entertainment projects. Students will learn how to develop characters in a variety of styles for 2D and 3D animation production. The course will emphasize the importance of self-expression in character design, and enable students to develop an effective personal style.

This advanced 2D animation course is an in-depth analysis of emotion and acting principles as applied to a digital character. Emphasis will be placed on creating convincing performance animation in which characters think, feel, and speak.

This course covers the digital production pipeline for producing 2D animated short films, commercials, TV series, and feature-length films. Students will have hands-on experience with the following stages of digital production: scanning, timing, clean-up, ink and paint, background painting, sound design, camera movement and compositing. Asset management of digital files will also be covered.

This course focuses on advanced principles of 3D character animation. Students will learn to create effective performance animation using the fundamentals of acting, staging and exaggeration. Advanced topics such as facial animation, lip-synch and motion capture will also be covered.

In this course, digital previsualization will be covered through the process of using virtual cameras, characters and environments to visualize complex shots or sequences before final production begins. Students will use digital tools along with traditional filmmaking techniques to create compelling 3D cinematic sequences for entertainment projects. Topics covered include shot composition, camera rigging and movement, staging, timing, and editing.

This course covers digital character creation techniques from basic design principles to advanced digital sculpting techniques. Students will explore the aesthetic and psychological aspects of design in order to create compelling and original character and creature concepts. Students will also learn the technical aspects of creating 3D character assets from basic stylized characters to high-end, realistic digital sculptures. This course uses Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk Maya, and Pixologic ZBrush.

This course covers the technical aspects of creating effective animation controls for 3D characters. Using industry-standard tools and methods, students will develop intuitive and efficient character rigs. The use of deformers, constraints, expressions, scripts, utility nodes and kinematic controls will be covered. Students will also be introduced to advanced topics such as skinning, deformations, and facial rigging. This course uses Autodesk Maya.

This course explores the process of designing compelling environments for entertainment projects. Students will develop strategies to understand, evaluate and create a variety of environments for 2D and 3D production. Topics covered include visual composition, perspective drawing, digital cinematography, and designing for interactive and virtual environments.

This course explores the process of designing compelling props and vehicles for entertainment projects. Students will learn how to visually develop concepts from initial sketches to final renderings of objects from the everyday mundane to the fantastic. Emphasis is placed on principles of three-dimensional drawing and the application of design research.

This course covers the design and production of an individual portfolio for transfer or entry-level employment in the animation industry. Students may collaborate in small groups or work individually, but each student will be responsible for developing an effective portfolio from original content. Projects may focus on any aspect of 2D or 3D animation production.

This course covers the creation of an individual visual development portfolio for transfer or entry-level employment in the animation industry. Students will visually develop an idea using the pre-production process established by the entertainment industry. Areas covered by this course include story development, writing, concept art, character and background development, storyboarding, layout, sound design, and timing. Students will create an individual story bible, a style guide and an animatic of their project. The course will also examine the differences in the design process for film, broadcast and video game production.