ANIMATION

This introductory course prepares students to create effective stories for entertainment projects through an understanding of the fundamentals of storytelling and story structure. Covering a broad history of story from cave paintings to video games, the course will explore archetypal figures and motifs as well as the evolution of hero myth narratives. Emphasis will be placed on the social and cultural impact of modern storytelling.

This course provides a basic introduction to 3D animation, and is intended for students to gain a general understanding of 3D software. ANIM 3A is not equivalent to ANIM 3, 3D Fundamentals. This courses uses Autodesk Maya.

This introductory course provides a basic overview of the tools used in the creation of 2D digital animation. Through lectures and hands-on projects, students will learn the core principles of 2D animation and be introduced to 2D animation software. This course serves as a foundation for advanced courses in 2D and 3D animation.

This introductory course provides a basic overview of the tools used in the creation of 3D digital animation. Topics covered include modeling, character rigging, animation, shading, lighting and rendering. This course emphasizes the fundamental concepts of 3D digital animation as well as an understanding of the software. In addition to completing weekly exercises, students will apply the skills they learn to create an individual project. This course uses Autodesk Maya.

Students completing this course will have a familiarity with all major issues involved in drawing and visualizing the figure as an animate, three-dimensional form, and will have developed perceptual and manual skills equal to the challenge of understanding the human body as a structure in space, in both static and dynamic modes. Comprehension of figure structure will be both anatomical and perspectival with special emphasis on developing a model of the human figure that can be easily visualized in the imagination and adapted for use in animation and related disciplines.

This introductory course explores the fundamentals of the storyboarding process used in the entertainment industry. Through the use of computer software and the digital drawing tablet, students will learn the basic principles of visual storytelling including techniques such as staging, composition and camera movement. The class will analyze and discuss the various applications of digital storyboarding for games, web, 2D and 3D animation, and visual effects.

This class focuses on all aspects of creating 2D animation for the web, giving special attention to characters and graphics. Students learn the tricks of controlling file size, special approaches for importing and creating animation, and all other production techniques needed for building complete web animation projects. This course uses Adobe Animate CC.

This course will explore the history of animation through its earliest beginnings to the present. In addition to the chronological order of events, this course will look at the multi-faceted aspects of this relatively modern art form. The influences of economics and social/political pressures on the art form will be examined. Included will be the study of individual animators and studios, big and small; different art techniques, materials 2D and 3D. The class will also examine the principles of movement and how they apply to the zoetrope as well as the computer.

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 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. This course uses Autodesk Maya.

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 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 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.