Welcome to AN410! =D

COURSE# DM410: Advanced 3-D Computer Animation

Location: Mac Lab 3 -  Room 004

Instructor: Michael Shaw

Time: Monday and Wednesday 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Contact: mshaw@mca.edu | 901.282.3902

Office Hours: M and W: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Course Description:

Welcome to DM 410!  This course explores the finer workings of producing 3-D computer-animated content and the processes we have at our disposal for achieving this!  The course takes advantage of ALL the tools we have at our disposal to take creative approaches at creating characters, environments, animated movies, effects, and everything in between!  This class is unique in the sense that you are given a choice for specilazition during the midpoint of the semester! In spending the first half to pursue a number of different intermediate goals, you develop the necessary skills to investigate new forms of artmaking in the second half of the semester.

Think: How do you see yourself using 3-D CG art? Where does it fit into your future portfolio?

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Methods of Study – The Flow of Class is as follows:

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Class Readings / Video Demonstrations:

Due to the nature of our content, each week, students will be given video demonstrations and reference material to cover new material discussed in class. This will serve as preparation for the next class’s content as well as permanent resources for you!

In-class discussion and lessons:

Often we will reflect on the material in class via group discussion. This is an opportunity to field questions and prepare us for content creation.  Often we will consider strategies, methods, and established concepts, then innovate our own.

Interactive Demonstrations:

For our class: Demonstrations will often be given with an interactive twist. You will be asked to demonstrate a skill, which we will then add on to, piece by piece.  This will be done to help you learn, implement, and master new techniques for art making within this class! 

In addition to this: You can download any autodesk software we use from the Autodesk website for free. They will be compatible with the computers in Mac Lab 3, so you will be able to do work from home computers/laptops, granted you have the proper software updates! The goal of all class work and lessons will be to give you the tools necessary to develop into a better artist, character modeler, designer, and animator!

Projects:

Projects will be divided into two types:

In-Class projects will be shorter assignments tied to demonstrations. These are projects that will help you understand and implement new concepts.  Often they will be due at the end of class, or by the end of the following class.

Large-scale projects will be the longer assignments that work towards the portfolio you will turn in at the end of the semester.  These projects include short films, models, environments, and animation tests that we will produce throughout the semester.  For some of these assignments, you will be given the choice to work together as a group, or alone. Prior to the first assignment where this is a possibility, we will have a day where we discuss group dynamics. Each project will be executed in stages including the following: Investigation; Brainstorming; Creation; Reflection; Revision.  

Reflection time will be given for the day after a project is turned in. We will take a day to review all assignments, and come back to class with our findings in an open discussion. This process gives you the tools to leave what (for many of you) is your final animation class with the ability to direct yourself into new avenues of animation exploration!

Class time will be divided between instruction and implementation, both often occurring at once.  You will be notified of any scheduled studio days for projects. On those days, I will be in class and serve as a guide to help with problems, critique assignments, and answer questions!

Fields of Study Include:

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1. Character Modeling and Character Sculpting: Modeling via. Vertices and Polygons vs. Sculpting via subdivision modeling programs.
2. Character Rigging and Blend Shapes: How to create structures for a 3-D character or object of your creation, and how to make the subsequent form function properly within an animation.
3. Character Animation using Pre-Constructed Rigs: 
4. Blocking in Character Action:
5. Working sound and audio into 3-D animation:
6. Optimization: Making an animated 3-D production in a Reasonable Time
7. Lighting and texturing: Using mudbox and 
8. DIRECTED STUDY: A half-semester long investigation into a topic of your choice, where I instruct you in the creation of 3-D art that fits into your larger goals as an artist, or your experimental studies in class!

• Students will demonstrate the capability to organize and present concepts verbally.

• Students will demonstrate the capability to organize and present concepts audibly. 

• Students will produce evidence of an understanding of the methods of audio production.

• Students will be able to coherently communicate the content their audio productions.

• Students will demonstrate the time management skills necessary to complete the entire sound creation process.

• Students will demonstrate the capability to effectively publish their audio production via the web, and integrate it into their current body of work.

• Students will demonstrate the ability to write an artist statement.

• Students will demonstrate the ability to document their work.

• Students will demonstrate basic computer/software literacy applicable to their field.

• Students will demonstrate the ability to give a public presentation about their work.

• Students will demonstrate the ability to research to stay current in their field.

• Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of communication etiquette in their field.

• Students will demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively.

• Immediately submit an online tech request to report any problems with a lab computer or printer. 

• Main MCA computing info site = mca.edu/labs -- go here for answers to frequently asked questions and online tutorials for MCA specific technologies.

• No Food or Drinks in Lab.

• Keep the Lab Clean. Dispose of all trash -- Paper scraps, old media etc.

• Leave your workstation in an orderly fashion. All materials left on the desktop will be deleted. Organize files within the documents folder on your account. Delete your trash from your desktop and trash bin. 

• Back up work to an external source. Remember files are only safe if they exist in 3 separate locations. MCA servers are not to be considered secure and used only for temporary storage.  

• Log Out of your workstation prior to your departure. Upon your departure, the chair should be pushed in. Your monitor, keyboard and mouse should be placed in their proper positions.

DEPARTMENTAL OUTCOMES:

PROFESSIONAL OUTCOMES:

-------Assignments and Requirements ------

You are required to attend class everyday, on time.  We will start class @ 4:20 every day, unless otherwise noted.  As with the Student Handbook, students who misses 6 days of class will fail the course.  This will be strictly enforced. Prior to this event, any student that must miss a day needs to notify me ahead of time, long before the start of class.  Anyone who wonders into class at least 30 minutes after class begins will be considered absent for the rest of the day. 4 absences results in a loss of one letter grade. Three tardies equate to one absence. If you miss, you must catch up on assignments via consulting other students first, and myself via email. I reserve the right to notify students ahead of time for any day that MUST NOT BE MISSED due to course content be it finals, assessments, midterms, or other coursework.

----Turning in Assignments -----

Each Assignment will be due on a scheduled date, given at the beginning of the assignment.  Often, this will be the day before the class, to give students time to listen to, and review other students’ work.  Part of your grade will be your review of the creations of your peers. We will remain objective throughout, even when we are delving into content that goes beyond our personal taste.  When it comes to late assignments, assignments will drop a letter grade each day they are late. After 3 days, I will not accept your assignment.

Supplies:

• Sketchbook and Notebook for taking notes. You will want to keep track of your notes and illustrations. I expect you to make comments and constantly critique your own work, in addition to others! 
• $100 Deposit to check out audio equipment. (Optional) 
• External Hard Drive: Can purchase online and use with other classes. If you already have it, great! If not, it’s an investment that can last you long beyond your undergraduate career.  The Computers primarily use USB 3.0 connections. The hard drives listed below are examples, compatible with mac and PC, but require formatting to go cross-platform. 
• ADDITONAL:
• Lynda.com through the memphis public library:  This is an amazing website with a myriad of materials for learning the ins and outs of a number of software programs. 

GRADING:

Each assignment will be awarded a grade based on the following rubric. Plus(+) and minus(-) will denote more or less intricate mastery of objectives.  Students will be allowed to turn in higher-quality versions of their projects midterm for a higher grade.

Group assignments will be graded on individual achievement, and group achievement.  Both grades count 50% of any group assignment.

A - Excellent.  Assignment objectives are completed above and beyond the course requirements to great effort and great success.  Technical and conceptual skills are on display in a masterfully coherent manner with clean craftsmanship.

B - Proficient. The assignment completed demonstrates most mastery of the skills presented, and objectives are completed beyond course goals. Much effort, and a clear and concise direction shines through the final result. There are still a few issues that can be pushed further.

C - Competent.  The assignment completed demonstrates relative mastery of the skills presented, and objectives are completed to average sufficiency.  Assignments are successful, and craftsmanship and technical skills are on display -- All are completed at an average level.

D - Deficient.  The assignments completed are missing demonstrations of the skills presented, and/or required objectives have yet to be completed. There are conceptual and technical flaws and hurdles that have not been overcome.

F - Failure.  The majority of the project is either not completed, and/or objectives for assignment are not met.

Final Grades will be based on a comprehensive average of all of your projects, as well as midterm and final milestones for blog upkeep.

*Your blog upkeep factors into your grades for each major assignment handled out of class.*

Assignments are due at the beginning of class. on their scheduled dates. Loss of data, files, or other associated items needed for any assignment or project will require that you recreate your work, with no exceptions. You are solely responsible for the security of your files. Your files are not 100% secure on the server or computer. You should have multiple copies on multiple sources at all times. No files are safe unless backed up to 3 locations. (Example: Personal hard drive or flash drive, school network, personal computer, or web service.  Note: you can store work on dropbox. We will discuss cloud storage.)

Copyright

You must receive copyright permission for all non-public domain media used in your film projects. Public domain material can be found at http://www.publicdomain.org/ and http://www.creativecommons.org/. Visit American University's Center for Social Media Website for detailed information regarding the difference between rights infringement and fair use.

LEARNING ACCOMMODATIONS:

            In compliance with MCA policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss  

appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Request for academic accommodations need to be made during the first week of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made.

HEALTH and SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

            As more and more work, education and recreation involves computers, everyone needs to be aware of the hazard of Repetitive Strain Injury to the hands and arms resulting from the use of computer keyboards and mice.  This can be a serious and very painful condition that is far easier to prevent that cure once contracted, and can occur even in young physically fit individuals. Paul Marxhausen - visit his site below.

            http://eeshop.unl.edu/rsi.html

            http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/rsi.html

DEPARTMENT AND LAB POLICIES:

COPYRIGHT:

You must receive copyright permission for all non-public domain media used in projects. (Music, film footage, etc.)  Public domain material can be found at http://www.publicdomain.org/ and http://www.creativecommons.org.  Visit American University's Center for Social Media Website for detailed information regarding the difference between rights infringement and fair use. We will discuss fair-use policies during class.

EPA MANDATE:

Memphis College of Art students and faculty are required to follow the      standards detailed in the "EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Materials

Handling Protocols - September 2007"


BELOW IS A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR THE SEMESTER! (subject to change)