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For on-line syllabus go to http://JohnCraigFreeman.net and follow
the Courses link.
Still from Daniel Scheinert. PROFESSOR: John
(Craig) Freeman EMAIL: john_craig_freeman@emerson.edu PHONE: (617)
824-8862 OFFICE HOURS: 180 Tremont Street, room 1111, MTW
11:00-11:50 a.m. or by appointment CLASS MEETS: Mondays and Wednesdays: 2:00 - 3:45
p.m. at Ansin Building 112. http://www.emerson.edu/labs/info/3DL.cfm
PREREQUISITE: Undergraduate level VM 261 Minimum Grade
of D or Undergraduate level VM 361 Minimum Grade of D or Undergraduate level
MA 361 Minimum Grade of D DESCRIPTION: The second course in the
two-course computer animation sequence, introducing students to advanced
three-dimensional modeling and animation techniques and preparing them for
independent computer animation production work. Continues to develop skills
acquired in computer animation, including modeling, texturing objects,
composing and lighting scenes, animating, dynamics, rendering, and
post-production compositing. Class
time is spent either in intensive instructional sessions, where we move
through concepts as a group using hands-on examples; in discussion and
critique; or in open lab production. Meanwhile,
students complete a series of online software training exercises and reading
assignments outside of class as homework. Students will
propose, develop and produce a semester long project. The project must
reflect an understanding of the concepts we will be covering throughout the
duration of the course. Each student will make a formal proposal to the class
and a presentation of the progress of the project. The course culminates in the presentation and
critique of all final projects during our scheduled exam period. Students
complete the course with an original portfolio-ready animation. OBJECTIVES: ¥ To develop
students' skills in advanced three-dimensional modeling and animation ¥
To introduce students to artists that shaped and continue to shape animation
history ¥
To assist students in further developing their visual literacy, critical
thinking and communication skills ¥
To guide students towards discovering advanced pictorial and animation
principles ¥
To apply these skills to express themselves creatively and critically. REQUIREMENTS: ¥ Attend every class meeting ¥
Come to class prepared to work ¥
Complete all required reading ¥
Complete required online software training ¥
Present a project proposal ¥
Present progress on the project ¥
Present the completed final project during
scheduled exam READING: Students
should have read the first half of the Art of Maya book during Computer
Animation 1 and will be required to complete the book during this course.
Please see the calendar below for the specific reading schedule. ¥
The Art of Maya: An Introduction to 3D Computer Graphics; 4th edition, by
AutoDesk Learning Tools, ISBN 1-8971-7747-1. SOFTWARE TRAINING: Students are required to complete Lynda.com Maya Character Rigging during this course. There
are several other titles included in the online training program, but these
are recommended rather than required. Please see the calendar below for the
specific software training schedule. ¥
Brows to http://lynda.com/edu-media/studentlogin.asp.
¥
Enter Class Code: 09022009C10340 ¥
Enter your Emerson College email address. ASSIGNMENTS:
Propose, develop and complete an original, portfolio
ready short animated movie. You will be evaluated based on the projects
originality, expressive creativity, conceptual depth and technical expertise.
It can be narrative or abstract but should be rich in interpretive possibility. Project Proposal Each student will present a project proposal to the
class. We will discuss the proposal and either approve the project or
recommend changes. Students will be evaluated on the quality of the idea, the
proposal and the presentation. Test your work and equipment ahead of time.
The Proposals must include a concept narrative, a script, if applicable,
concept art, a storyboard and a production schedule. ¥
The Concept Narrative should be concise and to the
point and should be around 750 words. The content will make up the oral part
of the presentation to the class. ¥
The concept art should include sketches of character and set development as
well as reference images (top, side and front) of all characters. ¥
The storyboard should include high
quality digital color illustrations at a 1280 x 720, 72 dpi. ¥
The production schedule should be organized and succinct. Include specific
dates. A typical production pipeline consists of concept development,
script writing, concept art, storyboard, modeling, texturing, lighting,
audio, animating, dynamics, rendering, compositing, editing, titles, credits,
and final output. Your list must be specific to
your needs. Presentations
are formal and should be prepared in a presentation format. Leafing through
individual files in production applications is unacceptable. Specific file
formats for proposals may include .ppt, .pdf, .doc, .html, .jpg, .swf or
.mov. The
proposal must be turned in at the pages.emerson.edu/Courses/semesterYear/ courseNumber/Assignments_In folder
prior to the critique. Files must be saved in a folder titled lastname_firstname. Proposals
that do not conform to these specifications or that are turned in late will
result in a lower grade. Progress Presentation Students will present the progress of their
project during a prescheduled time. The presentation must include a Maya
project directory and a movie file. ¥
The Maya project directory must be optimized and include nothing but
the necessary files and folders. ¥
The movie must be saved as a self contained QuickTime file titled lastname_firstname.mov set at: Video: H.264 Decoder, 640 x 360, Millions Audio: AAC, Stereo (L R), 44.100 kHz FPS: 24 Data Rate: 5,000 kbits/s All
movies must include audio, titles and credits. The
work must be turned in at the pages.emerson.edu/Courses/semesterYear/ courseNumber/Assignments_In folder prior to the critique. Projects that do not conform to these specifications or
that are turned in late will result in a lower grade. Final Each student will present the finished project
during the scheduled final exam time in the form of a movie file. ¥
The Movie must be saved as a self contained QuickTime file titled lastname_firstname.mov set at: Video: H.264 Decoder, 1280 x 720, Millions Audio: AAC, Stereo (L R), 44.100 kHz FPS: 24 Data Rate: 5,000 kbits/s All
movies must include audio, titles and credits. The
work must be turned in at the pages.emerson.edu/Courses/semesterYear/ courseNumber/Assignments_In folder prior to the critique. Projects
that do not conform to these specifications will result in a lower grade. Late
final projects will not be accepted. SUPPLIES: ¥
Mobile FireWire or Hi-Speed USB 2.0 removable hard drive. I recommend LaCie.
Minimum requirement is 40GB of storage space. 7200 (RPM) speed is preferable.
Thumb/flash drives are not recommended for this course. Options can be found
at: http://www.lacie.com/ ¥
CD-R or DVD-Rs as needed. GRADING: The
final grade will be determined according to the following criteria based on
the corresponding percentages. ¥
Project Proposal: 20% ¥
Progress Presentation: 20% ¥
Software Training: 10%. ¥
Participation and Attendance: 10%. ¥
Final Project: 40% I
will meet with each student individually at mid-semester to evaluate
performance up to that point. An Incomplete will only be issued if there are
extenuating circumstances related to illness or critical personal emergency
and only after administrative notice has been received. POLICIES: Attendance
and punctuality is required at all class meetings and will be reflected in
the final grade. According to College policy, unexcused absences beyond five
will result in a failing grade. Everyone must come to class prepared and
engaged and everyone must participate in discussions and critiques. Your undivided attention is required during all
discussions and critiques. No email, web browsing or other computer work will
be allowed during these times. Students
should be aware of the College policies regarding creative and academic
dishonesty and the penalties for plagiarism and software piracy. While it is
accepted that there may be occasion for stylistic or historical inspiration,
influence and reference, the student will be asked to produce original work
from ones own study and investigation. If
you have a disability that warrants accommodations in this course, please
register with the Disability Service Coordinator at 216 Tremont Street, 5th
Floor, (617) 824-8415. |
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COURSE CALENDAR: Subject to
changes as necessary Mon. 09/14/09 Introductions Syllabus Assignment:
Proposal Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: Introduction Reading: The Art of Maya, Character
Animation, 3D Characters, Skeletons. pp. 109-113. Lab Operations: Lab policies Wed. 09/16/09 Lesson
01: Reference Images, Image Planes Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: 1. Overview Reading: The Art of Maya, Kinematics,
Skinning Characters. pp. 114-117. Mon. 09/21/09 Lesson
02: Polygons Character Modeling Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: 2. Creating Skeletons Reading: The Art of Maya, IK/FK
Blending, Animating Characters. pp. 118-121. Wed. 09/23/09 Due: Proposals Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: 3. Inverse Kinematics (IK) and Constraints Reading: The Art of Maya, Walk
Cycles, Facial Animation. pp. 122-125. Mon. 09/28/09 Lesson
03: Texturing Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: 4. Rigging Characters Reading: The Art of Maya, Materials
and Textures, Shading Your Models, Surface Materials. pp. 127-131. Wed. 09/30/09 Lesson
04: Skeleton Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: 5. Skinning Characters Reading: The Art of Maya, Texture
Maps, 2D Texture Placement. pp. 132-135. Mon.
10/05/09 Lesson
05: Rigging Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: 6. Facial Rigging Reading: The Art of Maya, 3D Texture Placement, UV Texture
Coordinates. pp. 136-139. Wed.
10/07/09 Lesson
06: Skinning Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: 7. Finalizing the Rig Reading: The Art of Maya,
Reflections, Bumps and Displacements. pp. 140-143. Mon. 10/12/09 Columbus Day
observed (no classes). Wed. 10/14/09 Lesson
07: Blend
Shapes Software Training: Maya 8.5 Character
Rigging: Goodbye Reading: The Art of Maya, File
Textures, Photoshop File Textures, Creating Texture
Effects. pp. 144-149. Mon. 10/19/09 Due: Mid-Semester Presentations Lesson
08: Walk Cycle Reading: The Art of Maya, Digital
Cinematography, How Light Works, Light Effects. pp. 151-145. Wed. 10/21/09 Lesson
09: Reading: The Art of Maya, Casting
Shadows, Depth Map Shadows. pp. 156-159. Mon.
10/26/09 Lesson
10: Reading; The Art of Maya, Lighting
Setups, Scenery Lighting. pp. 160-163. Wed. 10/28/09 Lesson
11: Reading: The Art of Maya, How Cameras
Work, Camera Moves. pp. 164-167. Mon. 11/02/09 Mid-semester Evaluations Studio: Work on final projects. Reading: The Art of Maya, Rendering,
Rendering Scenes, Tessellation. pp. 169-173. Wed. 11/04/09 Due: Presentation Two Reading: The Art of Maya, Artifacts
and Anti-Aliasing, Render Output. pp. 174-177. Mon. 11/09/09 Studio: Work on final projects. Reading: The Art of Maya, Rendering
Optimization, Rendering for Compositing. pp. 178-181. Tue. 11/10/09 Studio:
Work on final projects. Reading: The Art of Maya, mental ray,
Maya Vector. pp. 182-185. Wed. 11/11/09 Veterans Day
observed (no classes). Mon. 11/16/09 Studio:
Work on final projects. Reading: The Art of Maya, Effects,
Adding Effects, Opti-FX. pp.
187-191. Mon. 11/18/09 Studio:
Work on final projects. Reading: The Art of Maya, Particle
Effects, Effects. pp. 192-195. Mon. 11/23/09 Studio:
Work on final projects. Reading: The Art of Maya, Paint
Effects, Brushes. pp.
196-199. Wed. 11/25/09 Thanksgiving observed (no classes). Mon. 11/30/09 Due:
Presentation
Three Reading: The Art of Maya, Tubes, Brush Strokes. pp. 200-203. Wed. 12/02/09 Studio:
Work on final projects. Reading: The Art of Maya, Working
with Paint Effects, nCloth. pp.
204-207. Mon. 12/07/09 Studio:
Work on final projects. Reading: The Art of Maya, Fur and
Hair, Fluids. pp. 208-211. Wed. 12/09/09 Studio:
Work on final projects. Mon. 12/14/09 Studio:
Work on final projects. Mon. 12/16/09 Studio: Work on final projects. Due: All late work must be turned in
or it will not count on final grades FINAL
Mon. 12/21/09, 2:00 – 3:45 Due: Final Projects |