3DTeachers.com is a resource for teachers of 3D content, whether it be for entertainment, fine art, industrial, medical or any industry. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me. cornell" at "3DTeachers.com ~Cornell
Digital-Evolutions, is a public high school digital arts program, introducing students to digital sculpture, design principles, traditional art mediums, programming, visual storytelling, engineering/medical visualization, video production, and a heavy focus on 3D visualization and animation. Students can participate up to four years, with two possible advanced college accredited tracks, both IB and traditional. Our core philosophy, is to move past just teaching the tool, to empowering students to become intrinsically motivated, independent learners, story tellers, and artists. It challenges them to tap into both hemispheres and further develop their logical and creative abilities as an artist and critical thinker. The program is both exciting and challenging, providing students with a learning environment without limitations and opening the the door to artistic expression and conceptual exploration. Students become artists, visual story tellers, and technical problem solvers, further preparing them for the ever-changing digital landscape and future workforce.
Digital-Evolutions is hosted at Smoky Hill High School part of the Cherry Creek School District.
Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008/09 predicts that digital media design and animation will show tremendous growth ‘much faster than average’ through 2016 nationally. As of 2008, China has over 30 animation industrial bases, 5,400 animation companies, 450 high schools teaching certified animation courses, and 460,000 students studying animation related subjects. This was an increase of over 36% in comparison to 2006. (Aldric Chang 2008) According to Robi Roncarelli industry expert, China’s growth is not even due to outsourcing, but huge local demands. So it can be said that, our local industry is just at its infancy and this perpetual growth is blending together multiple disciplines, blurring the line between art, science, math, and technology.
But our underling goal is to develop intrinsically motivated creative learners with the skills to succeed in their chosen career path; whether it be engineering and the sciences or entertainment and the arts.
Creativity and design has always been a huge part of my life, it has been infused in the way I think, live, parent, and teach, so it is difficult to separate it from my studio classroom. I am a 3d designer and sculptor, my entire family comes from some type design and/or art background. My father was head designer at Kodak and used cutting edge design equipment since the 70's, which lead me to receiving my first computer in 1982. My brother is in a think tank and has been using 3d printers for close to 25 years. A “learning space” is more than just physical, it is a way of thinking, it is a process, it is an atmosphere, it is what I call a “Creative Epicenter”.
In the classroom, I have sixteen years experience working with k-12 and post-secondary students; eleven of those years my emphasis has been teaching creative work flows, the design process, 3d design, and visualization. Additionally, I spent two years as District Technology Coordinator and curriculum trainer for Red Creek Public School District, NY. Personally, I have eight years of Industry related experience – founder and head artist at Specular Studios LLC (http://specularstudios.com/).
Over the last 12 years, I have developed two design program models, a new high school model, Digital-Evolutions (http://www.digital-evolutions.org/) and a middle school version TEAM-C in Denver Public schools.
Digital-Evolutions is a public high school digital 3D design studio housed in Smoky Hill High School outside of Denver Colorado. Our core philosophy, is to move past just “teaching the tools” to empowering students to become creative, intrinsically motivated, independent, conceptual learners with a solid understanding of the creative and design process. Students can participate up to four years, with two possible advanced college accredited tracks, both IB and traditional. The curriculum challenges students to tap into both hemispheres of the brain to further develop their logical and creative abilities as both an artist and critical thinker. The program is both exciting and challenging, providing students with a learning environment without limitations and opening the the door to artistic expression and conceptual exploration. Students become innovators and problem solvers, further preparing them for the ever-changing digital landscape and future workforce.
Presently, I am teaching: 3D Design and Animation, Advanced 3D Design Animation, Digital Portfolio I and II, computer graphics, MYP Design Technology, and IB Digital Arts. The backbone of the classes are to guide them through the design process while they create an original product. During this process, I emphasis that 70% of out effort is developing the idea and once that is set, we build it.
The studio is set in three main areas:
“The Tank” - a collaborative space and think tank, which also houses the recording studio and currently the 3d printers and 3d scanner.
The concept studio - which is our HP workstation lab (sponsor) fully equipped with hardware and software
The prototype studio – which is the hands on area, for creating maquettes,
Have a Question or a Great Tip? . . . Please Contact Me.
Illustrator John Petersen shares how to boost the lighting and focal point of an image.
Using elements of your pencil underdrawing is a great way to capture the viewer’s attention within a piece. Furthermore, your pencil lines can emphasize light sources in the scene. Even when I create a digital piece I usually tend to start out with traditional media such as pencils.
I like the feeling of textured paper as I make my marks, and it also means I have an original piece of process art that I’m able to sell. Simulated texture in a digital art program is all well and good, but there’s nothing quite like the feel of << More>> https://www.creativebloq.com/how-to/how-to-emphasise-the-focal-point-of-an-image
By Linda Flanagan February 1, 2018
“In America the imagination is generally looked on as something that might be useful when the TV is out of order,” she wrote in Words Are My Matter. But the ability to imagine is what drives all creativity, enables clear thinking and inspires a sense of humanity. “I think the imagination is the single most useful tool mankind possesses,” she wrote.
Imaginative play comes naturally to children, but it’s a habit of mind that needs to be taught and reinforced throughout life: “Young human beings need exercises in imagination as they need exercise in all the basic skills of life, bodily and mental: for growth, for health, for competence, for joy,” Le Guin wrote. “This need continues as long as the mind is alive.”
Imagination might be vital to a clear mind, but it’s not something that’s widely taught or . . . << More >> https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2018/02/01/how-to-help-older-kids-develop-a-sense-of-imagination/
The first of its kind optically transparent 3D-printed glass!
Humans have been making glass in various forms for thousands of years, from glassblowing techniques developed by the Roman empire to the industrial methods of the 1950s, floating molten glass on huge baths of melted tin. One particularly ancient process though, in which molten glass is coiled around a solid core, has been revived with the help of modern technology. MIT's Mediated Matter Group has unveiled a new way to 3D print glass, removing the need for a solid core but coiling the material in molten strands just like our ancestors did thousands of years ago.
A while back, I mentioned the Sunday Morning interview with George Lucas and Spielberg regarding their Norman Rockwell Collection. Since then I realized that this collection is on exhibition at Smithsonian Art museum in Washington from July 2, 2010 – January 2, 2011. I would love to go, but that is not happening these days and unfortunately it is not going on tour.
Well, I still can’t find the interview online, but I found a forty minute audio cast in conjunction with a slideshow covering the exhibition. It might be a little long to show in class, but it is interesting to hear both Spielberg and Lucas’ perspective on Rockwell as an artist and a story teller. And how it translate to the film industry.
In the 3D world, rendering produces a final image or series of images and ultimately it is a way to communicate your ideas or tell a story. Whether it is used for forensic litigation or commercial; it tells a story. I think a lot can be learned from Rockwell’s planning process to the subtle details. His work is just amazing. People spend years trying to find the right word for a story or finishing that last edit on a film, Rockwell can tell it all with one painting.
I just recently purchased “Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera” and man it is a great book. It really dives into the process behind his work. The book features the photographs that he used in creating his artworks and you can see the story unfold with the series of images that were taken and then how he captures them in his paintings. It is more than just seeing the images behind the work, it is the process that got them there. It is worth adding to your classroom collection. – Cornell
Here is a quick overview . . .
Here is the full forty minute audio cast of the exhibition:
This short interview is with the senior curator of the show “Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg”. The interview covers a brief overview of the show and the Lucas /Spielberg interview. The audio is poor and has a bit of an echo, but is a brief overview – 9 mintutes.
A cocktail of Lucas, Spielberg, and Henson feed my obsession for the cinema and today, I still feel that passion. Recently at the Sundance Film Festival, critic Leonard Maltin had a conversation with George Lucas and Robert Redford about the ‘Power of Story,‘ Maltin commented that, “one of the problems with the institutionalization of film schools is that you have now more than one generation of young people who all they know is film, they haven't had so called ‘life experience’ and life experience is the basis for telling stories and for inventing stories and imagining stories.” I completely agree with Maltin. I feel that today’s generation is so immersed in the digital world that they have become satellites to the media industry revolving around television, video games and the internet, with no down time or a chance to get bored. I laugh when I hear myself say this, I am also speaking of myself . . . I got my first computer in 1982 and it has been at my side ever since. I am getting old!
It is a very interesting Conversation and worth listening to. ~Cornell
Kicking off Art of Film Weekend, a program celebrating the craft of filmmaking, join Robert Redford and George Lucas—two iconic filmmakers who epitomize the spirit of independence in American cinema—in conversation with critic Leonard Maltin.
Creativity and design has always been a huge part of my life, it has been infused in the way I think, live, parent, and teach, so it is difficult to separate it from my instruction. My classroom is a 'studio' and more than just physical space, it is a way of thinking, it is a process, it is an atmosphere, it is what I call a “Creative Epicenter”.
I am a 3d designer and sculptor and have eight years of industry related experience; independent contractor for various firms, five years in the public art industry- lead designer, and founder and head artist at Specular Studios LLC.
I have sixteen years experience working with k-12 and post-secondary students; eleven of those years my emphasis has been teaching creative work flows, the design process, 3d design, and visualization. Additionally, I spent two years as District Technology Coordinator and curriculum trainer in NY. Over the last 12 years, I have developed two design program models, a new high school model, Digital-Evolutions and a middle school version TEAM-C in Denver Public schools.
Currently, I am teaching: 3D Design and Animation, Advanced 3D Design and Animation, Digital Portfolio I and II, Computer Graphics, MYP Design Technology, and IB Digital Arts. The backbone that drives these courses is teaching the creative and design process, in which I emphasis that 70% of the student's effort is the development the idea.
