Pose Maniacs a Gesture Reference Site

www.posemaniacs.com
Here is a great gesture reference site. Pose Maniacs is a support site for artists providing over 500 gesture models with 36 positions for each gesture. They are virtual references, so they might not be completely accurate, but they are still a great source. The models also have a muscle skin texture so that you can see the layout within the pose. Images can be used in full screen and with a grid overlay. Navigation is a bit loose and found it difficult finding a pose that you are actually looking for.

The site has a few other features:

• 30 Second Drawing - timed drawing
  
• Negative Space Drawing - is a bit hard to use because the included the shadows
  
• Random Pose Viewer
• Hands/Parts Scanned for Drawing - file all seem to be very low resolution
  
• iPhone / iPod Access
  
• Widgets - Allows you to use a Pose of the day on your blog or website

Over all, it is a quick and easy site for gesture references.

RESOURCES!!! Animation Tips and Tricks EBook

Animation mentor has just released Animation Tips and Tricks 2nd Ebook. It is a free publication and can be downloaded from the link below. I have not had a chance to read, but looks like it is filled with great tips for animators. Also you can download the 1st edition; I am not too sure if there is a big difference, but they let you download it so I assume there is.

From Inside Cover
Animation Tips and Tricks is a treasure trove of information will give you an in-depth look at techniques professional animators use to create the movies, TV shows and special effects you love. This ebook is a collection of articles written by Shawn Kelly who is a co-founder of AnimationMentor.com. He is also the winner of the 2008 VES award for The Best Single Visual Effect of the Year for his work on Tranformers and he continues to work full-time at Industrial Light & Magic as an animator. Here he’s sharing proven tips and tricks he’s learned over the years so you can become the best animator possible. Now we’re sharing them with you so you can learn some of the cool stuff we’re teaching at AnimationMentor.com.

http://www.animationmentor.com/tipsandtricks2/?utm_source=CGSociety&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=AM72890_BOOKEBOOKSU09

EVENT ALERT!!! FREE ANIMATION ONLINE WEBINAR

Animation Mentor invites you to a FREE ONLINE WEBINAR

Hear what professional animators have to say about how they’ve used animation tips and tricks on the job, and how good workflow and planning are essential to creating great animation.

WHEN: Saturday, April 18th 2009 1:00-2:30 PM (PST)

HOW IT WORKS: Click on the link below to go to our Webinar Registration Page and sign up for free. While you’re there, be sure to write in a question. We may not be able to get to them all, but if we pick yours, you’ll get personal advice and information from one of the book’s authors.

Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to hear these insider tips and tricks!

Vancouver Film School, Canada's premier post-secondary entertainment arts school, is on the road and coming to your Denver. Find out why VFS, and what it takes to get accepted.We'll also be offering up to $200,000 in scholarships to talented and passionate artists who attend our U.S. Roadshow.

At their info session, you'll hear an overview of our 13 programs, see award-winning student work, and discover how VFS prepares animators, designers, actors, writers, and filmmakers to become leaders in the world of entertainment in just one year.

They will be going to the following states:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Illinois
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New York
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Washington

To book your seat for a Roadshow now, please click the link below and complete the form.

http://vfs.com/roadshows

Great Anatomy Resource Site . . .

Anatomy Tools is a reference site for artists, sculptors, modelers, gamers,concept artists, painters, make-up artists,kit-builders, VFX professionals AND for anatomists, surgeons, doctors, nurses, chiropractors, physiotherapists, fitness trainers, coaches, massage & health practitioners, & more..

I came across this site about six months ago and it looks like they have updated their free resources . . .

I just downloaded both their latest reference images and models. They come in two formats OBJ and ZTL (ZBrush Tool) and the images are JPG files. They are an awesome anatomy resource; I recommend checking them out.

Freedom-of-Teach.com is now AnatomyTools.com

http://www.freedomofteach.com or http://www.anatomytools.com

SIGGRAPH SpaceTime Showcase 2009

The SpaceTime Student Competition & Exhibition is a juried student competition in fine arts print, poster design, animation, and interactivity. It provides an excellent opportunity for students working in computer based media to exhibit their creative work nationally and internationally. It is open to all students currently attending school.

Selected works or work segments from the entries may be included on the ACM
SIGGRAPH Education Committee web site and in promotional materials distributed at the conference. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will receive one Conference Access pass to the SIGGRAPH conference.

Call for Submissions: SpaceTime 2009
http://education.siggraph.org/students/students/competitions/call-2009

NOTE: Students may apply to BOTH the SpaceTime student competition AND to the SIGGRAPH 2009 professional programs.

If you are accepted to one, you remain qualified to be accepted to the other. Professional program submissions should be made through the conference site at
http://www.siggraph.org/s2009

EXHIBITION
Work selected from the SpaceTime Student Competition are exhibited in the SpaceTime Student Exhibition at the annual SIGGRAPH conference (located in the ACM SIGGRAPH Village for 2008).

Selected works will also tour nationally and internationally for one year with the Space-Time Traveling Student Exhibition.

TRAVELING SHOW
The SpaceTime Student Exhibition is available to travel. ACM SIGGRAPH Chapters and many schools exhibit this work each year.

Contact: spacetravel@siggraph.org

TRAVELING EXHIBITION APPLICATION:
http://education.siggraph.org/students/students/traveling-exhibition

The ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee sponsors the SpaceTime Student Competition & Exhibition.

Submission Deadline: May 8th, 2009
The SpaceTime competition is an international juried exhibition for students currently enrolled in school and studying computer graphics and digital arts disciplines. The exhibition captures the state of creative computer-based student work and acts as an annual slice of the computer graphics continuum. Primary, secondary, and college or university students are encouraged to apply and the submissions will be handled separately.

Accepted art and projects will be on exhibit at the annual SIGGRAPH conference, and will also tour nationally and internationally for approximately one year with the SpaceTime Traveling Student Exhibition conducted by the ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee.

The exhibition will encompass three general areas:

• Print
• Animation
• Interactive works
  

SpaceTime Flyer Download a single sheet, letter size flyer summarizing the Space Time program, here.

Online submission form
The online submission form will be available soon at: the SIGGRAPH Information System

Contact
SpaceTime Curator Dena Elisabeth Eber can be contacted using this form

GE Smart Grid Augmented Reality

Another teacher showed me this GE Sge smart grid augmented reality site today, wow it is very cool! It is kind of a real-time camera tracking and composting web application.

Basically, you print out a worksheet and hold it in front of a web cam while going to the site. It finds the registration image on the paper and lays a 3d image on top of the web cam output window. If you move the paper it will track it and the 3d image will move with it.

It is am awesome idea and there are a number of applications that this can be used for. It is just very cool.

Check it out!

It seems to be powered by the FLARToolKit. It would be cool to get it to work for are own projects.