STORYBOARDING THE SIMSON WAY

Here is a great resource for walking your students through the story boarding process whether it is for film or animation production.

I can't seem to find the original post, here is a link for now.

http://accad.osu.edu/~pgarrett/730/readings/Week-4.02_strybrd_the_simpsonsway.pdf

National Portfolio Day

I went to National Portfolio Day today, and really loved the energy of the students. Talking with some of the them, they were so excited that couldn't even sleep the night before. It was a long day though, 30 to 60 minutes waiting in each line. So if you visit 4 or 5 of your top picks, it is a good day.

The event is not for school presentations, but more for students to present. They present their work and then are guided on how to improve their portfolio for admissions. Students should come prepared knowing exactly what schools they are going to visit and what questions they have about the programs or school.

My students generally were looking for full 3D animation programs, so prior to attending we discussed what schools they will find and to come up with a plan of attack for the day. Some of the colleges recently visited and /or will visit our school, so we kept that in mind. For my 3D students, I suggested they at least check out a handful of schools to give them a good diverse range of programs: CalArts, Ringling College, San Francisco Art Institute, School of Visual Arts, and Rhode Island School of Design. Some of the other schools have more of a 2D emphasis or limited course offerings. *Rocky Mountain College is our partner school and we already spend a lot of time with admissions and instructors.

I recommend that students attend as juniors, so they get a head start on what schools are looking for and are become more focused & driven. I have sent sophomores in the past, but they generally don't have the a solid body of work to show. I remember sending one sophomore who had the work to show, but was not as focused in his core classes. It inspired him and he worked a lot harder. By the time he was a senior, he received a number of scholarships and awards, including a Scholastic portfolio Gold Key.

From the NPD Oficial Website:  What is National Portfolio Day?

National Portfolio Day is an event specifically for visual artists and designers. It is an opportunity for those who wish to pursue an education in the visual and related arts to meet with representatives from colleges accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.  Representatives will be available to review your artwork, discuss their programs and answer questions about professional careers in art.  High school students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors and college transfer students are encouraged to attend.

National Portfolio Day serves a variety of purposes.  Most importantly, it is designed to help further the artistic development of young artists by bringing together experienced college representatives to review artwork and offer feedback.  We understand that some people make certain kinds of art more successfully than others.  Don't be discouraged if you see work that is "better" than yours.  A National Portfolio Day may be the first time you have seen so many people in one place who all share a powerful commitment to the arts.  The experience is a small taste of what a professional art program can be like.

National Portfolio Days are also about the exchange of information about your work, yourself, your college plans, and your concerns.  This is not an examination or competition.  The college representatives are pleased to talk about their programs with you and can be most helpful when discussing your artwork.  Your portfolio should include your best and most recent work, but it can also include works in progress, sketchbooks and tear sheets.  You'll hear many different opinions of your work.  Don't hesitate to explain how you develop your ideas and where you want to go with them.  No admissions decisions or scholarship awards will be offered to you at National Portfolio Day.  Some colleges represented may accept your portfolio as the visual portion of your application.  Other colleges have restrictions that prohibit them from making a definite portfolio decision at the time of your review.  We urge you to discuss your work with as many representatives as possible.

http://portfolioday.net/ 

Here is a list of most of the school that attended the Denver National Portfolio Day:

* Alberta College of Art + Design
* CalArts
* California College of the Arts
* Cornish College of the Arts
* Emily Carr University of Art + Design
* FIDM/The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising
* Kansas City Art Institute
* Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University
* Laguna College of Art + Design
* Maryland Institute College of Art
* Maryville University
* Memphis College of Art
* Minneapolis College of Art and Design
* Oregon College of Art and Craft
* Otis College of Art & Design
* Pacific Northwest College of Art
* Pratt Institute
* Pratt MWP
* Rhode Island School of Design
* Ringling College of Art and Design
* Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design
* San Francisco Art Institute
* School of the Art Institute of Chicago (The)
* School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
* School of Visual Arts
* Washington University
* Watkins College of Art, Design & Film

SketchUp 7.1 is Out . ..

Wow,  some really cool features in the SketchUp 7.  Being able to pull out reference textures right from Google maps Street View is really cool.  I also like the fact that you can search, based on location, nearby premade 3d models from the 3d Warehouse.  It is a quick way to populate your scene.  The free version does not have all the main features, but you can at least create 3D models, and add them to Google Earth.  *You need the Pro version to export models into other 3D packages.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Press Release:
Fall is just around the corner here in Boulder, and with it comes our next release of Google SketchUp (cue the bugling elk). The team's been working long hours through the summer on projects large and small. I'm proud to announce that Google SketchUp 7.1 is available today for you to download and install. Don't you just love the smell of fresh new software?

Even though we're calling this a "point" release (you lucky Pro 7.0 users will get this update for free!), Google SketchUp 7.1 includes a lot more than just minor tweaks and bug fixes. We've added a batch of new features and functionality that make SketchUp (and LayOut 2.1 in SketchUp Pro) even more useful for everyone. Here's some of what's new:

Large Model Handling

We overhauled SketchUp's rendering engine to make it easier to work with big models. With the right setup, operations like orbiting, zooming and drawing are quicker and smoother. Of course, how much quicker depends entirely on factors like your computer's configuration and the specific model you're working on. For most people, most of the time, SketchUp should feel snappier when they're working with lots of geometry. Have a look at this article to find out how to take advantage of the improvements we made.

Better File Exchange

One of the things we're pretty concerned about around here is something called data liberation. Too often, your stuff's locked inside proprietary file formats that force you to use whatever tool you used to create it. We don't think that's right, so we're doing what we can to make it easier to move your data around.

COLLADA is a 3D file format based on open standards; it makes it easier to move your models between different pieces of software. KMZ is the standard file format for packaging 3D models together with information about their geographic locations. SketchUp 7.1 can import and export COLLADA and KMZ files, which should go a long way toward letting you do whatever you like with your data.

Modeling in Context

Whether you're building photo-textured, geo-located models that are headed for Google Earth, or just trying to cobble together some context for a design proposal, you should be interested about the stuff I talk about in this short video:

Get Photo Texture gives you direct access to Google Maps Street View imagery from right inside SketchUp. You can use panoramic, street-level photography we've gathered to photo-texture your models. It's spooky-cool.

Nearby Models lets you use the Component Browser to search the 3D Warehouse for buildings located near the one you're working on. Bringing in a geo-location snapshot first tells SketchUp where to look.

Upload Component provides a shortcut for uploading parts of your model to the 3D Warehouse without having to save them out as separate files first. This is handy if you're modeling several buildings on the same block; it's also useful for preserving the functionality of Dynamic Components when you upload them.

Dimensioned Drawings in Google SketchUp Pro

We've given SketchUp Pro a big upgrade in this release; it's specially targeted at those of you who need to make professional design documents to communicate your work to clients and partners. LayOut 2.1 (included in SketchUp Pro 7.1) now includes a simple but surprisingly powerful tool for dimensioning models and creating dimensioned drawings. There's a bunch more to talk about in LayOut 2.1, but we'll save that for another blog post tomorrow.

...and if that's not enough, have you got an idea for what we should do next?

In earlier days, we used to be able to talk to everybody who was using SketchUp. Every week, well over a million of you are using SketchUp, and it's getting really hard to remember all of your names – much less the new features you'd like us to build. For this release, I've put up a shiny new Google SketchUp Product Ideas page that you can use to let us know what you think we should build next. Don't hold back – I'm listening, and I'll respond formally to (at least) the top ten ideas you post.

And if you just want to talk about SketchUp, please head on over to the Help Center where you'll see that we've done a big upgrade on our discussion forums.

Posted by John Bacus, SketchUp Product Manager http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/

Traditional Sculpture and Sculptural Pursuit Magazine

Traditional sculpture is the foundation of digital sculpture/modeling.  Students need to be exposed to traditional methods and just get their hands dirty with out the luxury of an undo button.  We have a subscription to Sculptural Pursuit, which is an awesome resource for our students.  I feel they need to be immersed in all forms of sculpture, not just digital mediums; it is the foundation of the art form. Unfortunately many digital programs do not offer cross-discipline training and which is a shame.

Our class room is mainly a digital lab and production studio with over 30 HP workstations, a green screen studio, video and photography equipment, portrait studio, and traditional sculpture center. It is a sweet setup, but has taken me years to build and I have been teaching 3D for over 9 years.

The traditional sculpture center is generally used for clay maquette character models and other projects. Students are exposed a very different tool set from a number different clay types (WED water based, oil based and Jolly King oil-wax based plastilina) to a whole other way of sculpting with their hands and tools.

Exposing students to traditional sculpture is really inspiring and it leads them down different paths that you would not expect. Sculptural Pursuit is an awesome source of inspiration. Every issue has such a wide range sculptures from classical to temporary public works. We have had a subscription for only about a year now, but have been buying them individually for a couple years. It is part of our curriculum now and it also give me great ideas and examples for the class. I highly recommend subscribing.

One way or another, students need to be exposed to traditional sculpture techniques and traditional artists. If you do not have the room or the funding, start simple and subscribe to Sculptural Pursuit and then project-by-project start building your lab. I will talk about our traditional sculpture center later. http://www.sculpturalpursuit.com/

CONTEST!!! Sculturel Pursuit's 1st Annual Student Sculpture Competition

Sculptural Pursuit is proud to announce our first ever Student Sculpture Competition! The competition will promote emerging artists alongside the teachers who share their skills with new generations of artists. Please see below for the prizes, entry guidelines, then download the entry form.

The competition theme is Bird's Eye View. The entry deadline is October 30, 2009, and winners will be featured in the Summer 2010 issue of Sculptural Pursuit.

Prizes
There are a total of 3 prizes - 1st Place, 2nd Place, and 3rd Place.

• 3 winning sculptors will be featured in a Sculptural Pursuit article with a profile on their art professor/instructor.
• Articles will include images of the 3 winners' sculptures along with 3 images of the professors' sculptures.
• Winners will be selected based on the quality of the sculpture and submitted images, originality, and creativity of their work as it relates to the theme.

Eligibility

National and international artists 18 years of age or older. Must be currently enrolled in an accredited art school, public or private college/university pursuing a degree in Sculpture. Must provide proof of enrollment, such as a copy of a current student ID.

Submission Guidelines

• Entries submitted must be the artist's own original works created within the last two years.
• Submit high quality images on a CD accompanied by an SP entry form. Complete entry form in its entirety. Photocopies of the form are acceptable. Entry forms can be obtained here, or can be found in the April and July 2009 issues of Sculptural Pursuit.
• Submit a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 images of at least 3 different works placed on a CD. Please do not send more than 6 images.
• Entry Fees: A credit card number, expiration date, and signature, or a check made out to Hammer & Pen Productions, or a money order for the required jury fee of $25 USD must accompany your entry.
• Submit a self addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage for the return of your CD.
• SP will not be responsible for loss or damage of any CDs submitted to the competition.
• Incomplete entry forms, insufficient fees, more than 6 images, and late entries will be disqualified.
• Please do not call to see if your entry arrived. We do not confirm receipt of individual entries. Your cancelled check or credit card charge will be confirmation of receipt of your entry.
• SP reserves the right to reject without notification any work that does not meet this publication's standards. This includes sexually suggestive or explicit works, graphic language, ethnic slurs, or expletives.

Digital Image Requirements

• Take or scan, and save images at 300 dpi, no larger than 9" x 12" (2700 pixels by 3600 pixels), in CMYK, JPG or TIF format.
• Please do not send images taken at low resolution and changed to a higher dpi or larger print size using Photoshop or any other photo editing software. Submit only high quality, professional images to be considered for selection as a winner.
• Save each image with artist's first inital, last name, work title, and medium. Number and title each CD image to match the information on the entry form.
• Print clearly the artist's full name, contact information, work titles, sizes, and media on the entry form.

Jurors

Entries are pre-judged by the editorial board of Sculptural Pursuit. A panel of art professionals will select all award winners. The decision of the jurors is final.

Notification

All winners will be notified by March 30, 2010 and will be presented in the Summer 2010 issue of Sculptural Pursuit. Non-winning entrants will be notified of the results.

3D RESOURCES: Textures and more Textures . . .

There are a tons of texture sites out there, but here is a handful of some of the best.

CG Textures  http://www.cgtextures.com/
This is the first site I go to when looking for textures.  Its well organized and easy to find exactly what you need.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mayang Textures  http://mayang.com
This site has tons and I mean tons of great textures.  It doesn't look like much, but explore the site and you'll see what I mean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grunge Textures  http://www.grungetextures.com
This site has a lot of really cool and fun textures.  Not all are right for 3d work, but there are tons of cool shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texture Warehouse  http://www.texturewarehouse.com
This is a straight-forward site and with an esay to navigate texture search.

Cogswell Completes Pilot Animation Program for High School Students

Cogswell Completes Pilot Animation Program for High School Students

Underserved Youth in Silicon Valley Gain Valuable Digital Media Skills

---

Cogswell Polytechnical College, in collaboration with Silicon Valley African Productions (SVAP), offered local middle and high school students the chance to learn basic animation and 3D modeling techniques and to explore this exciting career field. Cogswell provided the classroom space, computers, software programs and faculty and SVAP worked with area schools to facilitate the implementation through their Silicon Valley Future Stars program.

“Our goal,” said Dr. Chester Haskell, Cogswell President, “is to provide a forum where local, underserved high school students can be introduced to the skill sets needed to pursue careers in the digital media industry. We also believe that when students experience being part of a college setting, they are more likely to continue their education after high school.”

The collaboration began when Bob Nunez, Eastside Union High School District Superintendent, suggested that SVAP contact Cogswell about becoming part of their afterschool enrichment program.

“I felt that Cogswell was a great fit for what they want to accomplish – encouraging students to raise their expectations,” said Nunez. “Cogswell’s small size would help our students feel comfortable and begin to visualize college as an option. The creative and collaborative environment I witnessed when I toured the campus, would give them the tools they need to help each other succeed.”

Eleven students from eight different schools participated in the pilot program. Eastside Union High School, San Jose Unified, Evergreen and Milpitas were among the districts that were represented in the program. Most participants had no previous experience working with 3D software programs but were eager to challenge themselves.

“I didn’t know it would be so hard, said Ekua Armah from Leland High School. “I thought it would be more about drawing but I really like the class and have learned there’s a lot more involved in the process of creating animation than I thought.”

Cogswell alumnus, Michael Castro, and Digital Art and Animation senior, Ryan Rogers, led the class which met over a period of ten weeks. Students learned the basics of 3D modeling, character movement and scene development as they relate to the animation process. Each student planned and created a brief animated project for the final class.

“SVAP’s mission is to provide innovative educational experiences that promote a student’s academic and leadership potential,” said Program Founder, Molly Uzoh. “Our program provides high quality opportunities for local underserved youth to set highly challenging goals and to explore multiple avenues to personal and professional success imbedded in positive media spotlights and high paying jobs. We are very grateful to Cogswell for working with us to make our dream come true and enable 32 Future Stars to participate each semester. To stay in the program, students must maintain high academic standards and community involvement.”

Due to the success of the pilot program Cogswell and SVAP are offering a second session of eight classes that began on January 31. The Intro to Animation with Maya has filled its 16 slots and has a waiting list. Students who completed the first session were eager to continue building their skills so Advanced Animation with Maya is being offered as well.

“The Digital Media industry is an emerging growth industry offering high paying jobs for a skilled workforce,” said Haskell. “The companies – many of them located in the Bay Area – are looking for people who can manage the complexity of this career field. Employers know that a well-rounded, college education is often the key to success.”

March 24, 2009  -  http://www.cogswell.edu/news032409.htm