Autodesk University Virtual - Classes and Sessions

I have never been to the Las Vegas Autodesk University conference, but have always wanted too.  If you can’t go, here is another option - Autodesk University Virtual Sessions.   And I just signed up.  It was a process to sign up; it wasn’t just clicking and providing your email.   I had to create an Autodesk account to create another account for the event and honestly it took way too long.   But I think it is worth it, there are a few sessions that I am interested in particularly the Parametric Design Modeling session.  

Now I am a Maya user and not all of the events are Maya related, but Maya and 3ds Max are so similar that generally the skills and concepts  transfer.   There are a ton of other sessions available and worth checking out.  I just posted the Maya, 3ds Max, and Mudbox related virtual sessions.  

Here are all the sessions: http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=virtual_class_listing&industry_filter=All%20Industries#classlisting

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Autodesk University (AU) is an experience not to be missed, but not everyone can travel to Las Vegas.  So this year, we are introducing AU Virtual, a web-based event that originates at the AU 2009 Conference in Las Vegas.

With AU Virtual, you can benefit from AU—without ever leaving your office. By streaming select classes and content from AU 2009 directly to your desktop, AU Virtual offers a fast, cost-effective way to obtain practical skills, industry knowledge, and professional contacts.

See how AU Virtual compares with the AU 2009 Conference in Las Vegas.

There are two ways to experience AU Virtual:

AU Virtual Premier Pass – US$99 (free to Autodesk Subscription customers), and includes full access to 50+ classes, keynotes, and other premium content streamed live from AU in Las Vegas. Plus access up to 350 on-demand sessions post-event.

AU Virtual Free Pass – US$0 (available to everyone), and includes highlights of AU 2009 in real time and the ability to check out the latest technology innovations. Now, more than ever, you can't afford to miss Autodesk University!

Register For AU Virtual

Here are the Maya, 3ds Max, and Mudbox related virtual sessions

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Dec 01 @ 9:00pm PST - Basic MaxScript for Architectural Visualization  Virtual Session with  Norgren, Nils

MaxScript is a powerful and versatile tool that can be used to speed up repetitive tasks and often make the impossible possible. Getting started with it can be daunting, especially without any programming or scripting experience. This course will walk art ... More information

Dec 02 @ 11:00am PST - Basic MaxScript for Architectural Visualization  Virtual Session with Norgren, Nils

MaxScript is a powerful and versatile tool that can be used to speed up repetitive tasks and often make the impossible possible. Getting started with it can be daunting, especially without any programming or scripting experience. This course will walk art ... More information

Dec 02 @ 11:00am PST -  Parametric Design Modeling with Autodesk® 3ds Max®  Virtual Session with Fano, David

This presentation will show how to use 3ds Max modeling tools to build iterative parametric design systems. In this session, we will cover 3ds Max geometry types (Editable Mesh, Poly, Patch and NURBS), combine modifiers to build complex systems, use wire ... More information

Dec 03 @  1:00pm PST  -  Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2010 Product Strategy Revealed  Product Clinic with Griffith, Shane

Have questions about why we do the things we do? Bring them to this session and Shane Griffith, Product Manager for 3ds Max Design, will do his best to answer them for you. In this 60-minute product clinic, Shane will walk you through some of the exciting new features in 3ds Max Design 2010 and answer questions about how these capabilities can be used to enhance your visualizations for architecture, engineering, and manufacturing design.

 

Dec 03 @ 3:00pm PST  -   From Autodesk® Mudbox™ 2010 to Autodesk® Maya® 2010 and Rendered With mental ray®  Product Clinic with Aloia III, Frank

This presentation will show you how to use Autodesk MudBox 2010, move its content to Autodesk Maya 2010, and then generate astonishing images using mental ray®.

 

Dec 04 @ 11:00am PST - Detailing and Animation for Industrial Design Projects With Autodesk® Maya® and Mudbox™  Virtual Session with de Jong, Marcel

In this session, we will present a workflow for importing design data from Alias® into Maya and show how we can add realistic details, such as surface textures and logos, in Mudbox. We will also show how we can continue by building controls for animat ... More information

 

Dec 04 @ 9:00am PST -  Parametric Design Modeling with Autodesk® 3ds Max®  Virtual Session with Fano, David

This presentation will show how to use 3ds Max modeling tools to build iterative parametric design systems. In this session, we will cover 3ds Max geometry types (Editable Mesh, Poly, Patch and NURBS), combine modifiers to build complex systems, use wire ... More information

What is Generative Design?

I was dong some research on 3D tools used for conceptual design and came across this awesome article on generative design.  What is generative design?  It is also called,  computational design, parametric design, and  algorithmic architecture.  Basically, it is a process of creating an algorithm, script, or application to create designs.  It is process that fully takes advantage of the computers processing power to create designs that would almost be impossible to do without one.  Traditionally computers have been used mainly for the drafting process and for visualization, now they are being used to augment the design process.   An amazing example from Herzog & de Meuron is the the Bird’s Nest.  Could it be made without generative algorithm process?  Maybe, it would take forever.  Either way, it is changing architecture.

Generative Design Is Changing the Face of Architecture

October 15, 2009 By: Angus W. Stocking
New technology allows humans to harness computational powers for practical ends and to generate building design options that couldn't otherwise exist. How did it develop, and where will it lead us?

Here is the article: http://www.cadalyst.com/cad/building-design/generative-design-is-changing-face-architecture-12948

The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects (Paperback)

The 4rth addition of The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects is out (April 13, 2009).  This book is a great overview of computer animation and visual effects production.  Now, I own both the 2nd and 3rd addition and will add the latest version to my collection this week.   I keep it on the classroom’s reference shelf; It is a great for students to fill in their gaps, get a little historical background and get a handle of the over all production process.  I would love to have a classroom set of this book, but it is just way too pricey.

by Isaac Kerlow
 

ISBN-10: 0470084901
ISBN-13: 978-0470084908

Video about the book and author.

Here is a link to part of the Google Book version of the 3rd addition; it was published in 2004.  And here is the link: http://books.google.com/books?id=AM9U6HWQFQgC&lpg=PP1&ots=P7UyZTUqf6&dq=isaac%20kerlow&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

The VFX Podcast

Two great shows from another one of my favorite podcasts The VFX Show - http://www.pixelcorps.tv/the_vfx_show.  As I mentioned earlier, I have an unusually long drive to work in the morning and I love it because I get to catch up on the latest from 3d / FX industry.  I really hate the mornings that I run out of podcasts because I not only have to listen regular radio, but they always seem to be having a fund raiser on one of the only station I like NPR.   Either way, here are a couple of great casts that I listened to last week:

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The September 14th VFX Show,  gives a great overview of the current stereoscopic 3D industry while discussing one of my favorite 3d animations to date, Pixar’s UP!   Now that many of the 3d packages are coming with stereoscopic render options, it is worth checking out and at least be aware of the latest trends.

The VFX Show 88: UP

Mike Seymour, David Stripinis and Matt Graham discuss the feature film, "UP".

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This was another great show and I was actually late to work because I was stuck in the car listening to it.   The show was about Jurassic Park and its impact on Hollywood.  Now,  I am almost forty and in my twenties when Jurassic Park came out, but it still had a great impact on me .  When I was younger, I was inspired by ET and the electronics behind it.  I even attempted to build my characters in the mid eighties controlled by my Commodore 64 and a bunch of stepper motors, with some success – I really needed access to welder.  I had a blast those years, but did not have the support at home to head to Hollywood.   I did receive a degree in electronics, but did nothing with it due to my yearlong backpacking trip to Europe; that’s another story though.  BUT animatronics is kind of like rigging and animating  and sculpting is kinda like modeling. . .   And I love it.  

September 9th, 2009

The VFX Show 87: Jurassic Park

On September 9th show, Mike Seymour, David Stripinis and Jason Wingrove discuss visual effects in the feature film, "Jurassic Park".

Quest to Learn: A High School Where Students Play Video Games to Learn

I just cam a across this school in NY, Quest to Learn a school for digital kids, literally.  They play video games to learn their foundation skills, interesting.  And it looks like that do a little video game design too.  Check it out: http://www.q2l.org/
Program Overview:
Mission critical at Quest is a translation of the underlying form of games into a powerful pedagogical model for its 6-12th graders. Games work as rule-based learning systems, creating worlds in which players actively participate, use strategic thinking to make choices, solve complex problems, seek content knowledge, receive constant feedback, and consider the point of view of others. As is the case with many of the games played by young people today, Quest is designed to enable students to “take on” the identities and behaviors of explorers, mathematicians, historians, writers, and evolutionary biologists as they work through a dynamic, challenge-based curriculum with content-rich questing to learn at its core.

It’s important to note that Quest is not a school whose curriculum is made up of the play of commercial videogames, but rather a school that uses the underlying design principles of games to create highly immersive, game-like learning experiences. Games and other forms of digital media serve another useful purpose at Quest: they serve to model the complexity and promise of “systems.” Understanding and accounting for this complexity is a fundamental literacy of the 21st century.

Great Podcast – Linear Workflow and What is Gamma?

One of my favorite podcasts is the FXpodcast from FXguide.com.  I listen to it on my way to work; I have a 40 minute drive. 

The September 28th fxpodcast discusses linear workflow with 3D guru Master Zap of Mental Images.   He separating fact from fiction, and discuss just how viable it is to set up a correct linear pipeline, emphasizing gamma correction.  Master Zap also sponsors a great Mental Ray tips website.  http://mentalraytips.blogspot.com/ 
Here is a link to that podcast:

Compositing in Linear
Sep 28, 2009 - We geek out with 3D guru Master Zap about linear compositing workflow, separating fact from fiction.

Listen | Right-Click to Download

What is gamma you ask? It is the name of a nonlinear operation used to code and decode luminance in video and still images.

Do you really need to know about GAMMA? Well, you should be at least familiar with it, particularly if you are into photography.   Here are some resources that give a little light on it.  It is generally not talked about much, but GAMMA it is right in your face.   Here is a great video that gives you an overview on GAMMA.

Video Tutorial: The Beginners Explanation of Gamma Correction & Linear Workflow
Quicktime H.264 15.4MB Zipped

And the complimentary PDF file.

 http://www.pixsim.co.uk/downloads/The_Beginners_Explanation_of_Gamma_Correction_and_Linear_Workflow.pdf

If you want to know more about it, in fact more than you probably need or want to know, check out this gamma fact sheet- http://www.poynton.com/PDFs/GammaFAQ.pdf

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EVENT: SCAD Undergraduate & Graduate Presentation

There will be a SCAD admissions presentation this month at the Denver Art Museum.  It is worth checking out, they have a very impressive campus.  I visited last spring and saw the campus and an overview of the programs.  Unfortunately, I was not able to see much of animation and entertainment department aside from a 15 minute overviews.   From what I saw, I was impressed with SCAD although it was just a surface level overview.   I going to find out more about their programs and I will let you know.

SCAD was ranked 14th worldwide for their animation program; the schools were ranked by the number of student films shortlisted at international festivals during the past five years from 2002-2007.   (Article . . .)

Here are the animation and entertainment related program that SCAD offers:

Majors

• Animation - B.F.A., M.A., M.F.A.

• Cinema Studies - M.A.

• Film and Television - B.F.A., M.A., M.F.A.

• Interactive Design and Game Development - B.A., B.F.A., M.A., M.F.A.

• Sequential Art - B.A., B.F.A., M.A., M.F.A.

• Visual Effects - B.F.A., M.A., M.F.A.

Minors

• Arts and Entertainment Management

• Concept Art for Games

Here are all their program offerings: http://www.scad.edu/academic/

Attend these admission events to learn more about the Savannah College of Art and Design.  Walk-ins are welcome.

Undergraduate information sessions are for high school and transfer students.

Graduate information sessions are for students in college or who have graduated from college. Weeknight information sessions are for any prospective student. Click on your area to find upcoming events near you.

• One-hour admission presentation
• Academic programs
• Career options in art and design
• Admission/portfolio process
• Scholarship opportunities
• Q&A with admission representative
• Meet with faculty and alumni

Undergraduate students can request an individual appointment to receive feedback on artwork at weekend sessions.

SCAD Tours

Visit SCADor Visit SCAD-Atlantaif you would like to schedule a college tour in Savannah or Atlanta.

Made in Blender, Animation Makes Top 5 In Autodesk Competition

About three years ago, my students and I participated in the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition and we had a team of 20 animators ready, but after attending the opening ceremony we realized that you could only use 3DS Max.  We were assuming that since Autodesk just purchased Maya we would be fine, that wasn’t the case.   We had more animators then the core robotics team had builders.
That is awesome that these guys competed and did that well with Blender.  Great job guys.
*Read article below
From BlenderNation News
20 Comments Published by Tim Formica [Room335] on April 23rd, 2009 in 3D News, Contests
It's nice to see that  Autodesk is open to other "free" software in their competition. This  was sent to us by Chris Folea who wrote: "We recently created an animation for an Autodesk sponsored high school competition within the F.I.R.S.T (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition.
The theme was  "Use biomimicry to solve a design challenge".  Our entry took around two months to complete, mostly spent on designing, modeling, and texturing the transformer.  The competition guidelines were to create a 30 second animation using Autodesk 3ds Max, but we read the rules a bit more carefully and found out that it was legal to use Blender because it is free, so we decided to use Blender because of its fast interface. It made the top five in the entire competition but unfortunately did not win"
Congratulations to Chris and crew for making the top five!

Blenderartist discussion
You can see the other entries that we competed against here
The character used was initially designed for another competition entry for which we also used Blender.

Student Animation Festival

 http://www.cawthraanimationfestival.com/

EVENT ALERT: Entertainment Webcast Series - Image Based Lighting

Date & Time: Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT

Keynote Speaker: Gary M. Davis

To register for this webcast, simply fill out the form below.

Description:

There are obviously many means of adding lights, lighting, shadows and shading to a computer generated environment. One way is to use two-dimensional imagery, such as digital photography, as a source for the lighting in a 3D scene. This is often known as image-based lighting (IBL) and there are a number of techniques that can be utilized to accomplish 3D lighting from 2D images.

This webcast will take a look at a few approaches to IBL within Autodesk® 3ds Max® using the Scanline renderer as well as the Mental Ray rendering engine.

Date and Time: 2009-Oct-14

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Pacific Daylight Time

Deadline: 2009-Oct-13

Location: Online

Hosted By: Autodesk, Inc.