Check out this. Daniel Pink has a podcast once a month called “Office Hours” and talks with leading professionals. This episode is with Jonah Lehrer author of “Imagine: How Creativity Works”. Check it out.
September 17, 2012
September 5, 2012
Turning Golden Age masters into digital art
Check this out, it s very cool. It bothers me that the video do
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/blog/turning-golden-age-masters-digital-art-122985
Here is a Van Gough piece that is very cool too . . .
May 20, 2012
The Coolest STEM Artist!
About a year ago, I went to the Denver Art Museum’s Blink show an saw one of the coolest interactive artworks I have ever seen. It was a projection that looked at you shadow and analyzed it for closed loops. For example, if you made the OK symbol with your fingers, it would turn the shape between your fingers into a surface and fall to the ground making a crashing sound. The larger the surface the deeper the sound. It was awesome!!!
The work was done by Golan Levin. Check out his TED talk.
You can also check out his website! http://www.flong.com/
September 9, 2011
Autodesk at IBC 2011–LIVE
If you happened to miss any of the Autodesk live feed presentations, Autodesk added a cool feature DVR, which allows you to jump anywhere in the presentation. So if you missed the beginning, you can always rewind a bit. Now since it is Live, you can’t watch the future unless you are in the past. If that makes sense. We just watched the latest Autodesk reel and Maya live feed in class to day. Very COOL!
All the videos seem to be on-demand, so it is great for the varying classroom schedule, including interviews, on-demand demos, behind-the-scenes reports, and more.
*You need to at least watch the latest Autodesk Show reel. It is awesome and the students really get PSYCHED! ~Cornell
September 2, 2011
A Different Side of Architecture
Interview with Paul Nicholls and Jonathan Gales (Factory Fifteen) - Winners of the 2011 CGarchitect 3Dawards Film and Image Category
By Jeff Mottle
During the Mundos Digitales conference in La Coruna, Spain this year CGarchitect sat down with Jonathan Gales and Paul Nicholls to talk about their recent 3D awards win. Jonathan and Paul were classmates at The Bartlett in the UK and were independently selected by this year's panel of expert judges as the winners of the 2011 CGarchitect Architectural 3D awards Film and Animation categories. Since their win they have gone on to form a new company called Factory Fifteen with several other classmates.
Video : http://www.cgarchitect.com/upclose/article1_FF.asp
Interview with Paul Nicholls & Jonathan Gales (Factory Fifteen) from CGarchitect on Vimeo.
Interview with Paul and Jonathan at Mundos Digitales 
Paul Nicholls - Winning Film entry from the 2011 CGarchitect Architectural 3Dawards.
August 31, 2011
Creativity: Phineas and Ferb Get Busted! “They are forced to think inside the box.”
Today in class we talked about “Creativity and Divert thinking”. I posed questions such as, “Can you learn to be more creative or is is something that you are born with?” and “How does ones environment influence creativity?” I introduced the talk by sharing a short music video from Phineas and Ferb Get Busted! It is an awesome Disney TV series about two inventors. When my daughter watches TV, which is not very often, it is one of her favorites; I love it too. The students wanted to watch the entire episode, because they all seemed to love the show as well.
In this episode Phineas and Ferb get caught by their parents making a flying car and get sent to reform school. The reform school tries to break them of all creative thought.
| Sergeant: OK, listen up, maggots! You are here because your parents (mockingly) are worried about you. Now, the way I see it, the root of all children's problems is unacceptable levels of imagination, fun, creativity and unbridled enthusiasm! Don't you eyeball me! Our goal at this school is to crush the dangerous elements inside you and replace them with structure, order, discipline and conformity. (Part 1, 05:31) |
The music video “Chains On Me” sung by Dan Povenmire, has a fun chorus ”Cause they say imagination is morally wrong.”
“Chains On Me” by Dan Povenmire
I woke up this morning, and the world was gray.
Haven't seen the sun since they hauled me away.
The boss man says there's no use in trying,
He won't let me color outside of the lines.
Got these chains on me,
And they're draggin' me down.
Got these chains on me,
Hear that clanking sound?
Got these chains on me,
Mister, hear my song
Don't say imagination is morally wrong
Mm-hmm
Drink of water, boss?
As long as I've been here I got nothing to show,
Try to make something but the boss says no
Wanna be creative but the man won't hear it
That big boss man, he's trying to crush my spirit
Got these chains on me,
They won't let me fly
Got these chains on me,
Won't tell me why
Got these chains on me
Mister, hear my song
Don't say imangination is morally wrong
No, they won't let us dance or bang that gong,
”Cause they say imagination is morally wrong.”
August 30, 2011
Inkling: Check it Out–Very Cool!.
A friend of mine just sent me this link – Very Cool! I am going to get one to try out and will let you know what I think. I have seen similar pens was not too sure of their accuracy. The Inkling is still questionable and want to play with it first. They say on main drawing area of A4 paper, it has +/- 2.5 mm of error. Which I guess seems accurate. – Cornell
The Inkling digital sketch pen captures a digital likeness of your work while you sketch with its ballpoint tip on any sketchbook or standard piece of paper. Designed for rough concepting and creative brainstorming, Inkling is ideal for the front end of the creative process. Later, refine your work on your computer using an Intuos4 tablet or Cintiq interactive pen display.
In addition to capturing your sketch, stroke by stroke, Inkling allows you to create layers in digital files while you sketch on paper. Digital files are transferred to your computer using the Inkling Sketch Manager software, and later, exported to applications such as Adobe® Photoshop® and Illustrator®. Files can also be opened with the included Inkling Sketch Manager software to edit, delete, add layers or change file formats.
Highlights:
Sketch your ideas on standard paper or sketchbooks while capturing a digital likeness of your sketch.
Store hundreds of sketches on the receiver before transferring them to your PC or Mac.
Export your sketches with layers directly from the Inkling Sketch Manager software into Adobe® Photoshop®, Illustrator® (CS3+), Autodesk® Sketchbook® Pro (2011+) or Autodesk® Sketchbook® Designer.
July 20, 2011
Autodesk Student Experience Event at SIGGRAPH 2011 - Exclusively for Students
thanks to our strategic partners 
On Sunday, August 7, 2011, Autodesk will be hosting the Autodesk Student Experience event, a series of workshops and presentations exclusively for students. This full day of events will feature classes, one-on-one feedback sessions with Autodesk technology experts, a seminar from Carlos Baena of Animation Mentor and a keynote presentation by Duncan Brinsmead, principal scientist at Autodesk.
This event is brought to you thanks to our strategic partners Dell™ Precision Workstations and NVIDIA®. All Autodesk software showcased during the day’s event will be running on Dell Precision workstations equipped with the latest NVIDIA® Quadro® professional graphics.
Wanted:
- Student attendees in pursuit of their CG dreams
Location:
- Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel
1128 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Sunday, August 7th from 9am-5pm PST.
(Reception to follow from 5-7pm PST)
Description:
- * Autodesk is seeking students to take part in a full day of seminars focused on improving their skill sets with Autodesk 3D animation tools: Autodesk® Maya®, Autodesk® 3ds Max® and Autodesk® Softimage® software.
Your Responsibilities:
- Attend the Autodesk Experience workshops.
- Discover something new from industry-renowned technologists and visionaries.
- Learn from some of the best trainers in the industry, including an ACE, a Mentor and a Master.
- Network with like-minded students and industry leaders.
- Geek out on Autodesk technology.
- Chat about work-in-progress to Autodesk technical experts. (Optional)
Requirements:
- Register in advance. Priority admittance to the keynote and Animation Mentor seminars will be given to those who pre-registered for and attended the product sessions.
- Show up on time for the sessions you registered for. After we have admitted all pre-registered attendees, we will open the doors five (5) minutes before each session and admit students who are present (space permitted).
- Be currently enrolled in a program of study from a recognized college, university or community college, OR..
- Have graduated in the Spring 2011 or Summer 2011 semester of a recognized college, university or community college.
- Show proof of student status or recent graduate status upon on-site registration.
- Being passionate about the technology and art of CG is a must!
Student Workshops featuring 3ds Max, Maya & Softimage
The first part of the day will be focused on the individual product classes. Please register for the classes you are planning on attending. You can register for one, two or all three.
Keynote and Animation Fundamentals Class with Animation Mentor
After lunch, we’ll get started with our keynote and a technology preview from a member of our Games group. This will be followed by "Animation Fundamentals" with Carlos Baena.
Animation Fundamentals will take a look at basic concepts of animation, and how they are constantly applied even in complex animated shots. Through examples/demo these basic concepts will be shown all the way from basic simple exercises all the way to complex acting / physical shots.
Please make sure register for the sessions you are planning on attending. You can register for one or both of the sessions.
Autodesk Experience Schedule (all times are in PST)
9am-9:45am Registration (coffee and breakfast)
9:45am-11am 3ds Max Class with Sandeep Kulkarni Register
10:45am-12pm Softimage Class with Adam Sale Register
11am-3pm AE AREA open
11:45am-1pm Maya Class with Kenny Roy (75 mins) Register
1pm-1:30pm LUNCH
2pm-3pm Keynote: Duncan’s Corner with Duncan Brinsmead Register
3pm Games Technology Preview with Mathieu Mazerolle
3:30pm-5pm Animation Fundamentals class with Carlos Baena Register
5pm-7pm Reception
Dell and NVIDIA
All Autodesk software showcased during the day’s event will be running on Dell Precision workstations equipped with the latest NVIDIA Quadro professional graphics based on NVIDIA Fermi architecture. Come meet with experts from Dell to find how to best optimize your Autodesk software by choosing the right workstation for your needs.
AE AREA
Come meet Autodesk Application Engineers & AREA Bloggers, who will be on site during the event. Gary M. Davis (3ds Max), Louis Marcoux (3ds Max), Lee Fraser (Maya) and Mark Schoennagel (Softimage) will be available to answer your questions about 3ds Max, Maya and Softimage. Come chat with them about your latest project, product tips & tricks, industry questions and more! No registration required.
Contact Us
Are you an instructor or educator who is interested in attending the Student Event? Do you have any questions about the event? Please contact me.education@autodesk.com for more information.
Autodesk Education Summit
thanks to our strategic partners 
On Monday, August 8th Autodesk will be hosting our annual Education Summit in Vancouver, where we are offering our worldwide community of educators, program directors, trainers and more the opportunity to connect with Autodesk staff and executives to discuss key industry trends and best practices, network with their peers and learn about our products and programs. This event will be followed by a reception. (Agenda will be posted soon)
Register here
Autodesk Education Summit
Monday, August 8, 2011
3pm-5:30pm PST
reception from 5:30pm-7pm PST
Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel
1128 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Autodesk Digital STEAM Workshops for Secondary Education
On Monday, August 8, 2011 at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel from 11:00 am to 12:30 p.m. Autodesk will be hosting an information session about the new Digital STEAM Workshop, offering teachers the opportunity to experience a project-based learning program. Designed for high-school students, the program explores the study of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, through real-time 3D games and easy-to-follow videos guided by industry professionals.
Register here
Autodesk Digital STEAM Workshops for Secondary Education
Monday, August 8, 2011
11am-12:30pm PST
Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel
1128 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Please contact me.education@autodesk.com if you have any questions or you need more information about our SIGGRAPH 2011 events.
June 21, 2011
The Animation Podcast: Talent Development and Summer Internship Programs
The Animation Podcast is a great collection of classic animator interviews. I have listened to them all and if you have a long car ride coming up, download them all for the ride; it will be well worth it. The latest interview is very interesting which explores Disney's Talent Development Program. Put it on your iPhone today so you have it for that next traffic jam. - Cornell
In the latest podcast:
| “You learn everything from every production that you’re on, even if it’s, you know, a commercial that lasts three weeks. You learn something from it.” It’s finally here – my exclusive podcast for Animation Mentor! It marks a few firsts: my first podcast in over a year; my first roundtable with five guests; my first women guests! Since this is an exclusive, you’ll need to head over to Animation Mentor to listen and download the show. My focus for this show was to grab five artists at Disney who recently went through the Talent Development Program at Disney and talk about how they got there and what it’s like to work at the studio. My guests include Story Artist Jeremy Spears, Visual Development Artist Lorelay Bove, Rough Inbetweener/Jack of all Trades Joe Pitt, 2D Animator Sarah Airriess, and CG Animator (and Animation Mentor alumni) Kira Lehtomaki. Please leave your comments and feedback on this this post. I’d love to hear what you think. |
Don Blooth Animation Resources
Now some say traditional animation dead, but it is not and it will never die. Check out Don Blooths Animation Tutorials, they are not free, but worth having in your library. - Cornell
| About Don: Bluth's passion for the Art of Animation is the driving force that fueled his film career for a period of more than four decades. According to Bluth, he was not driven to animation but extremely attracted to it mainly because of the sheer beauty of its look. Don grew up on the early Disney films, Snow White, Bambi and Pinocchio. He was only four years old when these pictures inspired him. He knew immediately that someday, it would be part of his world. Bluth is considered by some critics to be unique in that he successfully challenged the powers of the ‘Mouse House,’ as a serious competitor, bringing to the silver screen such memorable milestones as The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, and Anastasia.’ All in all, Don and his partner, Gary Goldman, produced twelve animated features and three video games including, Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace.
|
Carlos Baena: PLANNING: INCREDIBLES
Carlos Baena is one of my favorite animators. Yea there are a lot of great animators out there and honestly I do not know that many, but he has skills. I hung out with him one night and on top of being a great animator, he is a cool guy to hang with. My wife is also from Spain, but from a different island and made sure I did not butcher his name. Emphasizing the wrong vowel could get you to say whale, but I am sure he is used to Americans mispronunciations by now. Either way, He visited Denver to speak at one of the local schools and his presentation on animation was just phenomenal. Now nothing beats talking with him in person, but here is a portion of the presentation similar to the one he made that day. Now I know The Incredibles was not that recent, but I just came across this presentation and I had to share it. Check it out! – Cornell
http://www.carlosbaena.com/resource/resource_tips_planning.html
June 9, 2011
Animation School Guide from Animation Magazine
Choosing the right school is really tough these days; there are tons of options and promises from schools. And with many schools it is just a business, making money is more important than provide a quality education. Schools have to pay for their program, that is a given, but choosing a school is not something to take lightly.
As a teacher, parents are always asking me what to do. Should we go into debt? Will there be jobs? Does a school really make a difference? I think it is different for every student, so there is definitely not one answer. I have visited a number of schools and there has bee a huge range quality and costs. I think there can be great teachers anywhere, but what I always tell my students is that your peers can push you that much more. So you want to be surrounded by the best in the price range you can afford. Also a good school with a great scholarship, wins over a great school with tons of debt.
On another note, some what I call “pay schools” (schools that look at your stock portfolio vs. your art portfolio) have their advantages for a select group of top students. These students will be marketing tools for the school, which means that they will do what ever it takes to get them a top internship and/or industry job. So as I said, there is not just one answer. Here is a guide that I came across, hope it helps. – Cornell
130 Free XfrogPlants Now Available!
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Download free 3d plant and tree models from each of the 30 XfrogPlants libraries!
Three to nine 3d plant models are included in each of the 30 species below, and best of all, they are completely FREE! Download the plants, browse their documentation PDFs, try them in your favorite software and see firsthand our high quality modeling work. If you like them, buy and download any of the 3d libraries, instantly from our shop.
Our Botanical experts go out in the field and photograph each plant, for their references and to capture firsthand the leaf and bark textures. They then compare the plant in Nature, to established printed research work, and build 3 to 9 ages of the plant. This set of ages is required for ecosystem work – to give enough variation for instancing the models across a terrain. And if you own Xfrog 3.5, you can easily edit any of the models for additional variations !
May 30, 2011
DAZ Studio 4 (free)
DAZ Studio 4 has just been released. It is a free 3D figure posing application and animation tool similar to Poser. It is free, but if you want to have unique character models you need to buy them and they do have a extensive library just for that. Now It does come with a default characters and a few props and poses, but is a bit limited. There is also a library of free models and props, still limited, selling them is where they make their money. Now I have not spent that much time with it yet, but it is fairly intuitive.
This version seams to be free, but there is a buy button and they interchange ‘try’ and ‘free’ occasionally. Version 3 was a free app but here are two versions, DAZ 3 and DAZ 3 Advanced. Daz 3 is the core application which is FREE and basically the main differences with the advanced are rendering features and a few modeling features.
The software can be found here: http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/daz_studio
Here is a link to the feature comparison.
http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/daz_studio/comparison?_m=d
Pitch Party Contest
Animation Magazine’s Pitch Party is an opportunity for your students to pitch their ideas to the CG community. Animation Magazine opens up an entire section of the publication to individual advertisements that pitch student’s ideas. The deadline is coming up soon, so if you can’t get your students to pull it off this year, you can plan for future publications. It is $375 per pitch which can be pricy for students particularly in this economy, but some schools have sponsored the student teams and others have set up local contests submitted the winners. It is worth checking out and the submission issue is great to share with your production classes.
May 25, 2011
SketchBook, Mudbox, & Maya Webcast
Autodesk offers tons of great resources and throughout the year host a number video webcasts demonstrating key skills and techniques. They are awesome and worth checking out. This session look very cool; it walks you through the design process from a sketch to final render. See you there. See you there.
– Cornell
Entertainment Design with SketchBook, Mudbox, and Maya 2012
Wednesday, June 8, 2011, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PDT
This webcast, presented by Autodesk Technical Specialist Marcel de Jong, illustrates how to realize concept designs from 2D sketch through 3D rendering. It entails the design and construction of a realistic sci-fi motorcycle of photographic quality using the latest tools and concepts in Autodesk® SketchBook®, Autodesk® Mudbox™, mental ray®, and Autodesk® Maya® 2012 software, also highlighting the interoperability between these products.
Some of the concepts discussed in this session are image plane construction in Sketchbook for Maya, base modeling in Maya for Mudbox, detailing in Mudbox, HDR lighting in Maya (IBL's), and rendering a design project with mental ray. This project speaks to both entertainment and design customers.
Registration is free, but you'll need to register to gain access to the webcast.
May 24, 2011
Visual Effects Society Scholarship
 VES is Proud To Announce New VES Scholarships In Honor Of:  These scholarships may be used in conjunction with any other financial aid or scholarship, except for others offered by the Visual Effects Society. To be considered for these scholarships, applicants must provide a url to a digital portfolio of their work, completed application and supplemental materials as referenced in the application process. Visual Effects Society Peter Ellenshaw Scholarship The Peter Ellenshaw Scholarships will be awarded to one VES member and one student (either in high school or currently in college) who plan to attend two (2) or four (4) year accredited schools in pursuit of any type of graduate or post-graduate degrees or certificates in fine or graphic arts. Peter Ellenshaw’s contributions to the field of visual effects were primarily as a matte painter and his artistic talent is highly regarded in the world of fine art. For this reason, the education sought by the recipients of these scholarships is not required to have any relation to visual effects, per se; however, that education must focus on some type of visual art.Visual Effects Society Douglas Trumbull Scholarship The first of the Douglas Trumbull scholarships is available to VES members who wish to continue their education in all aspects of motion pictures in order to expand the scope of their careers, and the second is for students seeking degrees in film or television. Douglas Trumbull was an inventor and innovator in the field of visual effects. He has produced and directed several projects which included special venue projects and two feature films.The Douglas Trumbull Scholarships will be awarded to one VES member and one student (either in high school or currently in college) who plan to attend any type of industry-recognized school or training program in pursuit of broadening their skill set in the field of visual effects. Douglas Trumbull’s early contribution to visual effects was as the inventor of the slit-scan photographic technique. Later, he would break into directing, and finally settle into the production and creation of visual effects. For this reason, the education sought by the recipients of these scholarships is not required to be relevant to visual effects, per se; however, that education must focus on motion pictures. Visual Effects Society Albert Whitlock Scholarship The Albert Whitlock Scholarships will be awarded to one VES member and one student (either in high school or currently in college) who plan to attend any type of accredited schools in pursuit of certificates of completion in order to gain marketable skills in visual effects. Albert Whitlock’s contribution to the field of visual effects was as a matte painter on more than 500 projects. For this reason, the education sought by the recipients of these scholarships is required to be relevant to visual effects, per se; however, that education may focus on any type of visual art.Because Albert Whitlock was such a prolific matte painter, he focused on completing those paintings quickly. He always referred to himself as a craftsman rather than an artist; he continually tried to demystify his work, stating that his craft was something that could be learned by anybody willing to make the effort. For complete rules and to submit your application please click here. SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: Friday, June 17, 2011, 5:00PM (PDT) |
May 22, 2011
ANIMAG TV: Behind the Scenes
Check out the Animation Magazine's Animag TV. It is a online video library for animations, trailers, and commercials. This is nothing really new, but the really cool part . . . “The Making of” channel. The collection is small, but it is still in its infancy. I think over time it will be a great source for the classroom.
On Animag TV, I came across the Genesis sequence" from 1982′s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I always knew of its importance, but I have never seen the making of this sequence. It was the first completely computer-generated sequence in a feature film, created by the Lucasfilm division. It just beat Tron (1982) into release to take the honor of being the first film to use computer-generated images (CGI). AND the team that created it eventually formed Pixar! Check it out.
May 18, 2011
CGArena: April - May 11, FREE Digital Magazine Issue Now Available
CG Arena is a free downloadable CG Magazine with great articles and tutorials.
- Interview with Cris De Lara
- Photoshop: Painting Megaman
- 3ds Max: Making of the Dream Place
- Modo: Making of My Little Fishes
- Photoshop: Making of Sentinel
- Maya: Making of Turkish Butcher
- Gallery - Showcase of latest 3D inspiring art
May 17, 2011
Free Software: trueSpace7.6
trueSpace7.6 Features - Full version available FREE
If you are a designer/illustrator, artist, animator, or creator of interactive entertainment, visualization solutions, or corporate training, then trueSpace7.6 is for you. trueSpace7.6 is a fully-featured 3D authoring package that will let you model, texture, light, animate and render 3D content. As well as traditional images and movies, you can also make 3D content for online shared spaces, and for Virtual Earth.
