Computer Animation Arts

   Written by Paul Richards (aka Autodestruc t ), the following two articles are a n absolute must-read!  P. Richards introduces truly useful distinctions to use for conceptual game/film design . You will find new  points to consider about a design task after his thorough yet clear walk-throughs of both, the professional field  and visualising techniques . Articles: 1. Hints and Hacks For Doing Conceptual Art in the Video Game Industry    2. Thumb War He also suggests to play a fun design game, which is close to what  a real game/film designer is experienc ing (particularly the 'canned reactions' :D ) :

Just discovered this artist. Very amazing stuff and you can see from his gallery, very prolific. http://www.wwwcomcom.com/gallery.html 

Hi All, Just a reminder that the Dropbox invitations for the Speed Painting project were sent out on Monday for those who put their names down on the sign up sheets. As of writing there are still plenty of people in all years who haven't joined their respective folders yet. Be sure to accept in time for Monday's painting challenge. It's not a disaster if you don't contribute from day one, but give yourself the option in case you do feel inspired! If you signed up but didn't get the invitation it could be there's been a mistake somewhere down the line with emails. If so, be sure to mention it in the comments below, speak to myself, Jordan or Phil and we'll re-send the invite. It could also be that the emails ended up in your Junk or Spam folder so be sure to check there as well! If there are any problems, let us know. Cheers!

It's applicant day tomorrow and I'm office-less once more, so I was hoping to use the Red Room for interviews in the morning.  There's not many, so I should be out of there by 11am (I start at 10am).  Your patience would be much appreciated and there should be plenty of room elsewhere for the duration.  I'll be sure to let everyone know when I'm done and dusted.  Thanks in advance  :)

Not sure if you've seen this yet - but look! UCA have just released a new Animation @ UCA Youtube video starring lots of CG work, loads of you, some beardy guy in an orange v-neck and even Alan's infamous eyebrow makes the final cut!  

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre  directed by  Tobe Hooper (1974) 28th February 5:00pm till 7:00pm

Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, this is it - the big one.  The 'Fantastic Voyage' Commission project is your opportunity to pull out all the stops and accomplish something extraordinary - your first cg animation. Wow.   This project is a culmination of all you've learned since week one of term one and you need to think creatively, ambitiously and you need to be determined from the very outset to make the best work of which you're capable.  You are not simply being asked to satisfy a year one project brief; you are being challenged to make others take your creative potential seriously, to put your money where your mouth is - to shine.  This is about you and them - the audience.   You need to get them on side.  You need to make them love your vision.  You need to win the prize, seal the deal, steal the show.  This isn't about grades or what the tutor might think, or what your classmates might think, this is about your personal potent...

Whilst Life of Pi wins the best VFX Oscar, the studio that created it becomes bankcrupt. Without said studio, the film of course would not have been created. Making billions in sales, and winning awards. How can the people behind the success of it be so out of pocket? More disgustingly so, whilst accepting the award, the guys started talking about the financial difficulties that the studio are having by saying that the film interestingly questions reality and non-reality whilst ironically the film is mostly CG, and thus.. not real. Whilst bringing this subject up, the powers that be at the Oscars cut them off. This is disgusting, even more so that they are quickly removing any Youtube videos that upload the footage. How long can this industry continue to treat its employees as disposable? The people that worked so hard to create the film, out of pocket. Taken advantage of with regard to not only money, but serious overtime. Whilst the money people continue to profit without really ad...

In the last couple of years apps for phones and tablets have developed beyond simple games and software. An emergence of artistically directed apps that straddle the game / book / interaction line have formed to create some spectacular events. Experience the ancient Swedish phenomena of year walking through a different kind of first person adventure that blurs the line between two and three dimensions as well as reality and the supernatural. Venture out into the dark woods where strange creatures roam, on a vision quest set in 19th century Sweden. Solve cryptic puzzles, touch and listen in your search to foresee the future and finally discover if your loved one will love you back. Mysteries and clues await everywhere in Year Walk, but to fully understand the events that took place on that cold New Year's Eve, you will have to delve deeper than the adventure and lose yourself between fact and fiction. What becomes apparent from this emergence...

Hello! We are looking for a 4th person to move in with us next year, as one of our current housemates is moving out!! There is a single bedroom available at a price of £70pw (10months contract, water bills inc). We have also looked at another 4 double bedroom house which is a bit further away from uni but as long as we get someone else we dont mind moving! The double bed is also £70pw (10 months contract, no bills inc). Anyone interested please leave a comment below and we will come back to you! If you have any questions or would like any more information regarding the house then please ask either me or Alice. :) Me and Alice are obviously CG students, but the third girl (Sammie) is a lovely Fashion Promotion student. (She's a great cook ;) !!!) Thanks! Emma & Alice

Wassily Kandinsky, Black and Violet, 1923 On Friday, July 12th at Grays Civic Hall, Essex, the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne will be performing a programme of music on a theme of 'rhythm'.  The programme of music will explore ideas of rhythm in classical music and in the celebrated jazz of the late Dave Bruebeck.  The director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne, Marc Feldman , has challenged the CGAA community to work collaboratively to create an original work of animation designed to accompany his orchestra's performance of one particular example of early twentieth century music that blends classical and jazz rhythms to exciting effect.  The animation will be rear projected onto a large screen measuring 8.5m wide by  6.2m high, in front of which the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne will perform live. Marc Feldman, Director of Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne Grays Civic Hall - auditorium ...

With my resent research into obesity and Ryan's recent 'One-A-Day' - Fat (featuring unexplained bloating of animals) here's another video to continue the theme, answering the age old question... What if wild animals ate fast food? Apparently they'd all be even more adorable :D !

UCA Student Experience Conference 2013 by

CGAA year one student, Matt Coward has misplaced his headphones and thinks he may have left them in the CGAA computer room last week.  If you see them, could you please pop them into the CGAA office for Matt to collect.  Many thanks.

Thanks to Stevie P for bringing this to our attention; your new timetables for the remaining weeks of term suggest that your Critical Perspectives lecture slots are on a Wednesday - but this is an error (and we'll get it changed asap).  In the meantime, simply consult the specific Critical Perspectives timetable on myUCA within the Critical Perspectives unit - which was published at the beginning of the term and is correct in terms of day, times and venue.  Critical Perspectives is on a Monday @ 11am in L2 - and your 'Live Project Briefing' will follow your lecture - so stay where you are!  Apologies for any confusion caused.

This month's edition of the Ba Hons CG Arts & Animation Post With The Most has me licking my lips like a kid before the Pick 'n' Mix.  It's wall-to-wall eye candy in here!  I love my job sometimes; in what other occupation would it be considered normal to discuss with total seriousness how many eyes/mouths/tentacles is 'too many' when designing a monster or the technical challenge of making a penguin appear just 'a little more gay' or the cultural legacy of the vagina dentata and how it might relate to the design of the harpies from Dante's Inferno ?  Honestly, February's PWTM quite closely resembles a family pack of Haribo , what with all the rainbow-coloured faux-naif critters (though its not without some welcome sour notes as injected by the likes of nightmarish insectoid typewriters and those scabrous bird girls!).  We've rubber chickens, wide-eyed eskimos, bespectacled 'dream-cleaners', a garrulous old lady whose fa...