Computer Animation Arts

With the year nearly over I thought I would post up a reminder regarding the Maya tutorials that need to be completed. All the videos in the sections below should have evidence of their completion submitted to your blogs. The posts should all have a label of "MayaTutorials" or something similar. Intro to Maya 2016 Modelling 1:Digital Sets Lighting & Rendering 1 Texturing & Shading 1 Animation 1 Intro to Pre-Viz Rigging & Skinning Modelling 2: HS & Organic I will start reviewing them on Tuesday so that gives you a long weekend to catch up on the few that you may have missed. Don't forget to double check, tick them off and label them as I would hate to miss some. Spread the word. Best of luck for tomorrow, Simon

I know you're all up against it and will be dreaming of the day when you're done and dusted with your current projects.  A date for your post-hand-in diary then: on Friday, May 13th , let's convene at the unofficial CAA club house - also known as Wetherspoons, Rochester, for some end of term conviviality.  All comers are welcome, including staff, alumni and friends of the course.  We hope to see you there.  Let's get all year groups together and give the academic year a proper send-off. Spread the word! 

This is a message for our hard-working Year 3 students.  We know that Monday, May 2nd is a Bank Holiday, which means the campus is shut.  For this reason we're moving your submission deadline to Tuesday, May 10th. Yes, the course team have waved their magic wand once more in support of your projects - I know, we're amazing. Submission hand-in / Tuesday May 10th by 7pm Important: You need to a) create a clearly labeled submission post on your blogs and b) copy your work onto a PC in the baseroom and sign against your name, confirming your submission. And one more thing: Alan won't be in on Friday 29th April, as he'll be assessing the year 2 Adaptation unit.  Ask your questions now so you can work effectively in his absence. Please use your social networks to ensure everyone has seen this notification.  Many thanks!

What follows are instructions for your crit presentations and reminders of what you need to present and submit. Please ensure that everyone has seen this information and understood it. Any queries, please leave a comment and I'll clarify where necessary. In response to one of the scenarios presented to you at time of briefing, you are required to produce a complete 3D animation that demonstrates creatively your ability to interpret, transcribe and represent complex ideas in engaging and dynamic ways. Your final animation should demonstrate clearly your creative methodology as established by your Year 1 curriculum, i.e. pre-production (production design and art direction via concept art and the structuring of time-based narratives via storyboarding and pre-visualisations), production (modelling, UV layout, texturing & lighting, and animation), and post-production (compositing, digital editing, sound design, publication and promotion). Format Requirements • ...

I've had a few enquiries from hard-at-it third years in regards to a 'good week' post-hand-in to take a well-earned rest before revving up once more for the creative marathon known as 'New Designers 2016'.  What you do after the 9th is up to you, but there will be a New Designers meeting on Monday 23rd May at 10am in the CAA Baseroom, which will the next time post-hand-in I'll want to see you all together again - refreshed and ready to get stuck into phase 2! Another question I've been asked is ' How much money do I need to put by for my ND16 contribution? '  The answer none of you have been looking forward to is £155... I'll be setting up a payment slot at the UCA Online Store, which is where you can pay your £155.  I'll announce when the Store is open for business here on the group blog in the next few days. The deadline for making this payment will be Friday, June 3rd .

At UCA we offer you the opportunity to study abroad as a fully recognised and accredited part of your degree course. We have strong collaborative links with partner institutions worldwide... Take a look at the presentation below, and if you want to enquire further email exchange@uca.ac.uk

This is a message of support and encouragement for our year ones who are but one short week away from their final crit.  You've come a long way in a short time and you've learned fast and dirty and always against the clock.  You've got a big day ahead of you and I'm certain you'll do your very best... and your motivational anthem is, of course, Irene Cara singing What A Feeling... Onwards!

Wishing all our second years the very best of luck as they prepare for Thursday's Adaptation crit... and your motivational anthem is Starship's Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now.

15 days, ladies and gentlemen... and this morning's motivational anthem is Survivor's Eye Of The Tiger... grrr!

More CGI annihilation and city-killing fetishisation courtesy of Independence Day 2 ... Note Jeff Goldblum's knowing meta-reference 'They like to get the landmarks' ... 

Disney animator Eric Goldberg's couch gag for The Simpsons ...

This isn't the first time I've showcased the work of Berlin/Kent-based artist Philip Cooper here on the CAA group blog.  His expressionistic collage work was featured here and his use of thumbnails profiled here .   Phil's most recent work, which combines his love of textural surface with his move into model-making, continues his fascination for 'spaces and places' - worlds often infused with tangibly gothic atmospheres.  Phil builds his 'table top villages' quickly and simply, emphasising form and surface over the aesthetic shackles of mimetic realism.  Phil's photographs of these miniature hamlets have a dream-like allure - and these dreams aren't always benign... One of Phil Cooper's models

A lovely insight into the craft and graft of puppet design and making at Laika.

This is a message for those students who helped out as extras for the film in Lecture Theatre 1; if you want your name in the credits (and hell, why wouldn't you?) can you please email your name to Tim Willcox @ TWillcox@students.ucreative.ac.uk In your emails, just state simply that you were an extra in the 'lecture theatre scene' and then give your name.  Tim is on a tight post-production schedule, so if you could email him by Friday this week at the latest, I know he'd find that helpful.  If you could ensure all your classmates have seen this, that would be helpful.

Due to the run up to the Adaptation Crit the final sculpting class will be postponed until the following week. The class will now take place on Tuesday 3rd May from 2pm. Please use the extra time to good effect.

Just a reminder to our hard-working Year 3 students: Monday, May 2nd is a Bank Holiday, which means the UCA campus is closed .  You need to factor this into your respective schedules - i.e. what can you achieve usefully at home if you can't work on campus?  If you could ensure everyone has seen this reminder, that would be useful.  Many thanks!

This is a reminder re. the importance of getting your project's text elements checked in terms of spelling and grammar.  I've been reviewing your various bits and bobs as they've appeared on you blogs - and I'm seeing a lot of typos and distracting mistakes. Many of you are adding text elements to your various animations and Art Ofs in software that may not be not alerting you to spelling or grammar errors.  Can I suggest you work in Word first - where mistakes are highlighted - and then transfer the corrected text into your project file.  No one should be inputting text without checking it first.   Proof read your text - then check it again! 

A heads-up re. the New Designers 2016 Screening Prize: the submission deadline is Friday June 10th .   Please go here to familiarise yourself with the submission requirements etc.

The New Designers 2016 showreel - and if you look closely, you may just see some familiar faces and one fabulously bushy beard!

Just your usual weekly reminder that you've now got just 22 days until your final submission... oh, and a motivational musical number courtesy of Disney's Mulan...

Every Best VFX Oscar Winner since 1927 until 2014! How many have you seen?

The Horn District / Eva Pinnington On Friday, I presented a selection of your speed paints to our guests from the Orchestra Network for Europe - and your creative visions for our 'Kingdom of Sound' animation project were met with unbridled enthusiasm!  I was also able to tell them that the Speed Paint Challenge was still live, so we could expect many more Britten-inspired visions in the coming weeks.  A number of you have expressed the intention to participate in the YPGTTO Speed Paint Challenge when things have quietened down a bit post-hand-in.  I'm confirming here that the Kingdom Of Sound project remains live, so I'm actively encouraging you to participate at your convenience.  The next stage of the project - where we seek to derive a storyboard for the 16 minute animation - will begin in late May, by which time we hope we'll have many more completed speed paints from which to divine our definitive art direction. For your convenience then, all fifte...

"A snowy night in New Jersey and some skeletal matchmoves lend an otherworldly aura in this stark and unvarnished music video from PostPanic’s Brooklyn-based director Fons Schiedon for jazz drummer and crossover artist Jaimeo Brown’s track called “Be So Glad.”

  World Animation Film Screenings: Mystery Film Yes thats right everyone, it's the last film screening of the year and in fact your degree (not long now before you're third years - wow!). The final screening will take place on Thursday 21st April @ 10am in the CAA Base Room. Apologies to anyone who misunderstood and arrived expecting the film this week.

A fascinating insight into the art of sound design and the craft of the foley artist.

Reminder: there are 8 internships with Butch Auntie up for grabs.  If you want to be considered for an internship, this is what you need to do: send your blog url to company director Pete Wallace at  pete@butchauntie.com by no later than April 25th . Don't underestimate the significance of work experience in terms of your respective CVs.  This is a great opportunity and you should absolutely put yourself forward.  Once Pete has chosen his 8 interns, he will call you in for an interview and further discussion of your respective creative strengths. These interviews will take place at UCA in the CAA Baseroom at 2pm on Friday 29th April - the day after your Adaptation crit, and a few hours after your Critical Perspectives hand-in. Busy times!

You've been asked to submit the three projects comprising the unit CG Artist's Toolkit to your blogs by 5pm on Monday 2nd May .  Those three projects are Drawing with Vicky, Animation & Character with Meg, and Autodesk Maya with Simon.  When Vicky, Meg and Simon assess your projects, they're expecting you to have done your housekeeping in accordance with their respective briefs.  For your convenience then, I'm summarising those expectations here.  Project 1 / Drawing A final Scribd portfolio of all archived drawings produced during your drawing sessions. Portfolio should be presented professionally and all drawings dated and compiled in chronological order. (This should include any extended studies you may have produced in response to photographs of your life-drawings) You should also ensure that all Drawing related blog posts are tagged appropriately and consistently, so that all your work can be gathered together under one label. ...

Hopefully you are all now aware that my class tomorrow is cancelled due to some room booking gremlins:  however, what we'd like you to do instead is upload your preproduction Art Of pages to your blog '@Jordan', and I'll be leaving written feedback on your progress so far, offering further design advice and mentoring. This means all those pieces of concept art, production art, orthographs etc, presented in your current 'Art of' template ready for some feedback.   Please update your blogs with your Art Of pages by 10am at the latest on Wednesday 13th April.   Don't underestimate the importance to your final submission of your 'deluxe' Art Of documentation.  Use your social networks to ensure all your classmates have seen this message.  Many thanks.

This is a clarification of the deadline for your current Critical Perspectives written assignment: on your course timetable, the deadline is given as May 4th, but the specific theory deadline is given as April 29th.  This is to confirm that your Critical Perspectives deadline is: Deadline: Friday 29th April 2016  Essay hand-in 11am – 12 Noon (Campus Registry, Ground floor) Please use your social networks to ensure everyone has seen this message. Many thanks.

29 days & counting!

Zombies + motorbikes = Horde Horde from BRVTVS collective on Vimeo .

Speed Paint Challenge #15 The Kingdom Of Sound This is it, ladies and gentleman: this is Britten's big finish.  Your challenge is to show us the Kingdom of Sound in all it's helicopter-shot-style glory.  We want to see the whole realm laid out before us.  It needs to be grand, majestic and super-cinematic!  These are the closing shots, expressing the power, potential and sonic excitement of an orchestra in full swing! Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra, Op. 34 - Finale / Benjamin Britten Need more inspiration? Visit the original YPGTTO brief  here .

The Violin District / Heidi Grover On Friday 15th April, the CAA Baseroom is hosting some visitors from the Orchestra Network for Europe - the partners with whom we're working for the YPGTTO animation project. I'll be showing our visitors around and presenting to them in the baseroom in the morning.  You can work in the Blue room/Red room etc as normal, just be aware that I'll be showing some VIPS around, so keep the hooliganism to a minimum! Interpreting Heidi's image in Maya