Computer Animation Arts

Years 2 & 3 Timetables are now available + Update Apologies everyone, there has been update to your timetables. Two were uploaded at the same time - Better two than none, right? Obviously, we're working hard to get everything set up for you. The timetables are basically the same with minor changes (detailed below). I have added new links to the combined timetables. Can you share this information with anyone you may think will not see this update. Year 2: You can find your timetable on MyUCA under ' Collaboration/Teaching Materials '. Your first project briefing is for Perspectives and with Joe Taylor  on Wednesday 2nd October at 2pm in Lecture Theatre 1. The Collaboration, Character Design, and Toolkit 2 briefings will take place on Thursday 3rd Oct starting at 10am in the CAA Baseroom. - The year 2 has date changes for submission. Collaboration group project: I am sure you are all wondering which groups you are going to be in. We are currenlty ...

Get paid to represent UCA! Fully flexible, paid positions - represent UCA at: Open Days Career events Workshops Campus Tours... Gain valuable skills including: Confidence Time Management Teamwork Organisational skills Networking No minimum participation required - work to suit your other commitments! Excellent hourly rate of pay. Closing date for applications 2nd October For full details, and to apply, see  HERE

ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen-based creative industries – animation, film, games, television including children’s TV and high-end drama, VFX and immersive technology. They work across the whole of the country to ensure that UK screen has access now, and in the future, to the skills and talent needed for continued success. They offer ... careers advice - see  HERE                   ... bursaries - see  HERE                   ... advice on freelancing - see  HERE ...and lots more! See  HERE!

Guru Live London BAFTA's annual festival of talks, workshops and masterclasses The place to be to learn from BAFTA-winners, industry professionals and up-and-coming talent! Take the next step in your career or simply share the passion for all things film, games and TV. 14th and 15th September There is still time to get your tickets for only £6! For full details, see  HERE

Open call for the Young Artist of the Year Competition ARTIST’S BRIEF 2019   Deadline for submissions 1 September 2019 (midnight) About the award Three unique organisations are collaborating to provide a significant platform and stepping stone for young artists. The new Robert Walters Group UK Young Artist of the Year Award in partnership with Saatchi Gallery will discover and champion exceptional artists who are representative of contemporary Britain. From an open call across the UK, we are seeking to discover 10 outstanding artists whose work demonstrates a strong and original voice, is of exceptional artistic quality. We’re looking for artists who represent the UK’s richly diverse population, and embody the experiences of their community. Artists who create bold, unique pieces of art that reveal their own perspectives and experiences and whom represent unique viewpoints and will help start new conversations in the UK art scene.   The ten shortlisted artist...

Framestore are on the lookout for an Animator!  Responsibilities: Working closely with the Animation Lead and Supervisor to produce high quality animation which creates compelling, story-driven and action packed moments that fit within the style and pacing of the film Working closely with the Rigging and Pipeline departments providing suggestions and feedback to improve character setup, visual quality, rigs and tool functionality Animating both primary and secondary characters and elements Meeting schedules and show deadlines Ongoing communication with Production and Lead regarding schedules and deadlines Working efficiently as part of a team, or independently, to complete assigned shots Submitting shots for review and follow through with notes and feedback if required Continuing to become familiar with new tools, software, data and other related technology Essential Skills: Previous experience in a similar role A thorough knowledge of Maya An ...

Created Academy are back with their series of 'Lates'... talks and workshops that get you up close and personal with industry! On the 13th June, they are hosting a workshop with MAINFRAME.  Get exclusive insights into the day to day world of working at a major studio, get your work reviewed by industry professionals and leave with a secret or two in your pocket. What you'll get...  Project X: From Brief To Delivery We’ll kick off with a talk by the pros at Mainframe. They’ll take you through how they brought to life one of their latest motion design projects, running through the whole process from the client brief to the finished article. There will then be a Q&A session where you can questions about the project. Portfolio Hustle And it gets better. You’ll then be paired up with motion design professionals who’ll give feedback on your work and advice on how to improve your portfolio. This event is FREE so as you can imagine, plac...

Coming up on the 20th June... Inside Bloomsbury Publishing for Animators and Video Editors   Step inside Bloomsbury headquarters as they talk openly about how they work with animators and video makers to create inspiring films about their books. Here's what you can expect...   'In a brand new event series, Inside Bloomsbury , we open up about how we create and publish our books by inviting key members of the Bloomsbury team to talk about what they do in more detail than ever before. In this fourth event of the series, we bring together members of our talented marketing team to talk about the way they use video content like animations, trailers and stories in their campaigns, especially on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook , to engage with an author's readers and fans online.  We're delighted to have Trâm-Anh Doan , Head of Digital Marketing, joined by Anthony and Jason from Robot Ninja , a creative video collective, who ...

The Flying Colour Company are now launching their 2019 post-graduate recruitment campaign!   Here's what they have to say - The Flying Colour Company is a visua l effects facility based in the heart of Soho. We are an independent company and have established ourselves as one of the leading providers for VFX in Lo ndon. We specialise in high - end scripted drama and film VFX for Independent and also Studio Feature films.   In 2018 , The Flying Colour Company initiated a post graduate recruitment campaign , whereby we employed two t rainee artists and provided them with a Flying Colour Co training program that they both passed . Th ey then went on to gain hands-on experience and are now very much a key part of our in house artist team . Following the success of this program, we are now commencing with our 2019 post- graduate recruitment campaign.   We are looking for a number of creati ve individuals, for various trainee positions. It ...

File hosting site has gone down Unfortunately, the site which hosts the downloads (scene files not the videos) on the Toolkit website has gone down with a technical fault. They are working hard to fix it but there is no estimated time for the maintenance. The site is American meaning that a lot of the repair work is happening overnight in the US which is during the day in the UK. If anyone is having difficulty downloading anything I will do my best to email you the files in the interim. Please send an email with your request. My address is: apostings@ucreative.ac.uk - Alan.

Graduating, or just not sure what to do in the summer break?  Drop by the foyer with your questions and speak to Jan Rowan, Careers and Employability adviser. Tuesday 7th May 12:00 - 13:30 Rochester Foyer

Part of the Careers and Employability SPECTRA Programme - Nail that Interview! Wednesday 1st May 2 - 3pm Lecture Theatre 1 'How to conquer your nerves and turn your stage fright into a charismatic interview performance'

Dundee based Game Development Studio, Puny Astronaut, are on the look out for a full-time 3D Animator! What are they looking for?  Required Skills • Strong animation skills in Maya, both stylised and realistic • Can demonstrate ability to animate with an array of rigs (i.e. biped vs. quadruped) • At least a foundational knowledge of rigging and skinning, with the ability to alter existing rigs and to create new variations or similar rigs • A critical eye for animation in games and other media • Ability to self-critique, iterate, and make decisions on how to improve your work • Great communication skills, can respond well to direction, and can contribute to team discussions • Good time management and ability to self-direct workflow when necessary For full details, see  HERE.

I have some more prizes to announce today in addition to that much sought-after Nintendo Switch! The nice people at Conductor Cloud Rendering have offered up three prizes for our very good cause: 1 x $100 Render Credits voucher! 1 x $300 Render Credits voucher! 1 x $700 Render Credits voucher! Visit the UCA Online Store to purchase your tickets today!

Motion and Graphics Designer for Ocado, based in Hatfield. Job Summary Getting stuck in, working on powerful creative solutions and being part of the creative team. Accountabilities • Work on a variety of projects - static and moving creative solutions for Facebook and Google, but also GIFs, bumper ads, social media and other motion design where needed. • Idea generation - Work alone or in a team to generate ideas that meet the brief and engage customers. • User experience - Understand the customer; employ logical and analytical thinking; demonstrate the importance of consistent customer experience and view each job or channel as part of an overall whole. • Presentation skills - Use scamps, mood boards, designs and storyboards to present your work to colleagues and/or business partners. • Brand guardianship - Ensure that all work adheres to Ocado brand guidelines. • Meet business objectives - Understand what business owners are asking for, and translate...

The Computer Animation Arts Tombola Of Dreams 2019 ...  Friday, 3rd May

I need to put some things in place to organise Easter access to the CAA computer suites - principally a register on the reception desk for all those students who will be working in CAA's rooms.  If you are planning to work on Campus during the Easter break (Good Friday/Easter Monday excepted, as the campus will be closed), you need to confirm your intentions via a comment on this post. Many thanks.

Dear all... I'd like to invite all of you for end-of-term drinks after the working day on Friday 12th April - and also to a celebratory screening of Marcus & The Mystery of the Pudding Pans in Lecture Theatre 1 before we leave for the pub.  We'll also screen Red & The Kingdom of Sound and some excerpts from the recent Romeo & Juliet performances.  It's been a busy time for the CAA course team and we're up for some show and tell!  I'll put some more information out nearer the time, but speaking personally, I'd like to see everyone make the effort to get out of the building (and out of their bedrooms) and enjoy some old-school inter-year group mingling!  We all need to blow of some steam at this point in the year so let's make an occasion of it! * *I'll leave a large wheel barrow outside the CAA office for all those chocolate eggs I know you've bought me! 

When you use a wrap deformer in Maya it turns off  rendering ( Render Stats) preferences for the controlling object. This is an old Maya default. You will need to them back on by selecting the controlling object and going to the Render Stats tab in the Attribute Editor (see above). You will notice this problem when rendering. Your object will be missing from your render because it's Primary Visibility (amongst other settinging) has been switched off.

Mainly aimed at Games Modellers, this talk might be of interest to some of you... As part of the London Games Festival (2nd -14th April - see  HERE  ), there is a talk by Christian Paskota, a Lead Character Artist on Total War: Arena, on 11th April at 7pm. He will go over his practices of how to retopologize models for the games pipeline.  The talk will include examples of dos and don'ts, LODs, UVs for characters, modelling for prop swapping and best pracices to prevent clipping. The doors will open at 7pm, and the talk will be followed with Q&As, and a chance to network at the bar! Full details  HERE.