Computer Animation Arts

Week 1 (Above) Year 2 timetable can be downloaded on MyUCA here Week 1 (Above) Year 3 timetable can be downloaded on MyUCA  here *Please note these timetables may be subject to minor changes. "Happy New Year everyone."

Welcome to the final Post With The Most of 2017.  It's New Year's Eve.  The house in which I'm writing these opening words is hushed and I'm in a suitably contemplative mood.  It's been a rather strange and unsettling year.  It has felt sometimes as if the world is in reverse.  Real comfort then in taking a few quiet moments at the turning of the great clock to celebrate the achievements of our bright young things and marvel at the huge creative distances they've travelled in so short a time. The What If Metropolis project is an ambitious one for new-comers to Computer Animation Arts - in simple terms, it requires our first years to envision, design and model a fantastical digital set and adopt unfamiliar ways of looking, thinking, and designing in order to do so.  The project requires them to collaborate with established artists and thus resist any existing stylistic preferences of their own; students need to demonstrate the flex and dexterity to ...

Not sure anything I could write could prepare you adequately for the the seasonal delights of this animated short... 

This is particularly unsettling...

This isn't a very pleasant animation - be warned! H from BiRo on Vimeo .

For the first time in what feels like forever, I won't be there to cheer you on in my Santa hat... instead I'll be sipping on a Gluhwein in a German Christmas market! Of course that also means no baking, so I am sending you a virtual mince pie to enjoy, along with best wishes for a happy Christmas :) See you all in the New Year!

You're 'Home Alone' today as both Alan and myself are elsewhere doing other important stuff.  Alan has asked me to let the second years know that he'll be pretty much welded to his laptop today so should be able to field any last minute queries regarding the collaboration project.  Try not to wreck the place in our absence - and should any bungling comedy crooks try and rob the base room, please follow Kevin's example...

What follows are instructions for your crit presentations and reminders of what you need to present and submit. Please use your social network to 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 the work, creative methodology and philosophy of your production design collaborator, you are asked to design your own ‘What if?’ metropolis. You are asked to produce a single rendered image of a digital set derived from original production art. Production design for your metropolis should demonstrate clearly your understanding of the principles and processes of production design and the ways in which environments communicate their visual concept through careful consideration of the mise-en-scène. Your digital set must be textured in accordance with the digital set pipeline and incorporate a fully integrated matte painting . Aspect ratio for final scene should be 16:9 (HD 192...

I know you're all stressing about submitting your Contexts assignment to Turnitin on account of an error message you keep getting... Rest assured it's us not you and I have made the powers-that-be aware of the problem.  I'm awaiting confirmation that the glitch has been sorted and I'll get the message out - probably via Twitter - when it's sorted.  If the problem persists and we can't fix it for tomorrow's submission, just hand-in your paper-copy to Campus Registry as per the instructions and this will be fine.  Short version - stop stressing!  We know what's going on, and we know it's out of your hands.  Breathe!

Collaboration: Thursday 14th December As a group... 1) An animated short: Show this first before giving your presentation. 2) A presentation (crit): Nominate one studio member to be your 'professional' spokesperson. 3) A making of document:  You can use this to present from if necessary or create a more bespoke presentation document. 4) A studio blog: Up to date and containing all of the groups work. 5) Basecamp: Please make sure your Basecamp is up to date, contains your animated short, making of document, and any other materials you think are relevant for assessment.  Note: Please, do not delete or add anything to basecamp or your studio blogs after the final critique. As individuals... 1) Personal blog:  Please make sure your personal blog is up to date and c ontains your contribution to the Collaboration project. 2) Film reviews: Create a single post on your blog with links to your film reviews. The deadline for the film rev...

Friday December 15th is 'Santa Hat Friday'!  What does this mean if you don't know already? It means all CAA students are required to wear some kind of festive headwear or similar accessory, and it also means the course decamps to Wetherspoons, Rochester Highstreet for a seasonal wind-down. For our year ones, this exciting moment of jollity will follow the What If Metropolis crit, so this means the staff will head down for about 5.30pm.  Please spread the word - these things work much better if you actually turn up!  

Welcome to the latest edition of the Computer Animation Arts Post With The Most - the last before Christmas incredibly (where did that term go?).  Indeed, the UCA Christmas tree has arrived in our reception and our students have got that far-off gleam in their eye - not dreaming of sugar plum fairies, but rather of the moment when all their project work is done!  Well, we're not there yet and there's lots for them to do, so enjoy this selection of our students' most recent creative endeavours, beginning with the simple expressive pleasures of their life-drawings! Ellie Row Ellie Row (detail) Greta Mongyik Megan Robson Rachael Holyhead The What If Metropolis project challenges our first years to produce their first digital set - which sees them seeking to bend Autodesk Maya to the whims and fancies of their production design.  It's the steepest of learning curves and requires them to learn-on-the-job as very few of them arrived with ...