facebook3D Animation
3D Animation has recently taken many strides and advances within our entertainment industry. Canadian Gaming companies like EA Games, are working on the latest and greatest Game titles from NHL 2009 to the new Tiger Woods 2009. Pixar Animation has created some of the best animated movies of our time and continues to lead the way with movies such as ‘The Incredibles’ and ‘Ratatoullie’.
Check out our new 3D Animation web site.
At Herzing, you are introduced to what companies are searching for in talented artists. We use Maya which is an industry leading 3D program that has been used in some of the most famous feature films of all time such as "The Lord of the Rings".
Students are instructed in the art of storyboarding which has its roots in storytelling (the foundation of any movie or game). From there, the basics of modeling and animation are studied with hands on projects.
As the student progresses, they are taught the art of advanced modeling, character rigging and animation. It's not enough to understand how a character moves, the secret is understanding how to make the character come to life!
By using real world examples, students learn how to focus on the important details which will allow their work to stand out.
At Herzing, we don't want to show you what you want to see, instead, we believe in showing you what you need to know!
Students are introduced to all of the aspects of the 3D industry such as: modeling (organic and mechanical models), realistic lighting, character & facial animation along with special effects.
If you are interested in animating, modeling or the video gaming industry, please pay us a visit. Take that first step in realizing your dream. Request Info on our 3D program
SESSION A – THE BASICS
100 hours
TGA 120 Introduction to 3D Animation
The tremendous growth of the film and game industry has resulted in a high demand for specialized 3D skills. This course examines the unique problems of creating 3D graphics for film and game and effective production techniques for addressing these issues. Topics include limited color palettes, file size, file formats, surface restrictions, cyclical animation, and levels of detail. Students are introduced to the basics of animating an individual 3D object. Students will learn the different methods of animating motion including key framing, and curve editing. From there, students are exposed to semi-automated methods for generating motion through various procedural techniques. Students will create animations that blend different techniques as needed and apply these to mechanical models. 5 credits.
40 hours
TGA 141 Character Design & Storyboarding
Storyboarding is the process of planning a video project that includes drawing a simple sketch of the desired shot, planning the accompanying audio, and estimating the duration of each element of the program. Students will study movies and their directors to understand the importance of structuring a storyline from initial ideas to final proposals incorporating camera shots, camera angles and staging. Projects will include creating animated flipbooks, character design, panel design and finally a completed storyboard, which will be presented for review to the class. 2 credits.
40 hours
TGA 170 Digital Video Editing
In this course students will produce digital video and work with digital audio soundtracks. Topics include special effects, titling, controlling motion, capturing and storing footage, previewing and editing, using still images, preparing footage for transfer and distribution. 2 credits.
SESSION B – MODELING & ANIMATION
40 hours
TGC 110 Image Manipulation with Photoshop
Adobe PhotoShop is an industry-standard tool in graphics, animation, video, and new media production. Students learn how the program relates to the production of today’s animation and new media applications. Students develop basic image manipulation skills using Photoshop. Topics include the fundamentals of color management, scanning, photo retouching, imaging, special effects, and filters and masks. Skills acquires in Photoshop will be used to create materials and textures in the following course. 2 credits.
100 hours
TGB 120 3D Character Modeling
This module introduces the concepts needed to model organic shapes and characters. Students will learn how to build the various parts that make up a humanoid character. Attention is paid to the details that allow those parts to be easily animated. 5 credits.
60 hours
TGB 130 Modeling: Character Rigging
Before animation can begin, a model must be properly prepared. This module introduces the concepts of character rigging and the importance it plays in sharing animation data. This module shows how to ready a model for animation by creating an internal skeletal structure. Students learn how to apply bone weighting. 3 credits.
80 hours
TGB 140 Character Animation
From simple mechanical animations the students will now begin to work on the more complicated process of character animation. Students will utilize constraints with Forward and Inverse Kinematics to pose and manipulate a rigged character model. 4 credits.
80 hours
TGB 150 Advanced Character Animation (Facial)
This module picks up where Character Animation left off, moving from the body to the character’s head and face. In this module, art is merged with technique as students are shown the secrets of bringing animations to life with personality and character. Secondary motion, overlap, moving holds, exaggeration of movement, and anticipation are added to the animation repertoire. Also, the subtleties of facial animation to express emotion and personality will be examined. 4 credits.
SESSION C – TEXTURES, LIGHTING
80 hours
TGB 111 Architectural & Mechanical Modeling
This course introduces students to basic modeling of man-made objects, environments and machines. Students will build 3D objects: props, buildings, and other objects essential to creating a fully-realized scene. Students learn the basics of working with polygonal objects, working in consistent scale, and understanding how to manipulate faces, points, and edges. The module starts with simple objects and progresses through more complex forms. 4 credits.
80 hours
TGC 121 Character Skinning, Textures and Materials Mapping
This course introduces students to assigning material attributes to their models and shows them how these can be manipulated to create real world materials such as wood, metals, glass, etc. Topics include the creation of game textures that reflect the nature of military, fantasy, medieval, and sci-fi video games including the creation of decals like bullet holes, blast marks, and signs; and sprites such as lightning, fires, and explosions. Students produce their own custom textures from existing photos and from scratch for use in games. Included are techniques for creating seamless tiles, environment maps, character skins as well as special maps used for creating bumps, displacements, reflections and transparency on selected parts of a 3-D model. Maps are then applied to existing 3-D objects, characters and environments of an existing game in order to create a unique appearance. 4 credits.
40 hours
TGC 131 Lighting (module is taught in conjunction with GC 121)
The models are built, the motion has been added, so now it is time to shine light on the result. This module deals with lighting models from basic lighting to more advanced topics such as metal ray, and image based lighting using HDRI (High Dynamic Range Images). Students will learn how to set up a scene and adjust lighting properties to create desired effects, generate realistic shadows, cast volumetric beams, and simulate light reflections.
With an emphasis on real-world solutions, students will learn how to efficiently organize and schedule their renders, work with multiple rendering layers, and what options exist to network the rendering load. Class time will be divided between demonstration and hands-on practice and students set up and render their own sequences in this and the following courses. 2 credits.
20 hours
TGC 141 Advanced Lighting
In this course, students will continue the work produced in the previous course and spend more time rendering their animations. 1 credits.
200 hours
TGC 151 Demo Reel
Students combine all that they have learned and made, revising and improving their initial efforts, with the goal to create a 15 to 30 second animated sequence. Class effort will be focused on individual projects with the instructor providing additional guidance and advice as needed.
As students approach graduation, they must compile their best work in a clear and concise package to communicate their creative and technical abilities. This course will focus on helping each student prepare a commercially marketable portfolio and demo reel. Topics include portfolio development, editing, special effects, audio and job preparation. 10 credits.
PD 150 Career Developments
This mandatory course helps students prepare for employment, conduct a successful campaign to find employment, and be successful in their career. Topics covered; preparation of a resume, covering letter and thank you letter to use in job search.
80 hours
WE 194 Internship
An individual who knows her/his skills and abilities and who develops and nurtures her/his career can generally find a job and knows how to keep a job and receive promotions. Prior to going on an industry internship, students will be given the tools they need for an effective job search. Topics include: writing a C.V. and cover letter, the interview process, role-playing, job search techniques. Afterwards, students will use the skills and knowledge acquired in program to do a work internship in a company. Students will reinforce competencies acquired through the program, learn new skills and work methods, learn time management, build a professional and positive attitude, learn to work independently as well as in a team, and build rapport with colleagues and customers. Students will be expected to document their work and submit it to the college for evaluation.
