Paul Randall and Karen Laszkiewicz – who attended DMA at Stanford University as part of a partnership with NOVA this past summer – in collaboration with other students at animation summer camp created the sample project displayed below.  Both Paul and Karen were among the Digital Media Academy attendees who tackled all four courses back to back.  The amount of technical information was huge.  The requirements to process and apply the information were quick.  And the necessity to work as a team came as an extra spice to the mix.  Paul and Karen were integral parts of a diverse team that included participants of varying ages, abilities, gender, and nationality.  They both kept learning, kept producing and working with the team through the deadline to create the final piece seen here.

This project is based on a story from a children’s book and due to time constraints does not have voice over or final render.  That said, in this format you can see the scripted words (for voice over) and the skeleton (rigged, model) and other directional tools.  The important thing to remember is that Paul and Karen started with no experience in 3d or Maya and after 20 days of class were able to produce this.  Digital Media Academy will get you started on your new career path!  The skills they departed with will enable them to pursue the field of 3d art, modeling and animation as a viable career path.  What are you interested in learning with Maya?  Is it time to learn new skills to be competitive in today’s employment marketplace?  Why not learn new skills and have fun too at Digital Media Academy’s Maya summer camp?  Please join the conversation, and leave a comment below! 

Looking for more information on Maya Certification?  Please click here:  Maya Certification   Which Digital Media Academy location will work best for you?  Take a look!  Please click here:  Digital Media Academy Adult Training Locations.

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There are many things to consider when you create an animated character.  3D modeling and animation are processes which require constant evaluation and decision-making.  That is why it’s sometimes helpful to group the thousands of visual choices available into basic, fundamental principles.  For me, one of the most important of these is the idea of asymmetry.

The dictionary would define asymmetry as an inequality between two parts, and in the world of mathematics, this is usually undesirable.  In the context of design (and in 3D modeling and animation in particular) asymmetry is vitally important in establishing both believability and interest.

Asymmetry helps to establish believability because our world is naturally assymetrical.  The most basic example is the human face.  Which face below is correct?

Asymmetry helps to establishes interest because variability from one thing to another, in this case left to right, automatically generates more interest.  Which of the two boxes below is more “interesting?”

Now, how does this translate into the context of 3D modeling and animation?  How do we achieve asymmetry in Maya?  There are some simple ways to do this.

First, a common approach to modeling characters is to work on one half and then mirror the geometry to the other side.  This is a smart way to work, as it resembles the rough symmetry of most characters and simultaneously cuts the work in half.  However, this leaves us with a completely symmetrical model when we want something more believable.  It looks, for lack of a better word, “computer-ish.”  We can avoid this by simply altering certain elements of one side of the model through scaling or sculpting or using lattice deformers, as in the image below.

This is fine for modeling, but how do we incorporate asymmetry into animation?  There are essentially two ways of doing this.  One is while posing the model.  Consider which of these two poses is more dynamic, more readable, more believable:

Finally, the during animation, motion curves representing opposite sides of the body can be offset to provide a sort of temporal asymmetry.  This creates a pleasant overlap and flexibility to a characters action, an important step in creating a believable sense of weight.

Asymmetry, in short, is a vital step in creating a believable character.  Its presence is a clear indicator of a thoughtful designer, modeler and animator.

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Learning Maya can really open some doors for you in the world of 3D, animation, and special effects.  This will be my 3rd summer with DMA and I love how streamline the curriculum is.  Here is a quick overview of the Maya I and II courses.

MAYA I : Introduction to 3D Modeling
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Maya has become one of the foremost 3D packages in the film industry. Participants in this Maya I training course will explore the Maya interface, workflow and production pipeline. The course includes an in-depth analysis of the modeling and texturing process. The class will also introduce students to basic rigging, blendshapes and other character animation functions.

During the course, you’ll use many of Maya’s high-end modeling tools to create a fully modeled, textured, lit and rendered interior set design. You’ll also construct a game character and a higher-poly organic head. And you’ll do basic rigging for a pre-built character including blendshape (for facial animation) setup and use these rigs for basic character animation

MAYA II : 3D Character Animation
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In this Maya training course, you’ll learn the advanced features of Maya’s animation package. We’ll explore the dope sheet and graph editor in depth, and learn about keyframes and how to manipulate them to create believable motion. Many of the basic tenets of good animation will be covered to help you understand the difference between motion and believable physics and weight-based animation.

During the course, you’ll create multiple animation projects, including custom rigs utilizing techniques like IK, spline IK, custom skinweights and custom character control systems. These projects (including illustrations of stretch & squash, the whip principle, secondary motion and anticipation/action/follow-through) will be output both as playblasts and portfolio-ready rendered clip.

I hope you can join DMA for an amazing Maya learning experience this summer.

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