*Note: I am not advocating DMA as a replacement for a college education. Rather, I am suggesting it as an appetizer, if you will, to make sure you’ll like the main course.

I’ve never been much for gambling. The prospect of taking something valuable of mine and putting it up against the unknown on the off chance that my bet paid off never seemed like a particularly savvy thing to do. Therefore, it may come as some surprise to some to learn that one of the biggest decisions I have made to date in my life was a bit of a gamble.

That decision was deciding what to study in college. The question, “what do I want to do when I grow up?” rears its ugly (hideous, even) head for everyone at some point. And one day, I’m sure that question will probably come up for me, too.

But that question’s evil little sibling of a query is “what am I going to go to school for?” I consider myself lucky, because at the tender age of I-forget-how-old-I-was-when, I saw some Saturday morning TV show that left a permanent impression on me. If I can recall correctly from my days as a second-grade terror (I think that’s when it was, at least), that show was titled “Movie Magic,” or some such. And it made a part of my weekly routine. On some network or another, every Saturday, they’d fill my little head with dreams of creating movie visual effects.

As I grew up, my experiences with computers grew. I became a nerd, and got into online gaming. I became a bigger nerd, and got into mods for those games. I became a bigger nerd still, and learned how to edit them myself. For the most part, I would edit textures on 3D models in games to change my favorite characters’ shirt, or face, or edit my face into a hockey game so I could be a bigger nerd.

Eventually, though, I came to realize that as computers got bigger and badder, 3D animation did, too. And not only that, but video games kept getting better and better, and soon games and movies were using a lot of the same 3D animation techniques. So, now-17-year-old-me thought, “I keep with this hobby, so I can work in either field when I grow up!”

And so, I made my gambit. I applied to a big fancy-shmancy school that had enough money to buy all the latest and greatest software and workstations and labs. And with big, fancy labs came big, fancy tuition.

I am happy to say that I was right. For me, the gamble paid off.  I did love 3D modeling and animation. The desire to create fantastic wonders the likes of which I’d seen in countless movies as a kid stuck with me all these years, carried through my college education, and has now brought me to DMA.

My gamble was that I chose to get an education in 3D animation (and some other stuff) without ever knowing if I’d actually like it. What if I could not grasp the software? What if it was all too complex, if I was no good at it? All of my tuition dollars would have been wasted, at least for my freshman year, after which I would have had to transfer to another major (assuming my University would have allowed it), or go to another school, or jump through any number of hoops just to try to find something else that I liked.

College is expensive, especially if you’re looking at a very technical field like 3D animation and want to have access to the newest tech. For me, it was a necessity. I didn’t have access to the software I needed, or more importantly, the know how and instruction I needed to make the sorts of crazy things I’d always dreamed of. It is possible to dig through this stuff enough to learn it on your own, eventually, but what if I had had an alternative? How much more sure of myself could I have been, coming into college, if I had had the chance to get my grubby little paws all over Maya, or 3D Studio Max, and start pushing polygons around so I could make the animation, video game level, or random abstract whimsical thing that I wanted to?

For me, the gamble paid off. I did love 3D modeling, and I could eventually make stuff like this.

I didn’t have that option – but today, Digital Media Academy offers fancy PCs, the latest software, and experienced teachers who’ll answer all the questions you can throw at them without investing in 4-5 years and many thousands of dollars.  That’s not to say a one-week summer camp takes the place of a full education.  But it helps to get a taste before committing to school. I’m proud to be one of those teachers, because my gamble paid off and I hope I can make the choice and learning curve easier for some grubby-pawed kid to make the next great animation or game for the still-nerdy, present-day version of me to enjoy.

See you this summer, everybody…but please, wash those grubby paws before you lay hands on our computers. They’re shiny. (Just a suggestion.)

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By Geoff Beatty, Lead Maya Instructor

Just about everyone is familiar with the endless creative possibilities made available by the latest 3D modeling and animation software. Software like Autodesk Maya and 3D Studio Max bring professional quality tools to the independent artist, the hobbyist, and the teenage student with an interest in animation.  Maya 3D modeling and rendering software is used in the game, film, television, web, multimedia, marketing and communication professions, and the need for up to date and efficient 3D modeling and animation Maya training is growing rapidly.

In my experience as a Digital Media Academy instructor and university professor, I have seen more and more students showing up in class with prior experience creating 3D models and animation, 3D modeling training is in high demand.

These 3D artist students are usually self-taught, having picked up whatever lessons they could find from the internet and in books. This is fine to a certain extent. I’m always impressed by how these 3D artist students are constantly seeking 3D modeling answers on their own, not waiting to simply be handed the information but actively searching.

However, in order to really get the most from these learning resources, in fact the best way to really learn the software and become a 3D Artist, is to get some hands-on instruction with a knowledgeable teacher. I experienced this dynamic myself when I was first learning Maya. Prior to this I had worked in Softimage and 3D Studio Max, and I had practically taught myself 3D modeling through manuals and online tutorials. I was certain that I was going to have to do the same with Maya. I was on my way to doing that when the company I worked for hired a Maya professional to come in for a few days and get our team of 3D animators up to speed on how to model, rig, and animate a character.  Even professional 3D modelling artists can benefit from Maya workshops.

I learned more in those two days than I had learned on my own in the past two years. Not only was it personalized instruction, but I had never had someone tying it all together into a well-organized workflow. Things made sense and were directly relevant to the 3D modeling task at hand. Now all the bits and pieces of the online tutorials and book chapters came together like puzzle pieces fitting into their places. And not only was that time productive, my future self-directed learning in Maya was made more valuable because I was able to put it into the solid framework established during that 3D modeling training session.

So, if you would like to become a professional 3D animation artist, and you are beginning the long and rewarding journey of learning 3D software, I would highly recommend you take the time to start out right with some quality instruction of the type that Digital Media Academy offers . This could be a summer pro or teen summer camp course , or perhaps it’s an instructor coming to your workplace to offer specialized training . In any case, not only will the hands-on instruction be of immediate benefit, but it will add value to whatever 3D animation learning resources you pick up afterwards. And there are a lot out there, which is why it’s good to have someone be a guide through it all.

To that end, here are a couple that I highly recommend: Autodesk Area is the official hangout for Autodesk Maya users. It offers a wealth of well-moderated tutorials, plugins, models, and other resources. Creative Crash (formerly know as HighEnd 3D) is another well-established repository for tutorials, models, and the like. It’s also got a great responsive forum community, in case you run into any problems. 

Hope to see you at Digital Media Academy this coming summer for some great Maya 3D modeling training!

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You’ll enjoy these related posts:

Digital Media Academy’s Maya-Certification-Program-An-Amazing-Immersive-Experience!

3D Modeling and Animation Tip – Asymmetry!

The Digital Media Academy Difference – Success Stories!

A Teen’s Summer Camp at Digital Media Academy Review

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Ready to register for summer camp for teens or Maya Certification Program?  Click here for more information and registration:  Digital Media Academy

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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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One of the most rewarding parts of teaching is opening doors for my students.  At the beginning of each class, I literally unlock the door to the computer lab, turn the lights on, and lead my students in.  But in a more meaningful sense, I enjoy being the one (or one of many) who introduces them to a new medium, a new set of tools for creating imagery and telling stories.  The part of that experience that is especially gratifying is seeing my students making connections between their respective backgrounds (e.g. illustration, music, graphic design) and this newfound world of 3D modeling and animation.

Last year, during DMA’s Maya sessions at the University of Pennsylvania campus, I had the wonderful opportunity to teach an amazingly diverse group.  Among that group, there was the middle-aged illustrator from the midwest, learning a new skill.  There was the recent art school graduate with a graphic design degree.  There was the home-schooled high-schooler with an interest in visualization.  And there was the teenage musician and composer with a talent for digital imagery.

Each person brought a unique sensability and focus to their study of Maya.  And I can truly say that by the end, there were just as many unique 3D creations.  The characters, environments, and animations they made each reflected a personal vision.  And this is what I consider the strength of both the software, Maya, and the type of course I was teaching at DMA.  My duty as an instructor was two-fold.  First, I introduced students to the basics of the software.  This included both the explicit features and the implicit workflow, which is the proper process and sequence for using those features.  Secondly, I attempted to build on that foundational and common knowledge by guiding each student to a point where they could begin to use that tool to fulfill a personal interest or vision.

This ends up being the point at which I grow too as a 3D artist and instructor.  DMA courses bring together such a variety of students that it ends up being an antidote to the homogeneity common to most 3D classrooms.  I learn new things every time I interact with my students.  My experience last summer was so gratifying in that respect that I couldn’t turn up the chance to teach again.  I look forward to opening doors, turning on lights, and having my students do the same for me.

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Thought you might be interested in a project we have just delivered to a client which uses a lot of the tools you can learn, or might have already learned at Digital Media Academy. “Red Carpet” will be running before every movie at the upcoming Sonoma International Film Festival April 1-5th 2009. The main purpose of openings is to list sponsors before each movie and our quest is to make that repetitive experience as enjoyable as possible, especially when some of these run over 150 times during a festival.

This spot was produced using Maya, RealFlow and Shake (which could have also been done in After Effects if necessary), plus of course Photoshop to create a lot of the textures we needed. We were first given the poster, which the client had designed in Sonoma and although they gave us a carte blanche, from that point on it was obvious it needed to be styled as an art deco piece. 

To give it a poster-like look we rendered using only a 20 degree angle of view camera, so that it was almost orthographic with only a tiny amount of perspective, and then added a paint, cartoon and film grain filters all mixed back into the original so that everything was kept subtle.

The character models were built to be almost comic-like, flat and graphic, and the last thing we did was to take off the specular highlights on their eyes to flatten it a even more. The sets were also designed to be slightly exaggerated, especially the car of course, which is just the front end of a car. We only built  just as much as we needed for each shot.

The champagne was created using RealFlow. The bubbles were from Maya’s underwater Paint Effects, painted onto the interior bottom of the animated glass, which had its visibility turned off, and then those bubbles rendered, taken into Shake, color corrected, then warped with a filter to look like they were inside the liquid, rotoscoped out to be seen only in the area of the liquid and finally layered over the glass as a “screen” to combine the lighter areas of both the original image and the bubbles.

The flash bulbs were created by rendering the two finished characters separately (as they were massively different scales), then rendering them again with an all white version of each character with a single spotlight ahead of their faces for the complete sequence. This created a grayscale image of each face front lit and black on the back of their heads, which when applied as a matte to a brightness node in Shake would brighten just the front of their faces.

Their eyes were tracked, again in Shake, and a 2D flare added to the front ofeach eye. So now we had two complete sequences, the first with their normal face renders and the second with the flash on the front of their faces continuously including a continuous flare. Now we just used a “mix” node in Shake to dissolve between the two sequences every time we wanted a flashlight to go off. 3 frames up for the flash and 10 down for the bulb fading.

Only the bottoms of her dress and bottoms of his pants used Maya’s nCloth, with all else being regular polygonal geometry modeling. The hair on both characters was created using Joe Alter’s Shave plugin in Maya, but without any dynamics on it. Everything was rendered using Maya’s software renderer except for the champagne liquid and glass shot for which we used Mental Ray in Maya as it’s much faster with refractions. The project, from conception to delivery, took just three weeks.

Cody Westheimer, a very talented LA composer created the music for the piece. Well actually, that is where we really began, with the music and then everything was animated to that. Hopefully in the end it looks and feels as though it was all created together.

If you have any specific questions I would be happy to answer them. And my advice to all of you who want to work in this business? … really learn the tools and then … BE PROLIFIC.

Watch the video here:

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The following is an interview with Andy. Read showcasing how Digital Media Academy inspired Andy and helped him acquire great skills that will allow him to pursue his passion.

DMA: How old are you?

Andy: 17

DMA: How many summers have you been attending DMA?

Andy: This will be my fourth summer.

Andy has taken the following game creation courses at DMA:

• 3d Game Creation I with 3ds Max (July 06)
• 3d Game Creation II with 3ds Max (July 07)
• 3d Game Creation III with 3ds Max and Maya (Aug. 07)
• Advanced Video Game Production I with 3ds Max, Maya, & Zbrush (July 08)
• Advanced Video Game Production II with 3ds Max, Maya, & Zbrush (July 08)

In summer of ’09 he is taking Web Design and Flash Scripting for Game Design.

DMA: Which DMA location did you attend?

Andy: Stanford University. I enjoy the campus environment, it’s very easy to get around and a relaxing environment.

DMA: Prior to attending DMA, did you know what career path you wanted to take?

Andy: Somewhat. The main issue that prevented me from deciding to go into game design prior to attending DMA was the practicality of it.

DMA: Describe your experience at DMA.

Andy: In the past three summers I’ve learned a lot and had fun doing it.

DMA: How has DMA helped you in deciding what you would like to do when you “grow up”?

Andy: Meeting other kids with similar interests, and the instructors and speakers who came and spoke to us about the game design industry really inspired me.

DMA: Do you know which University you would like to attend?

Andy: Through the help of DMA and my high school counselor, I found several incredible options that are considered prestigious in the game industry. I’ve now narrowed my search down to Savannah College of Art and Design, Ringling College of Art and Design, Southern Methodist University, The University of Texas at Dallas, and University of Southern California. SMU offers a 5 year program that includes a masters degree as well.

DMA: What stands out the most for you from your time spent at DMA camps.

Andy: Being in high school, but living on a college campus for a few weeks out of the summer doing what I will hopefully be doing a year or two from now when I’m actually in college.

DMA: Describe the quality of the facilities, computers, instructors, etc.

Andy: Beyond expectations.

We also got a chance to talk to Andy’s mom, Joni Hoffman.

DMA: As a parent, please describe your experience with DMA.

Joni: My son Andy has been interested in Video Game Design since he was 10 years old. He attended several local video game creation computer camps offered in Houston. We found that Andy knew more than the instructors, even at a young age. He would ask questions they simply could not answer. We soon learned that Andy needed a more serious and rigorous program than what we had locally. I was thrilled to find DMA. It has been an incredible experience for Andy.  This summer will be his 4th summer and unfortunately his last. He will be a senior. However because of DMA he is pursuing a degree in Video Game Design. The portfolio he has created from what he learned at DMA has helped him become a serious candidate for scholarship money at several universities that offer Video Game Design as a degree.

DMA: Do you feel that DMA is your typical camp? Explain.

Joni: NO. Living on the Stanford campus was an incredible opportunity.

DMA: Do you feel that DMA has opened your son’s eyes to know which career path he wants to pursue?

DMA attracts kids literally from all over the world who have a similar passion and interest. Andy has had roommates from the UK, Canada and France.  These same kids may even reconnect someday once they are in the real world pursuing their dreams of being in the gaming industry.

DMA: Would you recommend DMA to others?

Joni: Absolutely

DMA: Anything else you would like to comment on about DMA?

With the state of the economy, many “stable” degrees no longer offer a guarantee of landing a good job after graduation. It’s more important than ever to pick from degrees that are going to have jobs available. The video game industry is booming and probably only going to get stronger. I think Andy is fortunate that his passion for this industry has great potential for a very successful career as an adult.

I truly believe that DMA helped shape Andy’s future and his DMA experience has definitively given him a competitive advantage in the college admissions process. Not to mention he had a blast. Kudos to the staff and counselors at DMA!

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Palo Alto, CA  March 1, 2008 — Digital Media Academy is recognized as the premier summer camp for youngsters, teens and adults. The whole family can enjoy learning the latest digital art and media techniques from top instructors in an encouraging project-based environment using state-of-the-art equipment. The 5-day courses for kids and teenagers can be taken individually or combined for multi-week certifications at prestigious college and university campuses that includes University of Chicago, Stanford University (San Francisco area), Harvard (Boston), George Washington U. (Washington, D.C.), U of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Brown (Providence, RI), Dartmouth (Hanover, NH), University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA), UC San Diego, UC Berkeley and more. At DMA, your child will be taught how to design and create video games, movies and websites, while developing lifelong passion and skills that translate directly to careers in design, engineering, computer science, and more.

DMA has something for each member of the family with its diverse offering of courses. Digital Media Adventures summer computer camps cater to ages 7-13, with day and residential camps in robotics, game design, web design, filmmaking and cartoon and comic creation, taught by professionals and teachers with a passion and talent for inspiring young minds.

Teen summer tech courses for ages 13-18 are offered at beginning to advanced levels with an optional residential pre-college experience. New for 2009, DMA has partnered with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus (www.lennonbus.org) to offer a music and video production course that is sure to attract students from around the world. Adults can take professional level courses in film, web design, photography, animation and more.

What better summer experience than channeling your family’s creativity and passion for video games and technology into an exciting educational experience? DMA is offering a Spring special discount off each 2009 course for everyone who registers by March 31, 2009. Visit www.digitalmediaacademy.org for details.

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Epic Games Interview – Gears of War 2

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Next-generation game production tools and techniques

This advanced video game production class integrates the big three applications of next-generation gaming technology. Topics covered include digital sculpting with Pixologic’s ZBrush and advanced digital painting and texture mapping with Adobe Photoshop. You’ll learn essential techniques for creating architecture, characters, creatures, vehicles and pick-up items. We’ll also teach you industry techniques for normal mapping, grunge-color maps and specularity maps are also emphasized.

The course features in-depth discussions on unifying game designs using fine art principals such as color theory, layout compositional design, form and structure, as well as other techniques to expand your understanding of the art of game design. We’ll study game play and level flow techniques, with each student continually testing and refining their creation in a group setting. On the last day of class, we’ll spend a game day play-testing and critiquing our designs.

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The video below talks about some of the exciting tech concepts students learn at DMA (wait until the end!)

Check out some of the 3d, video game, animation, modeling, and special effects courses taught at DMA:

3d Game Design Courses and Summer Camp Experiences for Teens:
 

3D Video Game Creation I - Level Design with Maya

3D Video Game Creation II -- Character Design with Maya

3D Video Game Creation I - Level Design with 3ds max

3D Video Game Creation II -- Character Design with 3ds max

Advanced Video Game Creation with 3ds max, Maya and ZBrush

Professional Level 3d Game Design Computer Training:
 

3D Game Art and Design with 3ds max

Also, check out the Maya Training Courses: 

3d Game Design Computer Camps for Kids:
 

Adventures in 2D & 3D Game Creation : Ages 9 -- 13

Adventures in Advanced Game Creation : Ages 9 -- 13       

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