Thursday, 18 October 2012

Animation Factory on news24.com

Episode 2, Ju Ju - Nowhere to hide has been published on news24.com
Click the link below and have a look...
Ju Ju: Nowhere to hide
Ju Ju: Nowhere to hide

Nowhere to hide

Wednesday, 12 September 2012

Animation... Episode 1 - No More Mandelas


Episode 1:..no more Mandelas

So here is the 1st one. Sunday we should have the 2nd. It will be entitled; 'JUJU: ..nowhere to hide!' - don't forget to check out JUJU's 'kills' - funny!
Vid: Episode 1  

Friday, 24 August 2012

ANIMATOR COURSE (Noob)
We run each course for beginners (Noobs) as soon as we have a team of 10 students. So let us know that you are interested in attending. We will call you as soon as your team is assembled...
There are two versions of the beginners course:
Version 1: Runs over 11 weeks. 2 hours of lectures every monday - 9 to11, or 12 to 2, or 3 to 5.
Version 2: Animation Boot Camp! Intense 1 week. 9 to 5pm. Monday to friday.

COURSE OUTCOME 

Your target will be to create a fully animated 30 second cartoon of yourself that you can post on all your emails as a signature. You can also add it to your Portfolio and Show Reel. The cartoon sketch should cast yourself as the protagonist (or antagonist!) in your animation story and should include at least the following: Full body and face modeling, texturing, walk animation, titles and credits, audio and sound effects, music background, speaking, etc.

COMPUTER, SOFTWARE AND TRAINING TUTORIALS
An animation computer, all software needed for modeling, rendering, animating, texturing, graphics design, audio, editing etc. is included in the course and is included in the fee. You may keep the computer as well as the software. (i.e. you receive a complete animation studio)
A complete set of video tutorials to revise the entire course is also included.

COURSE OUTLINE                                                                     

  Introduction 12m 5s

Welcome 1m 16s  
Using the exercise files 58s  
Using the full capabilities 4m 16s  
Getting and installing the software 3m 8s  
Mouse and keyboard differences on the Mac 2m 27s  

  1. The Interface 1h 6m

Software oddities 7m 38s  
Introducing the User Interface, Console, and Render windows 3m 8s  
Configuring the desktop for an efficient workflow 6m 27s  
Using the mouse and tablet on a PC or a Mac 5m 7s  
Acquiring keyboard skills 7m 38s  
Window panes and types 7m 53s  
Exploring the default scene 5m 53s  
Setting themes, UI colors, and user preferences 4m 0s  
Understanding how to safeguard your data with autosave and backups 6m 52s  
Appending and linking assets 7m 27s  
Using the open-source movies and assets 4m 18s  

  2. Modeling 2h 7m

Working with objects in 3D space 6m 24s  
Navigating 3D views 4m 23s  
Understanding Blender modes 1m 51s  
Understanding meshes 2m 8s  
Editing a mesh 3m 28s  
Using the Mirror modifier 2m 55s  
Working with Vertex groups 2m 35s  
Using Bézier curves 3m 52s  
Working with text objects 5m 23s  
Using reference images 3m 38s  
Modeling boots by extruding circles and joining meshes 8m 59s  
Applying the Mirror modifier to duplicate the boot and rotate 1m 58s  
Modeling a helmet with NURBS and the Boolean modifier 7m 14s  
Modeling a belt and pants by making a compound object from multiple primitive objects 3m 51s  
Modeling legs by using edge loops and the Knife tool 6m 9s  
Modeling a chest and arms using edge loops 5m 30s  
Stitching the shoulders and neck 5m 13s  
Modeling hands with the Proportional Editing tool 9m 4s  
Linking vertices to create knuckle joints 4m 7s  
Reinforcing modeling basics to create the face, eyes, nose, and ears 13m 6s  
Appending and linking assets 3m 54s  
Sculpting basics 3m 3s  
Using the Subsurf modifier to smooth 2m 34s  
Parenting 2m 7s  
Working with groups 2m 1s  
Understanding the endless possibilities for editing mesh with modifiers 2m 37s  
Duplicating objects using the Array modifier 1m 54s  
Modeling a set 7m 52s  

  3. Lighting 39m 41s

Lighting your scenes and objects 4m 25s  
Omni lamp 4m 50s  
Area lamp 2m 57s  
Spot lamp 4m 9s  
Sun, Sky, and Atmosphere lamps 4m 51s  
Hemisphere lamp 2m 3s  
Ambient and Radiosity lighting 7m 34s  
Lighting with three-point and other multipoint lighting rigs 5m 30s  
Understanding shadows 3m 22s  

  4. Shading 1h 21m

Realism overview 2m 56s  
Creating a world in less than seven days 6m 36s  
Applying ambient occlusion 3m 47s  
Working with basic materials 3m 24s  
Working with node materials 4m 27s  
Applying Pipeline options 2m 51s  
Painting vertices 3m 13s  
Using shaders 7m 59s  
Using mirrors 4m 41s  
Working with transparency 4m 28s  
Using halos 2m 40s  
Simulating with Subsurface Scattering (SSS) 4m 26s  
Applying textures 9m 34s  
Mapping image textures to an object to create a decal 4m 19s  
UV unwrapping 4m 54s  
Applying multiple materials to a single object 3m 31s  
Painting in 3D 4m 14s  
Using bump maps 3m 14s  

  5. Animation 1h 25m

Understanding animation 4m 14s  
Keyframing objects 6m 15s  
Keyframing materials 3m 14s  
Creating Shape keys 2m 28s  
Creating Facial Shape key animation using reference video 2m 12s  
Animating by combining Shape keys 2m 53s  
Working with lattices 3m 37s  
Using hooks 1m 30s  
Working with Vertex groups 2m 33s  
Creating armature objects 3m 44s  
Mirroring armatures for bilateral creatures 3m 43s  
Attaching mesh to the armature by way of skinning 5m 7s  
Posing a character 4m 43s  
Using inverse kinematics 4m 29s  
Creating a walk cycle with inverse kinematics 6m 34s  
Completing the walk cycle 3m 49s  
Limiting range of motion and degrees of freedom 3m 47s  
Managing actions using the Action Editor 3m 52s  
Blending actions together using the Non-Linear Animation Editor 4m 34s  
Tracking 3m 2s  
Following a path 2m 21s  
Mimicking an existing animation 3m 47s  
Using the grease pencil 2m 56s  

  6. Simulation 50m 43s

Understanding particle systems 2m 20s  
Working with game engine physics 3m 52s  
Spewing particles 7m 25s  
Guiding particles 3m 43s  
Creating reactions and collisions with particle systems 3m 15s  
Creating hair and fur 4m 25s  
Grooming hair and fur 3m 26s  
Jiggling and squishing soft bodies 3m 43s  
Simulating cloth 6m 10s  
Simulating fluids 5m 47s  
Using boids to simulate swarms, schools, and flocks 6m 37s  

  7. Rendering 21m 29s

Using Render controls 6m 18s  
Radiosity 3m 31s  
Stamping text on video 2m 32s  
Setting up test renders 4m 43s  
Rendering image sequences 4m 25s  

  8. Compositing 1h 5m

Viewing node thumbnail images on certain Macs 1m 31s  
Overview and integration 2m 12s  
Render passes and layers 4m 27s  
Using Input nodes 6m 22s  
Using Output nodes 3m 54s  
Working with Color nodes 4m 29s  
Color mixing and layering 3m 27s  
Using Distort nodes individually and in combination 7m 15s  
Using Vector nodes 6m 46s  
Creating effects with Filter nodes 8m 49s  
Using Converter nodes 6m 7s  
Chroma keying with Matte nodes 6m 15s  
Understanding node groups and reuse 4m 17s  

  9. Sequencing 38m 43s

The Video Sequence Editor (VSE) 11m 47s  
Integrating audio 3m 31s  
Using VSE Greenscreen and other plug-ins 5m 40s  
Integrating the Compositor with the VSE 7m 50s  
Layering and splicing video 6m 18s  
Speeding up and slowing down sequences 3m 37s  
Conclusion 5m 26s
Putting it all together:  5m 12s  

  Honors, awards, badge, certification

  Goodbye


COURSE FEES AND TIMES 
R5000 with own laptop computer. You will receive all the software.
R6000 with supplied Animation Computer and Software-to keep.

2 hours of lectures every monday for 11 weeks. 9am to  11am, or 12noon to 2 pm, or 3pm to 5pm,
or 1 week Boot Camp.
Dates to be confirmed.