Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Digital Rendering and Design

A. Define the digital creative environment.

B. Discuss the development of the technology.

C. Identify visual milestones.

D. Define and use key terms.

II. Techniques of Digital Rendering

A. Explain digital rendering tools.

B. List the principles of perspective design.

C. Discuss the importance of rendering strategies.

D. Discuss the character design process and create model sheets.

E. Define character history and develop characters.

F. List digitally rendered file formats.

III. Digital Production Process

A. Discuss production strategies.

B. Identify components of the digital rendering art studio.

C. Participate in creative and production teams.

D. Define the digital rendering art process.

E. Assemble a rendered portfolio.

IV. Perspective Form in Digital Renders

A. Create 1-point perspective.

B. Create 2-point perspective.

C. Create 3-point perspective.

D. Draw ellipses.

E. Define foreshortening.

F. Produce freehand drawing techniques.

G. Compose a perspective view.

H. Generate section drawing.

I. Draw symmetrical forms.

J. Define and demonstrate clarity, realism, dynamism and continuity in basic perspective drawing.

V. Vehicle Digital Renders

A. Define car render strategies.

B. Establish your view.

C. Render digital basic proportions.

D. Characterize section renders.

E. Create complex form building.

F. Produce renders from your imagination.

G. Generate section renders.

H. Discuss methods of perspective construction.

I. Define freehand render techniques.

J. Build car forms of personal design.

VI. Environmental Digital Render Design

A. Define thumbnail renders.

B. Discuss composition.

C. Identify mood.

D. Create atmosphere.

E. Define creative process.

F. Define design strategy.

G. Produce sketchbooks.

H. Generate marker render.

I. Construct final line render.

J. Create a tighter line render.

K. Define layering strategy.

L. Discuss value planning.

M. Formulate a color palette.

N. Create dramatic lighting.

O. Create a focal point.

P. Establish depth.

Q. Add detail.

VII. Low-Tech Architecture

A. Define the 2D digital workspace.

B. Generate shot composition.

C. Produce sketches with line and tone.

D. Direct the eye.

E. Establish a mood.

F. Create theatrical lighting.

G. Tell the story.

H. Illustrate effects.

VIII. Character Development

A. Define body proportion.

B. Identify stance.

C. Discuss circular and rounded forms.

D. Generate skeleton foundation.

E. Define construction of the head.

F. Discuss advanced head construction techniques.

G. Create facial expressions.

H. Produce hands.

I. Add muscles.

J. Draw different body types.

K. Generate clothing.

L. Create model sheets.

M. Create backgrounds.

IX. Character Design

A. Define general physical characteristics.

B. Define body type.

C. Discuss proportions.

D. Define gender.

E. Define surface.

F. Define color.

G. Define facial structure.

H. Discuss the character's movement.

X. Line of Action

A. Build the line of action.

B. Create balance.

C. Produce foreshortening.

D. Identify realism versus exaggeration.

E. Render a figure in action.

XI. Creature Design

A. Render abstract shapes.

B. Develop character traits.

C. Discuss how personality dictates design.

D. Employ color pencil sketching.

E. Resolve the design.

XII. Use of Color in Picture Making

A. Discuss the four primary characteristics of color.

B. Define secondary color characteristics.

C. Discuss how color acts and reacts.

D. Define using colors effectively.

E. Discuss quality, distance and weight.

F. Define hue, value, chroma and temperature.

G. Discuss color contrast.

XIII. Character Lighting

A. Discuss the main types of lighting.

B. Define light positioning.

C. Discuss light color.

D. Define shadows.

XIV. Components and Principles of a Storyboard

A. Discuss rule of thirds.

B. Define foreground, middle ground and background.

C. Develop visual skills.

D. Define shot angles.

E. Build the storyboard.

F. Discuss classic film.

G. Draw humans in action.

H. Define light and shadow.

I. Discuss design and composition.

J. Define light sources.

K. Discuss depth of field.

L. Define montage.

M. Discuss editing.

N. Define dynamic design.

O. Define sequencing.

P. Discuss editing.

Q. Define special effects.

R. Create a real-world animatic.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Traditional Animation

A. Discuss the history and evolution of animation.

B. Illustrate timelines in traditional animation.

C. Identify principles of traditional animation.

D. Define the traditional production process.

E. Identify traditional animation terminology.

II. Traditional Animation Production Process

A. Develop an idea.

B. Discuss intellectual property and copyrights.

C. Create a storyline.

D. Explore scriptwriting.

E. Produce a script.

III. Character Design

A. Discuss the evolution of a traditional character design.

B. Illustrate animation style.

C. Create concept and environment design.

IV. Business Aspects of Traditional Animation

A. Identify animation markets.

B. Discuss scheduling and budgeting.

C. Explain investment, marketing and distribution possibilities.

D. Discuss independent short and independent film development costs.

V. Rules of Filmmaking

A. Define camera positions.

B. Identify camera lenses.

C. Explain lights and filters.

D. Illustrate camera moves.

E. Define staging.

F. Create scene-to-scene transitions.

G. Discuss screen aspect ratios.

VI. Soundtrack Recording

A. Identify talent selection.

B. Examine the voice recording process.

C. Demonstrate the non-voice recording process.

D. Define the music track recording process.

E. Create the final work track.

VII. Storyboards and Animatics

A. Explore storyboards and storyboard formats.

B. Discuss animatics.

VIII. Digital Desktop Production

A. Examine stages of traditional animation production.

B. Define production team and workflow.

C. Demonstrate project management.

IX. Principles of Traditional Animation

A. Define key poses, breakdowns and in-betweens.

B. Discuss and demonstrate the 12 key principles of animation.

C. Describe extreme poses.

D. Demonstrate holds.

E. Develop run and walk cycles.

F. Discuss dialogue and lip-syncing.

X. Step-by-Step Animation

A. Create key poses.

B. Discuss attitude and dynamics.

C. Generate in-betweens.

D. Demonstrate staging and camera moves.

E. Define drawing terminology.

XI. Traditional Animation Components

A. Define script.

B. Discuss storyboards.

C. Create a soundtrack.

D. Explain track breakdown.

E. Construct animatics.

F. Produce layouts.

G. Demonstrate pencil tests.

H. Discuss cleanup.

I. Define backgrounds.

J. Identify keys, in-betweens and timing.

K. Discuss dope sheets and production folders.

L. Define flipping and pegboards.

XII. Traditional Animation Finessing

A. Define tracebacks.

B. Identify eccentric movement and staggers.

C. Examine panning and camera moves.

D. Describe pan speed and strobing problems.

E. Illustrate shadows and effects.

XIII. Vector Animation

A. Explore the value of limited animation.

B. Describe vector film production.

C. Explain non-web vector animation.

XIV. Stop Motion and Experimental Animation

A. Demonstrate stop motion and experimental animation.

B. Discuss camera selection.

C. Analyze types of lenses needed.

D. Describe animation software/frame grabbers.

E. Explain tripods and lighting.

F. Show editing and demonstrate sound.

G. Create dope sheets and x-sheets.

H. Examine ideas, scripts, and treatments.

I. Create clay objects.

J. Differentiate modeling clays.

K. Construct a clay character.

L. Evaluate the professional model-making process.

M. Design and build a set.

N. Create a voice track.

O. Pose, light and stage a model for stop-motion animation.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Visual Effects and Digital Compositing

A. Define the digital creative environment.

B. Discuss the development of the technology.

C. Identify visual milestones.

D. Define and use key terms.

II. Visual Effects Production Pipeline

A. Create script.

B. Define visual development.

C. Create storyboards.

D. Define scene breakdown.

E. Discuss motion capture.

F. Demonstrate visual effects.

G. Shoot live action and/or use CG elements.

H. Illustrate rotoscope and match camera move.

I. Evaluate final render.

J. Explain compositing.

K. Discuss post-processing.

L. Construct final output files.

III. Digital Compositing

A. Define compositing.

B. Explain historical perspective.

C. Review terminology.

D. Illustrate compositing workflow.

IV. Digital Representation of Visual Information

A. Define image generation.

B. Discuss image input devices.

C. Describe digital image file format.

V. Basic Image Manipulation and Compositing

A. Show color manipulations.

B. Utilize spatial filters.

C. Define geometric transformations.

D. Illustrate a matte image.

E. Integrate matte channel.

F. Demonstrate multisource operators.

G. Utilize masks.

H. Prepare a composte with pre-multiple images.

VI. Matte Creation and Manipulation

A. Manipulate procedural matte extraction.

B. Demonstrate matting techniques.

VII. Time and Temporal Manipulation

A. Define apparent motion.

B. Discuss temporal resolution.

C. Identify temporal artifacts.

D. Practice changing the length or timing of a sequence.

E. Create key framing.

VIII. Image Tracking and Stabilization

A. Demonstrate tracking an element onto a plate.

B. Discuss human intervention.

C. Practice stabilizing a plate.

D. Illustrate tracking multiple points.

IX. Interface Interactions and Analysis Tools

A. Examine workflow.

B. Analyze online versus batch.

C. Illustrate methods of representing the compositing process.

D. Demonstrate curve editors.

E. Work with proxy images.

F. Discuss image viewers.

G. Identify flipbooks.

H. Define image statistics.

X. Formats: Media, Resolution and Aspect Ratio

A. Define aspect ratio.

B. Discuss format conversion pipeline.

C. Describe film formats.

D. Differentiate video formats.

E. Distinguish between other formats.

F. Work with non-square pixels.

G. Convert between film and video.

XI. Rotoscoping and Motion Tracking

A. Define rotoscoping.

B. Demonstrate rotoscoping techniques.

C. Discuss 2D and 3D motion tracking techniques.

D. Demonstrate 2D and 3D motion tracking.

XII. Evaluate the Scene

A. Discuss color, brightness and contrast.

B. Define a camera.

C. Explain distance and perspective.

D. Demonstrate lens flares.

E. Describe focus.

F. Illustrate motion blur.

XIII. Creating Elements

A. Demonstrate lighting.

B. Define matched cameras.

C. Discuss reference stand-in.

D. Employ clean plates.

E. Compare film stock.

F. Produce filters.

G. Choose a format.

H. Illustrate how to light and shoot a green screen or blue screen.

XIV. Integrate Motion Techniques

A. Explain scene continuity.

B. Define lighting.

C. Construct shadows.

D. Illustrate atmosphere.

E. Discuss camera mismatches.

F. Demonstrate camera movements.

G. Analyze focus.

H. Discuss motion blur.

I. Define film grain.

J. Demonstrate green-screen or blue-screen integration.

XV. Advanced Topics

A. Define black and white.

B. Discuss nonlinear color spaces.

C. Work with 3D elements.

D. Define related 2D disciplines.

XVI. Case Studies

A. Analyze other visual effects processes.

B. Critique other visual effects shots.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Game Art Production Pipeline

A. Define the type of production.

B. Discuss technical complexity and delivery media.

C. Identify production workflow and shots.

D. Define creative goals.

E. Define teams.

F. Discuss budget, schedule, and resources.

G. Discuss genre.

II. Game Art Pre-Production

A. Develop ideas: brainstorming.

B. Develop prop history.

C. Create model and texture reference worksheets.

D. Develop architectural, weapon and vehicle design sheets.

E. Define game asset visual development.

1. Visual direction and style

2. Modular structures

3. Weapons and props

4. Overall styling

5. Atmosphere and visual look

6. Color schemes

III. Geometry

A. Define polygon structure and components.

B. Discuss polygon primitives.

C. Review polygon modeling tools.

D. Demonstrate low poly modeling.

E. Discuss curve and surface tools.

F. Define high polygon modeling.

G. Demonstrate hard surface modeling techniques.

H. Explore low polygon geometry cleanup.

IV. Modular Asset and Creation

A. Explore asset style and modular construction.

B. Discuss modular asset complexity.

C. Refine modular details.

D. Define modular asset cleanup.

V. UV layout

A. Select UV seams.

B. Define texture borders.

C. Explore automatic, planar, cylindrical and spherical mapping.

D. Define UV distortion.

E. Move and sew UV edges.

F. Discuss UV packing.

G. Generate a UV snapshot.

VI. Realistic Textures

A. Photograph, Paint and or Scan Textures.

B. Create base textures and color maps.

C. Generate tiling textures.

D. Create advanced tiling.

E. Manipulate digital photo reference images.

F. Create hand-painted textures.

G. Generate diffuse, specular, transparency and normal maps.

VII. Game Engine Setup and Render

A. Define scene integration.

B. Assign texture maps.

C. Define lights and manipulate light attributes.

D. Create and refine camera attributes.

E. Render static images and turntable animation.

VIII. Asset Management.

A. Define object management.

B. Discuss environment and level management.

C. Discuss weapon and vehicle management.

IX. Game Art Post-Production

A. Discuss final rendering: define lights, cameras and materials.

B. Export game art models.

C. Define and review quality control: test reviews, previews, fixes and changes.

D. Create final output: CD, DVD website.

E. Edit the animation: audio, color correction, video transitions and f/x.

F. Test the game: testing game art assets in game.

X. Portfolio

A. Showcase models, textures lighting, and animation in a game engine.

B. Showcase high and low polygon wireframe and solid shaded models.

C. Demonstrate the use of UV textures.

D. Produce final rendered images that demonstrate an advanced skill level in modeling.

E. Output to a digital media format and or website.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Digital Art Basics

A. Explore the software interface.

B. Discuss digital images.

C. Identify resolution.

D. Define and explore 3D space.

II. Program Interface

A. Define and explore software interface and tools.

B. Define and explore trays and palettes.

C. Explore the title bar.

III. Basic Digital Sculpting

A. Define digital clay.

B. Explain standard, smooth and move brushes.

C. Explore subdivide tool.

D. Explore the symmetry tool.

E. Sculpt organic shapes.

F. Define and explore masking.

G. Explore polygroups.

H. Explore the transpose tool.

IV. Subtools, ZSpheres and ZSketching

A. Append subtools.

B. Sculpt subtools.

C. Explore zspheres.

D. Define zsketching with zspheres.

V. Shadowbox and Clip Brushes

A. Define shadowbox.

B. Explore match maker brush.

C. Discuss and explore clip brushes.

VI. Remesh and Projection

A. Remesh a surface.

B. Define and explore projection.

C. Demonstrate the use of mannequins.

VII. Advanced Brush Techniques

A. Define brush customization.

B. Design a brush.

C. Explore alpha textures.

D. Define brush effects.

E. Explore hard surface detailed brushes.

F. Discuss and explore stencils.

VIII. Polygon Painting and Spotlight

A. Define and explore polypainting.

B. Discuss polypainting techniques.

C. Explore image editing with spotlight.

D. Define and explore spotlight projection.

IX. 3D Rendering, Lighting and Materials

A. Define and explore rendering basics.

B. Discuss render using BPR.

C. Define and explore render using best mode.

D. Export a render.

E. Create internal software lights.

F. Define and explore materials.

G. Define and explore the shader mixer.

H. Define and explore the render subsurface scattering effects.

I. Explore the fiber material.

X. Morph Targets, Layers and Zbrush Timeline

A. Define and explore morph targets.

B. Explore 3D layers.

C. Define and explore polypaint layers.

D. Explore the Zbrush timeline.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Animation, Visual Effects and Technology

A. Define the digital creative environment.

B. Discuss the development of the technology.

C. Identify visual milestones.

D. Define and use key terms.

II. Basic Concepts of Animation

A. List the types of animation.

B. List the principles of animation.

C. Discuss the importance of storytelling.

D. Discuss the storyboarding process and create storyboards.

E. List animation file formats.

III. Digital Production Process

A. Discuss production strategies.

B. Identify components of the digital computer animation studio.

C. Participate in creative and production teams.

D. Define the computer animation process.

E. Assemble a demo reel.

IV. 3D Modeling

A. Define intermediate modeling techniques.

B. Demonstrate intermediate modeling concepts.

C. Define NURBS components.

D. Explore NURBS modeling.

E. Demonstrate NURBS conversion to polygons.

F. Define and explore paint effects.

G. Demonstrate paint effects conversion to polygons.

H. Demonstrate foliage modeling and texturing.

V. Materials

A. Explore basic material workflow.

B. Define a material and shader networks.

C. Create materials and shader networks.

D. Explore layered materials.

E. Explore mental ray materials.

F. Demonstrate sub surface scattering using the MILA material.

VI. Lighting and Mental Ray Attributes

A. Define and explore lights and light attributes.

B. Demonstrate basic three-point lighting technique.

C. Define basic mental ray attributes.

D. Demonstrate image-based lighting.

E. Define high dynamic-range imaging.

F. Explore interior and exterior lighting techniques.

G. Explore studio-based lighting.

H. Discuss and explore photorealistic lighting techniques.

VII. 3D Rendering

A. Discuss basic rendering concepts.

B. Define render attributes.

C. Define the camera.

D. Discuss lighting.

E. Explore shading and surface characteristics.

F. Define quality settings.

VIII. Animation and Effects

A. Discuss basic computer animation techniques.

B. Define basic visual effects techniques.

C. Explore compositing multiple layers.

IX. Post-Processing

A. Demonstrate retouching, compositing and color correcting.

B. Manipulate image resolution and output.

C. Define polishing the project.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Character Design 

   A. Discuss character appeal.

   B. Define three steps of concept art.

   C. Research other designs.

   D. Define character history.

   E. Create model sheets.

II. Character Model

   A. Define and explore modeling tools.

   B. Define character preparation.

   C. Define software preferences.

   D. Define character proportions.

   E. Demonstrate limb creation.

   F. Model the right side of the character.

   G. Model the character in small sections.

   H. Refine modeling and clean up.

   I. Discuss a character morgue.

III. Model Refinement

   A. Refine, head, neck, back, arms, stomach, pelvis and legs.  

   B. Refine hands and fingers.

   C. Refine feet or foot ware.

  IV. Model Details

   A. Demonstrate creating hair.

   B. Modify and refine hair.

   C. Define dynamics and hair flow.

   D. Define the ear and eyes.

   E. Demonstrate modeling the inside of the mouth, teeth and tongue.

   F. Demonstrate modeling the clothes and accessories.

V. Model Optimization

   A. Refine character mesh.

   B. Define poly count.

   C. Optimize character mesh.

VI. Deformation

   A. Refine and test arm and leg deformation.

   B. Demonstrate skeleton binding.

   C. Demonstrate paint weights.

VII. Texture Preparation

   A. Define mapping methods.

   B. Define the areas to map.

   C. Demonstrate mapping UV’s.

   D. Demonstrate exporting UV’s.

VIII. Texture Painting

   A. Define image preparation.

   B. Discuss base colors.

   C. Explore texture alignment.

   D. Define texture details.

   E. Review color, specular, normal, ambient occlusion, and transparency maps.

IX. Level Of Detail (LOD)

   A. Define level of detail.

   B. Demonstrate LOD.

   C. Define and explore LOD.

   D. Testing LOD in a game engine.

X. Skeleton Creation

   A. Demonstrate basic skeleton creation.

   B. Explore options for joint creation.

   C. Demonstrate joint cleanup.

XI. Character Rigging

   A. Define forward and inverse kinematics.

   B. Explore inverse kinematics.

   C. Define and explore IK solvers.

   D. Define and explore controllers.

XII. Character Presentation

   A. Explore and define a strong pose.

   B. Review construction and texture sheets.

   C. Define and demonstrate turntables.

   D. Revise and polish rendered images.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Introduction to Character Animation

A. Define animation terminology.

B. Identify visual milestones.

II. Digital Production Process Production Strategies

A. Identify character animation tools.

B. Discuss character animation process.

III. Key Principles of Animation

A. Compare straight-ahead action vs. pose-to-pose action.

B. Explain slow-in and slow-out.

C. Describe squash and stretch.

D. Identify arcs.

E. Define anticipation.

F. Explain staging.

G. Describe secondary actions.

H. Define timing.

I. Discuss follow-through and overlapping action.

IV. Cartoon Animation

A. Identify cartoon form.

B. Discuss exposure sheet.

C. Define line of action.

D. Illustrate line of action in animation.

E. Establish rhythm and design.

F. Discuss movement of body masses.

G. Identify movements of the two-legged figure.

H. Explain movements of the four legged figure.

V. Character Polygon Modeling

A. Define character pre-production, character design, and polygon modeling tools.

B. Discuss character anatomy.

VI. Character UV Layout and Surface Mapping

A. Define polygon mapping.

B. Assign shader to each projection.

C. Create UVs.

D. Edit UVs.

E. Identify planner mapping.

F. Discuss automatic mapping.

G. Define layout UVs.

H Describe the UV texture editor.

I. Define UV snapshot.

VII. Facial Expressions

A. Use skeletons.

B. Model blended shapes.

VIII. Process of Binding a Character

A. Create a rigid bind.

B. Create a smooth bind.

IX. Character Setup

A. Define and discuss forward kinematics and inverse kinematics.

B. Explain switching forward and inverse kinematics.

X. Advanced Character Setup

A. Utilize extra joint.

B. Discuss leg and arm control.

C. Utilize IK spline handle.

D. Incorporate constraint and cluster.

E. Set up facial expressions.

XI. Nonlinear Animation

A. Create character and subcharacter sets.

B. Discuss the attribute editor.

XII. Trax Editor

A. Create the clip.

B. Manipulate the clip.

C. Edit clip attributes.

D. Cut, copy and paste clips.

XIII. Render Utility and Mapping Techniques

A. Define node and shading networks.

B. Describe hyper shade.

C. Explain shader attributes.

D. Define bump 2D and bump 3D.

XIV. Character Animation

A. Demonstrate knowledge of character animation fundamentals

1. Define animation principles

2. Explain the use of keyframes

3. Discuss timing and spacing

4. Identify graph editor

5. Define key tangents, breakdown keys, offset keys and hidden keys

6. Cut, copy and paste keys

7. Apply weight to objects

8. Create run, walk and jump animations

B. Animate Bipeds

1. Give the definition of cycles

2. Adjust weight on f-curves

3. Discuss the use of layering

4. Copy and paste keys

5. Describe the use of breakdown keys

6. Apply weight to movement

C. Animate your first scene

1. Focus on story

2. Set up poses

3. Hide keys

4. Move holds

5. Contact positions

6. Adjust timing and spacing

7. Overlap action and weight

8. Use the graph editor

9. Describe f-curve tangent weights

XV. Character Lip Sync and Expressions

A. Describe dialogue expressions.

B. Dialogue character acting.

C. Define vowels.

D. Define consonants.

E. Explain lip sync.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Introduction to Visual Effects

A. Define visual effects terminology.

B. Discuss visual effects technology/development.

C. Establish visual milestones.

D. Define compositing and integrating visual effects.

II. Digital Production Process

A. Define production strategies.

B. Discuss visual effects tools.

C. Establish creative and production teams.

D. Identify visual effects process.

E. Discuss visual effects/animation integration.

III. Dynamics

A. Define particle tool and create emitter.

B. Define and discuss vertex, point and curve emission.

C. Define surface emission.

D. Define rigid bodies.

E. Define fields.

F. Define goals and add attribute.

G. Discuss instancing and duplicate group.

H. Create soft bodies.

I. Create skeletons, lattices and curves.

J. Create softbody effects and define animated textures.

K. Create spring effects.

L. Define and discuss sprite rendering.

M. Define and discuss advanced sprites.

IV. Fluid Effects

A. Define fluids.

B. Discuss basic fluid concepts.

C. Discuss methods for defining the contents of a fluid container.

D. Create fluid examples.

E. Discuss dynamic fluid effects.

F. Define non-dynamic fluid effects.

G. Define fluid containers.

H. Define fluid properties.

V. Modify Fluids

A. Change the size of a fluid container.

B. Change the resolution of a fluid.

C. Change dynamic fluid behavior.

D. Change fluid behavior at the container boundaries.

E. Convert fluids to polygons.

F. Modify fluid attributes.

G. Use fluid attribute presets.

VI. Make objects interact with dynamic fluids

A. Make fluids collide with geometry.

B. Move geometry with the force of a fluid.

C. Move cloth with the force of a fluid.

D. Move particles with the force of a fluid.

E. Modify geometry with the force of a fluid.

VII. Cloth Simulation

A. Load cloth.

B. Create a garment.

C. Model the character.

D. Pose the character.

E. Build a pattern for the garment.

F. Create panels.

G. Seam the garment.

H. Tailor with darts.

I. Adjust the garment.

J. Move the garment.

K. Set resolution.

L. Adjust the seams.

M. Model parts of a garment.

N. Set display options.

O. Create cloth objects.

P. Create cloth collision objects.

Q. Adjust the collision object.

R. Simulate cloth.

VIII. Fur/Hair

A. Define and discuss fur.

B. Load fur.

C. Lay out UV coordinates.

D. Create fur.

E. Attach and detach fur.

F. Select which UV set to use.

G. Preview fur using fur feedback.

H. Reverse fur normals.

I. Offset the direction fur grows.

J. Change fur attributes.

IX. Artisan Brush Tools

A. Define paint strokes.

B. Define flood paint.

C. Define paint reflected.

D. Restrict an area for painting.

E. Define map attributes.

F. Set stylus pressure.

G. Change the brush outline color.

H. Create an artisan tool shelf.

I. Define artisan hotkeys.

J. Use artisan marking menus.

X. Intro to Digital Compositing

A. Define visual information.

B. Discuss basic image manipulation.

C. Define basic image compositing.

D. Define matte creation and manipulation.

E. Define time and temporal manipulations.

F. Define image tracking and stabilization.

G. Define formats: media, resolution and aspect ratios.

H. Define quality and efficiency.

I. Create elements.

J. Discuss integration techniques.

K. Discuss case studies.

XI. Compositing Plug-in

A. Setting up shots.

B. Discuss shot strategy.

C. Define tracking.

D. Define solving.

XII. Compositing

A. Define basics.

B. Discuss the brief.

C. Define preferences.

D. Discuss importing.

E. Create masks.

F. Define nesting.

G. Define animation.

H. Define timing.

I. Define keying.

J. Define effects.

K. Define tracking.

L. Define parenting.

M. Define expressions.

N. Define 3D.

O. Define type.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Level Design Production Pipeline

A. Create a game planner.

B. Discuss the game design document.

C. Discuss game specifications.

D. Define the job of a 2D game designer.

E. Define the job of a 3D game designer.

F. Define the job of a game programmer.

G. Define the job of a game audio designer.

II. Game Level Pre-production Process

A. Develop ideas using a game planner.

B. Summarize the game using a game design document.

C. Write game specifications.

D. Apply textures to levels.

E. Develop terrain, level and environment.

F. Create white box level and test.

III. Game Cover

A. Define risky cover.

B. Discuss safe cover.

C. Define high cover.

D. Discuss low cover.

IV. Weapons

A. Define weapon type.

B. Discuss weapon placement.

C. Demonstrate weapon creation.

V. Vehicle

A. Define vehicle type.

B. Discuss vehicle placement.

C. Demonstrate vehicle creation.

VI. Health Items

A. Define health type.

B. Discuss health placement.

C. Demonstrate health creation.

VII. Asset Management in UDK

A. Define asset prep for export.

B. Discuss asset export attributes.

C. Demonstrate asset import properties.

D. Define object materials.

VIII. Design Production

A. Build environment and terrain models.

B. Create static meshes and textures in a level editor.

C. Create foliage models.

D. Texture levels.

E. Incorporate lighting in level design.

F. Use level design editor.

IX. Post-Production

A. Test levels.

B. Finish levels.

C. Use screen capture.

D. Produce final output.

E. Edit image and sound.

F. Test the game.

G. Produce documentation.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Planning Production Strategies

A. Define the type of production.

B. Discuss technical complexity and delivery media.

C. Identify production workflow and shots.

D. Define creative goals.

E. Discuss budget, schedule and resources.

II. Story Development

A. Develop ideas.

1. Discuss brainstorming

2. Discuss revisions/creative cycles

B. Prepare scriptwriting/story.

1. Define plot

2. Developing characters

C. Plan storyboarding.

1. Translate the script into images

2. Discuss technical breakdown of each shot

3. Define storytelling

4. Discuss general composition

5. Identify actions

6. Define camera moves

III. Character Development

A. Create character design.

1. Develop look and personality

2. Discuss cartoons, stylized or realistic

3. Develop drawings

4. Create character/model sheets

5. Generate character turnarounds

B. Define visual development.

1. Discuss visual direction and style

2. Create characters

3. Discuss types of environments and props

4. Define overall styling

5. Discuss atmosphere and visual look

6. Establish color schemes

C. Formulate breakdown of scenes and task assignments.

1. Define animatics

2. Discuss previsualization

3. Create story reels

IV. Modeling

A. Model characters.

1. Generate polygon modeling

2. Produce NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) modeling

3. Create subdivisional surface modeling

B. Model sets and props.

1. Create polygon modeling

2. Generate NURBS modeling

3. Produce subdivisional surface modeling

V. Texturing

A. Paint and scan textures.

1. Create base textures

2. Manipulate digital photographs

3. Create hand-painted textures

B. Write and create shaders.

1. Create 2D and 3D procedural maps

2. Generate 2D and 3D projection maps

3. Build displacement maps

4. Construct bump maps

5. Create transparency

6. Create specular maps

7. Create diffuse maps

8. Create reflection maps

9. Create color maps

10. Create ambient maps

11. Generate environment maps

12. Produce glow and incandescence maps

VI. Blendshapes and Rigging

A. Create blendshapes for characters and objects.

1. Define vowels

2. Define consonants

3. Create expressions

4. Define shapes

5. Discuss morphing

B. Build skeletons for characters and objects.

1. Create IK (inverse kinetics) controls

2. Generate FK (forward kinetics) controls

C. Skin character and object to skeleton.

1. Create rigid bind

2. Discuss paint set memberships

3. Generate lattice deformers

4. Create joint deformers

5. Create smooth bind

6. Define paint weights

VII. Animation, Cameras and Rendering

A. Animate characters and objects.

1. Discuss key frame interpolation

2. Define principles of animation

3. Model animation

4. Create camera animation

5. Generate light animation

6. Create hierarchical animation

7. Define two-and three-dimensional integration

B. Layout scene and set up camera.

1. Define scene integration

2. Create motion paths

3. Set up camera attributes

C. Generate rendering tests.

1. Define software render

2. Discuss hardware render

3. Define mental ray render

4. Discuss vector render

D. Create facial and lip sync animation.

1. Discuss timeline setup

2. Define FPS (frames per second) setup

3.Identify dialogue integration

4. Create phoneme exposure sheet

5. Generate blendshape attributes set

6. Create expression exposure sheet

VIII. Visual Effects

A. Animate special effects.

1. Define camera tracking

2. Discuss rotoscoping

3. Create blue and green screens and chroma key

4. Define set and character extensions

5. Create crowd replications

6. Generate particle simulation

7. Create fluid simulation

8. Create cloth simulation

9. Generate hair simulation

10. Define 3-dimensional morphing

11. Discuss motion control

B. Light scenes.

1. Define lighting strategies and moods

2. Discuss types of light sources

3. Define lighting the scene

4. Define positions of light sources

IX. Post-Production Strategies

A. Discuss final rendering (entire scene or layers).

1. Define lights, cameras and materials

2. Define color

3. Discuss rendering process

4. Define hidden surface removal

5. Define Z-buffer (image depth coordinates)

6. Define ray tracing

7. Discuss global illumination and radiosity

8. Define image-based rendering

9. Discuss non-photorealistic rendering

10. Discuss hardware rendering

11. Define file formats

B. Assemble compositing.

1. Discuss image manipulation

2. Define image retouching

3. Discuss image compositing and blending

4. Define image sequencing

5. Define color grading

C. Manage reviews, previews, fixes and changes.

D. Generate final output.

1. Create model and texture sheets

2. Create turntable

3. Create portfolio renders

4. Generate hard copies

E. Edit image and sound.

1. Discuss sound sweetening

2. Define image colorization

F. Manage quality control and release.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Visual Effects and Digital Compositing

A. Define the digital creative environment.

B. Discuss the development of the technology.

C. Identify visual milestones.

D. Define and use key terms.

II. Visual Effects Production Pipeline

A. Create script.

B. Define visual development.

C. Create storyboards.

D. Define scene breakdown.

E. Discuss motion capture.

F. Demonstrate visual effects.

G. Shoot live action and/or use CG elements.

H. Illustrate rotoscope and match camera move.

I. Evaluate final render.

J. Explain compositing.

K. Discuss post-processing.

L. Construct final output files.

III. Introduction to Digital Compositing

A. Define compositing.

B. Explain historical perspective.

C. Review terminology.

D. Illustrate compositing workflow.

IV. Digital Representation of Visual Information

A. Define image generation.

B. Discuss image input devices.

C. Describe digital image file format.

V. Basic Image Manipulation

A. Show color manipulations.

B. Utilize spatial filters.

C. Define geometric transformations.

VI. Basic Image Compositing

A. Illustrate a matte image.

B. Integrate matte channel.

C. Demonstrate multisource operators.

D. Explore masks.

E. Prepare a composite with premultiple images.

VII. Matte Creation and Manipulation

A. Manipulate procedural matte extraction.

B. Demonstrate matting techniques.

VIII. Time and Temporal Manipulation

A. Define apparent motion.

B. Discuss temporal resolution.

C. Identify temporal artifacts.

D. Practice changing the length or timing of a sequence.

E. Create key framing.

IX. Image Tracking and Stabilization

A. Demonstrate tracking an element onto a plate.

B. Discuss human intervention.

C. Practice stabilizing a plate.

D. Illustrate tracking multiple points.

X. Interface Interactions

A. Examine workflow.

B. Analyze online versus batch.

C. Illustrate methods of representing the compositing process.

D. Demonstrate curve editors.

E. Utilize with proxy images.

XI. Image Viewing and Analysis Tools

A. Discuss image viewers.

B. Identify flipbooks.

C. Define image statistics.

XII. Formats: Media, Resolution, and Aspect Ratio

A. Define aspect ratio.

B. Discuss format conversion pipeline.

C. Describe film formats.

D. Differentiate video formats.

E. Distinguish between other formats.

F. Utilize with non-square pixels.

G. Convert between film and video.

XIII. Quality and Efficiency

A. Define quality.

B. Discuss efficiency.

XIV. Learning to See

A. Evaluate color, brightness and contrast.

B. Define a camera.

C. Explain distance and perspective.

D. Demonstrate lens flares.

E. Describe focus.

F. Illustrate motion blur.

XV. Creating Elements

A. Demonstrate lighting.

B. Define matched cameras.

C. Discuss reference stand-in.

D. Employ clean plates.

E. Compare film stock.

F. Produce filters.

G. Choose a format.

H. Illustrate how to light and shoot a green screen or blue screen.

XVI. Integrating Techniques

A. Explain scene continuity.

B. Define lighting.

C. Construct shadows.

D. Illustrate atmosphere.

E. Discuss camera mismatches.

F. Demonstrate camera movements.

G. Analyze focus.

H. Discuss motion blur.

I. Define film grain.

J. Demonstrate green screen or blue screen integration.

XVII. Advanced Topics

A. Examine black and white.

B. Discuss nonlinear color spaces.

C. Utilize 3D elements.

D. Define related 2D disciplines.

XVIII. Case Studies

A. Analyze other visual effects processes.

B. Critique other visual effects shots.

Content Outline and Competencies:

I. Professional Digital Portfolio

A. Select appropriate level of work and determine the total number of pieces.

B. Research and select the appropriate digital media for presentation.

C. Prepare projects for the selected type of digital media.

D. Rework projects as necessary for the final portfolio.

E. Sequence the work for greatest narrative impact.

II. Professional Resume

A. Collect resume information.

B. Select an appropriate type of resume.

C. Write the resume copy.

D. Design the resume for both digital and print forms.

E. Produce the resume for both digital and print forms.

III. Professional Considerations

A. Establish personal and professional goals.

B. List professional organizations and contacts.

C. List professional publications.

D. Demonstrate interview techniques.

E. Describe how to conduct a job search.

F. Describe how to evaluate a job offer.

IV. Attitudes and Work Habit

A. Identify and develop positive attitudes toward tasks and fellow employees.

B. Identify and develop productive work habits.

C. Identify and develop collaborative/teamwork skills.

V. Copyright Laws

A. Identify copyright infringement.

B. Discuss copyright rules.

C. Define fair use and educational use.

D. Review copyright cases.

VI. Networking

A. Discuss social networks.

B. Identify professional associations.

C. Define alumni networks.

D. Identify community networks.

VII. Network-Integrated Job Search Tactics

A. Define organization and career management.

B. Discuss security and confidentiality.

C. Define job sites and resume banks.

D. Discuss multiple resumes and profiles.

VIII. Sales and Marketing Strategies

A. Define job search strategies and tactics.

B. Discuss organization and balance job search emails.

C. Define multiple submissions.

D. Discuss initiating conversations with hiring managers.

IX. Dress for Job Interview Success

A. Review respect for the position and interviewers.

B. Discuss dressing traditionally and conservatively.

C. Define dressing for the industry vs. dressing for comfort.

D. Discuss tattoos, piercings and personal hygiene.