This course will build students’ understanding of colour and design principles through exploration and application across media, visual, and applied practice. This course will introduce students to the fundamental principles of colour theory through design, such as layout, composition, balance, colour science and theory and teach them how to apply these principles. These concepts will be reinforced through specific practical exercises and activities that will...

This is an introductory level course that prepares students to draw anatomically correct structures of the human body. Students will learn to draw the human figure in correct anatomic detail based on the observation of live models. This course will emphasize the anatomically correct proportions of the human body and the accurate portrayal of muscles and other landmarks by applying various techniques of shading and lighting, views, and perspective. Topical coverage...

In this course, students will gain an understanding of the application and importance of image editing and construction as a universal skill in across diverse design genres. This course introduces students to raster image-editing software, Adobe Photoshop. Through this 'hands-on' course, students will acquire skills with workflow fundamentals, as well as advanced features, and tips, and acquire the skills to prepare images for digital output and print. Emph...

In this course, students learn the basic principles of animation by participating in several practical projects designed to illustrate the fundamental processes. The course will explore the traditional techniques and how they apply in the modern world of computer generation by exploring stop-motion, visual effects, traditional animation and CG.

This course offers a rigorous exploration of theoretical foundations and hands-on applications. Grounded in contemporary research, the course is designed to equip students with a profound understanding of current trends, game design principles, and various processes and gamification principles and the expertise to strategically implement them across diverse contexts. The aim is to reconfigure methodologies in engagement, motivation, and user experiences. This cou...

This course is an intensive introduction to the complexities of the 3D application. The first portion of the class focuses on the tools in Maya. Students will learn how to work in 3D through projects that introduce modelling in both NURBS and polygons. Students will then cover simple unwrapping procedures while learning about the complexities of UVs and lighting tools.

This course is dedicated in large part to drawing and representing the skeletal structure and musculature of the human body. Students will learn the anatomical names of the skeletal elements, landmarks, and muscle groups. Students will learn how to draw the structures of the human skeleton and then add the surface muscle groups and features appropriate to the skeletal sub-structure. The course will also explore the differences in the portrayal of male and female mu...

This course explores the design and production of characters for the animation and video game industry. Students will learn the principles of good character design, from research to final detailing, while focusing on character development, style, and personality. Students will apply principles and techniques of design and anatomy to achieve expressive, well-developed, appealing characters. By the end of this course, students should be able to work with a variety of...

Students will learn how to plan for and create clear, concise industry-standard storyboards by exploring the elements of a final production storyboard, including a 30-second commercial, a television show, a cinematic for computer games, and a feature film. Topics will include conceptual development, pitches, concept and production boards, thumbnail sketches, design, character staging, model sheets, art direction, background (layout) design, and camera positioning.

The key focus of this course is being able to think like a character modeler following professional design methods— simple characters will be lit, unwrapped and textured to ensure that existing designs are accurate. For efficiency, students are assigned pre-determined assignments.

This course will add depth to the understanding of gaming concepts and game play across a variety of platforms. Game Conceptualization will provide an opportunity to develop various concepts and approaches for gaming. As the game concepts evolve there will be required game design files documenting the concept and process of the proposed games. Descriptions, narratives, game logic, proposed game play, and visual assets will be developed resulting in a final delivera...

This course explores the design and development of 3D environmental modeling by observing real-world environments and translating these observations into production. Students will also learn to consider design and structure in the staging and environmental mood. Topical coverage includes interior and exterior environment design, creating illusions of depth, matte painting (fundamentals), camera action and displacement props, effects, and strategies for creating moo...

Building on skills and techniques learned in Maya I, this course will introduce students to intermediate 3D animation techniques. Students will create movement in a 3D character they will have previously developed. Topical coverage will include keyframing, modifiers, basic morphing techniques and linear and non-linear animation.

This course addresses the creation of multilayer and high-resolution textures for environments, environmental and character models. It also seeks to provide students with various production contexts, such as texturing characters' faces for film and games, developing environment textures for next-gen game environments, and an in-depth look at various direct lighting tools and controls available when lighting 3D assets.

This course explores advanced designs and the human anatomy of male and female character models. Students will work with the available tools to add realism to these designs by developing low poly models that are well-built and dynamic. Students will work with predesigned characters and real-life reference material to ensure the models are proportioned and have proper anatomy.

This course will introduce students to design, and environment modelling concepts and techniques used by the industry in the development of video game levels. Focus will be on the theory behind both the artistic (design) aspects of level design, and platform specific technical considerations. Students will then apply learned aspects and gain practical development experience using industry standard game engines by the design and development of levels.

This advanced studio course explores the design and development of 3D environmental modeling and design. Students will work with a developed concept and follow the required specifications to develop professional environments and then translate their research into producing dynamic environments. Students will also learn to consider staging, atmosphere and environmental mood to enhance the professional look of the environment. Topical coverage includes effective adva...

This course focuses on acting and intermediate animation techniques students will improve their skills from term one and push their timing, anticipation, follow-through secondary action and cycles. Students will use live references to enhance their animation, both technical and acting techniques, and prepare for advanced animation and portfolio development.

This course explores the process of preparing the setup of a character model for advanced animation. The course will take the students through the steps of character modelling and animation, with a focus on the rigging of the characters. Students will learn how to prepare and set up character rigs, bind structures to geometry, and work with meshes and armature. Students will learn how to rig facial expressions and lip movement and how to rig and animate armature. T...

This course will examine UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) principles and how they are applied in the design of games. We will begin with an exploration of groundbreaking video games and gaming technologies and conclude with the evolving impact of tablet and mobile technologies on the user experience and interface applications. Experiences will include the development of a series of static innovative designs and solutions for UI and UX practices. Designs...

This course builds upon fundamental design concepts from previous courses, explores game creation techniques, including content and workflows, and explains design and development skills using leading game engines. Topics covered include industry techniques for planning, production, methodologies, technical considerations, and project tools for enhancements and performance optimization. The course also focuses on team-oriented skills through a series of exercises...

This course focuses on teaching required programming fundamentals of Python and MEL for Maya. Knowledge in these languages will assist students in the practice of writing custom expressions and scripts for the purpose of creating toolsets, expression applications, problem solving, visualization, design, process methodologies, data organization and much more within current industry production pipelines.

Students will develop advanced animation that will work in real-time game engines by analyzing the timing and technical assets in components in industry examples and the movements of their work in Maya to revise the content and test the animation compatibility within the game environment. The student will then learn to incorporate these animated characters into game engines, ensuring the animation works in their required environments.

Portfolio I is a conceptualizing and planning course for the development of the final student demo reel and portfolio. Students will discuss, create a plan, and consider their individual options while developing designs and storyboards. The development of two pre-visual animatics will be completed along with a production proposal focusing on design, colour, and composition. Time will be spent considering the timing of the final presentation and the overall aestheti...

This course focuses on the video presentation aspects of the final demo reel. Students will work with compositing and editing tools to add the final touches to their presentations. The first six sessions of the course will focus on small projects that will help the student understand the complexities and tools of compositing and editing. The final 6 sessions will be the creation of the final edit with the assistance of the Portfolio and Compositing and Editing inst...

Students will explore the basics of digital effects animation and work with particles and effects tools with Maya. Students will work with digital tools to develop simple, dynamic animations while considering effects elements to add life and atmosphere to their reels. Students will cover the basic forces and elements such as fire and water and discuss lighting, mood, and atmosphere created by these effects. Timing, physics, and design will be key components to ensu...

This course takes the students beyond light sources and shadows and explores lighting and texturing as an art. Students will learn to select the appropriate light type for a particular situation, Raytracing, 3D textures and projections, 2D and 3D material textures, lighting colour and composition, Maya light types, high-quality shadows and effects, advanced lighting/texturing skills and techniques, and how to apply them to their final modeling and animation project...

The emphasis of this course is to prepare students for graduation and final portfolio development. Time will be spent developing a final demo reel to showcase the strengths and talents of each student in a branded visually appealing presentation. Students will have the option to develop a demo reel that focuses on their interests and skills within the 3D industry. Time will be spent focusing on content that showcases primary skills such as animation or modelling. T...