Understanding colour and design principles through exploration and application across media, visual, and applied design genres. This course will introduce students to the fundamental principles of colour theory through design, such as layout, composition, balance, colour science as well as a diverse range of colour theories, and how to employ them creatively. These concepts will be reinforced through specific practical exercises, and activities that will serve to d...

This course will lay the foundation for a robust understanding of anatomy for applied illustration purposes. Topics emphasize a variety of figure drawing techniques applicable to both human, and animal morphology, helping to tie the subject matter into later 3D, and illustration expectations.

Through this 'hands-on' course, the student will learn the fundamentals of design, advanced features and tips to prepare images for digital output and print. By the end of this course, the student will be able to create, modify, and enhance sophisticated images using raster editing tools and features; craft special effects; work in 3D space; and prepare files for export to various applications in web, mobile, print, and manufacturing.

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 develops students' perceptual and descriptive skills through drawing media, techniques and subject matter by focusing on elements and organization principles of drawing. Students will learn contour lines, positive & negative space, perspective, sighting of angles and measurements of relationships. By mastering basic skills and experimenting with techniques and materials, students will begin to explore creative expression beyond preconceived boun...

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 focuses on skeletal structure, musculature drawing, and surface coverings of the human body and animal forms. Students will learn the anatomical names of the skeletal elements, landmarks and muscle groups, how to draw the structures of the human skeleton then add the surface muscle groups and features appropriate to the skeletal sub-structure.

This course explores the design and production of characters for the industry. Students learn the principles of good character design, from research to final detailing, while focusing on character development, style, and personality to achieve expressive, well-developed, appealing characters. By the end of this course, students should be able to work with various styles, archetypes and body structures to construct their characters.

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.

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...

This course builds on the material delivered in Life Drawing II, strengthening the student’s knowledge of the human form and introducing props, drapery, and clothing. The student will work with life drawing samples and reference material to add appeal and strengthen their style.

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.

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 explores the process of setting up a character model for animation by character modeling and animating 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, facial expressions and lip movement, joint orientation and skeletons, inverse kinematics, facial rigging, armature, and binding structures to geometry and meshes.

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 teaches introductory sculpture for modellers and animators. In this course, students will transfer their knowledge of anatomy, drawing anatomical features, and character design, in developing a 3D sculpture. This course explores the materials, tools, and industrial production techniques used to result in a finished painted sculpture called a ‘maquette’ of their design

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 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 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.

In this advanced character modeling class, students will develop high poly models working between Maya and Zbrush, focusing on digital sculpting and texturing. Students will learn the interface and tools in Zbrush while designing and modeling their characters and the industry approach to developing character models to assess if this is the creative direction they would like to explore for their portfolios.

This course introduces the student to 3D scripting using Maya Embedded Language or MEL scripting. Students will learn the various features and functions of the language that will add advanced capabilities to the animations. Students will learn to use the MEL scripting language to streamline and automate the character rigging process and explore MEL scripting to create a character animation.

This course explores production and rendering techniques for showcasing models, textures, and scenes professionally. This course will examine challenges and practical solutions to nighttime lighting, indoor lighting, outdoor lighting, and advanced rendering features available in Mental Ray. Students will make informed choices about which light rigs and rendering features make the most sense for their scenes.

Students will work with advanced Maya tools to develop aesthetically pleasing environments and characters for game engine use and to create normal maps in both Maya and Photoshop that present and blend colour aesthetically. Advanced lighting techniques and the preparation process for rending 3D content to video are also introduced.

This course prepares students for the professional world by preparing them for job interviews and helping them compile and defend a first draft of their portfolio— which contains pieces produced to demonstrate their skills in conceptualization, design, modeling and animation. Students are encouraged to identify a preferred skill set and style to polish and develop. Feedback will come in the form of industry, instructor and peer critique.

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 course will focus on small projects that will help the student understand the complexities and tools of compositing, editing and creating their final edit with the assistance of the portfolio and compositing and editing instructors.

Students will explore the basics of digital effects animation and work with particle and effect tools in Maya to develop simple dynamic animations while considering elements to add life and atmosphere to their reels. Students will cover elementals such as fire and water and discuss lighting, mood and atmosphere created by these effects. Timing physics and design will ensure the believability of the developed effects.

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...

This course will prepare students for graduation and their final portfolio presentation with a demo reel to showcase their strengths and talents in a visually appealing branded presentation focused on showcasing the student’s primary and secondary skills— increasing potential employment opportunities. Students will utilize and follow planning and production pipelines to meet deadlines.