Class Requirements

• $600.00 - Due first day of class
• Silo3D - available from http://www.nevercenter.com

Syllabus - Lesson Plans

Hey guys,

Keep thinking of what object/character/thing you're going to build this time.
Here's some suggestions:

• Draw, Sketch, Paint some ideas on actual paper - like an artist :) You'll find that your ideas will come quicker if you sketch at them for an hour or so.
• Try to pick something within your grasp. This is, for many of you, your first time using a lot of these principles - go easy on yourself - don't decide to make a completely realistic and accurate replication of one of these for your first project.
• Come up with an environment you want to put this in that is local and relatively easy to get to. Like a forest, or a kitchen. Please don't ask me to take HDRI images of the underside of the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the fast lane of Highway#1 at night.
• Here are some examples of CG items in non-CG environments: http://www.highend3d.com/gallery/composits/

See you guys tonight!

:s.

Class Plans

• Industry accepted methods for modeling in Subdivision Surfaces using Silo3D
  • Basic modeling techniques
  • Defining a good edge ring.
  • Keeping a model in quads.
• This is a good example of how to reduce many quads to few and stil avoid non-four-sided polygons. The model is in the stuff directory here.
  • see these tutorials for more
  • Timmy_construct_small.avi
  • cube.phlatt.net/home/spiraloid/tutorial/modeling.html
  • ambient-whisper.cgcommunity.com/Tutorials/facial/Page-1.html
  • www.southerngfx.co.uk/general/tutorials/21-silohead/tutorial.htm
• Exporting and Importing meshes from Maya and Silo3D.
• Displacement Mapping basics.

• Weeks 2 thru 4
  • Texture mapping Material Creation.
    • Mapping in Maya.
      • Mapping basics
        • U,V and sometimes W
        • Spherical, Planar, Cube, Face, and Cylindrical
        • Parametric mapping
    • Material Creation.
      • Material Channels
        • bump
        • specular
        • ambient
        • diffuse
        • reflection
      • Special Effects
    • Texture Map Creation
      • Using texture maps correctly
      • What resolution should I use?
      • Bit Depth
      • Alpha Channels
• Weeks 5&6
  • Lighting, Rendering, and Compositing.
    • Lighting Basics
      • The properties of light
      • Refraction
      • Reflection
      • Transmission
      • Diffraction
    • 3 Light Setup.
      • Fill
      • Key
      • Rim (highlight)
    • Light definitions in Maya
      • Point
      • Spot
      • Ambient
      • Area
  • Rendering Basics
    • Render Layers
    • Batch Rendering
  • Mental Ray