This class is a fully online course. Like all of my other classes, I have setup the curriculum to be fairly self-driven overall in terms of access to class materials and consistency of assignment expectations and due dates. I have also been teaching fully online for many many years and so I will be employing all of the best-practices I have experienced over the years to the reformat of this class for this semester.

So Brad... What format will that be as there are many online teaching formats?

That is a great question! I am so glad you asked :)

The format of online teaching that I employ is a weekly module based structure that is completely on-demand. Each weekly module will begin at 12am on Monday morning and will run until 11:59pm on Sunday night. You will have ANY TIME within the entire 7 day period to complete the required activities for each module. This will include videos and text lecture materials, readings, discussion posts, and assignments.

Each module will unlock on the homepage and in the header dropdown at the start of the module and will remain open for the rest of the semester to allow you to go back and review as needed. The requirements for each module will be clearly spelled out in the todo list on the right side of the module page. I will be recording lecture videos and screencasts to present the material every week. This will simulate the lecture portion of the class minus the awesome physical presence and over-exuberant hand gestures and spontaneous dad jokes that accompany. Okay... let's be real, those jokes are still gonna happen and they will be forever implanted in the collective intelligence of humanity via the internet. Lovely :)

What about online class meetings via zoom or other video chats?

Wow, another great question. Well done!

I will not be holding any required zoom meetings this semester for instruction or otherwise.

What if I have questions about the work and I can't figure things out on my own?

This semester there will be an open lab on main campus in the ESCP 109 Lab from 4:00pm - 5:00pm. You may come and seek live assistance with your assignments during this time.

The rest of the details around what to expect for the class should be answered by completely reviewing this course syllabus and reviewing all course material (especially videos) from each weekly module.

Happy Hunger Games... and may the odds be ever in your favor! :-)

Class Open Lab

When: Thursday's from 4:00pm - 8:00pm

Where: ESCP 109

The lab located on the map notated by the red circle. ESCP 109 is the southern lab in this building and the classroom is in the lab and around to the back left once you enter.

I will NOT be holding lab on 2/15 due to a personal event conflict and on 3/14 due to Spring Break! I will send announcements before hand as well.

This second class in the FDMA Animation Master Class track will build upon the foundations learned in the animation principles course. Students will focus on creating believable body motions using various character types using the core principles from animation I. This is the middle step of an evolving animator because animators must understand exactly how the body moves before they can focus on the character's performance.

Exercises will focus on animation tests that push student animators to examine video reference of body movements (like jumping, or lifting), and how even slight weight adjustments requires the whole body to participate. We will study the process, the pipeline, the tools and the workflow of CG Character Animation while honing our attention to detail even further.

In Animation Class II students will:

• Begin to develop and refine their individual workflows
• Focus on the physicality required to produce convincing physical performances
• Learn to add convincing weight and balance to their animations
• Introduction to acting

As we complete the first week and have had a chance to introduce ourselves you will find that this industry attracts a very diverse group of students. I have been teaching courses like this for 10 years now and it is always the case. Honestly, the diversity is what makes this course so much fun to teach. Some of you may be artists and some of you may be computer scientists. Some of you may be taking this class because you think it might be fun and some of you may not even know why you are taking it. No matter what reason you have for being here, you are here and I am happy to have you in this class.

What does diversity have to do with computer graphics let alone that it is a benefit?

I’m glad you asked!

Since we all come from different backgrounds and are here for different interests, we will be able to provide a unique perspective to the problem solving process that would otherwise be missed sans diversity. The art of computer animation involves using tools to solve a given problem or set of problems that is not only visually appealing, but scalable and efficient. Since our main goal is to solve problems with an infinite number of ways to go about that process, the more perspectives we have, the better results we will have.

Ultimately we are working with tools, rules, processes and workflows that are technical in nature. However, these tools are simply a means to an end. The end result is and always should be artistic. Yes, I did just say that we are problem solving using technical tools for art. It may seem a bit contradictory, but really this is no different then any other art form. A pencil illustrator follows the same process. The problem they are solving is producing an image on a blank page using only pencils. They must use certain techniques and processes to lay the graphite onto the paper in a way that achieves the desired result. We approach our problem to produce a work of art on the computer in the end just like any other skilled artisan utilizes their medium to create a work of art. Creativity is treated as an equal with technicality.

As I mentioned earlier, our diversity within this course will ultimately shape the outcomes of this class, it would not be fair for me to limit the needed exchange of ideas in order to utilize that diversity. Even though we do not have any “group work” in this class, we are however working through the same material, the same problems and the same assignments all at the same time. It is because of this that I encourage you to collaborate together to solve these problems. Please do not take this as an opportunity to simply glean off of others hard work. You have registered for this class voluntarily. You have paid for this class voluntarily; therefore, I assume that each of you are here to learn the material. So let’s learn together.

These books are not required but HIGHLY recommended:

• The Illusion of Life (Disney Animation) by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
• The Animators Survival Kit by Richard Williams