DIGITAL CONTENT CREATION

EAE 4900-101 | Spring 2018 Syllabus

CLASS

Building 72, Room 250

Wednesday 2:00PM – 4:30 PM

INSTRUCTOR

Brian Salisbury, MFA

Building 72, 218

Office hours: TBD, or by appointment

TEACHING ASSISTANT

TBD

Office hours:

TBD-

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Course will establish a common language based on art and design principles while gaining a practical knowledge of digital creation techniques and software used in the gaming industry. Introductory skills in 2D and 3D software applications are explored through the lens of Art and Design theories and fundamentals (principles of art and design). No previous digital content creation required.

The course will be held in a computer lab/classroom to enable students to practice exercises during class. The class will include lectures, presentations, and project work both in and out of class. The Teaching Assistants will have lab hours for the students to use outside of class. All of the software will be available in several labs across campus, and most will be available for students on their personal machines.

NOTE:

A drawing tablet will be required for this class.

See the Hardware section below.

COURSE OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Students will be able to demonstrate a sound understanding of art and design theories and fundamentals through the creation of personal art work, peer to peer critiques,and class presentations.
  • Students will gain a practical and technical understanding of core 2D and 3D software used in the games industry.
  • Students will be able to create 2D concepts, style guilds, digital paintings, UI, logos, fonts.
  • Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of basic animation principles.
  • Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of polygonal box modeling, edge flow, shape, form and digital sculpting in 3D space.
  • Students will be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of composition, lighting and materials.
  • Students will cultivate skills to continue to learn digital content creation independently via problem solving and internet resources long after this course.

HARDWARE

University of Utah computer labs will have the computers & software required to complete all assignments.

DRAWING TABLET

Each student will be requiredto bring a drawing tablet to class!

Wacom

  • Small to large drawing tablets, pen tablet displays (Cintiq)and pen tablet computers at a variety of price ranges. Any size will do for the purposes of this course.
  • Wacom hardware drivers are installed on University Computers. Other tablet brands will have driver conflicts.

DRAWING TABLET ALTERNATIVES

  • Pen-enabled computer with win-tab (Wacom) drivers
  • Microsoft Surface Pro
  • Wacom tablets available for checkout at Marriott Library (limited)
  • Beware of non-Wacom tablets &drivers for use on University Lab Computers!
  • Product reviews for pen computers, tablets andsoftware compatibility can be found here:

SOFTWARE

Software required for this course will be available in university labs and available for download as student or trial versions for use on personal computers.

Adobe Creative Cloud - Labs/Free downloads for educational use via University Portal

  • Adobe Photoshop CC
  • Adobe Illustrator CC
  • After Effects CC (Potentially Used)
  • Character Animator CC (Potentially Used)

Autodesk Maya 2018 -Labs/Free downloads foreducational use

Pixologic ZBrush-Labs/Limited trials/Student discounts

  • Zbrush 4R8
  • Zbrush Core - Reduced features/cost (Optional)
  • Sculptris 1.6 - Free (Self-study & exploration outside of this class)

Epic Unreal Engine 4

TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER RESOURCES

  • Due to the cost of a drawing tablet, no textbooks will be required, but text recommendations will be provided.
  • Class lectures, technique demonstrations, instructor authored videos and internet resources will be provided.

CLASS STRUCTURE AND GRADING

The student willdemonstrate their understanding of the art theory and lecture content through visual problem solving and execution of weekly assigned projects.All Software will be taught through the lens of art and design principles.

Typical course projects will encompass practical game content, such as environments, architecture, vegetation, simple characters, props, weapons, vehicles, animation, layout, composition, lighting, shading, effects, etc., in a variety of styles.

Grading Rubrics will typically be based on the following:

  • Following Instructions
  • Participation
  • Perceived Effort
  • Aesthetics
  • Creativity in achieving the desired visual goal
  • Technical Execution
  • Quizzes

Grading Scale

Grades are based on the following scale, and may be finalized on an adaptive curve. Grades in Canvas may not necessarily reflect final course grade.

A94 – 100

A-90 - 93.99

B+87 - 89.99

B84 - 86.99

B-80 - 83.99

C+77 - 79.99

C74 - 76.99

C- 70 - 73.99

D+67 - 69.99

D64 - 66.99

D-61 - 63.99

E0 - 60.99

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance

There will be a large amount of theoretical and practical information provided in each class. Attendance will be necessary in order to achieve success in this class. Unexcused absences will affect the participation grade. Life happens. The instructor is very understanding and fair with proper notification of an absence due to circumstances beyond control.

Effort and Practice

Digital Content Creation can be broken down into structured approaches that a diligent student can satisfactorily learn and execute, regardless of their experience. Effort/Perceived effort will make up for the lack of experience or natural artistic skills.

Participation

Participation comprises several factors. Attendance, arriving on time, being prepared, participating in discussions, critiquing work, asking questions, offering suggestions, clarifying expectations, and challenging suppositions or ideas. Make your positive presence known.

Canvas

Check Canvas for announcements and important information. The student is responsible for all information disseminated via on Canvas.

Assignment Submissions

All homework files must be submitted in format required by Canvas. Please name your file using the following convention: Assignmentname_Studentname.(suffix) Naming conventions are extremely important in Content Creation.

Late Work/ Resubmissions

Grades on assignments may be penalized up to 10% per day at the discretion of the instructor. Resubmissions are subject to the discretion of the instructor.

Alternative Assignments

In limited cases, students with a demonstrable mastery of weekly subject matter may propose an alternate assignment. The goal of this class is to challenge the student and stretch their abilities. Alternateassignments are at the discretion of the instructor.

Syllabus

This is a new course. As such, the syllabus is subject to change. The Instructor will notify the class regarding all changes. In the event of any discrepancy between this syllabus and content found in Canvas, the information in Canvas will take precedence.

COE Policy

(Links to an external site.)

WEEKLY BREAKDOWN

Week 1

Lectures: Line,ShapeForm, Negative Space, Spatial Relationships,

Software: Photoshop

Tools/Methods: Brushes, Brush properties, Brush creation, Shapes,Lines, Pen Tool, Smoothing, Measuring Techniques

Projects: Toys, Cartoons

Week 2

Lectures: Perspective

Tools/Methods: Photoshop

Tools/Methods: Guides, Rulers, Transforms, Warp, Clone, Filters,

Projects: Weapons, Vehicles, Architecture

Week 3

Lectures: Value, Detail, Variety, Unity, Balance, Focal Points

Software: Photoshop

Tools/Methods: Selections, Fills, Layers, Masks, Channels, Filters

Projects: Foliage

Week 4

Lectures: Color, Value

Software: Photoshop

Tools/Methods: Color Windows, Layers, Blend Modes, Filters

Projects: Environment Concept

Week 5

Lectures: Design, Composition, Space, Negative Space, Fonts, Focal Points, Unity

Software: Illustrator

Tools/Methods: Pen Tool, Transforms, Fills, Fonts, Photo-basing

Projects: Simple Game UI Creation

Week 6

Lectures: Line, Shape, Form, Color

Software: Illustrator

Tools/Methods: Pen Tool, Transforms, Fills, Thumbnail Sketches

Projects: Simple 2D Game Character

Week 7

Lectures: 12 Principles of Animation

Software: Character Animator/After FX

Tools: Various

Projects: Simple 2D Asset

Week 8

Lectures: Form, Shape, Space, Negative Space

Software: Maya

Tools/Methods: Maya UI, Navigation, 3D Primitives, Cut, Collapse, Extrude, Duplicate, Mirror, etc.

Projects: Simple Mechanical Assets

Week 9

Lectures: Form, Shape, Space, Negative Space

Software: Maya

Tools/Methods: Peaks and Valleys, Edge Flow, Edge loops, Rings, Transform Component, Sculpt Geometry Tool, Deformers, Soft Select

Projects: Simple Organic Assets

Week 10

Lectures: UV Space, Textures - Color,Transparency, Contrast, Value Design, Balance

Software: Maya, Photoshop, Unreal Engine 4

Tools/Methods: UV Unwrap, Color, Transparency, Normal, Maya Substance Node,

Unreal PBR Materials

Projects: Simple Unreal Materials

Week 11

Lectures: Rigging/Tech

Software: Maya

Tools/Methods: Hierarchies, Constraints, Skeletons, Bind Skin, Component Editor, Scripts, Expressions, Nodes, Set Driven Keys

Projects: Mechanical Arm Rig, Simple Animation

Week 12

Lectures: Animation Principles

Software: Maya

Tools: Channel Box, Keyframes, Graph Editor, Motion Clips, Motion Capture

Projects: Bouncing Ball, Simple Walk, Introduction to Motion Capture Editing

Week 13

Lectures: Form, Shape, Volume

Software: ZBrush

Tools/Methods:ZBrush UI, 2.5/3D, Tools, Brushes, Masking, Selections, Zspheres, Subtools, Dynamesh, Polygroups, Multi Mesh, Insert Mesh, Lazy Mouse

Projects: Projects: Sculpt An Organic Prop

Week 14

Lectures: Form, Shape, Volume

Software: ZBrush

Tools/Methods:Curve Tools, Surface Detail, Surface Noise, Polypaint, Spotlight

Projects: Intro to Hard Surfaces, Mesh Detail, Texture - Wrap/Offset

Week 15

Lectures: Form, Shape, Volume, Edge Flow, Uniformity, Optimization of Detail

Software:Zbrush Continued, Maya

Tools Tools/Methods:Projects: Wrap up Zbrush Projects, Retopologizehigh resolution samples in Maya for real-time usage.

Week 16

Lectures: Shape Language, Color, Value, Composition, layout, Camera Shots & Animation, Lighting

Software: Unreal Engine 4

Methods/Tools: Unreal Primitives, Lights, Cameras, Sequencer, Post Processing

Projects: Create Interesting Scenes in Unreal to convey prescribed moods using only primitives, colors, materials and lighting. Animate Camera in the scene using principles of cinematography and composition.