Animation
This course is an introduction to digital painting, character design, sequential arts, and color composition for illustration, film, and animation. It covers the study of illustration as visual interpretation and helps students develop strategies for communicating content through pictorial narrative. Students will also learn basic software skills to develop digital drawing abilities. Animation is a course designed to introduce students to the concept of animation and mimicking life movement in art.
Fundamentals in Character Design
- Digital Illustration 1 - Adobe Photoshop
Digital Illustration I introduces students to basic digital software skills while developing drawing abilities in a digital environment. By the end of the term, students will have used all they learned to create their own personal and professional character concept through the animation and illustration pipeline of learning.
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Hardware: Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet
Fundamentals in Scene Design
- Digital Illustration 2 - Adobe Photoshop
Digital Illustration II will show students how to create a scene, design a character for a scene, develop scene layouts, and position characters within a scene. Students will draw from both references and imagination to design backgrounds, character designs, and finished products from concepts. By the end of the term, students will have used everything they have learned to complete a scene that tells a functional story as well as multiple step-by-step concept thumbnails.
Prerequisite: Fundamentals in Character Design (Digital Illustration I)
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Hardware: Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet
Fundamentals of Comic Storyboard
- Digital Illustration 3 - Adobe Photoshop
Digital Illustration III takes what was learned in Digital Illustration I and II and explores the concepts of creating a sequential story. Depending on the student’s main interest, whether it is storyboarding, concepting, or creating comics/graphic novels, students will develop the knowledge for their specific category and focus on repetitive character design, layout development in comic panels, storyboards, and character/item positioning in a scene. By the end of the term, students will have a finished four panel comic, as well as multiple comic pages that tell a functional story or five professional key frames that also tell a sequential story.
Prerequisite: Fundamentals in Scene Design (Digital Illustration II)
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Hardware: Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet
Conceptual Digital Painting
- Digital Illustration level 4- Adobe Photoshop
Digital Illustration IV will learn how to approach a more realistic character design and how to progress from concept to finished designs by focusing on basic anatomy, photobashing, lighting, and concept art development through the use of 3D models and matte painting techniques. Students will draw heavily both from reference and imagination as they design a character intended for 3D modeling. By the end of the term, students will have a finished realistic character bust that showcases everything they have learned.
Prerequisite: Fundamentals of Comic Storyboard (Digital Illustration III)
Fundamentals in Animation
- Animation I
Fundamentals in Animation (Animation Level 1) introduces students to the concept of animations and mimicking life movement in art. Students will learn and explore the 12 Principles of Animation that were founded by two of the original Disney animators. By the end of the term, students will have put those principles into practice by creating four full animation projects, from ball bounce to facial squash and stretching.
Prerequisite: Conceptual Digital Painting (Digital Illustration IV)
Software: Adobe Photoshop, Toon Boom Harmony
Hardware: Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet
Animation II
Animation II introduces the full story-driven animation layout. Students will create an animatic using the concepts learned from Animation I, including pacing, timing, and composition. By the end of the term, students will have finished a fully functional and solid storyboard animatic that is ready for clean-up in Animation III.
Prerequisite: Fundamentals in Animation (Animation I)
Software: Adobe Photoshop, Toon Boom Harmony
Hardware: Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet
Animation III
Animation III allows students to begin the process of inbetweening on their animatics from Animation II. Students will learn the importance of keeping on model, reading timing charts, and maintaining fluid motions, color, shading, lighting, and camera movements to create a fully finished animation. By the end of the term, students will have a fully finished black and white or colored animation.
Note: Animation is an intensive art and requires hundreds of drawings. If the student works at a slower pace, they will be asked to not use color to make sure the project will be finished.)
Prerequisite: Animation II
Software: Adobe Photoshop, Toon Boom Harmony
Hardware: Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet
Digital Art Portfolio
- Portfolio Prep
The Digital Portfolio course is a class that allows students to have a primarily focused, one on one lesson plan based on their artistic endeavors. Within the course, each student will explain to the instructor what they are most interested in and what they want to pursue. The instructor will then focus on building a professional-level portfolio and an online presence for the students' work. Students can focus on comics, animation, character design, background design, and Visual Development.
Prerequisite: Digital Illustration I - IV
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Hardware: Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet
