Computer Animation

CS565/CIS565/ART273 — Fall 2004

Announcements

22 November: A new (and short) tutorial on video editing has been added to the schedule page.

17 November: We have activated a rendering cluster for use with the cluster. A tutorial on how to use the renderfarm is available from the schedule page. Please note that the available machine on the renderfarm will increase towards the end of the semester but you should be able to work on it from now.

15 November: A new tutorial on facial animation has been added to the schedule page.

15 November: New information on the use of external material has been added to the final project homework page.

3 November: Homework 4 deadline has been extended to November 8.

22 September: The chat room is now available for you to use. Please folow the link for any of the web pages.

22 September: In order to regulate access to the studios, we have introduced a sign up policy that you can find posted on the studio doors as well as here.

6 September: We will be using next Wednesday lecture to give you accounts and keys for the labs you'll be able to use during the class. Please come at either 2:30 or 4:30 pm and bring with you 20$ (deposit for the keys; you will have them back when the class ends).

6 September: Office hours starting this week. Check out the main page for time and place.

31 August: We have decided to regulate access to the slides, homeworks and readings sections of the web site. We will provide you with the username and password to access this information in the upcoming lecture.

30 August: Welcome to Computer Animation! Be sure to check this space regularly, because we'll use it for announcements you won't want to miss.

Assignments

The class will have various assignments and a final project. Expect for the first one, all the others will be performed using 3DStudio Max and a tutorial will be provided before each of them to illustrate how the software works. You can find a list of assignments in this page as well as on the main schedule, where due dates are stated. Please visit the general information page to check requirements and policies that apply to the assignments.

The class will also have a final project where you will be creating your own short animation from beginning to the end.

hw1: Hand-drawn animation

You will be asked to draw a simple hand-drawn aninmation to understand the key concept of motion and keyframing. You will then scan your drawings and play them back using the computer to see the motion.

assignment page

hw2: Modeling

This homework will have two parts related to modeling. In the first part, you will be asked to model a simple spaceship following the instructions given in class during the modeling tutorial. In the second part, you will be asked to model a character of your choice that will be used for later assignments as well as the final project.

assignment page

hw3: Shading and Lighting

This homework will have three parts related to shading and lighting. In the first part, you will be asked to shade a simple scene as well as light one following the instructions given in class during the tutorials. In the second part, you will be asked to shade your character. In the third part you will be asked to light a museum scene containing your character in two times of the day.

assignment page

hw4: Animation

This homework will have three parts related to animation. In the first part, you will be asked to reproduce a bouncing ball tutorial. In the second part, you will be asked to prepare your character for animation but specify a rig as well as deformation for your character. In the third part you will be asked to produce a wlka cycle with your model.

assignment page

Final Project: Short Animation

This assignment is to produce a short, approximately 45-second to one-minute, computer animation sequence which incorporates all of these major components and characteristics of animation that we have covered this semester.

assignment page

Fabio Pellacini (fabio@graphics.cornell.edu)