Northeastern University Online College of Professional Studies

Course Syllabus

DGM 6450: Animation Basics Winter 2018 CPS Quarter January 8th - March 28th Meeting Time: Monday 7:50 - 9:50

Instructor Name: Daniel Willey E-mail: dwilley@northeastern.eduPhone Number: 617-281-1895 Hours M-F 815pm - 10:30pm

Required Text(s)/Software/Tools:No Required Text, Recommended The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams

Course Prerequisites Prereq. DGM 6105.

Course DescriptionExplores the creative potential of animation. Exposes students to animation processes and techniques through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on assignments. Provides a historical survey of animation art. Emphasizes using the computer to creatively develop concepts while learning the fundamental skills of constructing images and forms. Students collaborate on projects during the first half of the course and work individually on final projects.

Course Outcomes

In this course students will have the opportunity to: Create short animations that illustrate a specific theme or idea. Demonstrate their ability to animate, utilizing Mays Keyframing techniques. Understand the workflow for 3D animation software.

Course MethodologyEach week, you will be expected to:

1. Review the week's learning objectives.2. Complete all assigned readings.3. Complete all lecture materials for the week.4. Participate in the Discussion Board.5. Complete and submit all assignments and tests by the due dates.

Participation/Discussion Board

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CRN 20023

The discussion board may be utilized throughout the duration of this class. The primary mode of Discussion and Participation will be during class hours. Please be prepared to share your ideas, critiques and tool tips when necessary.

Communication/Submission of Work

All Assignments should be submitted electronically via a Google Drive link, Please change the share settings to “anyone with link”. If you have any privacy/security issues with using Google please let me know and I will accommodate you. Grading/Evaluation Standards Each week students are expected to upload work. Assignments must be rendered as Quicktime files and uploaded via Google drive. Assessment Projects - 60% Participation - 20% Final Project - 20% Project Grading (Guidelines)

- Execution (40 points) - Assignment Rendered and turned in. - Demonstration of covered techniques. - Proper compression and clean sound effects.

- Story and Theme (30 points) - Clear execution of ideas. - Thematic thread throughout. - Solid Resolution.

- Aesthetics (20 points) - Quality Illustrations or Photos. - Consistency in color and texture. - Use of original assets.

- Experimentation (10 points) - Going beyond the assignment. - Exploring different tools. - Blending techniques.

Participation

- Attendance (75 points) - Attend Every Class - Participation during Critiques

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- Providing quality constructive feedback. - Notes (5 points)

- Take Notes/Share Notes. - Keep a sketchbook for ideas.

- Concepts - Demonstrate Key Concepts outlined in the lecture. - Collaborate with your classmates to solve problems. - Participate in in-class exercises.

Grading Rubric

95-100 A Deadlines are met each week, student reaches out for feedback throughout the week. Work exceeds expectations and goes beyond the scope of the assignment.

90-94 A- Deadlines are met each week, student reaches out for feedback throughout the week. Work is skillfully executed and tools and techniques are fully demonstrated.

87-89 B+ Deadlines are met, work demonstrates craftsmanship, Some technical and aesthetic issues that were not resolved.

84-86 B Most Deadlines and milestones met. Projects are somewhat crudely executed and lacks experimentation.

80-83 B- Missing homework assignments. Executes the projects but lacks a lot of polish. Understands most of the concepts and tools but does not demonstrate all of them.

77-79 C+ Missing deadlines, late work, Does not understand key components. Frequent tardiness to class.

74-76 C Missing homework and deadlines, key components are missing from their projects. Does not put the time into their assignments.

70-73 C- Frequent Absences and tardiness, work is poorly executed concepts in discussions are rarely addressed. Does not actively engage in the class.

69-Below F Failing to engage in the class, discussions, assignments and work.

(Please note that CPS does not award grades below a C- for graduate level courses; below a C- is failure.)

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Class Schedule / Topical Outline Week Dates Topic Assignments

1 Jan 8-14th Intro to Maya Create a 10 sec bouncing ball animation

2 Jan 22 – Jan 28 (No Class Jan 16) Modeling using Polygons Create and render 3 models

3 Jan 29 – Feb 4 Character Modeling and Topology Design and begin Modeling your character

4 Feb 5 – Feb 11 UV texturing and Photoshop Integrate textures

5 Feb 12 – Feb 18 Lighting and Rendering Integrate textures

6 Feb 26 – March 4

Character Set Up and rigging (No class Feb 19th)

Begin lighting your scene and characters, create a render test

7 Mar 5 – Mar 11 Understanding production workflow and pipeline

Animate your character utilizing each main constraint

8 Mar 12 – Mar 18 Review drafts class work day Create a Storyboard/ asset list and schedule for a final project.

9 Mar 19 – Mar 25 Review drafts class work day Begin working on Final

10 Mar 26 Final Class Day Present Work Review Materials and Refine Animation

Academic Integrity Policy The University views academic dishonesty as one of the most serious offenses that a student can commit while in college and imposes appropriate punitive sanctions on violators. Here are some examples of academic dishonesty. While this is not an all-inclusive list, we hope this will help you to understand some of the things instructors look for. The following is excerpted from the University’s policy on academic integrity; the complete policy is available in the Student Handbook. The Student Handbook is available on the CPS Student Resources page > Policies and Forms. Cheating – intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in an academic exercise Fabrication – intentional and unauthorized falsification, misrepresentation, or invention of any data, or citation in an academic exercise Plagiarism – intentionally representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one’s own in any academic exercise without providing proper citation Unauthorized collaboration – instances when students submit individual academic works that are substantially similar to one another; while several students may have the same source material, the analysis, interpretation, and reporting of the data must be each individual’s independent work. Participation in academically dishonest activities – any action taken by a student with the intent of gaining an unfair advantage Facilitating academic dishonesty – intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to violate any provision of this policy

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For more information on Academic Integrity, including examples, please refer to the Student Handbook, pages 9-11. Northeastern University Online Policies and Procedures For comprehensive information please go to http://www.cps.neu.edu/online/ Northeastern University Online Copyright Statement Northeastern University Online is a registered trademark of Northeastern University. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. This course material is copyrighted and Northeastern University Online reserves all rights. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, or otherwise, without the express prior written permission of Northeastern University Online. Copyright 2017 © by Northeastern University Online All Rights Reserved

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