Computer Animation:
Art, Science and Criticism
Tom Ellman
Harry Roseman
Lecture 1
Vitruvian Man
Leonardo Da Vinci
1452-1519
Complementary Questions
• What can an artist learn (about art) from a
scientist?
• What can a scientist learn (about science)
from an artist?
Maya: The world is an
illusion created by the
mind out of nothing.
The Purpose of this Course
• To learn how to use Maya?
No.
• To make cool animated films?
No.
• To explore the relationship between art,
science and criticism?
Yes.
Questions for Artists and Critics
• How does knowledge of computer animation
technology influence an artist’s creative thinking?
• How does it influence a critic’s appreciation of
computer animated films?
Questions for Scientists
• How do the needs of animation artists
present challenges to computer scientists?
• How can the visual language of an artist be
translated into the mathematical language of
computer animation?
Questions for Everyone
• How are the concepts and vocabulary of my
field different from those other fields?
• What can I learn about myself by trying to
communicate with a person from another
discipline?
Computational Cinematography
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Modeling
Shading
Illumination
Photography
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Animation
Rendering
Compositing
Editing
Maya File: demo-01-01.mb
Modeling: Defining Objects
Composed of 3D Surfaces
• NURB Surfaces
• Polygon Surfaces
• Subdivision Surfaces
Shading: Defining the Light
Reflecting Properties of Surfaces
• Shader:
– Mathematical model of light/surface interaction.
– Examples: Lambert, Blinn, Phong, … etc…
• Texture:
– An image that is virtually pasted onto a surface.
– Examples: Procedural textures, Recorded textures.
• Mapping: Specifying how a shader or texture
varies across a surface.
Illumination: Defining Light Sources
• Objects cannot be seen unless they are
illuminated by a light source.
• A variety of types of light can illuminate a
scene in different ways.
• E.g., Ambient, directional, point, spot,
volume lights.
Photography: Defining a Virtual
Camera to Photograph the Scene
• An image is formed by projecting a 3D
scene onto a 2D surface.
• The most common projection technique is
defined in terms of the location, aim and
orientation of a virtual camera.
• This defines a perspective projection.
Animation: The Time Dimension
• Define a time interval over which a scene will be
animated. (E.g, Start at frame 1 and go to frame 100.)
• We say something is “animated” if it changes over the
duration of the animated film.
• Almost any aspect of a scene can be animated.
• These include:
– Shape, position and orientation of objects.
– Properties of shaders and textures.
– Locations and properties of lights and cameras.
Rendering: Generating One Image
of the Scene for Each Frame
• Accounting for all of the elements of the
scene: Geometry; Shading; Illumination;
Photography.
• Variety of rendering software:
– Maya Software (Comes with Maya)
– Mental Ray (Comes with Maya)
• Takes lots of CPU time.
Compositing: Combining
Multiple Layers of Animation
• Sometimes a complex animation will be
partitioned into “layers”.
• E.g., Background and foreground layers.
• The layers are rendered separately.
• Compositing is the process of combining multiple
layers of animation into a single animation.
• Not covered in this class.
• Adobe After Effects available in the Science
Visualization Laboratory.
Editing: Combining Multiple
Sequences of Animation
• A long animation is usually generated as a number
of separate “shots”.
• E.g., A separate shot each time the camera
position changes.
• Editing is the process of combining multiple shots
into one animated film.
• Not covered in this course.
• Adobe Premiere available in the Science
Visualization Laboratory.
Class Wiki
https://www.cs.vassar.edu/courses/cs379-201403/top
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Overview of the course.
Homework project descriptions.
In-class studio descriptions.
Procedures for submitting work.
Summary of grading policy.
Professor Ellman’s lecture notes.
Maya files from Professor Ellman’s demos.
Textbook*
Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials, by Paul Naas,
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2013.
* Available only at The Three Arts bookstore.
Readings
(On Class Wiki)
• Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to
Computer Animation, John Lasseter, Computer
Graphics, 21, 4, 1987.
• The Principles of Animation, Frank Thomas and Ollie
Johnston, in The Illusion of Life, Walt Disney
Productions, 1981.
• The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction, Walter Benjamin, In Illuminations,
Schocken Books, 1969.
Course Work
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Tutorial Lab Projects.
Homework Projects.
In-Class Studios.
Screenings.
On-Line Discussion Forum.
Readings.
Class participation.
Final project.
Project Work
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Focusing on effective use of Maya.
Not on learning all of Maya’s facilities.
Use only the tools we say you can use.
“Do more with less.”
Critique
• We will show your work in class.
• You must be prepared to hear the instructors and
your classmates speak candidly about your work.
• You must also be prepared to speak candidly
about your classmates’ work.
Attendance
• We expect students to attend all classes, arrive
on time and to actively participate in class
discussions.
• We will impose grade penalties on students
who have unexcused absences.
• We reserve the right to consider a student
“absent” if he/she is repeatedly late for class.
Grading
• Projects are 50% of the grade.
• Studios are 10% of the grade.
• Class participation is 15% of the grade.
• Final project is 25% of the grade.
Expectations and Grading
• We expect different work from different students.
• Depending on the kind of background you have
(I.e., ART/CMPU/FILM/MEDS).
• Depending on the amount of background you
have. (E.g., Previous Maya experience.)
• Our grading of students will reflect these differing
expectations.
Saving Your Work
• You should not store your ongoing work on the
computers in the Sci Vis Lab.
• It might not be there when you return to the lab.
• You should save your on the Google Drive
associated with you Vassar email account.
• Procedures for saving and restoring your work
are on the class wiki.
Submission of Homework
• Assignments are due at the start of class the date
specified.
• Students should submit their project work via
Google Drive.
• Detailed submission procedures are on the class
wiki page.
Final Portfolio
• Due at the at the end of the semester, when
we screen your final projects.
• Should include all studio and project
assignments.
• May include revised versions of work we
already screened.
• Submit via Google Drive as per instructions
on class wiki.
Screening Procedures
• Students’ homework projects will normally
be screened on the day they are due.
• Students should be ready to screen their work
at the start of class on the screening day.
• Each student should download a rendered,
compressed movie file of his/her work to
his/her workstation in the Sci Vis Lab.
Lateness Policy
• Late homework will be accepted with a
10% grade penalty.
• But only up until the start of first class after
the due date.
• Homework turned any later will receive no
credit at all.
Academic Integrity
• You may discuss general ideas with classmates.
• You must do each project entirely by yourself, or
with a partner with whom you have been paired.
• You must carry out your work using only the
programs and data that we provide to you, except
that you may use image files you obtain from
others, with proper attribution.
• Vassar regulations require the professor to report
suspected violations of academic integrity to the
Dean of Studies.
• Read the “Originality and Attribution” pamphlet.
The Myth of Talent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4502KmBrGFM
Product and Process
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Mq6rkkLS4&list=PL922AD8DC2810139A
Student Work
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Irina Dumitrescu
Jonas Cuaron
Willa Koerner
Sally Slade
Leigh Johnson
Kyra Elliott
Terumi Cox
Anca Sarb
Alexandra Meade
Lauren Dyson
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Rebecca Goldstein
Mary Catherine Halfpenny
Megan Lau
Stephen Matysik
Kelsey Forest
Toby Fox
Gretchen Heinel
Kiersta His
Morgan Werner
William Wheeler