Links
3D Animation Resources, Spring 2018

This page is a summary of the general links that appear in the weekly lecture notes. They will be added over the course of the semester.

Ford Lab

• Dual booting computers in Ford 202.
• Mac vs pc keyboard in Ford 202 or go directly here for the mapping.
• Accessing the shared network drive called cs-render.
• There are several drawing tablets available for checkout from Prof Orr. The can be used on any of the 8 computers at the back of the lab.

Downloading Maya

If you have a fairly new computer, you can download the student version of Maya. You will first need to create an account. Be sure to get the version Maya 2016 since this is the version installed on the lab machines. If you download a newer version then you may not be able to transfer your files between your computer and the lab.

Once you have installed Maya, you want to update it to the Maya 2016 service pack 6 (SP6). Download and install both the service pack (Autodesk_Maya_2016_SP6_EN...) and also mental ray (mentalray_Plugin_for_Maya_2016_SP6_EN...).

Using Maya

• Navigating the Maya interface.
• Maya 2016 online help
• 2015 Maya online tutorials
• Directions for cleaning up a Maya scene file.
• Recommendations for working with Maya projects.
• Putting together an animation with Maya and Adobe Premiere.
• Using the renderfarm.
• Notes on Maya Shading and Rendering (pdf).

Making Your Animation

• Putting together an animation with Maya and Adobe Premiere.

Art & Design

• Design Components (pdf)
• Compositional Hints
• Formal Elements or Concepts of 3D Design
• Design Elements and Principles

Cinematography

• Using the Camera to Tell the Story
• Archived Yale Film Analysis
• A Lighting Approach for Computer Graphics - SIGGRAPH 96 Course 30

Story

• Resources for Story Creation.
• Story Development Check List
• Storyboard Check List
• Directions for Converting Your Storyboards into a Storyreel

Animation

• Principles of Animation. Also see overview video on vimeo.
  John Lasseter's orginal article with Luxo Jr as example.
• Overview of Animation Production Process.
• Roles
• Some Animation History,
• "Early animation" cartoon.
• Animator's Survival Kit - short videos on animating.
• Larry's Toon Institute Bouncing Ball
• Polly's World (may not work due to java applet security issues).
• Walk Cycle - Lots of tutorials onine - here are just a few:
  • Digital Tutors/Pluralsight has a few free introductory tutorials. Otherwise, need a subscription.
  • Idleworm has a good tutorial on the the walk cycle for hand drawn animation but of course most of the same principles apply to computer animation.
  • The book How to Cheat in Maya 2010 has an excellent section on how to go about creating a walk cycle.
    • Prof Orr has a hard copy of the book if you want to look at it.
    • Some of the associated resources will be placed on cs-render. These are also available online See Chapter 8: Walk Cycles

Animations

• 2016 SIGGRAPH Videos
• 2017 SIGGRAPH Videos
• Pixar Shorts or see YouTube
• Gerald McBoing-Boing
• Pipe Dreams
• Bunny

General Graphics

• An Interactive Introduction to Splines
• Setting colors.
• Projections.