9/25/09

SWFC 3Ds Max Modeling 'Bring It To Life' Project Student Sample




It's called "compositing" and it's the art of superimposing 3D animation and effects over images of real-life scenes. With over 10 years experience using Autodesk 3Ds Max and producing videos, Aaron Belchamber, the 3D animation and Web Design Instructor encourages students to explore those types of skills that will bring them actual paying design jobs that will help lead them into more work and becoming a more valuable, well-rounded graphic designer.


In "Bring It To Life", the final project in 3Ds Max Modeling, students are presented with the challenge of bringing in a photo of a table or counter top from their home and animate at least 2 objects interacting. It's a lot of fun and you learn a lot of skills that could make you a more valuable graphic designer.

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

9/22/09

Entry Level Design Class


Students in the entry level design class "Digital Design" was asked to create a logo for a company, apply that logo to a product that was to be rendered in 3-d in Adobe Illustrator, and develop an advertisement for that product in Adobe Photoshop. Here is a sample of one of the students solution to the project.

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

SWFC Student 'Brings It To Life!' 3D Studio Max Modeling Class Sample




At Southwest Florida College, our 3D Studio Max Modeling and Animation class familiarizes students with this amazing 3D modeling and animation program by Autodesk. Students like Catherine, who produced this animation in class, learn how to quickly create high quality 3D logo animations, reality simulations, particle effects, and special video compositing effects like this video. In "Bring It To Life", their final project, students are given the task of bringing in a photo of a counter top or a table from their house and their task is to create a 3D animation that gets composited, or placed on top of, a live still shot to learn the basic tools to build on these special effect skills.

Notice the shadow, lighting, and reflection on the models in the scene as the items on the countertop magically float in the air!

You too can learn more about Southwest Florida College's Digital Design Program by visiting www.swfc.edu/gd!

Self Portrait Project


Students in the Adobe Illustrator class were tasked with creating a self portrait based on an electronic photograph taken of themselves. They were to use such skills as clipping masks, compound paths, gradients, meshing, and the appropriate drawing tools to make themselves as realistic as possible. Here is an example of a second year students solution.

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

Children's Book Illustration


Adobe Illustrator class was tasked with illustrating a children's book (minimum of 6 pages). The book could be a redesign of a current or classic story... or a story that was authored by the student. Many great examples were created and here is a sample from a second year student based on an old story classic "Nelly and Caesar - The Amazing World of Color." Students showcased their ability to drawing using effects such as gradient meshing, drop shadowing, the pen tool, and image vector treatment.

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

9/21/09

Digital Design & Animation Portfolio Show A Great Success!



Congratulations to all the Graphic Designers at Southwest Florida College for putting on a tremendous portfolio show for our Summer Term on September 3rd, 2009! Once the employers, family, friends, and students came through, the students removed their laptops and left the rest of their artwork on display in the college library for an entire week.

The portfolio show featured fine art, digital art, websites, interactive presentations, all expressing each student's unique abilities and talents. To learn more, please visit the Digital Design/Computer Animation website at www.swfc.edu/gd.

Thank you to all the employers for their support and constructive feedback. A very large thank you to the students for their efforts! To Jan Rhonehouse, from Career Services, for coordinating the event! To the SWFC Library Staff for accomodating this week long celebration of the Graphic Arts! To Mr. McElroy, the Digital Design Program Manager, for all of his assistance, to Mr. David Meo for his outstanding impromptu interview about the purpose of the portfolio show, and to Rodney and Luis for set-up and break down.

What a rewarding job it is to see such diligent and talented students come up through our program. I am very proud to have been a part of helping each student succeed and take a large step toward achieving their dreams of grabbing new opportunities their new skills and knowledge will open for them. I look forward to hearing success stories from our newest graduates and remind you that Career Services is here to help you find employment.

Sincerely,

Aaron Belchamber
Web Design & 3D Animation Instructor
Southwest Florida College

9/3/09

Portfolio Show Summer 2009

Please join us to celebrate our very talented graphic designers for our summer portfolio show located on the second floor in the library at Southwest Florida College's main campus from 6 to 8pm tonight!

Located at 1685 Medical Lane in Fort Myers, you will not only meet these designers and experience their website and graphic design capabilities, but "Eye to the Future" artwork submitted by our students will also be on display.

Come for refreshments and check out this new crop of talented graphic designers as they begin a new journey in their career. Please come by to support our students -- invite a friend, business owner, or marketing director -- we hope to see you all there tonight and wish these students the best in their pursuit of a graphic/web design position in the community!

To learn more about becoming a Graphic Designer, please visit Digital Design/Computer Animation Program website at www.swfc.edu/gd or contact Mr. Chip McElroy, Program Manager, at 888-279-2342.

9/1/09

Computer Animation and Multimedia Class

Please review and support all the fine students of my Computer Animation and Multimedia class by visiting the class website at http://www.creativesouthwestflorida.com/. A special thank you to Annes Pascal for designing this current class's homepage. Great job Annes!

I would also like to acknowledge Lisa Krivoy for her outstanding website designs, which you can find at http://www.creativesouthwestflorida.com/lisakrivoy/. Thank you to all the students who gave it there all in Summer 09 in Interactive Media. We all look forward to seeing what kind of web magic you will be able to accomplish in Computer Animation and Multimedia!

Aaron Belchamber