Welcome

CSS 305 - Interdisciplinary Information Technology:
Computer Animations

Spring 2004

Room: UW2-140

M/W: 11:00 – 1:05pm

CSS305 Computing and Software Systems UW Bothell

Announcements:

If you are just “checking things out”, thank you for your interest.

¨ Click here for more detailed introduction to this class.

¨ Here is a 10 minutes movie of what this class is all about:

Here is the hi-res version (34 MByte)

Here is the low-res version (5 MByte)

¨ Here are some of the final projects we worked on in Spring 2004 (due to disk quota limitations, only some of the projects are shown here).

Yes, it is true that all animations are created by students (most) with no-prior background in computer animation! And, it is also true that this class is open only to non-CSS students.

For Spring 2004 CSS305 students:

We are DONE!! Here is a something I put together telling ourselves our story … a short 5 minute movie, Large High Quality Version (36MB), or Smaller Version (4.7MB). I use Michael’s and Christina’s Project 4 in the last clip because their Project 4 are significantly different from their final projects. Don’t worry, your final projects will be on-line … soon!

Your final grade is here! You are identified by the last 4 digits of your student id. Please let me now if you see any problems.

Other Announcements:

Here are materials on reserved in the library, mostly to help us learn how to use Maya.

Thanks to Yaly Lim for doing the work of locating the link, here is the link to download Maya Personal Learning Edition (PLE). Remember, you cannot open your Maya PLE projects with Maya Complete in school. PLE is good for practicing J

Here is some background and introduction to this class.

Syllabus:

Instructor: Kelvin Sung

Phone: (425) 352-5420

Email: ksung@u.washington.edu

Office Hours: Wednesday 1-3pm

(or by appointment)

Office: UW1-339

We will be learning:

In this course we will use the creation of computer generated animations as means to study the field of Computer Graphics. Specifically, we will study the essential foundations of Computer Graphics: Modeling, Rendering, and Animation. We will acquire the knowledge behind each of these foundations with hands-on experimentation and practices. Through these interactions, we will gain in-depth understandings of how special effects in mass media are created. At the same time, we will become more confident computer users with comprehensive appreciation for sophisticated modern applications and how information is organized on modern computer systems.

Textbooks:

Required Text:

Michael O’Rourke, Principles of Three-Dimensional Computer Animation 3^rd edition, Norton & Company, 2003.

Reference Tutorial (there are 20 copies of this book on-reserved in the library):

Learning Maya™ 5 | Foundation, Maya Press, ISBN: 1-894893-34-4, 2003.

Reference Text:

· Dariush Derakhshani, Introducing Maya 5: 3D for Beginners, Sybex, 2003.

· Isaac Kerlow, The art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects 3^rd edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2003.

· Anne Morgan Spalter, The Computer In the Visual Arts, Addison Wesley, 1999.

Grading:

Final Project 25%
Projects Assignments (4-5) 55-65%

In-class Quiz (4-6) 10-20%

Approximated Schedule:

Week	Topics	Readings	Date	Assignment
1	History of Computer Animation	Chap 1 LMF:1, 2 & 3	Mar 29	Assign: Project 1 (5% - on using the Tools) My Project 1 Report
	Intro to Modern Animation Tools		Mar 31
2	*Guest Lecturer: Christopher Gildow Topic: Principles of Artistic Evaluation*	Chap 2 LMF: 5 & 6 (Reading only)	Apr 5	Due: Project 1 Assign: Project 2 (15% - on Modeling) My Project 2 Report
	Modeling: Coordinate Systems and Transformations		Apr 7
3	Modeling: Common Techniques and Modeling: Grouping/Hierarchies	Chap 2 LMF: 12 (stop at p225) LMF: 13 (stop at p263)	Apr 12
			Apr 14
4	Rendering: Camera and 3D Viewing	Chap 3 LMB: 11	Apr 19	Due: Project 2 Assign: Project 3 (18% - on Rendering) My Project 3 Report
			Apr 21
5	Rendering: Lighting/Shading/Texturing	Chap 3 LMB: Finish 12 & 13	Apr 26
			Apr 28
6	Rendering: Batch image generation Animation: Keyframing and Interpolation		May 3	*~~Due:~~* ~~Project 3~~ ~~Assign:~~ ~~Project 4~~ ~~(on Animation)~~
			May 5
7	Animation: Driven Keys, Constraints, Motion Path	Chap 4 LMF: 9 & 10	May 10	Due: Project 3 Assign: Project 4 (on Animation) My Project 4 Report
			May 12
8	*Guest Lecturer: Constantin Behler (UWB) Topic:* Telling Story with Camera Animation: Joints, Skinning		May 17
			May 19
9	*Guest Lecturer:* Pauline Ts’o (Rhythms & Hues) *Topic:* A Peek Behind the Digital Curtain	Chap 4	May 24	Assign: Final Project
	Animation: Final wrap up		May 26
10	*Memorial Day: No Class*		May 31	Due: Project 4
	In-Class Quiz on Animations		Jun 2
11	Final Project Demonstrations (in class)		Jun 9
		Chapter numbers are reference to our textbook. LMF #–Refers to Learning Maya Foundation 5 Lesson #

· Here are some general information/policies for this class

· If you have a disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact Rosa Lundborg at Student Affairs (425-352-5307) as soon as possible. I will coordinate with the University to ensure that the appropriate accommodations are made in this class.

· If you have any problem with this course, please talk to me as soon as possible. Please let me help in anyway I could, but I have to know there is a problem. If you should fall behind in this class, it will be difficult to catch up.

Kelvin Sung | Kelvin's Research Page | CSS Home | UW Bothell | UW Seattle

18115 Campus Way NE
Bothell, WA 98011-8246
(425) 352-5000
(425) 352-5303 (TDD)

Last updated: April 2004 KS