Technical Artist Workshops at The Pixel Mill
Date Posted: October 26, 2021
The Pixel Mill is running a series of workshops on Technical Art in Video Games for artists, modellers and animators working within the Northern Ireland interactive sector (video games and immersive). The course will be delivered online across 8 evenings over 4 weeks between Tuesday 16th November to Friday 10th December.
The workshops will cover 4 areas:
- Game Engine Fundamentals
- Animation
- Rigging
- Python
The goal of the workshops is to give video game artists an opportunity to learn how to use a game engine as well as upskill in technical art disciplines with a focus on the animation and rigging pipeline. The workshops will be delivered using Unreal and Maya.
The dates and topics of the workshops are as follows:
| Game Engine Fundamentals
|
An introduction to a game engine (Unreal) and the features for game artists. Some of the topics include:
· Navigation and basic usage of the editors · FBX interoperability · Mesh triangle counts · Clean mesh construction · Collisions · LODs – Level of Detail · LightMap UVs · Static vs skeletal meshes · Naming conventions · Unreal Engine PBR workflow · Textures guidelines |
Tuesday 16th and Thursday 18th Novemer | 6:00pm to 9:00pm | |
| Animation | Sequencer and Cameras – Day 1
· What is Sequencer? · Sequencer Interface · Cinematic Views · Organising Sequences · How do Cameras Work? · Using different tracks types
Animation and Cinematics – Day 2 · Animation Import/Export · Skeletal Animation vs Geometry Cache · Rendering Out Cinematics · Post Processing for ‘Film Look’ Colour Grade in Engine · Using Spawnable Objects |
Tuesday 23rd and Thursday 25th November | 6:30pm to 9:30pm | |
| Rigging | Creating a Biped rig ready for realtime – Day 1
· What are the limitations of a real-time rig? · Skeleton Setup · Skin-weights and Deformers · Creating Controls
Adding advanced features and controls – Day 2 · Node Editor · IK/FK Switches · Custom Attributes · Tweak Controls · Squash and Stretch |
Tuesday 30th November and Thursday 2nd Dec | 6:30pm to 9:30pm
|
|
| Python | Intro to Python in Maya – Day 1
· Why use Python? · Variable Types · Loops · Condition Statements · Maya API/Commands · Functions · Definitions and Attributes · Creating tools
Python for rigging – Day Two · Modular rig setups · Rigging a leg with Python · Adding custom attributes · Starting a Custom Library |
Tuesday 7th and Friday 10th December | 6:30pm to 9:30pm | |
No prior knowledge of Unreal, animation, rigging or python is required to take part in the workshops. However, workshops are for freelancers/employees actively working within the Northern Ireland interactive sector (video games and immersive) that are seeking to upskill and develop their knowledge. The programme is not open to individuals in full-time education. The workshops will be delivered as a series so it will not be possible to sign-up for individual workshops.
Those applying to the must:
- Be a resident in Northern Ireland.
- Have at least 1 credit on a completed video game or immersive project in an artist/animator/modeler role.
Or
- Have at least 6 months experience working within video games or immersive across multiple project.
To apply for the programme please email your CV with recent credits of interactive projects (video games or immersive) you have worked on to [email protected]. Spaces on the course are limited and will be assigned, if application meet the above criteria, on a first come first serve basis.
Deadline for applying is Friday 12th November.
