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Computer animation / computer graphics panels announced

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Cairyn:
Well, I'm going to offer some computer graphics panels again for everybody who's interested in that kind of stuff. Here are the descriptions and some additional info, so you can decide beforehand whether that one's for you! (You can also make suggestions here, if it fits the general direction of the panels.)

Panel 1: Computer Animation for the Absolute Beginner

Ever admired the state of the art computer animations? Ice Age, Up, Over the Hedge... clearly, it's easy, just done with some sliders, and the computer does everything anyway!

Well, sort of true, but it's about five thousand sliders, and when you are just starting, you're hit over the head with half a million technical terms that seem to make no sense at all. This presentation will introduce the general process of computer animation, explain the most important terms and techniques, and reveal what is and is not the purpose of the many programs involved in animation.

Suitable for everyone who intends to have a practical look at animation, who wants to get some information before installing a 3D application at home, or who simply wants to appreciate the art of computer animation.

Obviously, one panel is not enough to even get you started in 3D animation, so I will not even try to teach a specific program here. This panel will be high level, showing the steps in making a 3D image, explaining the context and the process, and throw some terms at you which you cannot live without. I'll bring examples along.

You don't need to have any previous knowledge in the field, but you should know your way around a computer. Well, duh!

If you are a professional in the field, or a long-term hobbyist, this panel will probably not offer you further enlightenment, but you can come nevertheless and bitch about my mistakes.  ;D

Panel 2: Computer graphics and animation in the fandom - Round table

Originally a very exclusive and limited thing, computer graphics and animation has become affordable and available for every dedicated artist. Where home computers could only render static geometric chessboard examples some decade ago (and needed all night for it), today's sophisticated programs and multicore powerhouses do it all: from fluid simulation and hardbody physics to fur and cloth in glorious global illumination techniques.

But all is not sunshine and roses. The tools have become complex and vast, and the professional competition calls for ever-more impressive graphics and mind-boggling sparkliness.

There are a few computer artists in the fandom, and both still images and animations have been produced. Where does it all go? What are the limits? What has already been achieved? Can the fandom take a flying leap and produce a collaborative project? One that is not porn, perhaps?

Come to this round table and discuss the technical and social reality, and the dream of the future.

Don't worry, you're not forced to participate in the panel, but your input is appreciated. Do you want to show something off? Bring it along. Do you have projects of your own? Present it. Is there something that exasperates you? You're welcome to complain!

I will bring along estimations and calculations, new buzzwords and trends, a few headdesks and sad tales of failed projects, so you can do it better.

For this panel, you should have some idea of the computer graphics process. You don't need to be an expert, and the first panel I hold will give you an idea of that process already. I'm not going into the details of subsurface scattering or hair dynamics - this panel may throw some tech stuff at you but it's not the main focus. Pros, practitioners, and active hobbyists are very welcome for discussion.  :D

Hrs:
That's cool to see that someone else is going to make a Panel about this topic !

I and a friend of mine did it last year and for EF15, but it wasn't very sucessful, mainly due to the lack of preparation.
We tried to say too many things with too many details in a too short time, so that's indeed better to have a general topic instead of showing some particular stuff or software.

I may be there (At least the second panel) and I hope there will be more people interested than last year. (that's not hard  ;D )

Cairyn:

--- Quote from: Hrs on 07.08.2012, 11:26:59 ---I and a friend of mine did it last year and for EF15, but it wasn't very sucessful, mainly due to the lack of preparation.
We tried to say too many things with too many details in a too short time, so that's indeed better to have a general topic instead of showing some particular stuff or software.

--- End quote ---

Yes, it's extremely easy to go off the deep end and include all the details on a topic... going from triangles to coordinate systems, to matrix transformations, to vector mathematics... and suddenly you are talking about Lindenmayer systems when the public actually just wanted to know how to create a cube. (I haven't been able to be at your panel last year, I think it was on Saturday parallel to the Art Show sales where I am sort of required, but I see the dangers...)

I will stay with the general production process first, then present the main steps in creating, texturing, and animating a 3D world. Then I may talk a bit about the programs that are available. And when there's time, I can expand the various stages of the process with a little detail, perhaps even on audience request.

I won't do any mathematics, program-specific buttons (except for a demonstration), or go into general design issues. Purpose is just to achieve some general knowledge that the audience can later expand upon on their own, or which may be deepened in another panel (although having an advanced panel next year may be a bit much of a gap  ;D ).

Also, I'd like to measure the general interest in topics like these, therefore I have planned two panels on different levels of expertise. If we can find a like-minded group of individuals, we can start some kind of communication and exchange that goes beyond EF (which is great but only once a year  :D ).

CleanerWolf:

--- Quote from: Cairyn on 04.08.2012, 12:54:46 ---Can the fandom take a flying leap and produce a collaborative project?
--- End quote ---
Yes, we can!
http://www.kingtaibu.net/panzer/index.php
 

--- Quote ---One that is not porn, perhaps?

--- End quote ---
Hrs, did you read this?  ;D

Hrs:

--- Quote ---Hrs, did you read this?  ;D

--- End quote ---

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