Hasta La Motion!

Scholarships for twelve aspiring Visual Effects artists have been put up for grabs by computer graphics academy Escape Studios for its visual effects (VFX) course. Thanks to new funding from the Skillset Film Skills Fund, twelve individuals will receive 100 per cent subsidised places on the prestigious course. At the end of the course the attendees will go on a four-week industry placement, also funded by the investment.

Dominic Davenport, CEO at Escape Studios said “This is a fantastic opportunity for twelve talented and enthusiastic individuals to take their first steps to securing a place in the computer graphics industry. It can take years to develop the skills these lucky students will be taught in a matter of months, and we are looking for those with a passion for computer graphics and a desire to succeed.”

Neil Peplow, Director of Film at Skillset, the training body for the UK creative industries, said: “Our research shows that the industry needs more highly trained new entrants in the crucial field of visual effects. The UK attracts high levels of international productions choosing to do their post-production here because of the exceptional quality of our workforce. Schemes like this will help ensure that this continues."

The Skillset Visual Effects course will offer a combination of practical training and industry work experience, providing participants not only with an education but with the skills and confidence to secure future employment. Participants will receive training in the use of Maya and Nuke and learn all of the camera tracking, lighting and compositing skills needed to create fully integrated visual effects shots to a professional standard.

Davenport continues, “It’s critical that people who attend Escape Studios not only learn key skills but know how to turn these skills into a professional career. Too often education is simply an accumulation of knowledge, with little indication of how skills can be transferred into the real world of work. That’s why attendees on the Skillset course receive eighteen weeks of solid contact time with Escape’s industry experienced tutors, and also get out into the world of work afterwards with a four week placement. This allows graduates to see what’s required by post production houses, and build useful contacts in the industry.”

Stephen Tew took part in last year’s Skillset VFX course, and now works at Framestore. “Getting on the Escape Studios’ course really helped accelerate my career. It gave me a host of skills that could take years to learn otherwise, and helped me secure my current employment.”

The course starts on 28th September and runs for 18 weeks followed by the month long placement, with a three week break over Christmas and New Year. Potential applicants should visit the Skillset page on Escape Studios’ website: www.escapestudios.com/skillset

Fort Lauderdale, FL., August 17th, 2009 — cmiVFX | cmiStudios launches a brand new video for Advanced Digital Scuplting. This new video is a part of a new style of training that will allow viewers to learn more then just software and clicking buttons. In the Artist In Focus Series, artists from all over the world will be sharing their knowledge and achievements in a very exciting way. Sharing their techniques and workflows that evolved trough time and production experiences.cmiVFX is concerned on bringing real life projects for real artists. Understanding how these great artists create their art is what makes this series so precious.
This video is available today at the cmiVFX store. cmiVFX Video Player Online Store

Product Announcements — ZBrush "Beyond Digital Sculpting"
Find Out More!

Beyond Digital Sculpting
This video will talk through the process of creating a high-detailed character model in ZBrush. We will have a look at how to adjust the ZBrush interface, how to work with brushes and how to adjust them. You will learn some useful tricks about how to use reference material and how to focus on the main shapes of the figure.

Brushing it!
Using six different types of brushes: the standard brush for adjustments on a low and medium mesh resolution level, the clay brush for adding mass or material to the model, the move brush for moving parts of the model, the flatten brush for flattening out certain areas, the pinch brush for sharpening folds, creases and wrinkles and of course the smooth brush for creating a smooth surface. An important aspect is that you can change the brush behavior by tweaking the brush curve, the Z intensity, the alpha and last but not least, the brush mode.

Poly-Groups
In this section the user will learn how to use Poly-groups properly as an art of its own. Understanding the principles of them and how to use them to speed up detailing. General sculpting will be the difference from a "Great" model and a "Just Ok" model.

Preserving Core Details
Smoothing out your model preserving the details you recently added is a powerful method of high resolution object creation. Learn some interesting sculpting techniques to preserve details and characterize your model to be presented. Production proven workflow techniques have been applied in a totally intuitive way to make sure all details are preserved.

Curls, Beard and Pores!
Learning how to use ZBrush layers to unleash powerful detailing techniques. While witnessing this outstanding workflow you will learn how to use this tool in your favor to enrich your models.

Hands
Since the beginning of time, artists struggle with creating Hands and feet! No doubt it is one of the most detailed areas of the human body. We will have a look on how to create hands with ZBrush intuitively. You will see that you don’t need many polygons and special edge-flows to get the nails right.

Feet
Finding the right workflow when modeling body parts is the best thing that can happen to an artist. Revealed in this section, a proven workflow to achieve great quality with feet modeling. These techniques will be a staple for all of your models to come.

Shoes
Conceptualizing shoes is an exciting and challenging task. Sculpting a concept of a shoe directly in ZBrush is not only possible but completely rewarding specially if you are not sure yet what style fits best to your character. Use this shoe design instruction with characters or product design for advertising. We begin our models from the very start so that you don’t miss a minute of action.

Clothing
Creating believable clothing can be one of the final tasks for an artist to figure out. The shapes can sometimes stray from the contours of its host. learn how to interpret that natural collection of folds and creases to help sell the look of your model.

About Benjamin Leitgeb:
Benjamin Leitgeb is a young Italian 3D-artist and digital sculptor who is working as a freelancer for a few years. He is specialized in high-poly modeling and sculpting of human characters. He discovered his interest in computer graphics as a teenager and never stopped producing CG art since then. He constantly try to improve my skills and workflow. For Benjamin, making drawings, paintings and sculptures is a simple and direct process of giving emotions form.

About cmiVFX
cmiVFX is the leader in High Definition Video Training for the Visual Effects Community. To test drive the new cmiVFX TVOD © system, visit http://www.cmivfx.com/cmi_vod.html For additional information about cmiVFX, visit www.cmivfx.com.
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