MA C158 Media Production Art

CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course examines the principles of character and environment design, with an emphasis on using digital tools to produce concept art and preproduction materials for animation, games, and multimedia. The student will explore the processes of character development and design, environment design and layout, and storyboarding.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to

1. Examine and categorize the significant events in the development of the preproduction and visualization studio units.
2. Compare the foundations of life drawing, composition, background, set and character design as they relate to the pre-production processes in animation, gaming, and multimedia.
3. Demonstrate understanding of the basic concepts of color theory.
4. Visualize, sketch, detail and paint character concept art using a digital painting program.
5. Visualize, sketch, detail and paint environment concept art using a digital painting program.
6. Visualize and implement a storyboard that visually depicts the plot and planned art style of a media project.

DETAILED TOPICAL OUTLINE

1. Using Digital Tools in the Application of Traditional Artistic Principles (A, B, C)
   1. Digital Drawing and Painting Overview
   2. Drawing and Painting Software
   3. Drawing Tablets
   4. Image Resolution
   5. File Formats
   6. Basic Principles and Skills Improvement
   7. Value
   8. Color Theory
   9. Lighting
   10. Perspective
   11. Textures
2. Introduction to Character Design (A, B, C, D)
   1. What is Character Design?
   2. Issues and Limitations
   3. Developing a Working Method
   4. Generating Ideas and Concepts
   5. Developing a Character History
   6. Designing the Physical Attributes of a Character
   7. Scanning Line Art
   8. Painting Eyes
   9. Painting Skin Tones
   10. Painting Hair
   11. Painting Fabric
   12. Portraiture
   13. Full Body Concepts
   14. Non-Human Characters
   15. Backgrounds
3. Introduction to Environment Layout (A, B, C, E)
   1. Research
   2. Thumbnails
   3. Staging and Composition
   4. Camera Placement
   5. Perspective
   6. Lighting
   7. Scale
   8. Foreshortening
   9. Setting
   10. Mood
   11. 1-2-3 Rule
   12. Value and Color
   13. Technical Aspects
4. Storyboarding (A, B, F)
   1. Concept
   2. Meeting the Needs of the Project
   3. Setting
   4. Camera Placement
   5. Staging and Silhouette
   6. Continuity
   7. Three Step Method: Thumbnails, Rough Pass and Final Render
   8. Scene Level Storyboards
   9. Drawing Techniques

LAB CONTENT DESCRIPTION

Students complete guided tutorials and work on assignments during lab.

METHODS OF PRESENTATION

Course instructional methods may include but are not limited to

A. Lectures
B. Demonstrations
C. Textbook tutorials
D. Synchronous and asynchronous discussion
E. Asynchronous video demonstration

ASSIGNMENTS AND METHODS OF EVALUATION

Assessment of student performance may include but is not limited to

1. Weekly creative exercises (A-F)
   Example: Students examine multiple approaches to character development and design by using symbolism, exaggeration, caricature and metaphor in a series of concept sketches.
   
2. Creative projects (A-F)
   Example: Students create a full body digital painting of a character which depicts a particular art style and illustrates the character’s personality and circumstance.
   
3. Written assignments (A-F)
   Example: Students compose a written plan for generating pre-production materials for a multimedia project, detailing the visual medium, artistic style, design of characters and environment and color palette.
   

OUT OF CLASS ASSIGNMENTS

1. Weekly creative exercises
2. Creative projects
3. Written assignments

REQUIRED TEXTS

Reading assignments are required and may include but are not limited to

1. Seegmiller, D. (2004). Digital Character Design and Painting: The Photoshop CS Edition, Hingham: Charles River Media.
2. Zhu, F. (2004). The Techniques of Feng Zhu, Volume 3: The Fundamentals of Shot Design for Environments, Culver City: Design Studio Press.

12.13.2005

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