VIDEO GAME ANIMATION MAY BE QUITE A DRAW.Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer VALENCIA Valencia, region, Spain Valencia (välān`thēä), autonomous region (1990 pop. 3,902,429) and former kingdom, E Spain, on the Mediterranean. It now comprises the provinces of Alicante, Castellón, and Valencia. - Video game fans have a chance to channel some of their creativity into a fast-growing career field through a new certificate program in video game animation offered at College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. . A curriculum formulated for·mu·late tr.v. for·mu·lat·ed, for·mu·lat·ing, for·mu·lates 1. a. To state as or reduce to a formula. b. To express in systematic terms or concepts. c. by advisers in the video, feature film and television industry has begun this year, intended to groom students for entry-level positions at video game production firms. ``We have programs in animation production and computer animation, but this is a whole different direction,'' animation department chairwoman Sheila Sheila is a common given name for a female, taken from the Gaelic name Síle/Sìle, which is believed to be a Gaelic form of Julia or Cecilia. Like "Cecil" or "Cecilia", the name means "Smart and Wise", from the Latin caecus. Sofian said. ``There is a lot of interest on the part of the industry in getting qualified designers.'' Students will be taught two popular commercial systems, 3D Studio MAX and Maya, with the addition of two new courses: Texture Mapping In computer graphics, the application of a type of surface to a 3D image. A texture can be uniform, such as a brick wall, or irregular, such as wood grain or marble. The common method is to create a 2D bitmapped image of the texture, called a "texture map," which is then "wrapped around" , which instructs students on creating three-dimensional models with elements such as skin and hair, and Real Time Narrative, which uses machinima (literally, ``machine cinema'') techniques to construct the video game in real time. ``The interesting thing is that the demand for the class didn't come from the kids - it came from the industry,'' Sofian said. ``There are jobs in video game animation at a time when traditional two-dimensional animation is dying down.'' Sofian said that even though computer animation is the wave of the future, all animation students must learn drawn animation as a prerequisite pre·req·ui·site adj. Required or necessary as a prior condition: Competence is prerequisite to promotion. n. . ``You can teach an artist a software program, but you can't always teach a computer whiz how to draw,'' she said. William Lebeda, creative director of Picture Mill, is part of Sofian's advisory committee. ``What we're seeing are movies being made out of video games See video game console. as well as video games being made into movies,'' he said. ``I think that's where much of the innovation is happening.'' ``There are a lot of opportunities for young enthusiastic and intelligent people to make a lot of money. We've seen the world of two- dimensional art change a lot recently; there are more 3-D features, such as 'Shrek' and 'The Incredibles,' which have replaced the 'Lion Kings' of the world. Along with that, because video games are becoming more interactive, 3-D works better. It's all about creating a reality that is fully fleshed out.'' Voldi Way, president of WayForward Technologies who also serves on the advisory panel, said he was excited about the new program. ``Most of our artists came from (California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts known as CalArts U.S. private institution of higher learning in Valencia. Created in 1961 through the merger of two other art institutes, it was the first in the U.S. ), and our programmers This is a list of programmers notable for their contributions to software, either as original author or architect, or for later additions. See also: Game programmer, List of computer scientists from College of the Canyons,'' he said. ``We always have to train the artists in the specifics of games and the programmers in design. Now that they're combining them, that will be fantastic.'' The certificate program is a two-year course of study that will provide students with the skills needed in traditional animation Traditional animation, also referred to as classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular form of animation. In a traditionally-animated cartoon, each frame is drawn by hand. and training in modern technology. Students new to the program will start by learning the principles of animation, laws of motion laws of motion See Newton's laws of motion. , timing and the analysis and production of a short animated video. Along with their certificates, students completing the course work will have also prepared a professional portfolio of their work. For information, call (661) 362-5039. Way said that the video game industry had grown twice as fast as the feature film industry in the last year, with some games having better opening weekends than movies. ```Halo 2' made $125 million when it was introduced,'' he said. Way said his company's biggest problem is recruiting. ``We had to turn down $2 million in business last week because we couldn't do it. I guess that's better than the opposite, but this program should really help.'' Carol Rock, (661) 257-5252 carol.rock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Gina Turclos, 19, of Newhall and Ivan Sayon, 19, of Saugus work together Saturday in a video game animation class, part of a new course program at College of the Canyons. (2) Paul Edmundson, 20, of Valencia; Elijah Rushefsky, 19, of Valencia; Randal Stone, 17, of Canyon Country; and Jeremy Quant Quant A person with numerical and computer skills who carries out quantitative analyses of companies. quant A person who has strong skills in mathematics, engineering, or computer science, and who applies those skills to the securities , 17, of Canyon Country work on various animation projects during a lecture class in video game animation at College of the Canyons. (3) An animated creature of some kind takes shape in professor Frank Wyatt's Introduction to 3D Studio MAX animation class Saturday at College of the Canyons. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News |
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