THE GNOMON WORKSHOP RELEASES NEW DVD TITLES

Wed 18th Sep 2002 | News

THE GNOMON WORKSHOP RELEASES NEW DVD TITLES

Nine New Titles Cover Modeling, Dynamics and Expressions in Maya

September 18, 2002 -- HOLLYWOOD. - The Gnomon Workshop has released nine new training DVDs on modeling, dynamics and expressions in Alias|Wavefront¹s Maya. This series, which includes three DVDs on NURBS modeling and four more titles on Maya's Dynamics engine, also marks the premiere of a new instructor in the Gnomon Workshop offerings. Andrew Orloff has produced two DVDs on using expressions in Maya. Each title has 110 minutes of instruction, lecture notes, resource spotlights and bonus materials. DVDs are priced at $79 each and may be purchased at http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com

These DVDs were produced by Alex Alvarez, Director of the Gnomon Workshop and Gnomon School of Visual Effects; Darrin Krumweide, Associate Director of Gnomon; and Andrew Orloff, Gnomon instructor and free-lance 3D Artist and Supervisor. As always, the objective of the DVDs is to explain the tools, with a focus on workflow, using a wide range of example effects.
The nine new releases are as follows:

• NURBS Modeling, I: Basics, addresses how Maya¹s set of NURBS modeling tools can be used to effectively sculpt an infinite variety of organic and hard-shelled objects,
• NURBS Modeling, II: Surfacing, demonstrates NURBS modeling of intermediate-level complexity,
• NURBS Modeling, III: GTP Racecar, focuses on the intermediate/advanced modeling of a GTP racecar,
• Expressions, I: Intro To Particle Expressions, presents how to use MEL (Maya-Embedded Language) to form and control relationships between particle and object attributes over time,
• Expressions, II: Particle Expressions In-Depth, shows how to gain a greater degree of control over particle attributes,
• Dynamics, VIII: Introduction to Softbodies, begins a four part series which delves into a myriad of softbody effects. We begin with controlling particle behavior and applying fields, goals, collisions, springs and expressions.
• Dynamics, IX: Softbody Effects, this lecture moves on to more specific applications such as ground-plane effects, combining softbodies with rigid bodies, blendshape deformers and auxilliary spring effects and interconnected softbodies,
• Dynamics, X: Softbody Lattices and Curves, covers specific applications of lattices and curves,
• Dynamics, XI: Spring Effects, focuses on demonstrating how objects in Maya can be positionally and orientationally constrained to softbody movement in order to create mechanisms which combine both rigid and elastic objects.

"Our goal from the inception of the Gnomon Workshop has been to emulate the curriculum at the Gnomon School," explains Alvarez. "With the addition of Andrew Orloff to our slate of Gnomon Workshop instructors, we come one step closer to that goal."

Andrew Orloff is Head of CG at Zoic. His ad campaign credits include Skittles, Coca-Cola, Intel, Chevy Tahoe, Carl's Jr., Taco Bell and many more. He has also created music videos for Cake, Mariah Carey and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, as well as effects for the television shows "Angel" and"Buffy the Vampire Slayer". He is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theatre Film and Television. Orloff has been teaching at Gnomon since1999. All DVD titles have interactive menus with chapters, lecture notes, resource spotlights of 40 minutes in length, and bonus material. On DVD-ROM-equipped PCs and Macs, viewers can access a Maya project directory with scene files and source images such as textures and image planes.

Gnomon Workshop is an outgrowth of the Gnomon School of Visual Effects, a professional institute specializing in training for the high-end visual effects community. This on-line resource for the Maya community produces training DVDs, videos and tutorials which are available exclusively on-line at http://www.The-Gnomon-Workshop.com. The website also features written tutorials by Alvarez.

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