Doing pre-production 3D creature development in collaboration with a designer is mostly about ideation and exploration. In this capacity it is also important to have a generalist's skill-set that includes modeling, texturing, shading, rigging, lighting, animation, integration, effects and most importantly, speed. For example, being able to rig, animate and render a creature animation in a day. Granted it will be rough, but it helps guide the design process.
Just as a sketch can still convey an idea without being fully rendered, a 3D artist can also use their toolsets to block-out a designer's 2D concepts in order to explore a design's form and function. In this workshop I will discuss this process and the diverse range of tools, in Maya, that I regularly use on such projects with an emphasis on shortcuts that speed up workflow.
Instructor:
Alex Alvarez
Founder, Gnomon School of Visual Effects, The Gnomon Workshop
Alex is founder and director of The Gnomon Workshop and of the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Having dedicated the last decade to educating students and professional artists around the world, Alex has helped change the face of computer graphics and design education. He has been published in industry magazines, websites and books - plus he has taught courses at several major trade conferences.
Alex is president of the Los Angeles Maya Users Group and sits on the Advisory Boards for Highend3D.com and CGsociety. He continues to work on personal and professional projects, recently as a creature development artist on the James Cameron film Avatar. Prior to Gnomon, Alex worked for Alias|Wavefront as a consultant and trainer for studios in the Los Angeles area. Alex is an alumnus of the Art Center College of Design and the University of Pennsylvania.