VFX Academy of Design

2024 | FALL REGISTRATION - NOW OPEN!

Create models for a production pipeline

The aim of this course is to expose you to all of the things you’ll need in order to be successful in a professional work environment as a 3D modeler. During this class, you’ll learn how to streamline yourself to be a fast, efficient, and effective 3D artist. One of the core issues that junior artists face when working at a large company is learning how to acclimate to the studio environment. This course will teach you what the expectations are for production modeling and what it’s like to work on a production team.

You will be creating models that are production friendly using the tools, techniques, and practices that are taught throughout the course. These apply to the game, film, and animation industries. You will create props from provided concept art, and at the end of the class you will assemble them into a scene–creating a vignette you can show in your portfolio or your demo reel.

Registration Now Open

Registration Period

Jul 17, 2024 - Oct 07, 2024

Course Start

Oct 03, 2024

Course Format

Standard

Skills Level

Intermediate

Duration

6 weeks

Q&A

Live Format

Feedback

Individual recordings

Lecture Type

Standard

Assignment

Due each week. Expect to spend 10-20 hrs/wk viewing lectures, Q&A, and time on assignments

PREREQUISITES

Intro to Maya | Must have basic knowledge of Maya

MATERIALS

Autodesk Maya (3DS Max or Blender ok), Substance Painter or Arnold

The more you know, the better.

Week #1

Aesthetics

Interpreting concept and production art into models | Getting information about how your model will be used in production

Week #2

Topology

How triangles, quads, ngons, and other geometry make up a model | What is “bad geometry” and how do we fix it? | Edge flow for organic and hard surfaces | Resolution Topology

Week #3

Thinking Outside the Box

Efficient work flow | Customize the interface using hot keys, shelf tools, and marking menus

Week #4

Refining / UV Part I

Refining your model | Quality Check preparation for UVs | Intro to UV workflow part 1

Week #5

UV Part II / Final Quality Check

Intro to UV workflow part 2 | Final Quality Check ,Cleaning | Naming and Grouping

Week #6

Presenting Your Work

Meeting deadlines | Showing your work to your supervisors and artistic directors | Ways of “selling” your model. | We will be touching on Arnold /Substance painter workflow using the hedgehog labs plugin, along with also how to present a model in viewport 2.0

Week #7

Final Submission

Final Critques, and QA

Taking your skills to the next level

Albert Hernandez

Lead Environment Modeler

LECTURES BY Hunton Hodgkins

Course Start: Oct 03, 2024

Alberto Hernandez is a CG artist and environment modeler with over 15 years of industry experience. He earned his bachelor of science in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of Los Angeles in 2004 and has been working in the industry since 2005. He started his career in the architectural visualization industry working on various projects that consisted of modeling, lighting, and rendering different projects for architectural developers such as Toll Bros, Caruso Affiliated, Hilton Hotels, and Brookfield Partners. He moved on to working for Sprite Animation as a junior environment modeler, working his way to senior modeler and generalist. While at Sprite animation he worked as a modeler for many different projects including Pac Man and the Ghostly Adventures(Disney XD), Kong King of the Apes(Netflix), Rudolph the Black Cat(Japan Feature Animation), “Snack World” feature and feature short, and prop models for Square Enix and Konami.

After spending 8 years at Sprite Animation Alberto moved on to working at Dreamworks TV as a CG generalist for The Boss Baby: Back in Business Netflix series Season 2 & 3. He also briefly worked on the Dreamworks HUB team as a CG Generalist for projects such as Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and Kung Fu Panda. He currently works at Netflix Animation as a Environment modeler/Designer for the upcoming Netflix Series Blue Eye Samurai slated for a 2023 release.

Instructor's Gallery

PRICING SCHEDULE

Even though our courses are the most affordable for the quality of education, these finance options allow you to focus on your goals instead of the barriers that keep you from reaching them.

3x Payments

$216.33

2x Payments

$324.50

Full payment

$649

Fall TERM REGISTRATION Now Open

Jul 17, 2024 - Oct 07, 2024

COURSE BEGINS on Oct 03, 2024

What makes this learning experience unique?

PERSONALIZED FEEDBACK

Receive personalized feedback on all assignments from the industry’s top professionals.

LIFETIME ACCESS

Enjoy lifetime access to the spectrum of course content, including lectures, live Q&As, and feedback sessions.

CERTIFICATION

Show off your Certification of Completion when you turn in 80% of course assignments.

FLEXIBLE LEARNING

Learn anywhere, anytime, and at your own pace with flexible, online course scheduling.

Fantastic teacher, I definitely appreciated his prompt feedback and willingness to answer any questions and his positive supportive attitude.

Annie

I improved very well in terms of Maya modelling and the production workflow. I was not very confident and well learnt in terms of it. I have a better idea of the workflow now.

Jagrut

The course greatly improved my skills and I would strongly recommend it to others looking to start careers in the field. The personal feedback videos (from Vidya) every week were really helpful and critical for improving even further. I also really enjoyed that all classes were live and we could ask questions during them.

Daria

It gave me a better understanding of the pipeline of production modelling. There is a lot to think about when you’re modelling and this course helped me focus on those key points

Andre

I sincerely recommend this course to others who want to start a career or develop skills in the field. it gave me a better understanding of the production modeling pipeline and answerd all my questions and doubts. Weekly personal feedback was crucial for me as it brings up the most important topics up-to-date, which allowed me to develop much faster.

Joanna

This course helped me have a clear understanding of the workflow used in the industry. I now have the confidence and skills to model a concept from start to finish while sticking to the production guidelines

Vedant

The course helped answer many questions I had coming in, both about the industry and about MAYA. I learned new ways to model things that I wouldn’t have been able to before.

Nidhi

Intro to Production Modeling

Character Design

Electives

Environment Design

Drawing Foundation

Compositing/Lighting

Houdini/FX

Rigging