Programming 3-D Models and Shaders
Vsfx502


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Projects and Due Dates

    popup book model [Session 3]
    popup book - technical breakdown progress review [Session 6]
    popup book - final [Session 7]
    osl: st patterns - final [Session 13]
    osl: non photorealism - final [Session 20]


Assessment

Assignments

  • completion exercises - pass/fail
  • projects - letter grade

Portfolio

  • web based "work-in-progress"
  • presents all the images/notes produced during the course
  • links to other work
Web Portfolio

Purpose

The on-line portfolio of work that you will produce over the next 10 weeks will become a valuable resource that can support your future applications for internships. A good portfolio will show that you have developed advanced technical skills and a professional personal aesthetic. It will provide detailed information about your experimentations, explorations and approach to solving problems related to visual effects.


week 1
Session 1
Software Installation Check & Distribution of Custom Maya Scripts

 

Topics

  • check that all required software has been installed
  • check the PATH's for Jave, Python and ffmpeg are correct
  • vsfx502.zip
  • configuring the Cutter text editor
  • editing, uploading & testing student web pages
  • CUSTOMIZATIONS.zip
    •             additional information customization
  • check the RenderManForMaya plugin loads properly in Maya
  • establishing a common directory structure

 

   
Session 2
Pixar's RenderMan for Maya

 

Topics
  Show your popup page made from paper or card at the beginning of session 3.

week 2
Session 3
Pixar's RenderMan for Maya

 

Review the students popup paper models and their ideas for their digital popup book.

RfM Topics

 

Complete your popup book model model ready for session 4.
Session 4
Pixar's RenderMan for Maya

 

Review the students popup book models.
Continue preparing the presence, texture and displacement maps.

RfM Topics

  • create two categories of cameras in Maya
        MOD_x modelling viewpoints, and
        DOP_x cinematic viewpoints.
  • the PxrSeExpr node for blue lined paper [Maya blue_lined_paper.zip]
  Finalize the look-development of the popup model - review session 5.

week 3
Session 5
Pixar's RenderMan for Maya

 

Review the popup book look development.

Topics

 

 
Session 6
Pixar's RenderMan for Maya

 

Review the current progress of the technical breakdowns of the popup book on the student the web pages.

RfM Topics
  Complete the popup book technical breakdown.

week 4
Session 7
OSL - Open Shading Language

 

Final review of the technical breakdowns for the "Popup Book" assignment.
Introduction to the Open Shading Language.

The OSL course of study is divided into two sections. In the first section the visual effects produced by an OSL pattern node are derived from 2D (UV/ST) data. In the second section the effects are based on 3D data such as surface position, orientation, curvature and surface motion.

 

Complete the st patterns exercise ready for review session 12.
Session 8
Open Shading Language

 

Topics

 

 

week 5
Session 9
Open Shading Language

 

Topics - working the st patterns assignment

  • how to make a circle shader - diagram
  • repeating patterns with even row offsets
  • add images that use of downstream nodes such as PxrFractal and PxrWorley
  • add images that show the effects of the shaders on sophisticated models

 

Session 10
Open Shading Language

 

Topics

  • clarify what is expected from the 'st' pattern technical breakdowns

 

week 6
Session 11
Open Shading Language

 

Topics

  • Adding custom attributes

 

   
Session 12
Open Shading Language

 

Topics

 

Complete the non photorealism (SEM) assignment [week 10].

week 7
Session 13
Open Shading Language: NPR Shading

 

Final Review the st patterns assignment.
Topics - SEM

  • what are the characteristic features of SEM - Scanning Electron Images?
  • why render with PxrOcclusion instead of PxrPathTracer?
  • edge effects - fake rim lighting

 

 
Session 14
Open Shading Language

 

Topics

 

 

week 8
Session 15
Open Shading Language

 

Topics

 

 

 
Session 16
Open Shading Language

 

Topics

  • shading based on 3D direction - SEM_Direction
  • avoiding edge separations on cubes

week 9
Session 17
Open Shading Language

 

Continue developing custom shaders for the non-photorealistic (SEM) assignment.

 

 

 
Session 18
Open Shading Language

 

Begin work on writing the technical breakdown of the non-photorealistic (SEM) assignment.

week 10
Session 19
Open Shading Language

 

Continue writing the technical breakdown of the non-photorealistic (SEM) assignment.

 

 

 
Session 20
Open Shading Language

 

Final review the technical breakdown of the non-photorealistic (SEM) assignment.