This course begins with a brief history of animation. Students will then explore the different methods of key-frame animating: keying pose to pose, straight ahead, path animation, and how to edit the animation using the f-curve editor. Students will also explore simple walks and runs for biped and quadruped characters.

Modeling 100 will introduce the students to the concepts and processes of creating three dimensional objects within a virtual environment. They will learn all aspects of polygon modeling as they create a variety of objects, including environments and sets, vehicles, and organic characters. Introduction to Brush based modeling using Mudbox will also be covered during the latter half of the course.

Students develop drawing skills while learning the principles of squash and stretch, follow-through and overlapping action, anticipation, timing, key frames, and in-between-ing. Lessons in character animation and storyboarding explore the elements necessary to bring an animation to life. This course builds a foundation for 3D classes to follow.

This module provides an in-depth exploration of Adobe Photoshop, the industry standard for digital imaging. Students work on the basics of image editing, color correction, color management, preparing files for print and exporting images. Once the basics of Photoshop are covered, students will begin to use these tools to texture a variety of objects, thus preparing them for more advanced 3D texturing software. Exercises prepare students for a real-world production environment.

The class will draw using live models and examine the anatomy, proportion, surface planes and movements of the human form. Beginning with basic gesture drawings, the students will progress to sketching detailed figure representations. The students will explore the relationship of muscle structure, skeletal structure, light and shadow, movement and form in the tangible representation of a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional plane.

During a Monitored Lab you will be reviewing your progress on current running projects assigned in various classes throughout the week. Each class is structured to provide individual coaching for each student in order to ensure goals and timelines are met on all assignments. A senior academic advisor or TA is made available during Monitored Lab to coach, critique and troubleshoot as needed any problems that arise. Monitored Lab ensures each student gets the necessary help needed in between classes.

Production 100 introduces many aspects of CG production and how students can expect to make the transition from student to working professional. The curriculum includes demo reel production, intro to lighting, cameras and how they work in CG, basic compositing, and a brief summary of rigging for characters. This course is a foundation course designed to support 200 courses to come.

XSI 100 will introduce students to Softimage XSI, an advanced 3D animation and character creation software package. The course is taught in Autodesk Softimage, but focuses on 3D principles and workflow. Everything from Materials and UVs to Shaders, Rigging, Overrides and Passes is covered in detail. This course prepares students for other classes and brings many different industry components together.

From simple mechanical animations the students will now focus on the basics of character animation. Giving a synthetic character “life” is the goal. Using Maya, students will study acting to dialogue, facial animation, timing, editing animations with F-curves, and all the principles that make an animation great. Using Forward and Inverse Kinematics to pose and animate characters, students will tackle a variety of situations that they will face in the real world of production as a character animator. Students will also learn the significant impact rigging plays in successful animation and what factors make a good or bad character rig. Video Rotoscoping will be used as a visual aid to the animator.

In this second (more advanced) modeling module, students will build upon their skills founded in Modeling 100. Attention to detail will be key as students learn to build an “animation- proficient” character with proper topology. Additional techniques will be introduced to add realistic detail to models and speed up modeling times. Efficient yet impressive sets and props will be incorporated with other production pipeline classes to achieve a realistic look. This class also includes learning supplementary tools and software to support a variety of modeling and creation pipelines.

This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of acting for the purpose of creating animation. The exercises will teach students how to perform actions differently for various characters and personalities: how to properly do anticipations and reactions for each action; how to do verbal and non-verbal acting, acting between two characters, increasing imagination and creativity and how to act with body language first and facial acting second.

This course focuses on lighting and shading in a way that will enable artists to better understand how to use any rendering application. Using Maya/Vray, students will have their minds blown when they learn how limited their perception of materials, light and shadow has been all of their lives. When they apply this new understanding to lighting and shading in CG, they will find themselves ahead of the pack in any software. The second half of this course is designed to get students up to speed with the 3D painting package from The Foundry. Emphases are on the integration of Mari into the student’s demo reel workflow and the development of photorealistic textures.

In this course, students are introduced to the world of the visual effects artist and the skills and techniques that are used in the field. We discuss how effects are created and how they are integrated into live-action and CG plates. Our goal is to give the students a good understanding of how movie magic is achieved. Particles, mattes, color keying, camera tracking, stabilization, and using simple yet effective effects such as glows, flares, depth of field, and color correction to achieve a “photo-real” look will be covered. This course is essential to the understanding of various methods of compositing in order to achieve esthetically beautiful and believable imagery.

The purpose of Digital sculpting 200 is to teach students the necessary tools to be able to function effectively in a professional working pipeline. This course introduces students to the new techniques and possibilities that Zbrush provides. Students will develop strong fundamentals of pose / proportion. Students will also learn all the necessary techniques to effectively finish sculpting a model and prepare it for pipeline production. Students will also learn how to work between Zbrush and other major 3D applications (such as Mudbox) for superior results.

Throughout this course, students learn how to work with art assets in the CryEngine game engine and apply what they learn to a class project. While working on the project, students get to focus on and learn what they want to pursue as a career. Topics covered include normal map generation and painting, advanced UV techniques, importing geometry, collision meshes, animation systems, and more. Students will feel more than comfortable within the CryEngine, have the knowledge to adapt to any realtime/game work environment, and know how to keep their digital assets efficient and of high quality.

In Maya 200, you will learn the basics of modeling, lighting, texturing and animating a scene using Maya. Students gain an understanding of the interface and workflow of Maya and how to interpret tools and principals learned in Softimage to this alternate platform. The emphasis is placed on the technical aspects of Maya with rigging being a major focus.

During a Monitored Lab you will be reviewing your progress on current running projects assigned in various classes throughout the week. Each class is structured to provide individual coaching for each student in order to ensure goals and timelines are met on all assignments. A senior academic advisor or TA is made available during Monitored Lab to coach, critique and troubleshoot as needed any problems that arise. Monitored Lab ensures each student gets the necessary help needed in between classes.

Production 200 allows students the time needed to develop and deploy their final demo reel concepts. The class will also focus on developing the relationship the student will need to get started in the industry after graduation. Outings to mainstream studios in Vancouver and visits from top industry professionals will serve to inspire and guide students to create viable demo reels that will get them hired by the employer of their choice.

Our Sculpture class is a chance for students to get their hands dirty. Taught by Gideon Hay, an industry veteran for sculpts, maquettes, and props in Vancouver, in this class students are introduced to the basics of building character maquettes, armatures and the use of sculpey as a modeling tool. Anatomy, texture, proportion, and character design will be discussed as well as how they are used in a real production situation. It's also a chance for students to change gears and enjoy making cool art without a computer.

Advanced Rendering and Engines supports students in their demo reel semester with regard to rendering and outputting their created content. Students will feel comfortable rendering in VRay and have the knowledge to create complex materials and lighting situations while keeping their renders efficient. Students will also learn how to utilize a render farm for maximum efficiency and pipeline experience.

 Once a student leaves the nest and lands that first job they are faced with a myriad of financial decisions. This course is designed to take the mystery out of topics like:

- Getting your foot in the door of the company of your choice
- Giving a great interview (or “how to sell yourself”)
- Managing your student loan
- RSPs and how they are a benefit
- Mortgages and why they are easier than you think
- How to invest in stocks, GICs and mutual funds and why they make good sense
- Freelancing and/or starting your own company

This course is the last step to getting your demo reel into a format that properly showcases your work. Outputting to DVD as well as putting together your own online portfolio will be covered. Understanding Interface design, compression, formats, editing and sound engineering will enable students to make a knockout original presentation that sells your skills and talents. Packaging and overall presentation will also be a focus of this course.

During third semester, the students will be paired up with a personal mentor who is currently working in the industry. The mentor will coach the student one-on-one through the demo reel process and will provide feedback, advice and critiques. The students will meet with the mentor once a week, and will be given goals and timelines in order to properly structure their very intense final semester.

During a Monitored Lab you will be reviewing your progress on current running projects assigned in various classes throughout the week. Each class is structured to provide individual coaching for each student in order to ensure goals and timelines are met on all assignments. A senior academic advisor or TA is made available during Monitored Lab to coach, critique and troubleshoot as needed any problems that arise. Monitored Lab ensures each student gets the necessary help needed in between classes.

Production 300 is designed to monitor the progress of the students throughout their final (mentorship) semester. Students are interviewed every two weeks to insure mentors are effective, time is managed well, and resources are accessed and utilized in an efficient manner. This is a good forum for students to discuss new concepts and technical hurdles.

Think Tank believes that some subjects while being very important, don't need a whole semester to teach. To include critical informative content we have suplemented our regular curriculum with a series of specialized workshops.

1. Character Design with Zoe Evamy.
2. Unreal UDK with Adam Cooper
3. 3D Equalizer tracking with Talon Toth
4. Motion Builder with Darren Rudy
5. Storyboarding with Zoe Evamy.
6 Texturing for NextGen games with Adam Cooper.
7. Intro to the Maya interface.
8. Drop-in workshops with such reknowned artists as Kolby Jukes and Kaare Andrews.