Syllabus

Course Title: MAA202 Background and Character Design

Session/Year: Spring 2012

Course Length: 10 Weeks Contact Hours: 60 Credit Value: 4.0

Meeting Days/Times: MON/WED 2:00 pm – 4:45 pm, Room 902

Instructor: Sam Ellis

Contact Info: smellis@aii.edu

Office Hours and Location: Monday/Wednesday
8:00pm – 9:30pm, 1019

8:00pm – 9:30pm, 1019

Course Prerequisites:

Course Description:  

This course focuses on the fundamentals of background layout with an emphasis on perspective, composition, design basics, staging, mood, texture and lighting.  Students will also learn the basics of using props as background and foreground design elements.

Course Competencies:

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

Develop the fundamental techniques and a creative process concept artists use to visually develop a story.

Learn how to work professionally by having the class function as if it were an art department for a studio. 

Demonstrate proficiency in defining the look of characters, locations, set pieces, and a visual language for the production.

Work on creating unique and memorable concept designs that elicit an emotional response from the viewer.  

Become familiar with other professional concept artists and how they work.

Complete 10 different assignments that train them how to create artwork that captures the feeling and look of the production suitable for a presentation to a studio executive.

Apply principles of design to background creation

• Separate foreground, mid-ground and background elements
• Create thumbnail sketches and concepts
• Utilize effective composition
• Illustrate concepts with forms and colors
• Demonstrate proficiency in line art and drawing skill
• Exhibit proper use of perspective in creating environment concepts and sketches
• Demonstrate appropriate spatial relationships
• Environment Design
• An environment in which the character inhabits will be thoroughly explored and detailed.
  Special consideration will be given to those properties/ circumstances, both geological and social, which make their world uniquely different/ similar to our own.

Use computerized paint and image manipulation software to create images

• Demonstrate understanding of appropriate software in creation of background environments
• Prepare sufficient art assets in development of course projects
• Associate production of 2D Drawings as they pertain to finished 2D or 3D projects

Draw 2D and 3D objects and forms

• Create thumbnail sketches of concepts
• Apply anatomical structure in drawings of both human and non-human forms
• Evaluate thumbnails in terms of aesthetic appeal and simplicity

Create model sheets 

• Render character and object studies from a variety of angles
• Illustrate typical character traits: including emotions, poses and actions
• Demonstrate progression of character concept from thumbnail to final form
• Depict character in turnaround 
• Character Design

A complete understanding of the costuming, gesture, mood, and actions of a main character will be analyzed through the mediums of pencil, pen, paint, and or computer.

Evaluate scale and size in relation to character or object utilization

• Create objects and characters that are relative in scale to their environment

• Determine proportional relationships based on model sheets
• Vehicle/Item/Prop Design

An item that the character employs in their daily life: weapons, conveniences, transportation, etc., will be explored, rendered, and presented by each student.

Critique and evaluate design solutions 

• Define perspective terms

Apply line, shadow, texture, color, and shading to drawings 

• Examine value intervals and translate what is seen to the two dimensional surface

Create drawings based on observation, invention, and various sources such as: images, pictures, nature, life 

• Analyze drawings and using acquired vocabulary identify opportunities for improvement

Textbook(s): 

•The Skillful Huntsman: Visual Development of a Grimm Tale at Art Center College of Design

ISBN-10: 0972667644

•Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist , James Gurney

ISBN-10: 0740785508 

•Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter , James Gurney

ISBN-10: 0740797719

•Figure Drawing for all it’s Worth, Andrew Loomis

ISBN: 0857680986

•Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Design

ISBN-10: 1423134206

Suggested Reading:

Feng Zhu’s Blog

Feng Zhu’s You Tube Channel

Jake Parker’s Blog

Course Materials: 

Adequate amount of paper pencils and pens, markers, etc to make drawings with as well as 4 presentation binders or a 3 ring binder with clear plastic sleeves and tabbed dividers to separate work into proper categories to present class work. You will be required to print in this class.

Technology Needed:  

Either Window computers running XP or Macintosh computers running MacOS10.x with an Internet connection, printers, software including image manipulation, digital painting, 3D, game engine, & virus utilities.  Students should have removable hard or flash drive for personal file storage. The internet...

Student Evaluation / Grading Policies:  

In preparation for portfolio review, and ultimately a profession, it is of primary importance that your work be as good as possible. That being said, any project that has been submitted on time COMPLETED may be redone for a better grade . It may be improved or solved in an entirely different manner as long as it still fulfills the assignment and is documented in writing with evidence and intent of the new direction. If revisions are done poorly, the grade received previously will count. Projects should be reworked based on the critique comments until they are as strong as possible. Doing this is a very important way to improve your skills, focus your creativity, and resolve visual problems. It is also the reality of the creative industry, Revisions and Resubmissions will be Class 20.

When grading projects, my personal experience and aesthetic preferences influence my response.

When I review students projects, I consider the following:

Creativity

Ordinary solutions are not only dull, but they are not competitive. They do not challenge nor improve the students skill. Solutions should be exciting, innovative and interesting.

Design/Composition

Regardless of your discipline, skillful and creative use of design principles and elements are essential to communication with an audience, remember we are visual communicators. While most viewers cannot identify what may be right or wrong with an image, they sense when something isn’t communicating well due to poor design. Design is important as content in the process of communication.

Craftsmanship

Skill with media is necessary to success. A good idea fails to communicate if worked poorly. I realize most of you have limited media experience, and I will take that into account. Work that we do in class is designed to develop some degree of comfort with the medium.

Appropriateness

All projects have goals and specifications that need to be accomplished and followed. It is expected that these will be met through your solutions. The industry requires this, as will I.

Classroom Policy:  

•All work is to be presented professionally in both style and manner.  Work must be clean, clear, and must meet core requirements (matting, overlay, color/inks, etc.).

•Assessment will be based on student’s ability to understand the principles of drawing and design and to apply them successfully to each project.

•The student’s overall improvement 

•Class Participation/Professionalism

Late Projects: 

NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. 

NO INCOMPLETE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.

•All projects and presentations must be ready to present at the beginning of class time. If a student is not present on time (one minute past the hour,) that student will be marked absent, and will not be allowed to show work, immediately receiving the letter grade of F and a 0% grade. 

In addition, if a project does not meet the required elements for evaluation (i.e. missing an element piece, not mounted if required, or done in an incorrect format,) the student will also immediately receive the letter grade of F, and a 0% grade.

If a student has adequate documentation of a particular situation that prohibits his/her work to be on time (death in the family, illness, court, etc.) exceptions can be made. However, it must be adequate documentation, filled by a supervisor, doctor, or a relevant authority figure.

Grading Scale:

All assignments must have clear criteria and objectives meet.  All students shall be treated equitably. It will be that student’s right to know his/her grade at any reasonable point that information is requested by that student. The criteria for determining a student’s grade shall be as follows (on a percentage of total points basis):

Grading Scale	Points
A	100 to 92
A-	91.9 to 90
B+	89.9 to 88
B	87.9 to 82
B-	81.9 to 80
C+	79.9 to 78
C	77.9 to 73
C-	72.9 to 70
D	69.9 to 69.8
F	69.7 and below

Process for Evaluation:  

All work must be turned in digitally on the class blog before class starts as well as being presented in physical form in class the day the assignment is due. Assignments will be completed in a total of FOUR passes.  The passes are outlined as such:

•First Pass: (Production Sketches ) 

Loose, exploratory, and sketchy, an all out brainstorm where no idea is wrong.

3 Character Designs

10 Head shots / Facial Expressions (Happy, Sad, Anger, Disgust, Surprise, and Coy/Sly)

10 Full Character Sketches / Action Poses

3 Sets/Environments

10 Individual Building (Exterior of a lone building i.e. Jack's House) (Orthographic View)

5 Environments (A full surrounding of an area i.e. a forest, or farmland)

5 Interiors

2 Props

20 Prop explorations

2 Story Moments

10 Thumbnails

•Second Pass: (Refining your Production Sketches)

Pick one or two of your first pass to focus on.  Still exploratory and loose.

3 Character Designs

5 Head shots

5 Full Character Sketches

3 Sets/Environments

5 Individual Building

3 Environments

3 Interiors

2 Props

10 Prop explorations

2 Story Moments

5 Sketched Layouts

•Third Pass:  (Nailing Things Down)

Start figuring out details and begin nailing things down. Things Should start to look finished.

3 Character Designs

1 Head from a few angles

1 Full character in different poses

3 Sets/Environments

1 Individual Building

1 Environments

1 Interior

2 Props

1 Prop (Object Rotation Front, 3/4 Front, Side, 3/4 Back, and Back)

2 Story Moments

1 Solid Layout

•Fourth Pass: (Final Renderings)

Your design is finished and should be colored. Could also have call-outs to show details like textures and materials.

3 Character Designs

1 Head Shot

1 Full character (Pick one of the poses from phase 3 and color it)

1 Turnaround (Front, 3/4 Front, Side, 3/4 Back, and Back)

3 Sets/Environments

1 Individual Building

1 Environments

1 Interior

2 Props

1 Prop

2 Story Moments

1 Finished

ASSIGNMENTS FOR THIS CLASS

STORY:

We will be taking the characters, locations, and story moments from the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio and re-imagining it in a completely different genre.  Much like Disney did with changing Treasure Island into  Treasure Planet.  Possible ideas:

Swashbuckler / Vampire / Sci-fi / Fantasy / Samurai / Post Apocalyptic / Horror / Urban / Steampunk

•Sets/Environments 1st Pass (5) , 2nd Pass (5), 3rd Pass (5), 4th Pass (5) = 20% of Grade  

Sets-Environment 1 - Exterior / Sets-Environment 2 - Interior / Sets-Environment 3 - Landscape

•Character Designs 1st Pass(5), 2nd Pass (5), 3rd Pass (5), 4th Pass (5)  = 20% of Grade

Character 1 - Hero / Character 2 - Sidekick / Character 3 - Villain

•Props 1st Pass(5), 2nd Pass (5), 3rd Pass (5), 4th Pass (5) = 20% of Grade

Prop 1 - Weapon / Prop 2 - Vehicle

•Story Moments 1st Pass (5), 2nd Pass (5), 3rd Pass (5), 4th Pass (5) = 20% of Grade

Story Moment 1 - The Escape / Story Moment 2 - The Showdown

•Sketchbook Work =20% of Grade

Sketchbook work is required throughout the quarter and will be checked weekly. For this class we are going to explore character design by redesigning StarWars through style, shapes, genres,time periods. You will pick and stick with 1character , 1 props, 1 vehicle or animal, 1 story moment, and will be taking and changing their design throughout the quarter. Sketchbook work should be scanned in an turned into me weekly both in class and on the class blog, all work will be posted on a class blog.

Course Schedule: MAA202 BACKGROUND & CHARACTER DESIGN

-Week 1- 

• Class 01- Introduction to Pinocchio / Make an assignment list / Make and Inspiration Sheet
• Each student it to make a list of the characters, sets, props, and story moments they will be designing. For example: 
• 01. Character 1 - Hero
• 02. Character 2 - Sidekick
• 03. Character 3 - Villain
• 04. Sets/Environment 1 - Exterior
• 05. Sets/Environment 2 - Interior
• 06. Sets/Environment 3 - Landscape
• 07. Prop 1 - Weapon
• 08. Prop 2 - Vehicle
• 09. Story Moment 1 - The Escape 
• 10. Story Moment 2 - The Showdown

• Class 02 Assignment list due / Inspiration Sheet due/ Environments 1st pass due
• 10 Individual Building, 5 Environments, 5 Interiors

-Week 2- 

• Class 03 Environments 2nd pass due
• 5 Individual Building, 3 Environments, 3 Interiors  

• Class 04 Environments 3rd pass due
• 1 Individual Building, 1 Environments, 1 Interior

-Week 3-

• Class 05  Environments 4th pass Final due
• 1 Individual Building, 1 Environments, 1 Interior
• Class 06 Characters 1st pass due

10 Head shots, 10 Full Character Sketches

-Week 4-

• Class 07 Characters 2nd pass due
• 5 Head shots, 5 Full Character Sketches

• Class 08 Characters 3rd pass due
• 1 Head from a few angles, 1 Full character in different poses

-Week 5-

• Class 09 Characters 4th pass Final due
• 1 Head Shot, 1 Full character (Pick a poses from pass 3 and color it), 1 Turnaround

• Class 10 Props 1st pass due
• 20 Prop explorations

-Week 6-

• Class 11 Props 2nd pass due
• 10 Prop explorations

• Class 12 Props 3rd pass due
• 1 Prop (Object Rotation Front, 3/4 Front, Side, 3/4 Back, and Back)

-Week 7-

• Class 13 Props 4th pass Final due
• 1 Prop Colored

• Class 14  Story Moments 1st pass due
• 10 Thumbnails

-Week 8-

• Class 15 Story Moments 2nd pass due
• 5 Sketched Layouts

• Class 16 Story Moments 3rd pass due 
• 1 Solid Layout

-Week 9-

• Class 17 Story Moments 4th pass Final due 
• 1 Finished

• Class 18 Presentations

-Week 10-

• Class 19 Presentations
• Class 20 Resubmission  

*All information listed above is subject to change. 

Students with Disabilities:

The Art Institute of Washington is committed to providing qualified students with a disability an equal opportunity to access the benefits, rights and privileges of school services, programs and activities. The Art Institute of Washington provides reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities.

Accommodation requests should be submitted as far in advance as possible.  It is the responsibility of the student to contact the Student Affairs Department to initiate this process (phone #). The Student Affairs Department will assist qualified students with disabilities in acquiring reasonable and appropriate accommodations.

Attendance Policy:  

It is the goal of this policy to improve the academic performance of students in the classroom by stressing the importance of course attendance and reinforcing the work-ready expectations of employers for employee attendance. All students are expected to adhere to these industry standards. Students are encouraged to refer to page 39 of The Student Handbook 2010 -2011 for the AiW Attendance Policy.

In the Media Arts & Animation Program students are required to attend all class meetings. Students must arrive on time, come prepared and ready to work, and stay for the duration of the class. There are no excused absences. Any one of the following qualifies a student to receive a demerit from class (earning one demerit):

1. Arriving late to class (after official class start time)
2. Leaving before the end of class 
3. Failure to attend class 
4. Failure to come to class prepared with all assignments and required materials, as determined by the instructor (art supplies, textbooks, etc.) 
5. Cell phones ringing in class without prior authorization by the instructor 
6. Inappropriate behavior and/or lack of participation in class activities (to be determined by the instructor) 

Once a student has accumulated a total of three (3) demerits, s/he will be notified by their instructor that s/he is on probation and in danger of receiving an “F” in the course. Students who accumulate a total of four (4) demerits in a course will receive a grade of “F” at the end of the quarter. Furthermore, it is the student’s responsibility to make up any missed coursework due to absences.

Student Conduct Policy:

The Art Institute of Washington expects its students and employees to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. In addition, the Art Institute has a strict policy that disallows sexual harassment of either students or employees. All students or employees are encouraged to report any professional or sexual misconduct to the Dean of Student Affairs.

Academic Dishonesty:

The Art Institute of Washington defines an act of academic dishonesty as any attempt to take the work of someone else and submit it as one’s own. If you are suspected of plagiarism of any kind your instructor reserves the right to fail you for the assignment or the course. Students may appeal in writing to the Dean of Academic Affairs. Please refer to page 39 of the New Student Handbook for the complete Academic Dishonesty policy.