Section:

The faces of next-gen 3D talent

A meeting of minds

Ever wondered what the next generation of 3D talent looks like? We investigate how the youths of today are getting to grips with 3D in our interview with Henry Santos and John Bavaresco - instructors of the 'Modonauts'!

It's actually surprising that 3D art isn't a bigger part of modern kids' lives. They're completely surrounded by 3D animation from a young age, be it in TV series, Pixar movies or video games. But the subject remains firmly off-syllabus, and it's generally something budding artists get into when they're in their late teens.

Henry Santos wants to fix this. This summer he and CG legend John Bavaresco launched a series of classes aimed at sixth-to-ninth grade students (aged 11 to 15), in order to teach them the basics of character animation and game development. Teaching a class of kids is tricky at the best of times, but the addition of complex software and ideas makes it even harder.

A university setting gave the kids a taste of further education

A meeting of minds

The idea for the classes came about from Academic Talent Search, a summer program for children at California State University, Sacramento. Instructor Henry suggested a number of classes using Luxology's MODO 701 3D modeling and rendering software. He was offered a teaching position on a course titled "3D Computer Animation: Character Animation & Game Development". With 30 spaces available on the course, Henry was surprised when he received around 100 applications.

"John is brilliant and was a perfect candidate as a teacher"

"We quickly realized we'd need to find another instructor for more sections,"  Henry says. He posted a thread on the Luxology forums, and among the well-wishers a knight in shining armor came to the rescue. "To my shock and utter amazement, John Bavaresco - a CGI rock star - emailed me and we set the ball rolling. John is brilliant and was a perfect candidate as a teacher, so we were glad that he decided to join our team."

The space animation segment of the course let the kids' imaginations run wild

"had a gap in my schedule and I thought it might be fun to teach a program that I personally really liked,"says John. "I knew going into the class that these kids were smart. However, I didn't know that they were really, really smart. I instantly realized that my class was going to get bored very quickly with the course that we had set up for them, and I had to come up with lessons that were going to be exciting and would add a broader dimension to their experience."

"I had one student setting up particle emitters without any guidance from me," says John. "Did I mention these kids were smart?"

Modonautical adventures

With a plan in place, Henry and John lead their class of kids (or Modonauts, as they like to call them) into the weird and wonderful world of 3D animation. C. J. Deleon and Marian Styler, both students, were on hand as teaching assistants, too - John describes them as "a Godsend". But the biggest challenge was getting the kids' heads around the intricate process of 3D modeling.

The Modonauts, as Henry cutely refers to them

"Being that this is their first exposure to CG software, many basic things were a bit of a hurdle," Henry says. "The one thing that was too complicated was the entire animation process of moving controls at different frames, etc. That proves difficult for even my college students, but they have more time to wrap their brains around the concept."

John was also keen to show how 3D modeling could be used much more broadly than the kids might have first thought. "I incorporated a "show and tell" segment at the beginning of each class," he says. "I demonstrated a Wacom tablet and 3D connexion controller. I also showed the video Ruin by my friend, Wes Ball. They were suitably impressed. Among other things, I also showed my students some rather cool iPad apps that could be used in creating 3D elements."

Wes Ball's amazing short "Ruin" was used to demonstrate the potential of 3D

Team players

Despite the natural difficulties that come with learning something completely new, the Modonauts had great fun with the software, and soon got to grips with it. Particular highlights included sculpting, which challenged them to turn a unit sphere into a head, and painting with textures and materials. The best moment, though, was when the kids learned to act as a team.

One challenge involved turning a simple sphere into a skull or face

"The greatest fun we had was on the final project", says Henry. "It was a day at the races! Although the dynamics had to be set by me, each student created their own 3D car, adorned with all sorts of accoutrements, and textures. Four student volunteers, Jake, Matt, Joseph and Rhett, modeled parts of the track. Different cars raced and it was so much fun for us all. We were cheering the different cars on and just having a great time."

Creating cars for a race and modeling the track proved to be a big hit with the kids
A natural progression from the class is that 3D software becomes part of school curriculum - something that would entertain kids, and no doubt please the bosses of animation studios. "It's the perfect age to expose students to the principals of 3D," says John. "Middle school kids are at that age where they are curious and eager and yet teenage angst has not taken hold. I tried to emphasize that 3D is something that is not confined to the game or movie industry. Design, architecture and many other industries can involve 3D applications as well."

Henry's also keen to point out that the creative process of solving problems is beneficial to students in all disciplines. "The subject provides problem-solving skills and creative thinking with quick feedback," he says. "Students will take away a lasting ability to develop solutions while maintaining a positive attitude, and at the end of the class, each student spoke the "MODO" language, many experimented with ideas and some were even answering other's questions -correctly!"

"They were giggling, laughing and having a great time with sculpting," says Henry

Sculpting the future

With his class on CGI, Henry's found a natural niche, and it's one that he's keen to explore in the future. "I am totally hooked now!" he says. "I was actually just offered a teaching opportunity at another after-school program for kids. This one involves Game Design and how analogue processes, such as prototyping, will help in developing the digital version. Game play needs to be good, either for analogue or digital games. Good times, indeed!"

"It was as challenging as it was fun. I have a new found respect for the educators of the world and Henry is a stalwart example"

Henry rigged a cartoon surfer and John taught the kids how to paint his surfboard and animate his poses

John echoes Henry's sentiments. "Would I do this again?" he asks himself. "Without a doubt. It was as challenging as it was fun. I have a new found respect for the educators of the world and Henry is a stalwart example." It's also going to have a lasting effect on the kids who took the course: "When they are sitting in the theaters watching that CG character act, they'll know how it was done."

Related links

Site Santos
v2design.net
Fisheye Modo Demos
Graphic Communication Department at SCC
Sacramento City College
Academic Talent Search

Fetching comments...

Post a comment