T330 U539 and T730 Computer Art: Advanced Seminar

Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:15am-2:00pm
School of Fine Arts Laboratory 215

This page is found online at http://dolinsky.fa.indiana.edu/classes/fall00/index.html
(website continuously updated)
All material in this syllabus is subject to change

Professor
Margaret Dolinsky
Office: SoFA Room 405
Office Hours: Tues & Thurs 2-3 pm and by appt
email: dolinsky@indiana.edu
phone: 855-5171
Mailbox: SoFA Room 123

Course Description
Intermediate and advanced level production course and seminar investigating three dimensional real time computer graphics and state
of the art computer display systems. Students will investigate user interface, 3D graphics environments, content creation, perception,
interaction, and narrative and non-narrative performance.

Prerequisite
Consent of the instructor, including at least one computer imaging or computer science course.
Highly recommend Unix, webpage development, computer scripting.

Course Goals

- Knowledge of UNIX
- Knowledge of SGI system
- Knowledge of Maya modeling
- Practice 3D drawing on paper
- Research presentation of 3D graphics
- CD Rom documentation

Attendance

Required Materials

You will need the following:
Sketch book no smaller than 9"x12"; no larger than 11"x14"
Pencils such as an ebony pencil (NO charcoal); soft eraser, color pencils or markers.
You are required to bring your class sketchbook with a pen and a pencil to every class session.

  • Your class sketchbook is dedicated to this class and solely to this class.
  • Your class sketchbook will be one sketchbook dedicated to this class.
  • You will have the class sketchbook on day two and every day thereafter.
  • Your class sketchbook will contain personal imagery, collected imagery, ideas, notes and

    • handouts relevant to this class.
  • Your class sketchbook will progress consecutively with the weeks of the course.
  • When and only when the sketchbook has been filled consecutively on each page will you

    • require a second sketchbook
  • A second sketchbook will be consecutive to the first book and progress in a consecutive manner.
    • Required Text:

    Learning Maya, available at the Friends of Fine Art Bookstore, you may buy either edition: 2.0 or 3.0
    We will be working with versions Maya 2.5 and Maya 3.0 in class
    Additional readings will be made available through this web site.

    Recommended Texts:
    3D Computer Graphics:  A User's Guide for Artists and Designers by Andrew S. Glassner
    The Underground Guide to Unix: Slightly Askew Advice from a Unix Guru by John Montgomery, Woody Leonhard (Eds.)
    Computers as Theater by Brenda Laurel
    The Art of 3-D Computer Animation and Imaging by IsaacVictor Kerlow, 2nd Ed., Wiley & Sons. c. 2000.
    The Computer in the Visual Arts by Anne Morgan Spalter Addison Wesley c. 1999.

    Recommended Journals (some in SoFA Library):
    Cinefex - also available online http://www.cinefex.com
    Computer Arts
    Digital Creativity - also available online at http://www.swets.nl/sps/journals/dc1.html
    Leonardo - also available online at http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/home.html

    Recommended URLS
    find a full list online at http://dolinsky.fa.indiana.edu/classes/fall00/urls.html
    FineArt Forum  Newsletter on technology, art, and the 'net. http://www.msstate.edu/Fineart_Online/home.html
    CTHEORY is an international journal of theory, technology and culture. http://www.ctheory.com/

    Incomplete Policy
    An incomplete (I) final grade will be provided only by prior arrangement in exceptional circumstances conforming to departmental policy. The bulk of course work must have been completed in passing fashion. A student's desire to avoid a poor grade is not a satisfactory reason for receiving an incomplete. The course "drop" deadline is October 25, 2000.

    Late Assignments & Makeup Policy
    Late assignments (those turned in past the stated deadline) will earn a zero. Makeups are not allowed unless pre-arranged with the instructor and only when documentation of hospitalization, death in the family, or other emergency is provided.

    Grades
    All grades are based on technical direction, implementation and creativity.
     
    Assignment Instances Total Points Possible
    Formal presentation of weekly class assignments including web documentation 10 200
    3D Research project 1 200
    CD Rom documentation 1 100
    Total Points Possible: 500
    A= 450-500   B= 400-450  C= 350-400 D=300-350 F= below 300

    Syllabus at http://dolinsky.fa.indiana.edu/classes/fall00/syllabus.html