Rockafellow Media

Was talking with a digital artist who finished his associates in Computer Animation and was still without work and mentioned he was thinking of retaking some of his college courses. My first thought was Why. I’m sure if the class was taught by an amazing professional I can understand, but for me I would look for something that would help my growth as an artist. So it got me thinking about what advice I would give and alternatives to returning to a traditional college course for professional development.

Looking beyond college there is a wealth of places to hone your skills directly from professionals or through massive online training material. Some of the material is free some is available for purchase or through subscription.

Here are some I would recommend you check out.

1.   http://fxphd.com
   It runs 10 week courses starting every 3 months. $395 for a bundle of 3 courses
2.  workshops.cgsociety.org
   Well known professionals teach 8 week courses at various times throughout the year. $495
3.  lynda.com
   Video training on demand.  $25/mo subscriptions, $250 or $375 annually.
4. Digitaltutors.com
   Video training on demand.  $45/mo subscriptions, or $399 annually.
5. YouTube.com
   There is a wealth of great free knowledge shared by professionals  if you can sift through  some of the less than stellar material. I suggest subscribing to those youtube users feeds who have a track record of putting out excellent techniques and share valuable insights.
6. http://www.3dbuzz.com/
7. http://www.3d-palace.com/
8. http://www.thecgschool.com/
9.  http://active.tutsplus.com/
10.  http://animationmentor.com
    Probably the best school for Character animation out there because of their close relationship to the industry.
11. http://www.escapestudios.com/
    Onground & online school for VFX. Like Animation mentor they have some strong ties to industry.
12. http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/

Bert Silva, of IC Technology has extended a generous offer to current SE Michigan ACM SIGGRAPH members. A 10% discount for Autodesk products until the end of 2009. Now’s a great time to become a member or renew your membership [link].

10% discount on autodesk products for SE Michigan ACM SIGGRAPH Members until the end of 2009

Here is his letter he wrote extending the offer.

I look forward to working closely with Randy Rockafellow and the SE Michigan ACM SIGGRAPH group. For those of you who do not know us, we are a new addition to the Detroit Media & Entertainment scene, but we have been in the business for over 20 years helping many a company in Toronto with their technology needs.

As the newest Authorized Autodesk Reseller in Michigan, I’d like to start things off right by offering all current SE Michigan ACM SIGGRAPH members a 10% discount on all Autodesk products, such as Maya, 3ds Max, and Softimage until the end of this year. Our way of supporting the membership and hopefully encouraging you to give us a shout.

Feel free to contact me via the info below, and I have enclosed a little html blurb at the bottom of this e-mail going over some of our main offerings.

Cheers,
Bert

Bert Silva
Detroit Office (313) 483-1123 x1001
Toronto Office (416) 869-0001 x 250
C. 416-903-6056 F. (888) 259-3126
E. bert@ictech.ca W. www.ICTech.ca
DETROIT | 440 Burroughs Street, Suite 100 | MI 48202
TORONTO | 3049 Universal Drive | ON L4X 2E2

The last meetup of the year ended on a good note.

Was glad that Roberta Eden was able to make it to her first meetup.

Here are some pics from the event.

Had another twenty or so creatives out in Royal Oak, Michigan for our bi-monthly meetup.
A good mix of new faces and returning ones. Some of the topics that I overheard or was involved in were the status of Wonderstruck animation studio, Augmented Reality, upcoming e-reader by plastic logic, Detroit Windsor international Film Festival (DWIFF), Unity Studios among other things.

Here are some of the new faces that were at the event:
Marc Stanyk, Lighting & CG Artist, http://www.marcstanyk.com
Mark Matta,Visual Effects Artist, http://www.freeyoureyes.com
Joe Krause, Music/sound/writer/photography/producer http://www.unibrows.com

Here are some returning people that I got cards from:

Peter Badalment,Animator/Storyboard Artist/editor/creative consultant, Blue Rhapsody Animation
Brian Gottlieb, 3D artist, http://bg3d.com
Doug Shoha, DDS , http://www.comfortcarehomedental.com

Doug was showing me some of his animation tests using Real Flow. Also he was big on Imagineer Systems visual effects software tools. He intentionally shot some jerking video and then used their software to track and pin video to a surface. From what I could see the software did a great job

I was glad to see Mark DeRidder from Armstrong-White make it out to his first meetup event. Mark’s been a part of the group since helping the group become a chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH in 2004. He recently graduated from Animationmentor.com and on a more impressive note he also became a father of a beautiful little girl. http://www.markderidder.com

Next Detroit Animation & Digital Media meetup October 23rd 7-9pm in Royal Oak Michigan.
Register for this event.