Animation 115: Drawing for Animation

Course Information

Course Description:

This course will introduce you to the fundamental principles of drawing and drawing for animation. You will work on visualizing & composing pictures, drawing shapes and line, rendering form, expressing volume and movement and learn the basics of perspective. Using those elements you will create characters and develop drawings that convey emotion, mood & action.

Teaching and Learning Strategies:

• You learn to draw by drawing. Expect to spend the majority of your time practicing the skills we cover. Keeping a sketchbook is required. That sketchbook will be submitted at the end of the quarter as a final project.
• Feedback from the instructor is crucial to improving. Weekly assignments and projects will be returned promptly with suggestions, comments and information to help the student assess their progress.
• Lectures are presented on video.
• The lectures are cablecast on The College Channel (Channel 28 on the eastside and south King County). Check your Distance Education information or the class calendar for days & times.
• Videos of the lectures can be checked out from the BCC Library. A DVD can be checked out for 48 hours, or viewed in the library.
• You can order DVDs of the lectures from BCC Distance Education. Call Distance Education at (425) 564-2438. You can also email Liz Anderson at landerso@bcc.ctc.edu. There are rental and shipping fees for Distance Education courses.
• Lectures cover the fundamental skills, techniques and rules of drawing. What the student learns relies on the use of those skills on the assignments and projects.
• Lectures will be summarized on the Blackboard Vista class website. An outline of the lecture, reading assignments, drawing assignments and projects are part of each weekly module.
• Modules are posted every Monday. Assignments and Projects are due on Mondays. This schedule is constant to help you plan your work times.
• The class website will instruct you on how and when to submit assignments.

Planned Assignments, Projects & Activities:

• Students will keep a sketchbook. At the end of the quarter you submit at least 100 pages (10-11 pages a week) of sketches for your final project. Drawing from life, sketching out ideas or concepts and doodling in your sketchbook daily should become a habit for any animator.
• Students will be expected to complete nine (9) drawing assignments and five (5) projects.
• There will be no exams.

Projects:

• Project 1: Using a prescribed method draw two (2) detailed contour drawings of your hand.
• Project 2: Use 3 solid objects (not glass or any transparent material) with different shapes. Group them, give them a strong light source and opposing weaker source. Render the whole composition in value.
• Project 3: Using the three (3) characters from Drawing Assignment 6 develop "model" sheets for each character. Provide poses of the characters from different angles, head close-ups with various expressions and emotions, etc.
• Project 4: A flip book or animation of a character doing a double take; using squash & stretch, anticipation, secondary movement, etc.
• Project 5: Sketchbook(s) kept during the quarter. At least 100 pages of sketches from the weekly sketching assignments and personal drawings done during the quarter.

Course Schedule:

Weeks 1 & 2: Introduction to Drawing Fundamentals, Basic Forms & Line

Weeks 3 & 4: Gesture Drawing

Weeks 5 & 6: Characterization

Weeks 7 & 8: Animation Principles, Human Anatomy

Week 9: Perspective, Planning an animation & portfolio

Week 10: Preparing Final Projects

Submissions:

Your score on individual projects & assignments will be determined by grading criteria provided when the project is assigned. Please pay attention to the grading criteria and ask your instructor questions if you are uncertain about any area of the project instructions. You may NOT resubmit graded projects to earn a higher grade.

The weekly module will be posted each Monday. Assignments & projects will be found in the modules. Assignments and projects will be due the following Monday. Some projects will have a two week window.

Check the calendar for each due date.

Assignments & projects can be:

• Mailed to the address at the beginning of the syllabus. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope so that the work can be mailed back once graded.
• Dropped off at the Business Division Office (A242) on the BCC campus. Include an SASE. All assignments will be returned with comments and suggestions.
• Emailed submissions are NOT accepted unless prior arrangements have been made.
• A URL address will be accepted for the final project/portfolio presented as your personal website.

Assignments will be returned using your enclosed stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Due Date

• Drawing assignments & projects must be turned in or postmarked by midnight of the due day.
• Assignments postmarked later than 7 days after the due date will NOT be accepted and receive a failing grade.

If possible, make copies of your work before submitting it to the instructor. Mail and paperwork can get lost or misplaced. Keeping copies protects you from those kinds of errors.

Instructor Contact Information:

Instructor: Craig A. Jones

E-mail: crjones@bcc.ctc.edu

Mail: Business Division A242

Bellevue C.C.

3000 Landerholm Circle SE

Bellevue, WA 98007-6484

• I check my email regularly Monday-Saturday. Please include “ANIM 115” in the subject box. I also monitor the class website’s Discussions & Mail pages.

• If you need to see me in person appointments can be made through my e-mail.

• Things happen. If you have problems with grades, a work schedule or anything that affects your performance in class notify me ASAP. Given enough time we can solve most problems. But at the end of the quarter time shrinks. Minor problems become crises. Avoid that by being proactive in contacting your instructor.

Supporting Materials:

Textbooks:

The textbooks listed are required. You will find them excellent lifelong references.

· Animation: Learn How to Draw Animated Cartoons by Preston Blair (Walter Foster Pub. Art Book Series #26, ISBN #0929261518). This is the classic how-to on animation principles.

· Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy by Christopher Hart (Watson-Guptill, ISBN #0-8230-2497-0). An easy-to-use reference for the human form.

· Designing Characters for Animation by Brian Lemay (Self-published, ISBN #0-9699419-1-9).

Materials:

· Sketchbook. Recommended: 9x12 softbound, general purpose sketchbook with 50-100 pages.

· #2 or HB pencils (softer if preferred) for sketching and drawing. A 4H or harder for perspective drawing.

· Pink Pearl, Art Gum or any other type of block eraser.

· 81/2 x 11 Bond paper (typing, printer or copy paper easily available in bulk)

· 3-hole punch, round peg animation bar (both optional)

Computer Hardware & Software

You will encounter technical barriers to learning if you do not have the following minimum equipment and skills:

· You must have reliable access to a computer that you can use for extended and uninterrupted periods of time most days of the week.

· You must have, at minimum, a 56 Kbps modem or faster connection to the internet. A broadband connection is highly recommended.

· Your computer operating system and your Web browser must be one of those supported by Blackboard. To find out if your system and its software is supported, take the Vista browser check. Click on the "Check Browser" link just to the right of the log in screen. Follow Blackboard's recommendations to correct any items marked with a red X. Read all the way to the bottom of the browser-check page and follow the links. Note: the current version of Blackboard Vista at BCC is Vista 4.0.

· You must be proficient in navigating the World Wide Web (the Web) and able to download and install plug-ins.

· An online course requires accessing the Web on a regular basis. You need a reliable ISP.

· If you are accessing Vista classes from behind a firewall, at home or from your corporate office, you or your network administrator may have to assign permission to access http:vista.bcc.ctc.edu.

· Microsoft Word is the supported Word Processor at Bellevue Community College. You must have the ability to read and write Microsoft Word files. Microsoft Works is not supported.

· You must have the ability to install and troubleshoot course-specific applications that must be run on your computer. Faculty cannot help with installations and problems that occur when installations do not work.

Grading:

Departmental Philosophy on Grading: To survive and succeed in the information economy, a successful knowledge worker needs to be able to communicate clearly in written and spoken form, synthesize an understanding of scattered data, problem solve around obstacles, and work as a contributing member of a team. An employer wants to know that you can deliver and professionally present a completed project on time. An employer wants to know that you can do work that will stand out from the crowd. With this in mind, your instructor may grade aggressively. Average work typically should receive an average grade (B to B-). if your work exceeds instructor expectations and distances you from the average work other students turn in, it may receive an above average grade (A- to B+). Perfection earns a perfect grade (A). This approach is tough on the GPA. But count it as good practice for an industry that increasingly expects its workers to walk on water. Comparatively speaking, your instructor is the easiest grader you will ever get. The challenge should leave you with a competitive portfolio for a competitive workplace.

Most of the projects in this course will reflect that philosophy. Projects will have a base set of criteria required to earn an average grade. An additional set of criteria or components may help move the project above average. As a student, your goal should be to reach the base criteria for the project first. Add components when you have obtained mastery. A less-than-average project that incorporates advanced components is still a less-than-average project. Learn to walk before you try to run.

Final Grades:

Grading will be based on a 600 point system. Since skill levels vary, grading will stress individual improvement over the course of the quarter.

· Weekly Drawing Assignments (270 points possible on 9 submissions with a maximum of 30 points per submission).

· Projects (300 points possible on 4 submissions with a maximum of 60 points possible per submission).

· Final Project/Sketchbook is a maximum of 90 points.

Your final letter grade is determined by your scores on activities, projects and assignments. The point/grade breakdown is as follows:

94% (564pts.) and above earns an A

90% (540pts.) and above earns an A-

87% (522pts.) and above earns a B+

83% (498pts.) and above earns a B

80% (480pts.) and above earns a B-

77% (462pts.) and above earns a C+

73% (438pts.) and above earns a C

70% (420pts.) and above earns a C-

67% (402pts.) and above earns a D+

60% (360pts.) and above earns a D

59% (354pts.) and below earns an F

Copyright and Plagiarism:

This course requires you to have the rights cleared for any graphic, text, animation, video or audio material that you use in your assignments & projects. A limited set of rights cleared materials will be available in class. The source of all materials that are not your own creation must be documented and submitted with your project. Any undocumented or non-cleared materials will earn a failing grade for the project in question.

Your personal projects are considered your intellectual property and copyrighted to you. Bellevue Community College retains the rights to use those projects for example and evaluative purposes.

Submissions:

Your score on individual projects & assignments will be determined by grading criteria provided when the project is assigned. Please pay attention to the grading criteria and ask your instructor questions if you are uncertain about any area of the project instructions. You may not resubmit graded projects to earn a higher grade.

Miscellaneous:

Student Services:

The project work submitted this quarter may make use of your presentation, and writing skills to assess your understanding of the class content. If you need help with your writing skills, please make use of the Writing Lab in D-221 (425-641-2493). If you have (or think you might have) a disability that will have an impact on your learning, please take the time to register with Disabled Student Services in B-233 (425-641-248) within the first week of the quarter. In that way, you can properly notify your instructor of your disability and meet to discuss its implications on your class work or attendance.

Variations:

This class and syllabus are subject to announced variations in content and scoring from what is printed here.

Revision History:

6/21/2008 (Craig A. Jones) Syllabus for Offering of Animation 115.