User:A59303/sandbox
Book on teaching blender in a extracurricular setting.
obtaining a place edit
This may be the first thing that one should consider. Some things that should be necessary are wifi/internet access, and electrical power. Also, of course, one has to establish a rapport with the owner/manager/facilitator of the area/space. Also for any kind of potential project the time available should be considered. That is to say that one cannot expect to have the use of a space indefinitely nor can one create too much in an hour, or an hour a week.
One may not be able to keep attendance up if there is too much demand on the time of the participant and the student may not be interested in putting the time in to gain a particular goal, i.e. a walk cycle with their own character. To design, build, rig and animate a character for a new student probably should take months.
Of course this presumes my take on the class, which is a an informal and free experience. In a classroom setting where one is paying and being paid to teach I think that there is a higher expectation of participation.
public spaces edit
- libraries
- parks
- plazas
setting edit
outside, inside, loud, quiet, dry
commercial space edit
- malls
- studios
- schools
purpose edit
reason to use a private, commercial space for teaching, for example, it may be relevant to the service which the establishment provides.
- like studio
- school
- maybe a gaming store
personal space edit
- a home
etiquette edit
As one may be allowing someone into their home, how people behave may be of concern.
Not sure what to recommend although it seems crucial to get along with the group or individual responsible for the space.
obtaining computing edit
a crucial part of the goal is the tools which are required, in the case of computer animation, a suitable computer Is.
In Aug, 2016 these were the requirements needed to run blender; Taken from this page.
Minimum (basic usage) hardware
32-bit dual core 2Ghz CPU with SSE2 support. 2 GB RAM 24 bits 1280×768 display Mouse or trackpad OpenGL 2.1 compatible graphics with 512 MB RAM
Recommended hardware
64-bit quad core CPU 8 GB RAM Full HD display with 24 bit color Three button mouse OpenGL 3.2 compatible graphics with 2 GB RAM
Optimal (production-grade) hardware
64-bit eight core CPU 16 GB RAM Two full HD displays with 24 bit color Three button mouse and graphics tablet Dual OpenGL 3.2 compatible graphics cards with 4 GB RAM
personal resources edit
owned edit
may have extra resources, or resources, on which to draw
bought edit
like going to the store and buying a computer
- funded providing money by which a computer can be bought
- provided the resources may be provided by some source
- contributed tools may be donated
resources edit
aids in teaching edit
guides edit
for example, searching on the reference for books, try session, to come up with a guide for new teachers.
tutorials edit
- step by step
aids in producing edit
public edit
- downloading images for reference, for instance
- using youtube tutorial as a guide
- sketching a scene, for reference.
private edit
curricula edit
teaching edit
Using the first reference as a guide I am going to break down how to run a class on blender, once the other requirements are met. Some questions to start out might be:
teachers perspective edit
- What do we want the students to come away with
Aparently from [4], to list this first is backwards design
- What are we going to do in class
- from my single experience attempting to teach blender
I can explore some things that I noticed. For one it takes time for people to accomplish a task set for them to do. I had multiple ages in my class in a local library so that also influenced the activity. Some things people can do without help and others people cannot, this varies of course but I assume that one has to gauge this initially and periodically.
As to the question "what to do"; We are going to use blender. So, assuming you are going to start from scratch, that is; clean install, blank virtual space, new idea... one might offer some suggestions on setting up the interface for ease of use. Naming the file to save so that people don't loose work that they have produced, finding the location to save to, importing any necessary files or information. |
- a second class may yield more insight
My second class was much more successful. Although I think it is important to prepare people for an interface this complicated. Also to keep the project simple and straightforward seemed to work very well. I imagine that one could argue that people will think less intensively. The design of this specific class is to get people interested and "feet wet". To feel capable of approaching the software and that in-fact there is something that can be produced rather than wandering around forever.
One problem I encountered is that my definition of a logo was lacking. That is; I am kind of looking for a generic black and white or flat vector type logo. This class is not intended for people who have experience with graphic design per-se. To be true I don't even know what the classic definition includes, or if that is what I am looking for. |
students perspective edit
- What do the students want of the class
- What do the students want to come away with
first class edit
get feet wet.
example lesson plan edit
class settles | start program | pick project | finish project |
---|---|---|---|
turn on computer | basic introduction | individual choice | render animation |
usb stick have/distribute | blender, 3D | make design | to usb stick |
plug in usb, find. | like toy story, cinematic logos | traceable logo | video formats |
setup directories | youtube examples? | keep brochure and cheat sheet handy | youtube target |
distribute cheat sheet, brochure | example file on computer? | paper and pencils | filetype recommendations from youtube |
explain cheat sheet | lights, camera, materials | scan logo | upload at class? |
explain add object | standard setup ^ | trace logo, curves | save blender file, pack |
questions? | ^ automate? | extrude, materials, lighting | explain pack |
general curricula edit
- basic animation
- computer animation
- computer animation using blender [11]
- computer animation
blender has the ability to animate 3 dimensional objects in a virtual 3 dimensional space. This ability comes with a learning curve. One of the common beginning problems is navigating this virtual space (see below: basic navigation). Once one has gained the ability to build an object and maneuver around it in 3d space, one can then proceed to animate.
Animation in blender is fundamentally governed by key-frames (and f-curves of those). To animate you set a key-frame for some characteristic; color, shape, location, light strength, etc. Then you set another key-frame further in time. In some of these cases animate me be the wrong term to use, I think animation usually refers to movement where the strength of a light may change over time but not 'move'
- basic modeling
After gaining some facility with basic modeling, the following references might prove useful
All of the following are taken from the same website:: basic sub d ref [12],step by step nose and mouth[13], step by step human figure[14], edge reference[15], step by step head modeling[16], edge reference, head[17], edge reference, head[18], edge reference, head[19], edge reference, head[20]
- basic navigation
This is probably the biggest hurdle to feeling comfortable in blender
might help: http://www.povray.org/documentation/3.7.0/t2_2.html#t2_2
- basic color theory
- basic rendering
advertisement edit
pamphlets, word of mouth.
For example:
Computer animation class brochure:
[[1]] [[2]]
participation edit
Obviously one wants to encourage participation, although in this case the computer
in front of the student is where most of that effort will likely go.
Also one may consider that something done in the class will take up time, in addition
to the time needed to perform the task already intended.
The instructor may need to aid the participant in whatever they are doing. Groups that
can work together and problem solve may be advantageous, although may need space.
reference edit
- ↑ [3],learning and teaching.
- ↑ [4]across the disciplines, teaching journal]
- ↑ [5],downloadable ideas, reference.
- ↑ https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design/
- ↑ https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guide_to_First_Year_Teaching
- ↑ http://workshops.350.org/toolkit/planning/
- ↑ http://www.crlt.umich.edu/
- ↑ http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tscdp
- ↑ https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Category:Traditional_Principles_of_Animation
- ↑ http://www.frankanollie.com/AnimationTips.html
- ↑ https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/step-down-guide.png
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/eye_nose_mouth.jpg
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/bodyworkflow.jpg
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/face.jpg
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/headsteps.gif
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/mesh_development.jpg
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/Model a head Guide_line.jpg
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/poly_regions.jpg
- ↑ http://www.pixelandpoly.com/graphics/referenceimages/topology.jpg