SVA BFA Computer Art Class of 2020 Thesis Screening

   Finishing school during this time is difficult, but also trying to finish a  thesis film ( or any film) when most of your resources have been cut off can be devastating.

 I'm super impressed that the students of SVA, who not only finished most of their films but did an amazing  ( I didn't have these hardships, and never finished my thesis film..) 

 So be sure to give a shout out to the SVA students ( and all students) , and watch their hard work here. And also the heartfelt words from their professors , and Jimmy Calhoun, Chair of the department. 

And Kudos to Jimmy for stepping up and doing an amazing job with the program and all the students.   






  Congratulations again to the graduating students !

-=s

2019.3.1 is now available

2019.3.1 update is now available , and from what I understand is mostly about fixing some bug fixes on Windows working with Remote Desktop. 

This update is for WINDOWS ONLY ! 

Get it thru your autodesk web portal. 

release notes are usually found here: 
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/getting-started/caas/simplecontent/content/maya-release-notes.html?st=release%20notes

but currently I don't see any for this release. ( yet)

Exploring Luts and Aces

If you haven't scene the "idiot's guide to ACES from the Toadstorm Nerdblog  then I highly recommend checking it out here:
https://www.toadstorm.com/blog/?p=694&fbclid=IwAR2NsTbqXLkuqQXkFP2LIlVKGdCEoeM8ruCEOrhb_xzIxekJIPC4CUwGmQk

Along those lines.  I've also found this video from ZY productions to be very helpful in explaining how 1D and 3D luts work, and are





I would also highly recommend checking out Arvid Schneider's youtube for working with Arnold and rendering in ACES.


and this live stream he did working with OCIO and ACES

VAST solver for Maya

If you are working in games and need to convert blendShapes and other deformers to joint based animations, this might just be the thing. 

The Vast solver from Alen Arslanagic converts pretty much any geometry deformation to joint based animation skinned to match the original . 

Looks like a similar approach that Hans Goddard's developed for Naughty Dog, skinning converter, but never released to the public. 
At $300 it may seem expensive, but not compared to having to do this any other way.


vastSolver (Maya plugin) - Vertex Animation to Skin and Joints Transformations from Alen Arslanagic on Vimeo.


You can get the plug-in here at the Autodesk APP store
https://apps.autodesk.com/MAYA/en/Detail/Index?id=4081421556124369005&appLang=en

Maya 2020.1 is now available

https://area.autodesk.com/blogs/the-maya-blog/the-worlds-largest-marketplace-of-motion-assets-now-in-maya/?fbclid=IwAR0OEEfSACUPTlnzdRvQnJhchn2yb3a9EXqLuyO6PJeHWCizhiRaZhc8Lb0


Looks like the biggest news is the partnering with ROKOKO , and it's giant marketplace of motion assets.  Including a built in plug-in to access that library. Including 50 free motions! 

Outside of that , it's some bug fixes here and there. 

Just FYI, if you are on windows and have a previously installed version. the update will automatically update, however on mac or linux , you will want to un-install before installing 2020.1


release notes here:
https://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2020/ENU/?guid=Maya_ReleaseNotes_2020_1_release_notes_html

Remesh And Retopo in Maya 2020

Maya 2020 is released!!

Honestly just go to the following links:

• https://area.autodesk.com/blogs/the-maya-blog/introducing-maya-2020/?fbclid=IwAR2RgB1fFFyhD4UsRMyE0lbRwVbYji2sEd5EewEY4M7v3YAYipONBBYrIgc
• "animation tutorials"https://area.autodesk.com/tutorials/series/maya-2020-animation-bite-sized-tutorial/
• "rigging tutorials" :https://area.autodesk.com/tutorials/series/maya-2020-rigging-tutorials/
• "other animation tutorials" : https://area.autodesk.com/tutorials/series/maya-2020-animation-tutorials/
•