Teaching 3D Animation: The Balance Between Creative and Technical Skills
Full Conference 
One-Day Full Conference
Educators Paper
We are getting much better at teaching the technical skills that our students need to enter the visual-effects and 3D-animation industries. But somtimes these skills take precedence in our teaching, and we inadvertently give less emphasis to the more elusive creative skills that affect promotion into positions such as producers, visual effects supervisors, art directors, etc.
Superior quality and and excellent story can make a big difference in the critical first eight seconds of a demo reel, when professionals decide whether to keep watching or hit the eject button. This paper covers not only the creative fundamentals, but also how to apply them consistently in our teaching, which in turn contributes to our students' success after they graduate.
Craig Caldwell
Griffith University
