moonlightkiss

There's still a few openings at Santa Monica College for their Intermediate Houdini class - Visual Effects 2 ET 65. It meets Monday nights from 6:30-9:30 starting August 26th.

For information on SMC and admissions you can go here - http://www.smc.edu/Pages/default.aspx [smc.edu]

This Fall, I will be teaching the ET 64 Intro to Visual Effects through Houdini course at Santa Monica College. There are about 8-12 slots left, and they are filling fast. Classes are Tuesday evenings 6:30-9:30pm and cost under $150 for 16 weeks of instruction. The class starts off with basic interface introduction, lighting, texturing and rendering and then quickly delves into particles. It's project driven so you'll have 3 projects by the end of the class that will show case you progression. If you've ever wanted to learn Houdini or want to expand your skill set, and subsequently, you're job value, this is a great opportunity at a very reasonable price.

You must first apply to SMC - http://www.smc.edu/homex.asp?Q=Homepage [smc.edu]
Then you can register for the class. - http://www.smc.edu/schedules/2010/fall/036_103_schedule.htm [smc.edu]
The Fall 2010 semester goes from August 30-December 21. If the class is full, email me personally for an add code. Additionally, students tend to drop last minute so I recommend coming to the first class or two so that you can secure a spot from a negligent student. Even if you are unsure, you can get a refund up to the first week or two, so no commitment necessary!

Students with art or CG backgrounds tend to do great work, but have seen students with almost zero CG experience do very well, so don't talk yourself out of it without trying.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me through private message.
I look forward to hearing from your or seeing you in class.
Rachael



Official Course Description :

ET 64, Digital Effects I 3 units

Transfer: CSU • Skills Advisory: Entertainment Technology 24, 94.

This introductory course provides a basic overview of the tools available in Side Effect’s Houdini software package for the creation of digital effects. Topics covered include modeling, particles, look development, shading, lighting and rendering. This course emphasizes the fundamental concepts of digital effects as well as an understanding of the software.

4225 6:30p-9:35p T AET 108

Above section 4225 meets at the Academy of Entertainment and Technology, 1660 Stewart Street.

raytracing is always really slow with smoke (and a few other things), but you can turn down the ray samples in the Mantra ROP, as well as the volume step size, as a temporary fix.