Virtual Sculpture

Over the course of six weeks, students will learn how to create hybrid assemblages of real and simulated objects using Maya 3D animation software composited with video.

Instructor: Katie Torn

Tuesdays, 6-9pm
June 25-July 30 (6 sessions)

$100 per session
$400 for all 6 sessions

Materials to Bring:
- Laptop (please notify Eyebeam via purchasing process if cannot supply this)
- Camera with Video capabilities with SD Card (Optional)

It is highly encouraged that the students have some experience using After Effects and Maya.

Course Description:
Using Maya 3D animation software composited with video, students create hybrid assemblages of real and simulated objects. The workshop approach combines and manipulates appropriated 3D models, to be digitally placed into videos of handmade sculptures. Technical focus is on green screen, camera tracking using PF Track software, 3D animation, and composting in After Effects for seamless integration.

Week 1:
Building our sets
Build table top sculptures with found objects and throw away materials: used cardboard, plastic, old paint etc. The sculptures will be the subjects of the video shoot the following week.

Week 2:
Shooting with Green Screen
Make a 30 second video of your sculpture in front of the green screen.

Week 3:
Camera Tracking in PF Track
Track the camera movement of your video footage in PF Track software and export it to be used in Maya.

Week 4:
KeyLighting Techniques in After Effects
Remove the green screen from your footage using keylight techniques (and masking and rotoscoping) in After Effects.

Week 5:
Virtual Construction in Maya
Arrange and manipulate virtual models in Maya, building on the structure of your sculpture in your footage. Match the lighting of your footage with virtual lights in Maya and cast shadows of your simulated objects onto the real objects in our footage.

Week 6:
Compositing in After Effects
Composit original footage and Maya renders in After Effects to be rendered out into animated movie files. Finalize your project.


About the Instructor:
Katie Torn is a digital media artist and professor currently living in New York City. Her work employs computer programs used for Hollywood films and commercials to create experimental video works and digital prints that reflect observations on American consumerism, culture, and its impact on the environment and human body. Inspired by Cubism and Futurism, movements that strived to find new ways to express what life was like in an industrial age, Katie uses new technologies to express what life is like in the digital age where interacting in a virtual space is an everyday activity.

Katie studied studio art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, graduating with an MFA in 2012.Most recently she performed a live video piece at VIA Music and New Media Festival in Pittsburgh, screened work at SPACE 1026 in Philadelphia, and exhibited work at Platform gallery in New York City. She has a two-person show coming up this fall at Roots and Culture Contemporary Art Center in Chicago. She is also a former instructor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and CUNY Staten Island.