IAniimate Elite Games Workshop 3 character animation to tell a story.

iAnimate.net announces the Elite Games Animation Workshop 3, an interactive 14-week program directly pairing students with top working animators at the most recognizable game studios in the industry. The workshop offers a collection of master classes designed to sharpen artists game animation and storytelling skills. Courses begin September 8, 2014.

Watch the iAnimate Games Video.

The Elite Games Animation Workshop 3 includes a series of live talks, demos, reviews, and assignments that are designed to resemble an actual games production pipeline. In the workshop, instructors focus on techniques for games animation, which include timing, creating strong body mechanics, posing characters, player reactions, responsiveness of action, and more. Students also learn how to create interactive battles, cinematics, staging, and integration with popular game engines such as Unity.

“Our Elite Games Workshop brings together students and top animation instructors from triple A games studios around the world to share what it takes to excel in games animation today,” says Richard Arroyo, Head of Games Animation, iAnimate.net. “We give our students the tools and techniques they need to showcase their true value and be industry ready for games studios.”

THE COURSES AND INSTRUCTORS

Interactive Battles (weeks 1-2): Instructor Kevin Rucker, senior animator at Blizzard Entertainment, kicks off the workshop with the does and donts of game animationfrom planning parametric sequence references to simplifying the approach to execution.

Workflow, Camera Theory, and Cameras in Practice (weeks 3-5): Instructor Simon Unger, lead animator at Robotoki, has more than 13 years professional animation experience and recently served as animation director on the award-winning “Hitman: Abosolution” for Square Enix. Unger will cover the layout process, parametric animation, posing and framing as well as context, implementation, camera theory and cameras in practice, including basic composition, and how to stage a charcter on screen.

Creature Behaviors (weeks 6-7): Instructor Darryl Purdy, who before joining Eidos was animation director at Warner Bros. Games, Montreal, will use his more than 13 years experience in animation to demonstrate the processfrom layout to blocking. Purdy will also cover aligning worlds, setting up sequences, the block-in process, straight ahead and layered animation techniques, and more.

Cinematic and Games Performance/Interactive Games Cinematics (weeks 8-9): Lead Cinematic Animator and Instructor David Lam has more than eight years experience in games animation, working on numerous triple A titles for prominent games studios such as Activision, Lucas Arts, Bungie and Naughty Dog. Lams courses focus on cinematics, performance, and interactive games, including animation over technology, using references or mocap, keyframing, Interactive Game Cinematics (IGC), and more.

Special Lecture: How We Did It (weeks 10-12): Instructor Kristjan Zadzuk, animation director at Ubisoft Toronto, has more than 15 years industry experience, including credits on Ubisofts Splinter Cell Blacklist and Assassins Creed. Zadzuks course is a special lecture covering how we did it for an existing gamefrom animation, blocking, and setting up sequences to animation tips and techniques, workflow, and more.

The Game Engine (weeks 13-14): Instructor Bennie Terry III has more than 18 years experience as an art director and technical director in the film and games industry, working with companies such as Rhythm & Hues, Disney, and Marvel. Terry will focus on game engine development and analyzing and integrating an animation system.

JOIN THE WORKSHOP

For more details or to apply for the Elite Games Animation Workshop 3, begining September 8, 2014 and ending December 14, 2014, please visit iAnimate.net.

View the iAnimate Games Animation Student Showreel and Previous Games Workshop 3 Student Assignment Video.

ABOUT IANIMATE.NET

iAnimate.net puts students and veteran animators from top studios in direct contact to deliver the most effective online training in the industry. Our instructors are passionate about their craft and are dedicated to giving students the knowledge they need to be the best animators they can be.

iAnimate is a trademark of iAnimate.net. All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Dog Training Harness

As many dog owners will confess, dog training can be difficult, frustrating and time consuming.  The theory of getting your dog who has endless energy and no understanding of your English dictionary to understand what you would like him to do can seem like mission impossible!  However some dog owners have discovered that part of the solution is using a dog training harness.

Dog Training Harness – How It Works:

Some people believe that the dog training harness is a more humane method of controlling their dog because of the way they fit and work.  It fits over the dogs front legs and lies around his mid-section.  So, when controlling the dog using the harness, he still feels a tug, but it is more humane than jerking the collar for results.

The dog training harness helps control the momentum and forward force of the dog more easily too.  This is because it distributes your dog’s weight more evenly, whereas a collar and lead is focused on one small area, his neck, and because of this he can pull ahead or away incredibly quickly, and without too much effort in many cases.

Dog Training Harness – Comfort

The dog training harness is considered more comfortable for your dog, and less of an exhaustive problem for you as there is less lead jerking and tugging, and more even control of your dog. And because of this a dog training harness can be much more effective than the standard collar and lead.

The harness focuses on the dog’s weight in the shoulder and chest area due to its even fit and distribution of weight, and because of this it is considered safer for the dog, because and by comparison the dog’s neck is weaker and can get damaged.  Many neck collars can cause discomfort for your dog but the harness is usually found to be a more comfortable for your dog to wear.

Dog Training Harness – Sizing:

Of course with most doggie products, the dog harness comes in a range of sizes, styles, colours etc to suit a range of different sized dogs. The most appropriate style is one that is adjustable so you can make the fit correct for your dog.  You are also looking for a harness that has soft padded straps that go over the front of the chest area for the comfort of your dog.

The harness should not be over tight, it should fit loosely but no so loose so it slips around or so the dog can escape, however it should not be very snug either.  It needs to be loose enough for comfort but not so loose that the dog can’t feel your commands.  If you are unsure, then you can ask the professionals.  You can do this by visiting your local pet store, they are almost certain to sell Dog Training Harnesses, and many allow you to take your dog in, and they will often be able to help you with your appropriate choice and sizing.

It is important and safer for you and your dog to have him properly trained and under control.  A dog training harness when used and fitted correctly can help as part of your dogs training and control, they can be more effective and more comfortable than a simple collar and lead, so they are well worth a try. 

Many schools and accredited institutions provide dog grooming training for people interested in following a career in this field of activity. The programs are meant to teach the trainees all the skills required for pet care professions either in part-time or full-time businesses. At the end of the training course you can get a job in a pet care organization or start your own pet grooming business. Traditional dog grooming training is conducted in accredited institutions that function on the basis of a well established curriculum. And although Internet programs are a lot more flexible, their reliability is doubtful most of the times. Home training is also criticized for the lack of resources and the impossibility to develop skills by working with live pets.

With distance dog grooming training a lot of emphasis is placed on the use of video didactic materials that take care of the practical part of your education. It is up to you to decide whether this kind of programs are suitable for starting a new career or not. Certifications are provided at graduation, but before paying for any such courses it is important to check whether the program or the center organizing the training is accredited and corresponds to the legal policy of the Better Business Bureau.

The costs are very important. Traditional school classes are more expensive than long distance programs. Nevertheless, good bits and bad bits can be found for any situation, yet, an expert recommendation will always go for the in-class form of training because of the possibility to develop skills more rapidly and in better circumstances. Thus, if you have the possibility to complete dog grooming training in a local school, choose this variant over the Internet distance studies.

All forms of dog grooming training are very modern in terms of educational background. The demand for professional groomers have increased over the last three decades but thirty years ago, dog grooming definitely didn’t sound like a promising job, not to mention career. Social changes and transformations have actually come to shape and improve dog grooming training because of the higher demands for quality services. Consequently, a grooming school that has a fifteen year tradition is more reliable as compared to one that has just been founded. The longer the history of a training school, the better the references.