The Gnomon Workshop is offering three new spring training DVDs. Kevin Hudson brings a modeling title, Robert Coddington offers a character animation title and Dustin Brown introduces The Gnomon Workshop's first StudioTools DVD.

Hudson, modeling supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, presents his second title for The Gnomon Workshop. In this overview of modeling cars for a polygon/sub division surface pipeline, he applies his modeling techniques to different car models, showing you how to build a model, create surface details and prepare the model for texturing.

TELETOON announced an expanded partnership with the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) in support of the TELETOON Canadian Student Animation Scholarship. The program gives finalists and winners exposure with a screening of their films during the festival. TELETOON has been associated with the OIAF as a festival partner since the network’s inception, in 1997.

Concept design luminaries James Clyne and Neville Page will be teaching two new courses at Gnomon School of Visual Effects during the spring 2006 term, which begins April 3. Clyne has developed and will teach Environment Workflow Techniques, while Page’s course is Character Workflow Techniques. Both courses are five weeks in length.

Animated Exeter has launched two new bursaries for Devon. The Honeycomb Animation 2D Bursary 2006 is set up to encourage new talent in 2D animation and the Phoenix Media Digital Animation Bursary 2006 is aimed at supporting new and existing talent and develop the overall practice of digital media in the region.

The Gnomon Workshop has released Aaron Sims' newest title from his TETHERED ISLANDS DVD training series: BUILDING CREATURES USING ZBRUSH.

Sims uses an assortment of software packages to create his characters, and in this newest installment he gives us a look into the process he uses to build a creature in ZBrush, and then render it in an XSI scene.

The Philippines-based Technical Education Development and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is set to implement its first software development and animation training curricula at two new IT training centers this month, reports INQ7.net.

Co-developed by TESDA with the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) and the Animation Council of the Philippines Inc. (ACPI), the curricula will focus on basic to intermediate learners as part of TESDA’s human resource capacity building for the growing Philippine software development and animation industries.

Digital-Tutors announced the availability of the first interactive training solution for RenderMan for Maya and two introductory guides to Rigging and Enveloping in XSI.

INTRODUCTION TO RENDERMAN FOR MAYA provides more than three hours of project-driven training to increase the artist's understanding of RenderMan for Maya. Perfect for artists new to the powerful capabilities of RenderMan for Maya and experienced artists seeking time-saving tips and techniques.

India’s Whistling Woods International, promoted by Mukta Arts Ltd. and Film City, and Seneca College have signed an agreement to create a Seneca-run diploma specializing in the art and technique of animation film making.

In addition to the new animation diploma program at Whistling Woods, Seneca will train Whistling Woods' faculty to provide high caliber education in animation.

Sorun Corp., a Japanese company that consults on information systems, and Digital Hollywood, a Japanese digital creation school, have announced they will be investing in a new digital media school set up at Nankai University in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin, reports Yahoo.com.

The Tianjin Sorun Digital Media school will open this fall with capital of 210 million yen (1.8 million dollars). Sorun Corp. will invest 81% of the capital, with Digital Hollywood and Nankai University supplying 9.5% each.

The Art Institute of Washington, a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta, is developing and producing 2D and 3D student-driven animation projects that will educate and promote public awareness of the Patuxent Research Refuge, a nature facility in Maryland.

Digital-Tutors announced the availability of the ZBRUSH AND MAYA INTEGRATION training kit, the newest release in an expanding library of interactive video-based training. Ideal for students, professionals and companies using ZBrush as part of their creative workflow, ZBRUSH AND MAYA INTEGRATION provides a unique approach to learning breakthrough concepts with more than five hours of comprehensive training.

Konami Digital Ent. Inc. announced a three-year partnership with the state of West Virginia that will help the state’s public school students get in shape while also having fun. Through the program, all 765 West Virginia public schools will be adding DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION (DDR) to their physical education or health related curriculum based program within the next two years. In the first phase of the program, all of the state’s 103 middle/junior high schools will incorporate DDR into their curriculum in the coming months.

The Gnomon Workshop has released its first training titles from Stephen McClure titled, MATCHMOVING 101: FUNDAMENTALS. Matchmoving integrates computer-generated visual effects into a live-action plate for film, television, music videos or commercials. Using real-world situations, MATCHMOVING 101 takes the artist from the set-survey process through recreating camera elements in Maya.

With a redesigned and re-engineered website that takes e-learning to the next level, online animation school AnimationMentor.com begins its winter 2006 term. Four hundred-nineteen students from 37 countries will study character animation with 45 of the industry’s top working professionals from studios such as Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks and Blue Sky. They will experience a virtual campus supported by new technologies that deepen the educational experience and that incorporates the best of online social networks to enhance the school’s community.

Animator/artist Jeremy McCarron joins The Art Institute of Vancouver as academic director of Animation Art & Design. McCarron brings more than a decade of production experience as an animator, cg supervisor, art director and animation director to the school.

Transart Institute announced that 12 scholarships, amounting to $40,000, have become available to students of its low-residency Master of Fine Arts program for the academic year 2006/7. Eight scholarships of $2,500 each will go to students of merit and four scholarships of $5,000 are available to candidates from East Europe and new EU-member countries.

Application deadline for the academic year 2006/7 is April 1, 2006.

Building on the success of the game and simulation programming (GSP) baccalaureate degree program at 11 of its campuses nationwide, DeVry University will offer the GSP degree program online beginning in spring 2006.

The relatively young academic specialty of computer game technologies has grown in popularity in response to the skyrocketing videogame industry. According to the NPD Group, Inc. a global leader in sales and marketing information, videogame sales have grown from $6.6 billion in 2000 to $9.4 billion in 2004.

People new to 3D animation and computer graphics now have two beginners' guides created by Alias to help them discover the creative and professional possibilities Maya 7 and Alias MotionBuilder can offer. THE MAYA 7 BEGINNER'S GUIDE BUNDLE and the ALIAS MOTIONBUILDER BEGINNER'S GUIDE are in DVD format and available online at www.alias.com/learningtools.

South West Screen, Skillset and Bristol-based Aardman Features are hosting a unique masterclass for animation professionals. Experts from Aardman and DreamWorks will show 2D and stop-frame animators how their skills can be transferred to CGI.

As Aardman’s principal animator, Loyd Price who is part of the masterclass team, says “The masterclasses are about taking animators on a journey”.

Crest founder and Digital Asia chief Shyam Ramanna recently launched Digital Asia School Of Animation in Mumbi, India in association with Meteor Films’ Satyam Bansal, reports NewKerala.com.

DASA is located in Lokhandwala, Mumbai with courses in virtual reality, animation, game design, film editing and mobile gaming. Its headquarter is situated in Bangkok.