Sony Pictures Imageworks officially announced the establishment of the Imageworks Professional Academic Excellence (IPAX) program, created to educate faculty and structure curricula at the country’s leading academic institutions in an effort to develop future talent who will contribute to the overall growth of the visual effects industry.

Friedman 3D, will be starting a new semester on July 5th, 2005. Instruction will be provided in award-winning Alias Maya from 8:00am to 3:00pm Monday through Friday. There will be an additional class offered in Adobe After Effects that runs from 3:00-6:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The cost for classes is $75 and $25 respectively, plus a $25 registration fee. Those collecting unemployment benefits from EDD may qualify for collecting those benefits while a full-time student at Friedman 3D.

Vi Ly has been appointed as the new Dean of Academic
Affairs for The Art Institute of California – Los Angeles, where she had been serving as the assistant dean of Academic Affairs since 2004. Previously she was department chair of the Media Arts & Animation and Game Art & Design programs.

Digital-Tutors announced the worldwide availability of the highly awaited BASICS: INTRODUCTION TO REALFLOW training kit — the first in-depth training resource for RealFlow. An evaluation version of RealFlow 3, is included with the training kits, allowing users immediate access to the software and training.

wondertouch announced PARTICLEILLUSION FUSION VOLUME 1: THE FUSION OF ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS AND WONDERTOUCH PARTICLEILLUSION, the first training DVD in the new Creative Cow Master Series.

PARTICLEILLUSION FUSION is designed to teach experienced and beginning level users of particleIllusion, wondertouch's award-winning, sprite-based particle effects software application, how to work efficiently with After Effects, Adobe's leading motion graphics and visual effects software.

Digital-Tutors has released the MAYA IN PRODUCTION: FUNDAMENTALS OF ANIMATION training kit, the fifth installment in the popular Backwater Bunch Series and latest release in a growing library of industry leading training resources for emerging digital artists.

The Gnomon Workshop, in conjunction with Design Studio Press, introduced two new DVDs from returning artist Harald Belker, whose titles cover car and prop design for films and games. In addition, Nick Pugh joins the library this month, offering three noteworthy DVDs on design originality, creature design and environment rendering.

Ex’pression College for Digital Arts has appointed Kirk Engel as ceo, replacing Peter Laanen. Engel comes to Ex’pression with nearly 10 years of dedicated education management experience, and will execute and implement a clear set strategic direction, market position and education vision for Ex’pression.

Digital-Tutors announced the worldwide availability of the MAYA ADVANCED: ULTIMATE FLUIDS training kit, the follow-up to the popular MAYA UNLIMITED: FLUID EFFECTS and latest release in a growing library of industry leading training resources for emerging digital artists. Using the combination of comprehensive project-driven training, Digital-Tutors is helping users to discover the difference and become their best in more than 3.5 hours of valuable training.

Registration for summer term 2005 at the Gnomon School, which runs from June 27 through Sept. 11, is in full swing. You can register online at www.gnomon3d.com/registernow.html, in person, via mail or by fax. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. You can also call (323) 466-6663 to make an appointment.

Gnomon has added five new courses that echo the advances and changes in the industry:

Ex’pression College for Digital Arts has appointment Scott Tolmie as director of Industry Relations/Career Development Visual.

Before joining Ex’pression, Tolmie was animation art director at LeapFrog, where he led the creative development of new characters for the LEAPSTER educational gaming platform. He was also exec producer with Way Out West Animation, where he developed Flash animation and interface design for medical clients, including Heartbeat Digital.

Alias now offers two new Learning Tools: PIPELINE TECHNIQUES|MAYA AND ALIAS MOTIONBUILDER and MAYA TECHNIQUES|MAYA FLUID EFFECTS examine areas of Maya relatively unexplored by Learning Tool authors prior to now. Both tools further complete a full range of Learning Tools that offer 3D professionals, students and enthusiasts a collection of books and DVDs for self-paced learning.

Toon Boom Animation announced that Algonquin College has chosen Toon Boom Harmony as part of its three-year Animation program. Algonquin’s program provides students with training in both traditional and digital animation. Following a first year of studies, students have the option of pursuing either traditional or digital animation. They learn the skills necessary to work effectively as animators in a variety of settings. Graduates acquire the skills necessary to work independently, collaboratively and in studio settings.

Ex’pression College for Digital Arts announced that it has been awarded National Accreditation by the ACCSCT (Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology). Accreditation is a means of assisting private career schools and colleges to become stronger and better institutions by setting standards of educational quality. Accreditation supports the efforts of institutions to achieve maximum educational effectiveness for students, employers and the public.

From September 2005, the Department of Electronics at the University of Kent will complement its BSc in Multimedia Technology and Design with an MSc in Computer Animation. This MSc, which is a direct collaboration between the Department of Electronics and Mike Eames, head of animation at Framestore CFC, will equip students to become highly skilled professionals in the animation and visual effects industry.

The Gnomon Workshop has released animator David Schoneveld’s three-DVD series on Maya Fluids. The series gives the artist a detailed perspective on the principles of fluid dynamics, the controls needed to implement dynamics from within the application and the numerous methods the artist can use to create dynamic, non-dynamic and texture-based effects.

The first ever animation courses in the U.K. to receive the British animation industry’s official seal of approval were today (April 26, 2005) announced by Skillset. Skillset devised the pilot accreditation scheme in consultation with the industry and education providers.

The successful courses are BA Hons Animation Production at the Arts Institute, Bournemouth; BA Hons Computer Animation and Visualization at Bournemouth University; and HND in Art & Design (Computer Animation)/BA Hons Animation at the Glamorgan Centre for Art & Design.

Digital-Tutors announced the worldwide availability of FUNDAMENTALS OF MAYA: MASTERING RENDER NODES training kit, the newest release in a library of industry leading training resources for emerging digital artists. Digital-Tutors offers more than 2.5 hours of comprehensive and enjoyable training, giving users giving users in-depth knowledge of Maya's Render Nodes and ultimate control over the appearance of rendered objects.

Artist Jeremy Engleman returns to the Gnomon Workshop with a series of texture resource DVDs. This series features hundreds of original brick, metal and wood textures as 24-bit, seamlessly tileable uncompressed tiffs. Also included are the corresponding bump and specular maps, textures with alpha masks, and more.

CG training facility Escape Studios has joined forces with some of the U.K.'s biggest post-production facilities to develop a course that will provide the houses with new talent. Cinesite, Double Negative, Framestore CFC, Glassworks, the Mill and The Moving Picture Company (MPC) have been working closely with Escape to develop an intensive seven-month program called the “VFX | Production Grade.” The course comprises five months of full-time training along with a two-month work placement.