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Gnomon School Offers First ZBrush User Group Meeting and Classes

Gnomon School of Visual Effects and Pixologic will be hosting the first official Pixologic ZBrush User Group meeting, Sept. 30, 2004, at 6:00 pm at Gnomon (1015 N. Cahuenga Bl. Hollywood, CA 90038).

* Bay Raitt (Creature Facial Lead for Gollum and co-founder of Box Rocket) will discuss the strengths of ZBrush and its use in various production pipelines, i.e. Weta Digital, Valve Software.

* Meats Meier, The Gnomon Workshop and SIGGRAPH 2003 Maya Master, will demonstrate how he has used ZBrush in the creation of his personal artwork.

* Timur "Taron" Baysal, who has done animation and vfx for eight features, will demonstrate modeling and displacement (medium to high res details) and possibly rendering displacement in Messiah.

RSVP to rsvp@gnomon3d.com. Please include your name, phone number and the number of people you are bringing including yourself.

In addition, Gnomon will offer ZBrush 10-week and one-week classes that will be taught by Meier.

Fall term begins Sept. 27 and runs through Dec. 12. The one-week class will be held the week of Nov. 15.

Using a pressure-sensitive tablet, students will be taken through the complete process of organic sculpting within this new subdivision surface modeler. The various methods of object creation and manipulations will be explored, from creating the basic form to sculpting in extremely fine details. ZBrush's transform and fall-off tools make it an ideal solution for the creation of blend shapes and realistic models. The unique "zspheres" makes performing large-scale adjustments, which is crucial for conceptual work, quick and easy. Students will be introduced to the interface and workflow and learn how to incorporate ZBrush into their artistic pipeline. This hands-on course will explain Pixologic's 2.5d "pixol" technology; how to easily generate elements within ZBrush for use in art or illustration work. Importing and exporting geometry with created displacement, bump or normal maps for aid in external renders or real-time video game systems will also be covered.

For details on the 10-week classes visit www.gnomon3d.com/courses/10week3d/zbrush.html. For the one-week class, visit www.gnomon3d.com/courses/1week3d/zbrush1w.html.

Gnomon (www.gnomon3d.com) specializes in high-end computer graphics training for the entertainment industries. It offers education solutions for individuals seeking a career, working professionals and companies looking to make their staffs more competitive. The training choices include extension courses, a certificate program, the Maya Fast Track, online tutorials and training DVDs.

Founded in 1997, Pixologic Inc. (www.Pixologic.com) develops and markets software tools for digital artists. The privately funded company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with R&D located in Silicon Valley.

Bill Desowitz's picture

Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.