Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/16269
Education Supplement Never-Ending Entering the CG and post markets has been likened to jump- ing on a treadmill going 60 miles per hour; and yet, veterans will testify that it doesn’t ever slow down. As a result, fresh new graduates and seasoned industry veterans alike must continually educate themselves to keep pace with the fast- moving markets. Luckily, schools and universities are not the only ones dedicated to educating digital artists; high-level studios, popular software vendors, and longtime content providers are equally devoted to helping artists sharpen and expand their expertise and skill set. Paying It Forward “At DreamWorks, the very fabric of the studio is built on the as- sumption that one pays back,” says Gail Currey, head of studio at PDI/DreamWorks Animation in Redwood City, California. “There is a deep studio commitment to mentoring; it starts at Jeff rey [Katzenberg, CEO], and it goes all the way down.” Everyone who walks into the studio receives a mentor and a specifi c time frame for training, which includes fundamental classes on the studio’s proprietary software and an orientation to the studio. That mentoring continues throughout a person’s career, Currey explains. “You don’t necessarily need a specifi c This project, part of the free NewTek LightWave 3D instructional tutorials, was created to help users better under- stand the production pipeline. The tank model is provided, and the user learns how to texture the object, focusing on the camoufl age technique. Education Today’s artists continue to hone their skills with the help of training off ered by studios, software vendors, and content providers By Courtney E. Howard mentor once you’ve gotten up to speed on how the studio works, but we do have a very strong sense of ‘if you’ve learned this skill set, we want you to be challenged on learning more.’ ” Virtually every week, DreamWorks holds open, artistic de- velopment classes in which anyone can participate. In fact, more than 1900 people work at the studio, and everyone takes part in education and training in some way. Its character eff ects people, for example, recently attended a class on how clothes drape, taught by a clothing person in the real world and designed to help artists think about cloth when they are creating it in the computer. DreamWorks’ education program is very robust, says Currey, and it rests on one fundamental value: “We want to keep people learning.” The continuing education and training provided by Dream- Works, from the point of view of the artist, are defi nitely con- sidered a benefi t or perk of working at the studio. From the studio point of view, the classes have demonstrably increased people’s skill sets. As artists worked on fl ying dragons in How to Train Your Dragon, DreamWorks held classes in fl ight to help its animators better understand the physical properties 14 • Education Supplement • July 2010