This article covers some my teaching experiences at the University of Utah while I was pursuing my Masters Degree. Also a link to the add-on videos of the course I taught.
I was teaching 3D modeling for Undergraduates and Grad students. While teaching, I decided I’ll make some add-on videos to go with the course for kids who couldn’t make it to the classes. But really wanted to learn. For kids straight out of high school it takes an effort to convince themselves to study. But to study what they love was a different experience. That was the kind of class I taught. In addition to that, my graduate students were a different ball game altogether. Fortunately they had a humble approach towards a teacher half their age.
I soon realized every semester, I had a class full of students that loved video games + movies and were learning how to make games.
So, giving them every opportunity to learn when they were invested to learn, was very important.
In the class, they could make a 3D model prop/character from their favorite games. They would also make a character from their imagination. For this, we went from a concept design to a modeled out character. This gave them a tiny glimpse of the Art pipeline. Lastly, they would also follow me in modelling out a human character in class. This model would run a week ahead of their own characters. This way, the newly developed modeling skills were used on their character….And imprinted in their brains forever…probably. 🙂
Since, a 3 hour class twice a week eventually becomes a long ordeal. I would often refer to video games and movies for inspiration. Lastly, at the end of the course, they had a free option to 3D print their final creations.
I’d say, watching kids turning their own creations alive by 3D printing their models and then hand painting them, makes up for the countless hours they spent learning how to model.
Like I mentioned above. I also, made videos to go along with my lectures for kids who couldn’t make it to the class. I figured uploading the videos to the public after I was done teaching could help someone else out there.
Here’s a link to the videos. They don’t have any audio, since they were meant to be used as an add-on to the classes I taught.
