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History and Mission:
Welcome to The Gnomon Workshop, the industry leader
in professional training for artists in the entertainment and design
industries. Founded by Alex Alvarez in 2000, The Gnomon Workshop was
launched as a means to share professional techniques with artists who
could not attend the hands-on courses offered at the Gnomon School
of Visual Effects in Hollywood, California. Over the past six years,
the Gnomon Workshop DVD library has expanded to offer training by over
sixty professional instructors on a diverse range of tools, software
and media including design, drawing, sculpture, painting, modeling,
texturing, animation, effects and compositing. Shipped to literally
every corner of the globe, our DVDs can be found in countless libraries,
studios and universities... and on many thousand bookshelves.
Gnomon's mission has always been to provide the highest
caliber training that both educates and inspires, in order to help
artists achieve their personal goals. Whether your interests are digital
matte painting, character modeling, digital sets, vehicle design, creature
rendering or maquette sculpture, our DVDs help artists learn from the
experience of others in order to save time and improve skills. Techniques
that have taken our instructors years to master are available to artists
in a format that is unparalleled in art education history. Our customers
range from high-school students who are just discovering the career
opportunities that lie ahead of them, to seasoned professionals with
decades of experience.
Located in the heart of Hollywood, Gnomon has become
a hub for many of the industries top talents who come together to help
train their peers and the next generation of artists. The Gnomon School
and The Gnomon Workshop facilities comprise of over 17000 square feet
of classrooms, studios, lounges, labs, offices and production space.
With over 250 students and 70 instructors every term at the School,
no other training provider is as immersed in the industry and it's
education as The Gnomon Workshop. Our founder Alex Alvarez, himself
an artist and instructor, maintains a constant dialogue with the industry
to ensure that Gnomon maintains its position as a critical industry
resource. As the demand for artists increases and the quality of visuals
in games and film continues to mature, education is the foundation
of our industry's future.
The Library:
With a library of close to 200 DVDs, The Gnomon Workshop
catalog can be an intimidating view of the myriad subjects that are
available for artists to tackle. Design, Drawing, Painting, Modeling,
Texturing, Rigging, Effects, Animation... each artist must choose his
or her own path and continue with patience and persistence. Artists
do this because they love what they do and feel compelled to create.
Our DVDs supplement and guide the artist's journey.
Most of our students have a specific interest in
mind when they discover and return to The Gnomon Workshop for their
training. Some want to improve their skills as a character, vehicle,
product or set designer. Some are interested cutting-edge 3D software
techniques used in the video game, broadcast and film visual effects
industries. Regardless of interest, our library is best approached
practically. While a DVD may only take two hours to watch, the techniques
will take many hours of practice to master. Many artists come to us
looking for a single lecture. But on the other hand, many studios,
libraries and schools acquire the entire library in order to create
a valuable resource for their staff, students or patrons. This is especially
true for professional artists in production. Project demands change
from week to week, often requiring skills that an artist has yet to
research or develop. R&D time is a luxury that not all artists
find readily available. The ability to walk to up a shelf, select a
DVD and learn proven production techniques gives any artist an invaluable
edge.
Design:
We live our lives immersed in design. Design in nature,
design in the objects made by man... you can't get away from it. Your
watch, toothbrush, car, mousepad, television, apartment, favorite game
character, fortress, weapon, dropship, game cinematic... whatever it
is, someone designed it. An artist sat down, on their own or as part
of a team, and sketched, painted, rendered or sculpted that character,
creature, product, prop, architecture, environment or effect. And they
were paid to do it. Of course our parents didn't tell us about this,
thinking we should be doctors or lawyers, but eventually we found out.
The Gnomon Workshop library offers training by many
of the industries most respected and admired designers. Any artist,
regardless of skill level, will be inspired and illuminated by observing
the techniques and listening to the guidance of such artists as Syd
Mead (production designer, "Bladerunner'"), Ryan Church (art
director, "Star Wars episodes 2 + 3"), Scott Robertson (concept
designer, "Minority Report") and Dylan Cole (matte painter, "Lord
of The Rings"). This is instruction that can be found no place
else. There is only one Feng Zhu, one Mark Goerner, one James Clyne...
and these artists share their techniques here at The Gnomon Workshop.
There is a saying that "those who can't do, teach". Perhaps
at some institutions this holds true, but not at Gnomon. Want to design
vehicles? Harald Belker designed the Batmobile for "Batman and
Robin" and the red Lexus in "Minority Report". Want
to design creatures? Carlos Huante designed aliens and creatures for
such films as "Men in Black", "Van Helsing" and "Hellboy".
Characters? Iain McCaig designed Darth Maul and the many looks of Princess
Amidala in the "Star Wars" prequels. The list goes on and
on. For years the techniques of such artists were kept secret, available
to the select few who had the opportunity to work alongside them. But
over the past few years, The Gnomon Workshop has been extremely privileged
with their time, energy and commitment to education. We hope that you
are as excited by this unique opportunity as we are at The Gnomon Workshop.
Animation and Visual Effects:
Over the past two decades, 3D computer graphics and
animation software have come to dominate the industries of gaming and
visual effects. From "Spiderman" to "Lord of the Rings", "Shrek", "Halo" or "Worlds
of Warcraft", today's artists responsible for creating these visuals
use cutting-edge software. Several multi-purpose applications exist
as well as specialty tools that artists are expected to utilize. Programs
such as Maya, Max, XSI, Vray, BodyPaint, Houdini, Vue or Zbrush make
the games we play and the movies we watch visually richer and more
believable each year. But as computers get faster and software evolves,
artists are expected to stay up-to-date with the newest technologies.
Gnomon was originally founded in 1997 to provide
professional training for Alias|Wavefront PowerAnimator, at that time
the leading 3D animation and visual effects application used in film.
Launched with one computer lab and four classes, Gnomon has evolved
over the past decade to offer seventy courses to both students and
professionals on a myriad of tools. While software makers have tried
to develop all-in-one solutions, it remains true that to get the job
done, many off-the-shelf packages are necessary. It is for this reason
that the Gnomon curriculum, and hence The Gnomon Workshop DVD library,
have expanded with the guidance of the industry. Our mission is to
incorporate a diverse range of technical and workflow driven training
solutions that focus on production specific examples. The entire pipeline
of animation and effects production is represented in our library via
various tools. Camera tracking, live-action integration, character
rigging and animation, hard-surface modeling, photorealistic texturing,
digital sets, matte painting... its all here. And every month we continue
to work with production artists in the development of new training
that addresses new workflows, tools and techniques. Every year there
is a new buzzword... such as 'normal mapping', 'ambient occlusion',
'hdri', or 'subsurface scattering'. We continually stay on top of these
trends, communicate with production artists, and release new titles.
As with our design series, all of our gaming and visual effects DVDs
are produced by top industry professionals, who share the same commitment
to education as we do at The Gnomon Workshop.
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