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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on JANUARY 28, 2010
THE GNOMON WORKSHOP
RELEASES
Four New Training Titles on Sculpting, Character Design, Efficient CG Workflow and Visual Effects
This week The Gnomon Workshop is excited to announce the first release of Training DVDs for 2010. We have an eclectic mix of titles that cover everything from sculpting expressions to shot breakdowns for a music video. We’re also pleased to welcome two new instructors into the library, Jeremy Cook and Wayne Barlowe.
The Making of White Swan, by Sil van der Woerd is a new 3 disc set that breaks down the entire production process for the music video "White Swan", winner of "Best Music Video" at HDfest. Sil collaborated with students from the Gnomon School of Visual Effects for all of the effects, and together they cover their particular responsibilities for the production. Each disc explores a particular phase in the production’s pipeline from concept to final compositing. This comprehensive title is over 17 hours of lecture and 3 hours of bonus material including a round table discussion and video of the world premiere event at Gnomon.
Wayne Barlowe’s lecture, Rendering Fantasy Characters in Pencil, is a visual treat that reveals Wayne’s process for designing creatures and rendering in pencil. He begins with a presentation of his artwork and then guides the viewer through a step-by-step process for executing a typical character design for feature film. Wayne is an award winning illustrator whose work can be found on hundreds of book and magazine covers. He’s written and illustrated many amazing books on extraterrestrial life and hell. Wayne has also designed creature for many films including the recently released Avatar for which he was credited for Initial Creature Concepts.
Jeremy Cook’s DVD, CG Survival Kit: From Concept to Final Image, is filled with great tips for CG artists with a focus on working efficiently and holistically. The lecture covers a range of topics from layout, modeling and rendering in 3ds Max to compositing a still in Photoshop. Jeremy brings to his DVD all of his experience working on Transformers, Star Wars Episode 3 and Mission Impossible 3 as well as many TV commercials and game cinematics.
We are also very proud to announce the release of a new addition to John Brown’s sculpture series, Sculpting Expression and Fantasy Characters. This 2 disc set covers an array of topics and techniques including sculpting a quarter-scale male bust, sculpting expression, molding and casting, sculpting details and digital painting in Photoshop. In addition to John’s long list of feature film credits and extensive experience as a bronze figurative artist, John’s finely tuned teaching style reflects his over ten years of teaching figurative sculpture at Gnomon School of Visual Effects, and seven DVDs for The Gnomon Workshop.
For more details about these great new DVDs check out the descriptions and bios below. All of these titles are available as digital download and are also featured in our training subscription plans.
The Making of White Swan WITH SIL VAN DER WOERD
DVD Description:
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In this three disc set, the entire production process for making the music video White Swan is revealed. Winner of “Best Music Video” at hdfest, White Swan is a unique collaboration between students from the Gnomon School of Visual Effects and director Sil van der Woerd. This set breaks down step-by-step the process for integrating live action footage with complex digital sets to create an imaginative world inspired by the music of singer Lolly Jane Blue.
Each disc explores a particular phase in the production’s pipeline from concept to final compositing. Sil begins with a discussion of early explorations and the pre-production process, and he’s followed by the students as they cover their particular responsibilities for the production. Sil and the students cover many technical subjects including motion tracking in Boujou, compositing, rotoscoping and keying in After Effects, previsualization, modeling in ZBrush, texturing in BodyPaint, digital sets, animation and effects in Maya.
This set hopes to inspire and educate anyone who dreams of creating their own live-action production that incorporates dynamic visual effects.
"Once again, Sil directed a well planned, designed and executed music video laden with effects on a limited budget and with limited resources. This time, with the help of students from Gnomon, he is able to push the boundaries even further and the results are stunning. Sil and the students present an excellent break down of their processes that will be very inspiring and informative for all aspiring directors and visual effects artists"
Alex Alvarez
Founder / Director, Gnomon
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Instructor Bio:
Sil van der Woerd studied fine arts at the Academy of Art and Design in Arnhem, the Netherlands. At the Academy, Sil used film and mixed new media, live action video and dominant soundtracks to express his fictitious, atmospheric worlds. In 2004 his short film Duet started to gain public attention and had a series of successful festival plays. Then his film Swim went global and played at some of the worlds biggest festivals, bringing home several awards and nominations. Sil’s music video for the track Worms, by singer Lolly Jane Blue, showcased some high-profile visual effects techniques that Sil learned during his studies at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects, in Hollywood.
The making of Worms was covered in a ten-hour training DVD series recorded at the Gnomon Workshop. Sil created an underwater sequence for the 9th edition of Sensation, the world’s leading dance event and did freelance work for OneSize, a Dutch Motion Graphics company. His videos have received millions of views on YouTube.
Sil is represented in the US by Digital Domain, in Europe by Annex Films and in Asia by Tribe International. Sil currently resides in Los Angeles.
Rendering Fantasy Characters in Pencil with Wayne Barlowe
DVD Description:
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This DVD offers aspiring character designers a glimpse into the thoughts and processes of leading film character designer, Wayne Barlowe. With a focus upon the centuries-old traditions of pencil drawing, Wayne discusses the various graphic mediums associated with non-digital drawing. He then takes the viewer through the step-by-step process behind executing a typical character design for feature film, addressing the mind-set behind creating original, thought-provoking designs. Wayne begins his demo with a set of thumbnails, delves into the decision-making process, and then moves on to working up a finished drawing. As he draws, he offers his thoughts on work methodology, character creation and the technical issues of pencil rendering, including the various subtleties of line-work and shading, as well as the materials and their inherent properties. This DVD is geared towards novice and seasoned artists alike, presenting an introduction into the worlds of concept art and traditional rendering.
"Watching Wayne Barlowe draw is an intriguing experience. Wayne sets down the lightest of pencil lines as a guide and then, without hesitation, begins the meticulous process of rendering the most astonishingly detailed pencil drawings. As his preparatory lines are so light as to be practically invisible, watching the drawings materialize is akin to developing black and white prints. They simply appear, as if the pencil was a scalpel, cutting away the paper to reveal the images underneath.For someone like myself, who has not the slightest clue where a drawing is going when he begins, there’s something alchemical about Wayne’s expertise."
John Howe
Illustrator
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Instructor Bio:
Wayne Barlowe is an author and illustrator who has created images for books, films and galleries. After attending Cooper Union, he executed hundreds of paperback book covers for all of the major publishers as well as illustrations for Life, Time and Newsweek. He is the author and illustrator of Expedition, Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials, Barlowe’s Guide to Fantasy, Barlowe’s Inferno, Brushfire: Illuminations from the Inferno, The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe and An Alphabet of Dinosaurs. His character designs can be seen in Blade 2, Galaxy Quest, Hellboy and Hellboy 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Avatar, The Hobbit and Alien Planet, a Discovery Channel special based on Expedition. He contributed many designs for EA’s Dante’s Inferno. Currently, he is writing the sequel to his first novel, God’s Demon, entitled The Heart of Hell.
Sculpting Expression and Fantasy Characters with John Brown
DVD Description:
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Sculpting Expression and Fantasy Characters covers a multitude of advanced sculpting techniques. Chapter one covers sculpting the quarter scale male bust. You’ll learn advanced theories that will positively shape and influence your concepts and designs. Chapter two covers new molding and casting techniques designed to save time and energy. You’ll learn how to mold and cast individual clay copies of the original model, allowing for visual continuity when you sculpt a new expression. Chapters three and four cover sculpting the “Happy” and “Angry” states of expression, implementing the rules learned in chapter one. Finally we’ll take a clay cast of the original model and turn it into a fantasy character and learn how to paint it in Adobe Photoshop®.
"I have looked high and low for useful information and techniques related to my field of Sculpture in the Entertainment Industry. So I was thrilled when I came across John Brown’s Gnomon Workshop Sculpture series. He provides clear, practical and efficient lessons learned from his many years of experience. John teaches a process from scratch that will benefit everyone from novice to professional and will be helpful to an artist even beyond sculpture. Excellent!"
Duncan Crawford
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Instructor Bio:
With over forty film and television credits, John Brown’s skills as a sculptor placed him in the top live-action special make-up FX houses in Hollywood. Credits include Alien Resurrection, Species 2, George of the Jungle, Jumanji, X-Files, Mars Attacks, Bless The Child, Monkeybone, The Cell, Spy Kids, Scary Movie 2, Planet of the Apes and a host of others. John is also a bronze figurative artist whose sculptures reside in private collections throughout the United States.
CG Survival Kit: Concept to Final Image with Jeremy Cook
DVD Description:
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Working hard and working smart are not the same thing. In this DVD, Jeremy discusses how to make artists work more efficiently and make smarter decisions based on the final output and deadline. Knowing when and where to cut corners is a vital skill as most people over-build, over-think and over-work. There’s no such thing as cheating when you’re up against a deadline. Using 3DS Max and Photoshop, Jeremy covers such topics as layout strategies, planning, keeping your 3D models simple, working holistically, digital matte strategies, rendering passes, polishing your final image and more. This lecture is geared toward beginner to intermediate artists.
"Jeremy has the rare combination of great talent and amazing speed. He’s pretty much the definition of ‘Ace’."
Jonathan Harb
CEO and Creative Director Whiskytree
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Instructor Bio:
Jeremy Cook has been a digital artist for over 14 years. Currently an Art Director for IDSoftware in Dallas, he has worked for studios such as Industrial Light and Magic and Blur Studio. As a modeler, matte painter and concept artist, his skillsets cover a wide range of the production process. Having worked on projects such as Transformers, Star Wars Episode 3, Mission Impossible 3, and countless TV commercials and game cinematics, he has
accumulated a career’s worth of techniques focused on speed, efficiency and polished results.
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