hey renderosity friends im back to university -_- and im going to have an expocicion about Digital art and animation, what points should i include? *Vicky 3 *When It was started *the first digital creations and what more..?

Wow! You've picked a chunk to do. It's a very large topic to cover. You may want to limit it to a specific area (personal use, professional film, or character development). It sounds like you're doing it for a history type class. For animation, I'd start with the movie "Tron", and then work through the other films that have used 3D. They're really the leading edge of the technology. You'd also want to include the early 3D games. A good source of material for 3D programs can be found on a lot of sites, including here. Check the 3D modeling archieves for threads. You'll see how the products have grown over the past few years. Poser itself has progressed from a very simple 3D renderer to P5, while the quality of the figures has grown at the same rate as PC capabilities. The early models were pretty bad by today's standards. The poly count and number of morphs per complex figure shows the development of the characters. And don't forget the social aspect. There must be somethingin the fact that the largest number of renders posted here are of nude women. Does it reflect something in society, or just too much testosterone? Can you tell I used to teach? Hope this helps a little...

What is an "expocicion?" -jjsemp

sorry for the bad of my english, english is not my mother language, and thanks for your supporting, and jjsemp thanks for remarking my soo bad english spelling and to be so rude to people from other countries.

Um, jeharsy, relax. I didn't remark about anything. I asked a simple question. And I had no idea you were from another country, or that English was not your first language. I am not a mind reader. I just asked a question. In fact, I still don't know what an "expocicion" is. Is it what we call in the States a "thesis?" Are you writing a paper? Or are you trying to decide your "major?" Perhaps if you define it more clearly, people might be able to help you better. (Sheesh, people around here are so jumpy these days.) --jjsemp Oh, and when I'm rude (which I certainly can be at times) you'll know it.

Do a net search for "digital effects" and see if you can find something that discusses the various "breakthrough" advancements such as the fluid work in "The Abyss" and the texture work in "Jurassic Park". Poser, much as I love it is not cutting edge digital. It is more along the line of passing down software technology to the individual probably a few years behind the movie industry. Of course, that in itself is a remarkable social step, that I as a middle income hobbyist can do 3d renders and animations in my home that were not possible anywhere ten years ago. Scaraab

Attached Link: http://www.accad.ohio-state.edu/~waynec/history/timeline.html

This might be a helpful site, it's a timeline of signifigant events in CGI. There are links at the bottom to other sites. All english by the way.

Hmmm... "expocicion" Exposition = exegesis, explanation, elucidation, disclosure, and, of course, commentary. :) English has borrowed from every other language it has bumped up against. Sometimes we keep the original meaning, and sometimes we alter it. Those of us with decent vocabularies usually recognize these words and do a quick mental translation. (If memory fails, there is always recourse to a dictionary.) "Exposition" is mostly used currently to describe shows and othr visual events. This can be a World's Fair, a gem show at the local hotel lobby, or a museum exhibition as long as more than just the finished work is displayed. For example, an exposition on alchemy shouldn't just show a lump of gold, but also the equipment and process which guides the transmutation. It is infrequently used to describe a piece of writing: the shorter snazzier term "expose'" (this computer doesn't have accents, sorry) is favored, although that carries the meaning of scandals revealed rather than history laid out to be examined. In 8th grade speech class, we learned and practiced the different types of speeches, including "expository". Rhetoric was part of the trivium for a thousand years, but has fallen victim to budget cuts (especially Prop 13 here in California). Students now learn grammatical forms of expression from television because they certainly aren't getting it in the schools. Carolly

Jeharsy, If you are going to talk about *animation* as expressed digitally, you perhaps may wish to start with the basic principles of animation (usually 11 of them) such as squash and stretch and anticipation and reaction and exaggeration and then describe how working digitally limits us as well as empowers us. As an example, almost 15 years ago, I did ALL of the interior animations within a game called King's Quest 4. Another artist did the backgrounds and a third artist came in to do the low-res conversions and cartoons for beginning and end. It took me 13 months of 7-day weeks to do quite literally hundreds of files of animation... aided by the computer's ability to cut and paste, but limited to 16 colors and tiny sizes. It took 70 artists a year and a half to create Snow White for Disney (about an equivalent amount of work) but they weren't limited in the same way. (They certainly had other limits.) I look at what we can now accomplish in 3D with a home computer and store-bought software. (Thank you, Larry Weinberg!) However, animation is more than sticking a figure on a walk-path. Unless someone knows the principles which make him come alive for the viewer, it is simply pixels on a screen. Carolly

"Those of us with decent vocabularies usually recognize these words and do a quick mental translation. (If memory fails, there is always recourse to a dictionary.)" My Dear Professor Carolly, Vocabulary isn't the issue. Six years of Latin and four years of ancient Greek have given me a solid enough grounding in vocabulary that I don't need a dictionary to decipher most unfamiliar words based on Romance languages. But when one uses the phrase "to have an expocicion," without explaining the context, popular vernacular usage, or discrepancy in spelling, one does create a clear breakdown of precise communication. There is a difference between a "presentation," a "thesis," a "term paper," or even a "lecture," all of which could be covered by the word "expocicion" (or "exposition"). It might have even been current college slang for "major." And while I could have surmised the meaning and usage of the word based on its context, to do so would have been presumptuous on my part. But thanks anyway for the suggestion (however condescending it might have sounded). (Oh, and my dusty, old B.A. degree from Harvard can attest to the fact that my vocabulary "ain't so bad.") -jjsemp

Also those of us that are NOT native english speakers can find it hard to dechipher words like that. I too didn't know whether or not the original poster was english or not. I didn't know that word and wouldn't know what word to look for in my dictionary. When you said exposition it did ring a bell, but as jjsemp said, out of context it's really hard to read minds :o) I probably make quite a few "alternative" spellings in here as well, and if people don't understand me, I sure hope they'll ask me what I REALLY meant G

jjsemp said "And while I could have surmised the meaning and usage of the word based on its context, to do so would have been presumptuous on my part." you 'may be' educated but to be a gentlemen means to make others comfortable around them despite their personal errors.

thanks for helping me i got an A! and sorry about all the languaje issue I made, it wasn't my day so when i saw the post i exploded, please forgive me, don't think im a easy-annoyable person but i had a tough day please forgive me, i sent a personal apologize to the prson i consider that i offended and thanks :)

Jeharsy, Please don't apologize for not speaking English well. There are many people born and raised in this country who mishandle it. I knew you weren't American when you said something about being "back to" university, since that isn't a typical preposition placement for us. You are Spanish-speaking? With 4 years of French and a bit of Italian, mostly forgotten, I'd mangle your language far worse, even with a phrase book and pronunciation key! Most people here will try to help if they can. Jjsemp, I was graduated from UCSD 30 years ago, and learned that an educated person never stops learning. I'm currently enrolled in a scriptwriting class since it is time to change careers yet again... I have to get off disability somehow. I may suffer from this continuous migraine, however even that isn't an excuse to let the grey matter get lazy with disuse. A day is wasted if I haven't picked up a new word, a new technique, or even a different way of seeing something. Your degree may have been from a university with some prestige. If it has dust on it, that is your problem. Carolly

Professor, I have only one problem: What is an "expocicion?" -jjsemp