INTRO TO 3D
WITH SIMON SCALES
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What we do?

― Degree Pages ―

Intro to 3D

This short course is an introduction to learning 3D in Blender. You will be given an introduction to general 3D principles and be shown the techniques you need to build and render entire scenes in 3D.

Intro to 3D is recommended for students with beginner to intermediate 3D skills and experience and will give you the per­fect foun­da­tion for your art career. The most important requirements for success are a desire to learn and create & a willingness to learn new software.

The goal of this workshop is to build your confidence week-by-week and provide you with all the tools & support you need to successfully complete the major project — desigining & building your own cyberpunk inspired underground hideout.

This 12 week online course runs concurrently with Flinders University semesters. Including the two-week mid-semester break, it runs for 14 weeks in total. The course will consist of:

12 Weekly pre-recorded lectures & demonstrations that will guide you step by step through your projects.

6 assignments over the course of 12 weeks (one submitted each fortnight, prior to feedback session).

Live webinars once per fortnight with your instructor to ask questions & get personalised feedback on your progress.

Topics Covered

Learning how to create a scene from a brief.

Collecting references.

Introduction to Blender Interface.

Modelling a prop.

UV texturing, the easy way.

Creating 3D buildings from 2D texture sheets.

Lighting, cameras & rendering.

Creating pipes & signs.

Creating fog.

Hardware Requirements

Laptop or Desktop PC or MAC (MacBook Pro or i7 PC/laptop with 16GB RAM are recommended).

Wacom tablet is recommended not required. Any size is good.

Headset/Microphone so that you can chat with the instructor in fortnightly webinars.

Notepad and pens/pencils for note-taking.

Software Requirements

Blender

Adobe Photoshop

* As part of the course you have the option to participate in Live Streamed Feedback sessions.  These are live feedback webinars, held fortnightly, where your industry instructor will provide you with direct feedback on your work.  If you can’t attend the session via webcam when it’s live, you will still be able to watch the recorded sessions in your own time.  Times listed are ACST (UTC+9:30)

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Essential Information

SEMESTER DATES
Course Dates TBA
CLASS DELIVERY
Online
FEEDBACK SESSIONS
Dates TBA
INSTRUCTOR
Simon Scales
Hardware Requirements
BYO PC or MAC (i7 with 16gb RAM recommended)
PRICE
$950.00 [Ex GST]

This link will take you off-site to the Flinders University payment gateway.

Simon Scales
Simon Scales
CONCEPT ARTIST
CDW ANIMATION

Simon is the founder and Director of CDW Studios. He has been working in the industry for over 15 years as an illustrator, environment designer, matte painter and concept artist. Clients include THQ, EA Games, LEGO, Mighty Kingdom, Animal Logic, Warner Bros and TT Games. His focus is now about creating a world-class education facility in Adelaide, Australia.

Simon is the founder and Director of CDW Studios. He has been working in the industry for over 15 years as an illustrator, environment designer, matte painter and concept artist. Clients include THQ, EA Games, LEGO, Mighty Kingdom, Animal Logic, Warner Bros and TT Games. His focus is now about creating a world-class education facility in Adelaide, Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to the most commonly asked questions we receive about our online courses.  If you have a question or query that isn't answered below, please use the contact form at the bottom of the page to get in touch & we'll reply as soon as we can

How do I enrol?
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Under "Essential Information" at the top of this page, click on the orange "Enrol Now" button. Click on this and you will be taken to the Flinders website, click on the yellow "Enrol now" , and you will be required to fill in a form. Click "Add to Cart" once the form has been filled in, then click "Process Payment" and you will be asked to make payment with a Visa or Mastercard. Once completed, this will go to Flinders payroll for processing and they will generate login details which will be emailed to you.

When can we sign up for courses ?
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We run all of our online short courses twice a year, which follows the Flinders University semester. For future dates, please click here to see Flinders Semester Dates. The courses will start in week 1 of semester 1 or 2.

Do you offer payment plans?
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No, however graduates of Flinders do receive 10% discount if they have previously studied with Flinders University. If you need more time, we recommend you plan to do the course in a future semester so you have more time to save up for it.

Can I do more than one course at the same time?
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It is possible but we wouldn’t recommend doing more than 2, depending on what your other commitments are. You’ll need time to watch all the tutorials and complete the exercises. There won’t be any clashes with the feedback sessions if you take multiple short courses.

Are the 12 weeks unbroken or divided by term breaks?
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The course runs for 12 weeks but there will be a 2 week break during the course. In semester 1 there is normally a break after week 6 and in semester 2 there is a break after week 8. (So technically there will be 14 weeks in total).

Is it possible to study the courses if I'm based overseas?
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The course runs for 12 weeks but there will be a 2 week break during the course. In semester 1 there is normally a break after week 6 and in semester 2 there is a break after week 8. (So technically there will be 14 weeks in total).

Can I meet with course staff or the instructor in person ?
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The online short courses are done completely online. And some of our Instructors are also based interstate so won’t be here in person to help you. We will do our best to assist you if you are having issues, so you are free to email or call us if you have any questions or concerns, but there is no face to face learning involved. The videos are pre-recorded tutorials, so you will be able to watch those as many times as you need to do the exercises. Don't worry too much about not keeping up or getting ahead. Everyone will be at a different skill level, and to date, we haven't had anyone require face to face assistance.

I’ve signed up but I haven’t received my login details yet?
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Once you sign up you will receive:

A receipt email from Flinders Online Pay­ments for the course.

An online short course con­fir­ma­tion email from HASSenquiries@ flinders. edu. au, inform­ing you that your reg­is­tra­tion has been received.

An email from AccessNow@ flinders. edu. au ask­ing you to set up your authentication name (FAN) and pass­word for the FLO site, which is the com­put­er sys­tem used for online learn­ing. You will need to fol­low the instruc­tions care­ful­ly to acti­vate your account.

You will be grant­ed access to the FLO site with­in 2 hours of acti­vat­ing your FAN, after which you’ll be able to view the FLO dash­board and your course.

All tuto­ri­als and exer­cis­es will be vis­i­ble from the first day of the first week.

Can I use an iPad to do this course?
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iPads are not currently able to run the software that is used for each of our online short courses. A desktop computer or laptop, and drawing tablet are required for each of the courses. Two common tablets used are Huion and Wacom which vary in price and can be very affordable. The device you use will need to be able to run Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk Maya and/or Blender -- each course page will tell you what software is required -- and are industry standard.

However, if you are only doing Intro to Character Design, an iPad with Procreate would be sufficient. iPad’s are not suitable for the other courses.

Does the course contain any units/modules that are part of larger courses or is it a self contained short course?
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The online short courses are not accredited (meaning you can't use them for credit towards other courses) and are self contained. Each week has pre-recorded tutorials, along with exercises that you complete (which are not graded but are designed to challenge you and to help you get better as an artist) and there is a feedback session each fortnight with the instructor who critiques (draw-overs) your progress on the assignment.

How often do courses run ?
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We run 2 semesters per year. So if you miss the start of the course you can just sign up for the following semester.

How old do I need to be to take the course? Are there any academic prerequisites?
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The online short courses are aimed at people aged 15 years and above, not specifically limited to either high school or graduated high school.

The courses are structured with tutorials that you would watch, and complete the exercises to the best of your ability, and during the feedback sessions with the instructor they would customize/personalize the feedback based on the participants skill level - we are expecting to get different levels of ability for these courses, and people who participate in them would be aiming to complete pieces that they could use in a portfolio.

There is no entry criteria such as academic record as this doesn't really impact anything prior to starting the work, you can be a beginner, intermediate or advanced and the instructor will work with the person at where they are at.

What software would I be using for the feedback and online sessions?
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The software that we use is Blackboard Collaborate, this is through the Flinders online learning platform. This is very similar to using zoom, it works in real time, you can be heard through your computer microphone & it's easy to share your screen and the sessions will be recorded.

Collaborate is accessed directly from your browser, no app is required. We do recommend that you use a PC with google chrome if possible.

Do I need a webcam?
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Totally optional, not required. Most people just have an avatar that is assigned when you update your FLO (the online platform) profile, or it just lists your name.

Do I need to provide a portfolio before taking a course?
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Our short courses are aimed at all skill levels & you do not need to provide any work before starting the course. You will need to upload your homework assignments each week to get feedback during the course.

Do I need an understanding of anatomy to take Intro to Character Design?
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No, this is an introductory course with no expectation that you have previously studied anatomy.

Will Intro to Character Design involve any Environment or background design?
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Character Design is purely drawing characters, although you are required to draw props and items that will fit in with the character's world that helps to define the character.

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