CG Academy 2004 News

Here you can find news and information on CG Academy related events, new DVD releases, certifications and special events that we may be holding or are involved in. To keep things neat we have devided the news into yearly blocks. Click on the years button bellow to view news from that period.

Merry Christmas from everyone at CG Academy!! (21/12/2004)

Merry Christmas to everyone! Over the coming Christmas period CG Academy will be away on a well deserved holiday (Its been a very busy few months getting these DVDs out the door). So between the 21 st of December and the 10 th of January 2005 we will not be able to process or dispatch any orders. So, please be patient if you do order any DVDs during this period. I hope everyone has a great New Years celebration also and I look forward to brining you even more excellent DVD titles (my customers words, not mine) in the coming year. Cheers from Chris Thomas and the CGA Team!!!

Intermediate Rigging DVD3 by Paul Neale has been released (20/12/2004)

The third DVD in our Intermediate Rigging series deals with skinning our Ogre character. Paul uses the skin modifiers enveloping system to produce is basic skinning solution and then moves on to deal with problem areas such as the shoulder, elbows and groin using weight painting and weight blending. Later in the DVD, these areas are improved further via additional bones and stomach wobble is added via spring controllers. This DVD is a must for most riggers our there as it deals with the skinning topic at a level not seen before on the 3dsmax platform. Order it now for deliver after Christmas!

MAXScript Fundamentals DVD by Laszlo Sebo has been released (07/12/2004)

We're very proud to announce the release of our first MAXScript DVD. MAXScript is a tool that opens up so much of the power of any 3D system. It can free up your workflow and make repetitive tasks a one button solution with a little effort. This is a must DVD for anyone that was ever curious about scripting, It explains its subject using a very clear, step by step approach that should have even complete novices producing useful scripts by the end of the DVD. An excellent first DVD from Laszlo Sebo.

Intermediate Rigging DVD2 by Paul Neale has been released (01/11/2004)

The rigging continues in the second DVD is this series with Paul showing how to create a custom spline IK system as an alternative to DVD1's FK Spine system. Setting up lower and upper arm twist solutions are dealt with via a variety of methods and the DVD concludes with a custom hand rig. Another great DVD in this very popular series.

Moneygram offline payment system now available (18/10/2004)

Some of our customers have requested a system via which they can buy our DVDs without a credit card or bank account. We'll, we like to listen to our customers here, so we have done just that. MoneyGram is an internationally trusted organisation that can transfer your payments to us within 15 minutes of paying them. They have agents worldwide in over 150 countries and in all major cities and indeed most towns also. So, if you have not been able to buy our DVDs before, you should be able to now with the MoneyGram payment option.

WorldPay credit / debit card payment clearing system is now online! (15/10/2004)

Thats right, WorldPay integration is now live, which means that we can now take payment direct via most major debit and credit cards. This will be a real boon to those that have wanted to order our DVDs in the past, but have not had the time or inclination to setup a PayPal account. If your one of those people, why not pop over to our Training DVD page and order away.

Borislav "Bobo" Petrov joins the CG Academy team of Instructors (14/10/2004)

I'm very happy to announce that we have a new instructor team member here. Borislav Petrov, or as he is more commonly known "Bobo" has joined CG Academy with the aim of bringing more DVD titles to our MAXScript series. Bobo will be continuing the series started by Laszlo Sebo with a series of DVDs that will explore further fundamental principles and then move onwards into intermediate skills and beyond.

Intermediate Rigging DVD1 by Paul Neale has been released (05/10/2004)

Yes, DVD1 of Paul Neale's Intermediate Rigging DVD series has been released. This DVD deals with setting up the Ogre's spine using FK and control objects, his legs using IK, a full reverse footroll system, a stretchy Ik leg system and much more.Why not view the product description page for more information and also snippets of video from the tutorials.

New Rigging Series Coming Soon (19/09/2004)

Yes we have two new series coming your way pretty soon. The first is a series on Character Rigging by Paul Neale. Those familiar with Paul's skills will know just how special this new series is going to be to those that want to push their character rigging skills to new heights.

The first two DVDs in this intermediate series deal with rigging the body of an Ogre character, modelled specifically for the series by Paul. The DVDs tackle such issues as setting up the spine, spline IK, control objects, zeroing controllers to aid your animators, leg rigging, foot rigging with foot roll, scripting custom attributes, Look at and Position Constraints, Arm twist bones, hand bones, creating custom hand controls and many many more topics.

The third DVD in the series continues with Paul demonstrating the best practices and techniques for skinning the Ogre, using envelopes, paint weighting and weight tables as well as other methods of deforming characters.

DVD four completes the series with a study of rigging the Ogre's face to allow fast and expressive facial animation. Topics include using absolute and blend morph targets, Eye Rigs, Facial Bones, Modelling and Rigging Eyeball Pupils and scripted Custom Attribute Interfaces. Later in the year, Paul will also be producing a series of DVDs for the Advanced rigger, but more news on that later....

New maxscript Series comming soon (19/09/2004)

The new Maxscript series has been designed to help both novice users and advanced level scripters that want to expand their scripting skills. The series opens with Maxscript Fundamentals 1 by Laszlo Sebo a DVD that is aimed at the total scripting and even programming novice. The DVD will guide you through the fundamentals of scripting by teaching you the basic concepts and then putting them into practice within 3dsmax.

Maxscript is the key to opening up much of the power of 3dsmax. As an example, some long time 3dsmax users out there may remember Laszlo's scripted polymodelling suite Meshtools that first brought the power of Sub-D modelling techniques to the 3dsmax community. So why not let yourself into this world and take your first steps here? Keep an eye out for news on this DVD, here soon...

CG Academy At Siggraph 2004 (04/08/2004)

Yes Folks, Chris Thomas (that's me) will be making his way from London with his darling wife (Claudia) over the pond to Los Angeles for this Augusts Siggraph 2004 computer graphics conference and exhibition. As CG Academy has just been launched, we wont be having our own stand within the exhibition hall, instead you will probably find me hanging out near the Discreet stand, so if you spot me there, please pop over and say hello. This will be my third consecutive year at Siggraph and I hope with its return to Los Angeles that this year will see a rise on recent attendance numbers.

I'll also be at the 3dsmax WebBoard party on the Sunday night (8th) so come along and buy me a beer, I need it!! And on the following evening I'll be attending the Evolve2 Discreet event. This presentation should have some interesting demos of 3dsmax7, so why not register now and I'll see you there....

10% Discount on all orders received during Siggraph 2004 (04/08/2004)

Yes that's right, to celebrate the launch of CG Academy at Siggraph 2004 we will be offering a 10% discount on any orders received for any of our DVDs during the duration of the show. Note however that this discount is not cumulative with the educational discounts that we already offer to our faculty and student users out there. The show runs from the 8th to the 12th of August, so any orders received between those dates will be eligible for the discount. Grab em whilst their hot!!

3dsmax Workflow series of DVDs has been launched (28/07/2004)

The 3dsmax Workflow series of DVDs has been designed to reflect the wider aspects of using a 3d application. What is it that a modeler should take into account when modeling a 3d character. What are the important issue that define a pipeline, what is a pipeline? These and other issue will be explored within this series.

Our first DVD in the series User Interface and Basic Workflow is a guide through 3dsmax's user interface and workflow. Its a DVD in two sections, the first of which takes you through a comprehensive tour of 3dsmax's user interface elements and features. In the second section the DVD then moves on to show how the various elements combine together to produce 3dsmax's unique workflow.

Particle Flow Basics Series of DVDs has been launched (28/07/2004)

The Particle Flow basics series will span five DVD's when it is completed later this year. It is designed to take the a novice Particle Flow user through to an intermediate level of skill. The first two DVDs in the series, Principles & Workflow and Operators1 are available for purchase now . The final three DVDs in the series are Operators 2, Tests, Forces & Collision and Practical Examples.

Afterburn Masters Series of DVDs has been launched... (28/07/2004)

The Afterburn Masters Series by Allan Mckay is now available. This three DVD series explores the popular and powerful raymarching rendering system by Sitni Sati. The first DVD in the series Afterburn Fundamentals explores the user interface and works through practical examples of how to achieve specific effects such as steam, explosions and mist. In the second DVD, Fireball, Allan works through a film level effect of a fireball engulfing the interior of a passenger jet. The series concludes with Air Strike, a highly procedurally based scene that uses Afterburn to produce a bomber blitz.

2004 (July)