3D anatomy education: Breaking down silos

---

Adam Watkins

University of the Incarnate Word, USA

: J Comput Eng Inf Technol

Abstract

---

Anatomy is essential for any digital 3D modeler, character designer, animator, or rigger. Tackling human anatomy early in the education of these artists is critical to creating portfolio-worthy projects in their later classes. Unfortunately, these early classes are also tool-heavy and students are wading through scores of new technologies and techniques. At UIW, we have tackled this “chicken and the egg” problem by creating three parallel courses - Character Modeling, Figure Drawing and Anatomy for Animators - that students take at the same time during their second semester. This separates the two areas - anatomy and technical proficiency - into separate bit-sized chunks. However, success heavily depends on these two courses being tightly threaded together so the knowledge in each feeds into the other. In this presentation we will look at the justification, rationale, structure, and implementation of these three courses, the problems associated with separate courses, and how the courses can be effectively threaded together. Assignments will be shared along with examples of finished sculpts and models. Particular attention will be given to lessons learned in things that have not worked, tweaked methods, choices that have proven successful, and how we plan to move forward.

Biography

---