In this exploration of a 3D motion-graphics production pipeline between Photoshop and After Effects, attendees learn basic file translation and organization techniques, camera and rig setup, and animation techniques.

An overview of the new functionality and improvements in the Rhinoceros 5.0 update.

Tokyo at night is one of the world's most beautiful locations. The architecture combined with a massive quantity of illuminated signs creates a visual complexity rarely seen elsewhere. The challenge was to recreate the emotional impact and excitement of downtown Tokyo but maintain the visual style of "Cars 2".

If your daily work is related to media and entertainment software, how can you make sure you have the right computer to match your creative potential? Do you know the difference between a desktop, a notebook, and a workstation? Do you understand how CPUs, GPUs, and other technology components can affect the results you need to set yourself apart by reaching your creative vision as quickly as possible?

Scott Hamilton, Media and Entertainment Market Strategist at Dell and former Autodesk Technical Specialists Manager, shares his insights on how to choose the best workstation for typical applications such as computer graphics animation, effects, and editing.

What if you could explore the intricate detail of small subjects (such as a butterfly or embryo) much like an explorable map? Learn how new tools developed through the Explorable Microscopy collaborative project can help you do just that. This talk shows how these new tools can be used in your own work and examples of how the technology is enabling new science and research across a wide range of disciplines. In particular, it presents a range of low-cost motion-control devices, camera and lens options, open-source software, and online viewing applications that you can use in your work.

This session presents various graphics techniques using depth and normals buffers. The methods range from improving standard techniques such as particle effects to creating entirely new ones (for example, approximate volumetric effects), and advanced image post-processing. In many cases, the buffers used are natural products of the rendering pipeline and offer a way to infer a surprising volume of information about the scene, allowing for very rich and fast graphics effects. The session is designed for artists and programmers. It discusses the possibilities of the post-processing effects and their technical side.

The SIGGRAPH 2011 Studio kicks off this year’s conference with a Roundtable Chat that explores the past, present, and future of digital technologies. The Scan – Model – Print: Roundtable Chat panel visionaries are:

Moderator
Cory Doctorow
The Guardian, The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and Wired, Contributor and Boing Boing blog Co-EditorPanelists
Hyeong-Seok Ko
SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Conference Chair
Seoul National University

Michael Raphael
Direct Dimensions, Inc.

Peter Weijmarshausen
Shapeways

Dallas Luther
Maker Faire Vancouver

Adam Mayer
MakerBot Industries

Explore Rhino commands that use its uniform deformation technology to morph and bend 3D geometry.

Photochromic sculpture, which consists of a presentation part composed of laminated transparent plates coated with photochromic material granules and a control part for projecting UV light patterns that color volumetric pixels, can generate a dynamically changeable three-dimensional sculpture.

Ornament has been abolished by the avant-garde, and ornamentation has been replaced by material aesthetic. This talk argues that ornament is not a parergon, an unnecessary accessory, but that the parergon, the ornament, actually becomes the ergon, the main element.