The Art Institute of Phoenix (TAIP) is now offering a new bachelor's degree program in Visual & Game Programming designed to prepare upcoming technical artists for the videogame and animation industries.
Students receive intensive training in the foundations of art and design before entering into the more technical areas of programming for 3D animation. Students learn the essential skills to effectively solve technical problems and effectively bridge between the technical programmer and the creative artist.
TAIP said it believes that preparing students artistic talent combined with the knowledge and skills of programming for 3D development, shading, motion capture and animation, will given them an edge in finding a wide range of employment opportunities in the entertainment and game production industries. The curriculum helps prepare students for entry-level positions that may include technical artist, technical developer, assistant technical director, 3D tools programmer, artist wizard, data wrangler, rendering wrangler or junior technical cinematic artist.
The hands-on program focuses on student ability to write, extend and modify programs/scripts for 3D animation and visual effects. Students will be introduced to the principles of programming, enabling them to enter into the world of shading development, motion-capture management and pipeline streamlining. They are taught programming and scripting tools such as Perl, C++, MEL scripting, MAXScript, DirectX & OpenGL and become familiar with different operating systems. The program lasts 12 quarters and contains 186 quarter credits, including 54 quarter credits in general education.
The curriculum was developed with input from game and animation industry veterans, including professionals from the International Game Developers Assoc., Electronic Arts, Acclaim, Red Storm Ent., Digital Domain, Pixar Animation Studios, PDI/DreamWorks, Microsoft, Stormfront Studios, BioWare and other companies.
Students may now enroll in the Visual & Game Programming program, to start in the summer 2004 quarter, by calling the school's Admissions Department at (800) 474-2479 or (602) 678-4300. Or, visit http://www.aipx.edu/ for more information.
The Art Institute of Phoenix offers bachelor's degrees in Advertising, Digital Media Production, Fashion Marketing, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation, Multimedia & Web Design, Simulation & Virtual Environments, Visual Effects & Motion Graphics and Visual & Game Programming; and associate's degrees in Culinary Arts and Graphic Design. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the school is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu/), a system of 31 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary professionals.
