At SIGGRAPH 2004, the Gnomon Workshop and the Gnomon School of Visual Effects (booth #1113) will be showcasing its educational products with various presentations and its library of 82 DVDs. In addition, Gnomon will have books available to get them signed such as EXPOSE I, EXPOSE II, D'ARTISTE, ELEMENTAL and more from booth partners CG Networks and Ballistic Media.
Meanwhile, Gnomon School of Visual Effects has added award-winning artist and filmmaker Meats Meier to its staff of resident artists, who will also be among the Gnomon speakers at SIGGRAPH 2004.In his capacity as instructor and resident artist, Meier will develop curriculum, teach courses and pursue the creation of his personal artwork. The first class he will develop will be on Pixologics ZBrush.
Ive admired Meats work for many years, says Gnomon director Alex Alvarez, so I am very excited to have him joining our staff. Were sure that his art and enthusiasm will inspire our students.
While many people know Meats independently-produced artwork, which has been widely published, he is also an experienced production artist with many years in the gaming and film industries. His knowledge of effects, matchmoving, compositing, lighting and Maya will be a great asset to the Gnomon curriculum and students.
There is also a lot of buzz in the industry regarding ZBrush, and Meats is one of only a handful of production artists who have been using the software extensively since its release. Meats has just completed two new images, commissioned by Pixologic, that will be on display at their Digraphs booth, #1912.
With more than a decade of experience in a wide range of artistic fields, Meats comes to Gnomon from working on HELLBOY as a technical director at the Orphanage in Northern California. Prior to the Orphanage, Meats spent six years in Utah working in the video game industry doing pre-rendered animations, level design, and character modeling. Also during that time, his one-man studio, SketchOvision.com, produced projects ranging from movie pre-visualization to package design.
When Alex called me to talk about the possibility of working at Gnomon I was intrigued. The more we talked about his vision for the school and my part in it, I got very excited, explains Meier. After seeing the work that Gnomon students are doing, I am really looking forward to working with them and developing classes that will help them succeed.
The art and vision of Meier have been widely recognized in the film, online, graphics and fine art communities. At SIGGRAPH 2003 he was honored with Alias prestigious Maya Master title. He was most recently featured in a chapter of the new book, CREATING STRIKING GRAPHICS IN MAYA AND PHOTOSHOP, published by Sybex Press. His work received multiple awards in Ballistic Publishings Exposé 1. In 2001, Meats was awarded Best Animation at the SlamDunk film festival in Park City, Utah for his nine-minute short film THE FUTURE: OF ART, which was also featured in ifilm's book, THE INTERNET'S TOP 50 SHORT FILMS. He has been named Artist of The Month in Korea's largest graphic magazine, Graphics Live, where his art was featured on the cover. Meats art can be found on some of the most exclusive galleries on the Internet, such as 3D Artists (www.raph.com), Cgtalk.com, and highend3d.com, and has been featured on the Independent Film Channel and TechStyles TV.
Meier specializes in high-resolution prints of his 3D art that springs from his unique vision. His style comes from his extensive experience as a traditional airbrush artist, combined with his skill and knowledge of many 2D and 3D computer programs.
Gnomon speakers and topics include:
Alex Alvarez - Digital LandscapesIllustrator / Animator. Director of Gnomon School, Gnomon Online and the Gnomon Workshop. Formerly an application engineer at Alias|Wavefront.
Jeremy Engleman - Texturing3D Painter, DreamWorks SKG. Currently working on SINBAD. Credits include THE PATRIOT, STAR WARS: DEMOLITION, THE DODGE JUST RIGHT CAMPAIGN, VIGILANTE 8, RIVEN, Peter Gabriel's EVE CD-Rom and Sting's ALL THIS TIME.
Eric Hanson - Digital SetsVisura Imaging, visual effects designer specializing in the creation of digital backgrounds and effects for feature films. Prior to joining the Gnomon Workshop, he was at Digital Domain creating a vast cityscape for Roland Emmerich's THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. Credits Include FIFTH ELEMENT, ATLANTIS, FANTASIA 2000, BICENTENNIAL MAN, MISSION TO MARS, HOLLOW MAN and CAST AWAY.
Darrin Krumweide - NURBs modelingIndustrial Designer / Visual Effects Artist / Consultant. Associate Director of Gnomon. Formerly an applications engineer at Alias and senior animator at Kronos Digital Ent.
Meats Meier - Z BrushAward-winning digital artist with over a decade of experience in a wide range of artistic fields.
Sean Mills - Poly ModelingLead Modeler/Texture Artist, Zoic Studios. Formerly at Radium. Credits include the Linkin Park POINTS OF AUTHORITY and Garbage CHERRY LIPS music videos; commercials for Stolis Vodka, Taylormade Golf Clubs, Dr.Scholl's and the U.S. Marines; BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, SMALLVILLE and ANGEL television shows; and the STAR WARS GALLATIC BATTLEGROUNDS "Clone Campaigns" videogame.
Andrew Orloff - Dynamic EffectsLead 3D Artist / Founder, Zoic Studios. Formerly at Radium. Ad campaign credits include Skittles, Coca-Cola, Intel, Chevy Tahoe, Carl's Jr., Taco Bell and many more. He has also created music videos for Cake, Mariah Carey and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, as well as effects for the television shows ANGEL and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.
Neville Page - Character DevelopmentIndependent Design Consultant. Clients include Jakks Pacific Toys, BMW Designworks/USA, Mattel Toys, Nike, Rock Shox, Universal Studios' MEN IN BLACK -The Ride, 20th Century-Fox, Fiat; and the feature films MINORITY REPORT, PLANET OF THE APES and X-MEN 2.
Gnomon School of Visual Effects specializes in high-end computer graphics training for the entertainment industries. Gnomon Workshop provides students with almost 50 titles of software tutorials on DVD. For more information, visit www.gnomon3d.com or www.thegnomonworkshop.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
