Bryce Retreat @ Ghost Ranch
Course Descriptions
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Two-day sessions
These course descriptions are for the two-day sessions-- the Monday-Tuesday Session A, and the Thursday-Friday Session C. Each course will be offered twice, so you'll get to take two of these classes.
CHRIS CASADY --The Myriad Wonders of Terrain Making & Sculpting in Greyscale.
The class will work mostly in Photoshop though I will also reveal many of the seldom used features lurking in Bryce's deep and robust Terrain Editor. Using the tools in Photoshop such as Layers, masking and Apply Modes we will learn to sculpt terrains that extrude into the following:
Swirled lava, Layered shale, Rose petals, Church facades, Tiles, Tile glaze, Tile grout, Cracked mud, Spiral stairs, instant castles, Greek columns, sand dunes, crop circles, and rain drops on a pond.
Numerous examples will be shown, some exercises will be conducted.
SUSAN KITCHENS 
-- Deep Texture Editor
This class covers Bryce's Deep Texture Editor (and, to a certain extent, the Materials Composer), helping to unlock the secrets for creating textures. I'll introduce you to all the basic concepts for texture creation, and walk you through the most common examples. From there we'll go into more advanced topics and uses. We'll take textures-in-progress that you make (either ones you've made before you came to Ghost Ranch or ones you make on the first day), and work with them together to make them look better or to make them look more "like so."
RODNEY L'ONGNION -- Animation Theory; Timing
and Cinematic Techniques
This course approaches animation more from the perspective of theory than from execution. I want to show people how to plan "cinematic" animation sequences that have story and momentum to them. Timing is a very important part of the animation process.
I'll be showing people how to tap into the film heritage we all share to make their animations less "computery". This course will bring folks up to speed on some of the clichéd "tricks of the trade" and also teach them how to dissect movies and videos to discover the tricks of pacing that directors like Rodriguez and Fincher have introduced into the language of film in the '90s.
The course will work with examples using group activities and a few simple props.
SCOTT TUCKER -- Decaling and Textures - The Real
World in Bryce
Have you ever wanted to make a model look like it's more detailed than it really is? Have you ever wanted dirt smudges on that perfect paint job, scuffs on that kitchen floor, or scratches on that pristine glass of yours? What about nature scenes - how about some sparkles in those rocks and a little lichen clinging to them?
Detailed Texture maps are the answer. We'll explore how to create precise texture maps in Freehand and Photoshop. Photoshop's layers and filters will be exploitied to create texture maps that are alive. We'll create bump maps and specular maps to take your models off the showroom and into the real world. We'll then use alpha blends in the Bryce Materials Composer to give you complete control of all these layers of realism. We'll dissect some object and nature scenes to see how it's done.
Using your own EPS logos we'll create texture maps for decals in Bryce. We'll place these in Photoshop and generate alpha channels for transparency. We'll do several preparations in Photoshop to convert the image into a usable decal in Bryce. Bring your EPS logos and any works in progress, and we can explore various Bryce mapping techniques to apply the decals.
We'll have a wonderful time exploring the power of texture mapping in Bryce.
The Wednesday class--Bryce Basics
The single-day class will have a different format-- here's where we'll get to brush up on Bryce basics. This can be structured as a "command performance" What do you want to see covered?
In the Ghost Ranch mailing list (starting up during the last week of March for those who have signed up), declare what your favorite topic is. We'll take a consensus, and each of the Bryce Retreat faculty will teach a course session on one of the chosen topics.
Here are some ideas (please add your own to the list!):
- Edit Controls
- Sky & Fog
- Boolean and Complex Objects
- Dramatic Lighting Techniques
- Materials Composer / Materials Lab