8848 This project, by Gregory Jennings, Maelys Faget, and Kevin Franczuk, tells the story of Jennings’ father, who died during a mountain climbing expedition.
Ah Simon Moreau, Bastien Dubois, and Joris Bacquet created this film about children who get more than they bargain for while eating their soup.
Une Charogne Created by Alexia Cui, Olivier Sipesaque, and Olivier Berry, this animated short uses a pencil-shaded look and style for the imagery.
Caila Christophe Brejon, Bertrand Desurmont, and Thomas Pouwels created this musically inspired short.
Students at Supinfocom, a four-year digital arts college operated by the Chamber of Commerce in Valenciennes, France, has made a name for the school in the computer graphics arena. That’s because for a number of years now, various students from the school have been selected to show their animated short films at the annual SIGGRAPH Animation Festival, either in the prestigious Electronic Theater or Animation Theater. This year, Computer Graphics World was able to get a sneak peek at some of the senior projects that will be submitted to this year’s SIGGRAPH and other animation festivals and competitions throughout the world. After viewing these CG movies and visiting the school itself (see the Editor’s Note, pg. 1), it is apparent as to why the student works are consistently selected by show juries.
At the school, the focus is on art and art history. To this end, students spend the first two years learning the basics—font design, textures, clay sculpting, composition, brush stroke, and more—before utilizing those skills and concepts within a 3D modeling and animation program. Moreover, video courses instill the necessities of still photography and imagery before the students apply that knowledge to moving images. When they finally are given access to a 3D environment, the school randomly assigns them a software program, either 3ds Max or Maya. After learning the raw principles of 3D animation and modeling, the budding artists turn their attention to a project.
Presented on these two pages are some still images from the various CG animated short films by the 2006 graduating class at Supinfocom. Additional images from the projects will appear in next month’s Portfolio section. —Karen Moltenbrey
En Tus Brazos This captivating film from Francois-Xavier Goby, Mathieu Landour, and Edouard Jouret uses a black-and-white look accented with a selective scattering of vibrant red as a former dancer helps her now-crippled partner relive their life in the spotlight.
Gwenn This short from Francois Malary, Florent Esbelin, and Maximilien Decroix uses a simplistic modeling style and color scheme. In the film, the characters come alive in the rain.
Out A unique project from Corentin Laplatte, Samuel Deroubaix, and Jerome Dernoncourt, this animation mixes old clips of Western movies into 3D scenes.