Video Game Design

Video game design is the focus of new courses for middle school, high school, college, and adult students throughout the country. The entertainment industry generates billions of dollars through video games. Artists and gamers of all ages seek out information about concept art, character/creature design, level design, weapons/vehicles, environments, etc. My 3D Computer Animation students have been lucky enough to partner with Game-U in Flemington, NJ to learn the basics of Unity and have used that information to complete independent projects incorporating Autodesk Maya and Adobe Photoshop. Students have created side-scroller games incorporating traditional 2D animation (pictured above), racing games with 3D cars modeled in Maya, and concept art in Zbrush. Video game design courses online are easily accessible and free versions of gaming software makes making games a reality at any age.

3D Computer Animation Careers and Classes

Learn about the careers available to you in the 3D Computer Animation industry and the Polytech class preparing you for those careers.

Amazing Alumni

So, I have been teaching here at Hunterdon County Polytech for 14 years. I have some pretty amazing alumni that work as professional artists and designers throughout the country. I was fortunate to have many contribute to our art exhibit this past Wednesday night. Keeping in touch with my past students is extremely rewarding. It makes me happy to see them follow their dreams and make art for  a living. They have gone on to schools such as School of Visual Arts, Columbus College of Art and Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, Pratt, Parsons, Maryland Institute College of Art, and University of the Arts. They are graphic designers, cartoonists, animators, 3D digital sculptors, interactive designers, visual development artists, illustrators, and fine artists. Above is Bryan Wiszniewski with his most recent painting of Beyonce. Check out our Facebook photo album of the event.
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CTE Advisory Committee

As a Career and Technical Education school, Hunterdon County Polytech strives to stay current in our fields of study. Each class maintains an advisory committee made up of professional members, students, parents, post secondary educators, counselors, and alumni. The art department advisory committee is essential to keeping us current with software, industry trends, and connections to the field. Our committee boasts 3D animators, illustrators, business owners, video game designers, graphic designers, photographers, and marketing professionals. It's through this committee that curriculum changes, field trips, guest speakers, and equipment purchases are discussed. For more information on becoming a member or to view our current list of members, click here.

National Art Honor Society

Polytech art students who complete a semester of either Commercial Arts/Advertising Design or 3D Computer Animation may be nominated to join our chapter of the National Art Honor Society. This organization focuses on art scholar, character, and service. Students complete community service projects, attend field trips, participate in art projects, and are eligible for scholarships. Anna-Lisa Eriksson, received a $4,000 scholarship from Columbus College of Art & Design for her membership in NAHS.

SkillsUSA winners

Hunterdon County Polytech students Krystina Galvez (left) and Rebecca Smith (right) won 3rd place in the 2013 NJ State SkillsUSA competition for 3D Visualization & Computer Animation. They had 4 hours to create an animation sequence in Maya including modeling, lighting, texturing, rigging, animating, and rendering. Congratulations to our team!

Autodesk Maya

3D Computer Animation students at Hunterdon County Polytech have access to Autodesk Maya, the top animation and 3D visualization software used in the industry. Films, video games, commercials, and special effects are just some of things that can be created with Maya. My advanced high school students worked together as a team to create a project about outer space. Above is a still from this project that involved modeling, lighting, texturing, rigging, rendering, and animating. Team artwork above by: John Ambrosino, Anthony DaSilva, and Brian Petrilak.

Animation Careers

Being an animator is just one job to have in an animation studio. You could be a concept artist, character development artist, storyboard artist, layout artist, animator, inbetweener, background artist, inker, or painter. In the 3D world you could also be a texture artist, rigger, modeler, special effects artist, or lighter, just to name a few. The above image is a character design painted in Adobe Photoshop by student Ellen Strub.

Careers in Art

Why not get paid to do what you love? People don't realize how many different places and different ways you could be employed as an artist. Everything you see in life starts with a pencil on paper. From the clothes you wear, to the car you drive, from the video game you play, to the food you buy in the store...you involved  the careers of fashion designer, fashion illustrator, textile designer, seamstress, industrial designer, video game designer, concept artist, 3D modeler, character development artist, animator, package designer, graphic designer-just to name a few. Above is a t-shirt design by student Bryan Wiszniewski.