VanArts students have the exciting opportunity to attend a RenderMan Workshop; they will see how Pixar combines creativity with technology to make feature films during a special presentation of shading and lighting for Pixar's Up, with a focus on Pixar's RenderMan.

THE RENDERMAN WORKSHOP:

Shading and Lighting for Pixar's Up (Part 1)

Dylan Sisson will show how Pixar approached the shading and lighting for "Up," one of Pixar's most visually sophisticated and vibrant works to date. Dylan will explore some of the artistic and technical strategies use to create Up's unique artistic style. With several case studies from "Up," you'll get an overview into how Pixar develops shaders, from initial photo reference and concept art, to the final lit shot. Many strategies will be explored, including Pixar's innovative point based color bleeding methods used so successfully on this film.

Introducing Pixar's RenderMan (Part 2)

In the second half, Dylan will focus on the technology used to render the imagery for Up, Pixar's RenderMan. For over twenty years Pixar has relied on RenderMan as a key ingredient for shading, lighting, and rendering animated features. You'll learn about some of the qualities and features which make RenderMan an exceptional tool for rendering animation and visual effects, throughout the visual effects industry. During a demonstration of RenderMan Studio, Dylan will show how RenderMan can be incorporated into your Maya workflow in a straight forward manner. Many of the same strategies Pixar used to create shading and lighting for Up, explored in "Part 1" of this talk, are available using RenderMan Studio. From feature-length films to small independent animation, you'll see how your own projects can benefit from using Pixar's RenderMan.

Who: Dylan Sisson (RenderMan Technical Artist)

Bio- A passionate interest in art and technology at an early age led Dylan Sisson to join the RenderMan Group at Pixar Animation Studios. Since his arrival at the studio in 1999, Dylan has been engaged in the development of Pixar's RenderMan Products which are used to render high-quality CGI for feature film and animation. Currently Dylan is working with the next generation of RenderMan rendering technologies. Prior to Pixar, Dylan began work in 2D animation before moving into all aspects 3D production for commercials, game cinematics, and independent projects. An active artist, Dylan's digital artwork has been shown at industry events such as SIGGRAPH, and he has also created several award-winning independent animated shorts. Additionally, he is the creator of RenderMan¹s infamous walking teapot. Dylan currently resides in San Francisco.