By Matt LeClair, MEMAP.ORG

If VH1 ever did an "I Remember the 80's" show for geeks, it would include morphing. Morphing was a special effect commonly used to show a magical transformation from human to animal, or human to monster. Before morphing, such transitions used cross dissolves and clever jump cuts and the imagination of the audience (remember the Bill Bixby to Lou Ferrigno Incredible Hulk transformation). Morphing used computers to actually show the transformation without cutting away. It may not sound like a big deal now, but at the time it was so new and so exciting that it became all the rage. The horror movie The Howling was essentially a vehicle for the special effect, and an entire TV series, Manimal, (widely regarded as the worst SciFi series ever made) was made just to use that special effect.

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Wikibooks is a collection of open-content textbooks that anyone can edit. Apply that methodology to the open-source collaborative development of Blender (probably the most popular multi-platform software “distro” for 3D animation on the planet) and you have a marriage made in heaven for the aspiring 3D artist. If you are an aspiring 3D artist curious [...]

By Matt LeClair, MEMAP.ORG When I was 10 I had the great fortune of seeing a double feature of The Creature from the Black Lagoon and It Came from Outer Space, both in astounding 3D! Meteor rocks flew off the screen into the seats in front of me. Spears shot overhead. The Creature clawed toward my [...]

By Mark Leaman, MEMAP.ORG ARTnatomy, by Victoria Contreras Flores, is a free, interactive tool designed for use by artists, cartoonists and 3D animators for learning the mechanics behind facial expression. The small (under 600k) Flash based application is available in both Spanish and English versions. The primary goal is to provide the student and those interested, a [...]