Email this article to a friend
June 22, 2007
Will The Next Stephen Spielberg Please Stand Up?
Texas Tech Library offers a 3-D playground – in real time.
Written by Cory Chandler
A sample of the finished result from the lab's new designing tools. Click on the picture to enlarge.
Summertime at last and cineplexes are once again bursting with moviegoers craving a butter-soaked bout of virtual pyrotechnics – Spidey slinging webs, pirates tipping ships over the rim of the earth, rats whipping up fine French cuisine.
Such a retinal assault, such eye candy – enough to make the concession-stand variety pale in comparison – takes some hefty programming muscle. We’re talking the kind of digital firepower that makes Jerry Bruckheimer salivate – and, unfortunately, doesn’t come standard on the average home computer.
But fear not. These days, would-be Steven Spielbergs need only visit the Texas Tech University Library to whip up their own confections – those of the digital wizardry variety – courtesy of a new state-of-the-art 3-D computer animation lab.
Located on the second floor of the University Library, the lab features eight work stations packed with a wealth of software for producing professional 3-D modeling and animation projects.
“Libraries traditionally have stood at the crossroads of intellectual inquiry and information,” said University Library information technologist Bob Sweet. “We’re doing this because our mission is to support discovery, creativity and imaginative learning. For these reasons and more, we believe that the TTU Library is the ideal place for a full-fledged 3-D animation lab.”
Lights! Camera! Animation!
Click on the picture to enlarge.
Libraries aren’t often associated with the kind of cutting-edge animation that sizzles silver screens.
And no wonder. The visual feast – the pixilated eye-poppers, the software-sleek creatures – so common now in blockbuster Hollywood isn’t often set between bookshelves. CGI, after all, is more George Lucas than Melvil Dewey (think decimal system), more “Toy Story” than story hour.
“No university library that we know of is venturing down this path,” Sweet said. “The exciting thing about all of this is it’s here for anyone and everyone who wants to gain skills and knowledge.”
Programs available on the lab’s workstations include trueSpace, for modeling and animation; Poser, a character modeling program; Vue Infinite, an animation tool often used for final production of animated features, such as Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean;” Maya, used in all aspects of 3-D; and 3-D Studio Max, a favorite of designers in the gaming industry.
University Libraries invested $100,000 – half of which was paid for by funds generated by the Coach Knight Library Fund – on the endeavor. Additional support came from 3-D animation pioneer Caligari Corporation, which partnered with Texas Tech Libraries by giving $15,000 in software, and graphics company e frontier, which contributed a $5,000 in-kind software gift. Caligari is the developer of trueSpace software.
The library also purchased hundreds of tutorials and training videos that will be accessible in the lab over the local computer network for users at all levels.
Another sample of what is possible at the 3-D lab. Click on the picture to enlarge.
“The field of 3-D technology has become pervasive, but it is often unseen,” said information technologist Jim Brewer. “It’s used to design most of the gadgets, tools and appliances we touch and work with every day. What we are doing is opening up the door to the wealth of discovery as we help others use these versatile tools for their learning and research pursuits.”
The Grand Unveiling
The library will follow the official grand opening of the lab with a series of events to promote the new facility during the fall and spring semesters. These will include symposiums featuring industry leaders, and directors also envision short courses, contests, student and faculty showcases, and festivals.
But Sweet is confident the lab will prove a popular offering on campus. Already, Texas Tech faculty are partnering with the library to utilize the multidisciplinary facility.
“Word will spread like wildfire, and we are confident that people will come,” Sweet said.
See more samples of animation from the lab. For more information, visit the 3-D lab Web site.
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, 806-742-2136.
Web layout by Gretchen Pressley