COURSES
Monographic Courses
Digital Art
Blender is a free open-source software used by artists in all fields. From photo/video editing to 3D sculpting, from 3D assets to visual effects, motion graphics, animation and more. There are no limits to what you can do with this software if you have some basic understanding and are willing to practice and experiment. Some of the new animated movies were created entirely in Blender and many of the game and AR/VR assets are made using Blender. Aside from commercial use, you can use Blender for any personal projects and have fun experimenting. The goal of this course is to introduce you to Blender, show you the possibilities of what it can do and start you on your journey to create new amazing art. In each class we will build something that you can use and experiment with further.
There is no need for prior experience with the program or in animation, only to have it downloaded and ready on your computer. Please see blender.org/download/requirements for details and hardware requirements.
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​+ 6 Sessions
+ 4 Workshops
+ 2 Meetings
+ 1 Chat with the artist to share material and answer questions
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INFORMATION
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+ Teacher: Irina Chernikova
+ Dates: from April 8 to May 27
This course is repeated in September and December
+ Duration: 12 teaching hours. Each student manages their time.
The meetings have schedules but it is not mandatory to participate
+ Level: no prior knowledge is required
​+ Modality: Live online
+ Language: English
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​+ Price: 100 €
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Starts
April 8!
FULL PROGRAM
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SESSION 1: AGORA PRESENTATION MEETING
April 8, live online, ENG 19-21hs (Hora de España - GMT+2)
Meeting: Experimental photography: concepts, debates and techniques with​ Pablo Giori
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SESSION 2: INTRODUCTION TO 3D ART: The Basics and What You Can Do
April 15, pre-recorded, you will receive an email with the class early in the morning.
In this introductory class, you will learn the basics of Blender 3D Software, the leader in 3D graphics, sculpting, animation, visual effects and more! We will go over the interface, workspaces, modes, and tools and explore what you can do with the software. We will also build a 3D model from scratch using built-in primitives and go over exporting the model into different usable formats.
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SESSION 3: SCULPT ART: Creating Characters and Rigging for Animation
April 22, pre-recorded, you will receive an email with the class early in the morning.
Building on what you learned in the previous class, we will dive deeper into Blender 3D tools and create a 3D sculpt. We will work in sculpt mode and learn how to create virtual sculptures in a 3D environment. Finally, we will go over rigging and animating your creation.
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SESSION 4: MIXED MEDIA ART: Grease Pencil and Animation
May 6, pre-recorded, you will receive an email with the class early in the morning.
In this class, we will learn the basics of animation and mixed techniques. You will follow the steps of animating a character or an object in Blender’s Grease Pencil environment. We will experiment with adding still images and creating mixed media pieces, collages and experimental videos.
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SESSION 5: GENERATIVE ART: Geometry Nodes and Scripting in Python
May 13, pre-recorded, you will receive an email with the class early in the morning.
The final class will consist of automation through coding and generative art. Blender is a powerful tool to generate objects and automate tasks with code. Geometry nodes are excellent ways to reuse assets fast and nondestructively. Scripting is a great way to automate tasks. Both tools are excellent for experimenting and you will learn to use both. Finally, you will learn how to use AI to help you work more efficiently.
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SESSION 6: CLOSING OF AGORA MEETING
May 27, live online, ENG 19-21hs (Spain Time - GMT+2)
Presentations of student work, viewing of references and dynamics with questions
PROFESSOR: Irina Chernikova @_irinachernikova_
I am a self-taught photographer, filmmaker, animator, 3D and video artist. A perfect day for me consists of either printing images using analogue techniques, creating digital images using generative techniques or shooting photos on the street, all while learning something new in the process. In my work, I like to explore the boundary between calculation and randomness. There is much satisfaction to achieve a calculated result when you master a technique, however, there is even more joy when you introduce some chaos or randomness in the process and get surprised. This is why I always experiment and try something new.
I love combining concepts and media together, testing out hypotheses, bending the rules, and blending techniques. I continue to work with physical media, such as paper, film and chemistry. At the same time, I explore the made-up world of computer-generated images. In both the tangible and the virtual techniques, I like to deconstruct reality and build something new from it. Sometimes the other world becomes a reflection of this world, other times it becomes something entirely new.
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- The courses are repeated in September and December. Whenever you want to work on a personal project, you can enter the Mentorship Experimental Project course if there are places available.
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- It is possible to finance the cost of the course in instalments. Send us an email for more details
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- The contents of all the courses will be available until September 1, 2024.
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- Ágora reserves the right to modify aspects of the content if it deems it necessary.
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- The economic and administrative management of the Ágora is the responsibility of the Experimentalphotofestival non-profit association and the workshops purchased are non-refundable. All courses carry a VAT of 21% included in the price. During the payment process, you will be asked for a Passport number, NIE/NIF/CIF that must be provided solely and exclusively for accounting and tax matters.
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If you have doubts, write to us!