gnomonschool

[marcodoom]

hi

i see gnomonschool has a one year long entertainment design program

http://www.gnomonschool.com/programs/entertainment-design/

Anyone attending it? any reviews?

[burning_chrome]

The Entertainment Design Program at GnomonSchool just got underway this summer according to school founder Alex Alvarez' blog (http://www.alexalvarez.com/blog/2009/05/04/entertainment-design-), so, you won't find any reviews yet.

I applied just a short while ago and got accepted, but I'm holding off on going until my foundational skills develop enough to take advantage of everything has to offer. The Ent. Design program is just a collection of individual classes that you could take separately if you so chose.

The most important piece of news regarding GnomonSchool is that they are working on adding the Entertainment Design Program as a first year foundation intro for a new 3 year program - 1st year being Ent Design followed by the High End CG-Certificate Program for the next 2 years (all accredited and open for Federal Loans). So, it may be as soon as this Fall that you'll see accreditation for the 3 year program - you can still opt to apply for the 2 year High End CG-Program only if that's what you want, but I was told that there would be a better chance of acceptance into the CG certificate program if you completed the 1 year Ent. Design foundation.

IMO, the Entertainment Design Program is a fantastic way to go if you have a firm understanding of traditional artistic skills; all the instructors are working pros in the industry and thus classes are held mostly nights and weekends, and since you only expose yourself one day a week for 10 weeks for a particular class, you'll be hard pressed to juggle both the digital and traditional mediums AND maximize what each class has to offer if you don't possess a certain skill and knowledge level in one or both areas. Conversely, for those individuals lacking formal training but in possession of a hard-core work ethic and inherent talent, one might work non-stop 13 hrs/day, 7 days to bridge the gap, but good luck on maintaining sanity.

[Justin.]

one might work non-stop 13 hrs/day, 7 days to bridge the gap, but good luck on maintaining sanity.

When paying for the classes, this feat is remarkably easier to accomplish as opposed to doing it on your own :P

[burning_chrome]

When paying for the classes, this feat is remarkably easier to accomplish as opposed to doing it on your own :P

And also made easier when you have top-flight teachers such as Kevin Chen, Charles Hu and Michael Hogarth providing direction and feedback on what you're doing right and what's not so right instead of the self-taught route ;)

[marcodoom]

all the instructors are working pros in the industry and thus classes are held mostly nights and weekends, and since you only expose yourself one day a week for 10 weeks for a particular class..

Well, one day a week for each class..
This is what gives me doubts, i've sent the school an email asking to be more precise about class schedules, but they haven't replied yet..and the website is not clear about this..
Basically i'm curious on how many hours are to be spent in school and how they are distributed between each subject in a given term..
They advertise the program as fulltime and intensive (one year is less then what schools usually offer..) and so i imagine it to be..

[burning_chrome]

Well, one day a week for each class..
This is what gives me doubts, i've sent the school an email asking to be more precise about class schedules, but they haven't replied yet..and the website is not clear about this..
Basically i'm curious on how many hours are to be spent in school and how they are distributed between each subject in a given term..
They advertise the program as fulltime and intensive (one year is less then what schools usually offer..) and so i imagine it to be..

I asked the school rep the same question on when class schedules might appear and he told me that since all the instructors work full-time, class times would not become set until they provided when their work hours would allow for teaching.

5 classes a term, so 1 class for each day of the week (and sometimes the occasional weekend class) with each class lasting somewhere between 3 or 4 hours and most in the late afternoon or at night to accomodate the instructors' full-time work schedules. This info is what I remember from speaking with the GnomonSchool rep, my recollection may be a bit off, double-check for yourself.

Remember, all the classes offered as part of the Entertainment Design Program can be taken individually if you so chose; I forgot to ask when speaking with the GnomonSchool rep, but I believe (double check though) that you may be able to cobble together a individualized schedule consisting of only certain classes from the Ent. Design Program and still have those class credits transfer over to whichever full-time program you pursue.

If you feel the need to enhance skills in the traditional fields (you may not, I dunno), you might take all the applicable traditional classes GnomonSchool offers and supplement those skill areas with offerings from other atelier schools and programs in the L.A. area.

The biggest "x-Factor" in the one day per a particular class from my viewpoint is how skilled the rest of your classmates are - sometimes the most well-known practitioners in a field may not always be the best teachers and you may be able to learn just as much (and sometimes more) from the guys sitting around you who bring different approaches, skill levels and backgrounds into the class with them. Heck, look at Kevin Chen - there are others I'm sure, I just can't name them off the top of my head at 7am without substantial caffeine.

[Taxguy]

We just got to review the advanced computer graphics program and entertainment design program at for my daughter. All I can say is WOW!

All instructors are professonals working in the field who have very strong credentials and backgrounds. If you go through their Advanced Computer Graphics program, I was told that they have a better than 90% placement with studios, and I believe it.

They are located in the television building where some older studios are located. All the equipment, however, is state of the art. Even the chairs are expensive Herman Miller chairs for egonomics.

All the folks that we met were impressive. Each student seemed very dedicated. I didn't see anyone fooling around or not taking their work seriously.

The reason we checked out ,which I never heard of, was because an animator with 20 years experience suggested it. It was also recommended highly by some folks at the Computer Graphics Society.

Hope this all helps.

[Ivory_Oasis]

I was curious if anyone else has experience with ? There are sooo little reviews around (only a couple here and there, and I couldn't find "" through search here at all!). I guess because it's a new-ish school?

[Eva K]

Considering the way the economy and currency exchange is -along with other factors- I don't see myself getting a BFA until after thirty. So finding a program that specializes in what I want to do, and offers a year or two of intensive study really peaks my interest. I'm not so sure I have the skill to be accepted yet, but if anyone has any info or personal experience with it, such as what the demands are etc., I'd love to hear it :)

also thanks to everyone who has commented so far :)

[Ivory_Oasis]

Yea, I'm the same way eva. Im thinking of going to the gnomonschool in the fall (partially because its just 12,000 for a full year, not just 2 semesters like most colleges).

And...why does g.n.o.m.o.n keep poofing when i type it? grrr

[Taxguy]

I don't know why the word "G n o m o n" keeps dropping out,but they need to fix this.If I separate the letters, as I just did, I can type the word. However, if I combine the letters, the word keeps dropping out.

[Taxguy]

Also, be advised that G N O M O N is for computer graphics and special effects. While you will get some animation, it normally doesn't focus on this per se. It will, however, give you a good broad overview of the animation pipeline,which includes animation, texturing, lighting, modeling, rigging etc. If you want character animation, you might want to consider schools like Animation mentor (17 month program), Max the Mutt ( three years), CalArts (4 years) or Ringling or Pratt (both are 4 years).

Also, the 21 month program at G N O M O N doesn't build up basic life drawing skills. You can get these life drawing skills there,but they are separate courses as part of the entertainment design.