Maya NURBS Sculptures in Marble and Clay (and perhaps Butter)

1. VIP: What to study and what to do? Push, pull, smooth and erase. Your head goes inside of a helmet. Maya concepts and terms and experiences go inside your head. How do you get them there with the most impact and ease and lasting effect? October 15th, 2008 email note! ONE YEAR AGO!

2. Try to read through some of this tutorial and try out some of the LESSON 2 Sculpting a NURBS surface techniques and tools before the Monday, September 28th class. Help menu > Tutorials will get you to this window in Maya.
3. The project two assignment involves creating several sculptures - perhaps carving a pumpkin face in honor of Halloween and making a funny or scary or alien mask face also in honor of Oct 31, which is easily confused with Dec 25 if you are a computer scientist. Spongebob Squarepants, Kirby, TC, Mickey Mouse, or a fancy egghead or whatever your imagination comes up with is okay.
4. Who is Auguste Rodin?
5. Note: Auguste Rodin is also a HOTSPOT part of an IMAGEMAP that links to a different URL than the entire screen snapshot above. (Works in both browsers).

6. Note: The entire graphic outside of the two HOTSPOT areas links to this Sculpt Surfaces Tool image if you are using Mozilla Firefox. It does NOT seem to work in Microsoft Internet Explorer, as the HOTSPOTS on the IMAGEMAP disable the image itself being a link.

Scene two:  Dr. Peter Venkman (played by Bill Murray) at the 
            paranormal studies laboratory with Scott and Jennifer.  
 
   What is being studied?  Knowing ability.  At the Weaver Hall Dept. of
Psychology of Columbia University.  The studying of the ability to know.  
Polya, in a book on problem solving that captivates and thrills many
computer scientists, including Dijkstra, says:
  
     "Teaching to think means that the mathematics teacher
     should not merely impart information (the 10% of the iceberg), 
     but should also try to develop the ability of the students 
     to use the information imparted:  he or she should also stress
     the often neglected less obvious hidden part of the iceberg:"

     know-how, useful attitudes, desirable habits of mind are 90%
     of problem solving, programming, mathematics and proving things.
     
     know-how, useful attitudes, desirable habits of mind are 90%
     90% of creating something in graphics software, 90% of animating
     a "story" of some humor or adventure or drama, 90% of modeling
     a character or a scene or some lighting in Maya.
 
     ATTITUDE toward slimers and difficulties.  Is it a useful attitude?

Dr. Venkman and Scott in dialog.  A small sample of it is shown below.
  The dialog with Jennifer is not shown.  
  
Jennifer and Scott are both trying to guess the hidden face 
  of a card that Dr. Peter Venkman is holding up.    
   
     Venkman: Nervous?  
       Scott: Yes.  
     Venkman: Okay, what's this one? 
       Scott: A couple of wavy lines.  
     Venkman: Sorry.  This isn't your lucky day. 
       Scott: I don't like this. 
     Venkman: You volunteered didn't you. 
       Scott: Yea, but I didn't know you were going to be 
                giving me electric shocks.  
     Venkman: We're paying you aren't we?
       Scott: What are you trying to prove here anyway?  
     Venkman: I'm studying the effect of negative reinforcement 
                on ESP ability. 
       Scott: Effect?  Effect!  I'll tell you what the effect is.  
                This is pissing me off.  
     Venkman: Then maybe my theory is correct.
       Scott: You can keep the 5 bucks.  I've had it! 
     Venkman: I will Mister!
 
This of course suggests to us that the Ghostbuster's movie will be about
   knowing issues, about the ability to understand a problem.  

   It also shows it will be about useful versus harmful attitudes,
   desirable versus undesirable habits of mind.