MN VR and HCI / TC Maya – Oct 2015: Maya to Unity Pipeline for VR

Wednesday, October 28, 2015 from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM (CDT)

NOTE: Please arrive at Vidku before 7.  The door and elevator are locked, we’ll escort you up. 

This is a special joint meeting of MN VR and HCI, and  the Twin Cities Maya Users Group.  Thanks to Vidku for being such great hosts, and making this possible!

Maya to Unity Pipeline for VR – Mike Medicine Horse (Hybrid) and Zach Wendt

Moving from pre-rendered to real-time involves lots of workflow changes. Virtual reality projects also bring unique design considerations. Learn from our experience, and pain!

Zach will give a quick and broad overview of important VR design and real-time performance considerations, along with the consumer VR hardware that is about to be released. Mike will dive into the details of what parts of Maya work in Unity, and best practices for preparing assets.

• VR visual design Do’s and Don’ts
• Overview of relevant human perception factors, with fun illusions
• Quick summary of VR “tiers” – hardware and experiences with release dates
• VR Performance considerations on different hardware
• FBX exporting tips and pitfalls
• Shaders and materials
• Triggering animations
• Baking Maya deformers to blendshapes
• Blendshapes vs bones considerations
• Project planning, previewing and demoing for VR

Hybrid Medical Animation is looking for student interns or freelance professionals with experience in creating content for real-time game engines. Due to the nature of our business we are looking for people to work on-site with the possibility of working remotely. This will be decided on a case by case basis. Experience with Unity is preferred but we are also interested in people who know Unreal as well.

Preferred skill set:

• Creating real-time game assets (from hires pre-rendered assets) with focus on UV optimization and texture baking
• experience with animating in Unity/Unreal a plus
• Interest in VR technology and pushing the boundary of visual quality within realtime constraints
• Knowledge of xNormal/Zbrush normal map creation
• Ability to work in Maya and Modo

Websites / portfolios and resumes can be sent to mike@hybridmedicalanimation.com

Parking:

There is nearby street parking and surface lots.  Parking right in front of Vidku costs more.  Try the lots at 1st and Washington (both sides of Pixel Farm), and 3rd and Hennepin (behind Vidku.)  Bring cash.  Small bills.  Unmarked.

Schedule:

Plug My Thing!

In addition to informal verbal plugs, we’ll also show your trailer, user group, recruitment page, promo video, personal project, demo reel, etc. Grab the appropriate ticket – first come, first served.  Guidelines:

• Short and sweet. 3 minutes max!
• 1 short URL, Zero setup (Any media is streamable from fast/reliable site like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
• Your contact info is on page or in video.
• You were a part of this project, are attending the meeting, and will introduce it.
• Talk to us at least 5-10 minutes early, so we can load your page.