Physics of Animation: Master Classes in Physics for Visual Artists creates the content for a set of Physics of Animation master classes for art students. The term master class is used by artists to refer to special workshop classes in a focus area taught by a master expert from that area. The Physics of Animation master classes is designed to be given by physics instructors with each class covering a specific topic (e.g., rotational mechanics, geometric optics) focusing on elements most relevant to animation and illustration (e.g., walking, rendering). The classes each consist of approximately 8 to 10 hours of content, including in-studio work by the students. The in-studio portion includes staging, videotaping, observation, measurement, demonstrations, and tutorials, in some cases working with computer animation programs. Materials available as result of this project include a set of lecture slides and notes, design demonstrations, studio activities, animation assets (character models, sets, props, sounds, etc.) for tutorials and homework assignments, and animation projects. A local website and teleconferencing by the ACME Animation consortium is used for the dissemination of materials to colleges and high schools.
