Autodesk’s Animation Academy adds Mudbox and MotionBuilder

It’s not just Autodesk’s commercial product offerings that are getting the update treatment at SIGGRAPH this year – its Animation Academy programme is also now available in a 2009 flavour.

This year’s upgrade adds Autodesk’s digital sculpting tool Mudbox and character animation suite MotionBuilder to the package, alongside stalwarts 3ds Max and Maya. The six-part curriculum is designed to introduce secondary school students to 3D art through project-based lessons on subjects such as astronomy, architecture, the digestive system and forensics.

“Autodesk Animation Academy is easy to understand, offers measurable objectives for student evaluation, and fulfils my school district’s requirements for increased academic integration," said 3D animation instructor Pat Gombarcik of the Arts & Communications Academy and Southeast Career Technical Academy in Nevada.

"My students are reinforcing their knowledge of core subject areas, while at the same time learning valuable career skills.”