ARTV 2371 — Course Schedule
Advanced Skill Development for Animation and Games
Fall 2026 · Tuesdays 9:00 AM – 1:50 PM
Animation & Game Art · Media Arts · Collin College
Calendar notes
- First day of the Fall 2026 16-week session: Monday, August 24
- Census date: Tuesday, September 8 (Week 3)
- Last day to withdraw with a W: Friday, October 30 (end of Week 10)
- Thanksgiving holiday: Wednesday, November 25 – Sunday, November 29. Our Tuesday section meets on November 24 — the break does not affect this course.
- Labor Day (Monday, September 7) does not affect a Tuesday section.
- Plano campus closes 3:00 PM Friday, September 18 and is closed September 19–20 for the Plano Balloon Festival — no effect on a Tuesday section.
- Final exam week: December 7–13. Our final meeting is Tuesday, December 8.
The semester in one line
Audit your portfolio → recreate professional work → teach what you learned → build the piece your portfolio is missing.
Each project feeds the next. Project 1's technique list becomes Project 2's menu. Week 3's portfolio gap statement becomes Project 3's brief.
Schedule at a glance
| Wk | Date | Focus | Due at start of class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 25 | Orientation · career audit · portfolio review · track selection | — |
| 2 | Sep 1 | Proposal sign-off · P1 production begins | P1 Research (10) |
| 3 | Sep 8 | Consultation · structural critique · census date | Audit & Portfolio Review (EC 5) |
| 4 | Sep 15 | Consultation · critique against the source | P1 First Draft (10) |
| 5 | Sep 22 | Consultation · polish · delivery prep | Revised draft |
| 6 | Sep 29 | P1 review · P2 kickoff · technique selection | P1 Final Render (10) |
| 7 | Oct 6 | Consultation · tutorial outline critique | P2 Thumbnails (10) |
| 8 | Oct 13 | Consultation · demo build · process capture | Demo in progress |
| 9 | Oct 20 | Consultation · peer reproduction test | Tutorial rough cut |
| 10 | Oct 27 | Consultation · final render prep · withdrawal Oct 30 | P2 Tutorial (10) |
| 11 | Nov 3 | P2 review · P3 kickoff · gap statement revisited | P2 Final Render (10) |
| 12 | Nov 10 | Consultation · concept critique · scope lock | P3 Thumbnails (10) |
| 13 | Nov 17 | Consultation · structural critique | Blocking / greybox |
| 14 | Nov 24 | Consultation · full critique · holiday planning (class meets) | P3 First Draft (10) |
| 15 | Dec 1 | Consultation · final polish · full portfolio review | Revised draft |
| 16 | Dec 8 | Final review · portfolio walkthrough · exit consultation | P3 Final Render (10) |
The three projects
Project 1 — Deconstruction · Weeks 2–6 · 30 points
Choose an existing professional piece in your track — a title sequence, a special effects shot, a game mechanic, a character design, a level, a rig — and recreate it, faithfully or in your own style.
The creative direction is not yours, and that is the point. It frees you to concentrate on the only question that matters here: how do you actually get from nothing to a finished, professional-looking result?
Track-specific curated source lists are on the Project 1 page. For motion graphics and title design, Art of the Title is the primary source.
| Milestone | Points | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Research | 10 | Week 2 — Sep 1 |
| First draft | 10 | Week 4 — Sep 15 |
| Final render | 10 | Week 6 — Sep 29 |
Project 2 — Technique Tutorial · Weeks 6–11 · 30 points
Take one technique you learned in Project 1 and build a tutorial around it — to teach others and to archive your own process. Written, video, or AI-assisted, all equally valid.
You deliver two things: the tutorial itself, and a clean demonstration piece that shows the technique working.
| Milestone | Points | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Thumbnails | 10 | Week 7 — Oct 6 |
| Written (video) tutorial | 10 | Week 10 — Oct 27 |
| Final render | 10 | Week 11 — Nov 3 |
Project 3 — Original Work · Weeks 11–16 · 30 points
An original piece that fills a gap in your existing portfolio, or demonstrates a skill a real job posting requires that your portfolio does not yet show.
Your Week 3 portfolio review already contains the analysis. This is where you act on it.
| Milestone | Points | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Thumbnails | 10 | Week 12 — Nov 10 |
| First draft | 10 | Week 14 — Nov 24 |
| Final render | 10 | Week 16 — Dec 8 |
Week-by-week
Each week has its own Canvas page with the focus, what is due, what to bring, the in-class agenda, and what to do before the next meeting. Start there each week.
| Week 1 — Aug 25 · Orientation |
| Week 2 — Sep 1 · P1 Research |
| Week 3 — Sep 8 · Structural critique |
| Week 4 — Sep 15 · P1 First Draft |
| Week 5 — Sep 22 · Polish |
| Week 6 — Sep 29 · P1 review |
| Week 7 — Oct 6 · Tutorial outline |
| Week 8 — Oct 13 · Demo build |
| Week 9 — Oct 20 · Reproduction test |
| Week 10 — Oct 27 · P2 Tutorial |
| Week 11 — Nov 3 · P3 kickoff |
| Week 12 — Nov 10 · Scope lock |
| Week 13 — Nov 17 · Production |
| Week 14 — Nov 24 · P3 First Draft |
| Week 15 — Dec 1 · Portfolio review |
| Week 16 — Dec 8 · Final review |
Replace the # placeholders with your Canvas page URLs after import.
Grade summary
| Component | Points |
|---|---|
| Attendance and weekly consultation participation | 10 |
| Project 1 — Deconstruction | 30 |
| — Research · First draft · Final render | 10 each |
| Project 2 — Technique Tutorial | 30 |
| — Thumbnails · Written (video) tutorial · Final render | 10 each |
| Project 3 — Original Work | 30 |
| — Thumbnails · First draft · Final render | 10 each |
| Total | 100 |
| Extra credit — Career Audit & Portfolio Review | 5 |
| Grand total | 105 |
Grade scale: A ≥ 90 · B ≥ 80 · C ≥ 70 · D ≥ 60 · F < 60