ARTV 2371 Fall 2026 — Canvas Setup Guide
Revised — reflects the reworked project structure and weekly pages
What changed in this revision
Removed
- Résumé, cover letter, demo reel assembly, networking plan, and mock interview — all covered in Portfolio Development. Every reference to them is gone from the course pages.
- The weekly "career track" column in the schedule.
Kept and refocused
- Career self-audit, portfolio review, and track selection now form a single package due Week 3, worth the 5 extra credit points. The portfolio review produces a gap statement that becomes the Project 3 brief.
- The course now assumes students arrive with an existing online portfolio from Portfolio Development.
Reworked projects
- Project 1 — now explicitly "choose an existing title sequence, effects shot, game mechanic, character design, level, or rig and recreate it, faithfully or in your own style." Added track-driven curated source lists, with Art of the Title as the primary source for motion graphics and title design. The research milestone now produces a technique list that becomes Project 2's menu.
- Project 2 — no longer "learn something new." Now: take one technique from Project 1 and teach it. Written, video, or AI-assisted are equally valid. AI is permitted as a production aid with three conditions: the technique knowledge is the student's, every published step is personally verified, and the use is disclosed. Renamed Technique Tutorial; the "final render" milestone is now the polished demonstration piece the tutorial produces.
- Project 3 — now briefed from the Week 3 portfolio gap statement or a real job posting requirement the portfolio does not demonstrate.
Added
- 16 weekly Canvas pages, one per meeting.
File inventory
Course pages (canvas_pages/)
| File | Canvas page title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
01_Home.md | ARTV 2371 — Home | Set as course front page |
00_Course_Schedule.md | Course Schedule | Contains a week-page link table — replace the # placeholders with real Canvas URLs after import |
02_Course_Information.md | Course Information | Add your official Collin syllabus header |
03_Weekly_Consultation_Protocol.md | Weekly Consultation Protocol | Required reading before Week 1 |
04_Project1_Deconstruction.md | Project 1 — Deconstruction | Includes all track source lists |
05_Project2_New_Techniques_Tutorial.md | Project 2 — Technique Tutorial | Filename kept for continuity; page title changed |
06_Project3_Original_Work.md | Project 3 — Original Work | |
07_Audit_Portfolio_Review_Track.md | Career Audit, Portfolio Review & Track Selection | Replaces the old career track page |
08_Grading_and_Rubrics.md | Grading & Rubrics |
Weekly pages (canvas_pages/weekly/)
Week_01.md through Week_16.md. Each contains: focus · due today · bring to class · in class · before next week · a short instructional note.
| Page | Date | Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Aug 25 | Orientation, audit, track selection |
| Week 2 | Sep 1 | P1 Research due |
| Week 3 | Sep 8 | Audit package due (EC) · census date |
| Week 4 | Sep 15 | P1 First Draft due |
| Week 5 | Sep 22 | Polish · delivery prep |
| Week 6 | Sep 29 | P1 Final Render due · P1 review · P2 kickoff |
| Week 7 | Oct 6 | P2 Thumbnails due |
| Week 8 | Oct 13 | Demo build · process capture |
| Week 9 | Oct 20 | Peer reproduction test |
| Week 10 | Oct 27 | P2 Tutorial due · withdrawal deadline Oct 30 |
| Week 11 | Nov 3 | P2 Final Render due · P3 kickoff · gap revisited |
| Week 12 | Nov 10 | P3 Thumbnails due · scope lock |
| Week 13 | Nov 17 | Production · structural critique |
| Week 14 | Nov 24 | P3 First Draft due · class meets |
| Week 15 | Dec 1 | Full portfolio review |
| Week 16 | Dec 8 | P3 Final Render due · final review |
Resources (resources/)
| File | Canvas page title |
|---|---|
09_Industry_Skills_Report_2026.md | 2026 Industry Skills Report |
10_Track_3D_Animation.md | Track Resources — 3D Animation |
11_Track_Character_Rigging.md | Track Resources — Character Rigging |
12_Track_Technical_Art.md | Track Resources — Technical Art |
13_Track_Game_Development.md | Track Resources — Game Development |
14_Track_Additional_Areas.md | Track Resources — Additional Focus Areas |
Suggested Canvas module structure
Module 1 — Start Here
Home · Course Information · Course Schedule · Weekly Consultation Protocol · Grading & Rubrics · 2026 Industry Skills Report · Career Audit, Portfolio Review & Track Selection
Module 2 — Choose Your Track
The six track resource pages
Module 3 — Weekly Pages
Week 1 through Week 16, in order. Consider using Canvas's date-based release so students see the current week without scrolling past sixteen entries.
Modules 4–6 — Project pages and assignments
One module per project, each holding the project page and its three assignments.
Canvas assignments to create
Eleven items. All due 9:00 AM on the listed date.
| Assignment name | Points | Due | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance & Weekly Consultation | 10 | End of term | Participation |
| P1 — Research | 10 | Tue, Sep 1, 2026 | Project 1 |
| Career Audit & Portfolio Review (EC) | 5 | Tue, Sep 8, 2026 | Extra Credit |
| P1 — First Draft | 10 | Tue, Sep 15, 2026 | Project 1 |
| P1 — Final Render | 10 | Tue, Sep 29, 2026 | Project 1 |
| P2 — Thumbnails | 10 | Tue, Oct 6, 2026 | Project 2 |
| P2 — Written (Video) Tutorial | 10 | Tue, Oct 27, 2026 | Project 2 |
| P2 — Final Render | 10 | Tue, Nov 3, 2026 | Project 2 |
| P3 — Thumbnails | 10 | Tue, Nov 10, 2026 | Project 3 |
| P3 — First Draft | 10 | Tue, Nov 24, 2026 | Project 3 |
| P3 — Final Render | 10 | Tue, Dec 8, 2026 | Project 3 |
Total: 100 + 5 extra credit = 105. Matches your Fall 2025 grade sheet exactly.
For the extra credit item, the cleanest approach in a course this small is a 0-point assignment plus a manual adjustment, or an assignment group weighted at 0%.
Recommended: a weekly progress report assignment
Every weekly page requires a one-page progress report. A single recurring 0-point assignment (or sixteen individual ones) gives you timestamped evidence for the attendance grade and a written record of each consultation.
Fall 2026 calendar verification
Confirmed against the Collin College 2026–2027 Academic Calendar:
- 16-week session begins Monday, August 24 → first Tuesday August 25
- Census date September 8 (Week 3)
- Last day to withdraw October 30 (Friday of Week 10)
- Thanksgiving November 25–29, Wednesday–Sunday. Tuesday, November 24 is a class day.
- Final exam week December 7–13 → final meeting December 8
- Labor Day Sept 7 (Monday) and the Plano Balloon Festival closure Sept 18–20 (Fri–Sun) do not affect a Tuesday section
All sixteen Tuesdays: Aug 25 · Sep 1 · Sep 8 · Sep 15 · Sep 22 · Sep 29 · Oct 6 · Oct 13 · Oct 20 · Oct 27 · Nov 3 · Nov 10 · Nov 17 · Nov 24 · Dec 1 · Dec 8
Updating the Industry Skills Report each semester
The report is built to be refreshed. What to re-check before each term:
| Section | Source to re-pull |
|---|---|
| Employment outlook, median wage | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — updated annually |
| Layoffs, AI sentiment, engine share | GDC State of the Game Industry — published each January |
| Salary bands | PixelCareer, CGSpectrum, ZipRecruiter — annual guides |
| Portfolio expectations | Recruiter articles and studio postings |
| Emerging technique | SIGGRAPH, GDC talks, VFX trend roundups |
The fastest refresh path is to hand me the current report and ask for a data update — the structure stays, the numbers and the "hiring signals" list change. Worth doing every fall, and lightly in spring.