Projects
Projects
Projects
Projects
Nikki Dunsire
CG Artist | Educator
Swiss Army Knife
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Academia
HIGHLIGHTS
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16 years of teaching experience across several colleges and universities in the Pacific Northwest as well as New Hampshire, having taught over 30 different courses; all but one built from scratch. Over 22 years of industry experience.
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Lead Instructor for one of Schools.com Top 10 Game Development Degree Programs (2017-2018)
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Academic Department Director for the following programs at The Art Institute of Portland: Media Arts & Animation, Game Art & Design, Visual Effects & Motion Graphics, Visual & Game Programming, Photography, Digital Film & Video (2015-2016)
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A 94% placement rate as a Career Advisor at The Art Institute of Portland
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Elected Faculty Council President (2018). Member of the Portfolio Review Committee and Crisis Management Council - The Art Institute of Portland
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Member of the Clackamas Community College and Oregon Storyboard team awarded the Microsoft Hololens Academic Research Grant ($100,000)
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Lead faculty member and Producer for the Oregon22 opening title sequence at The University of Oregon (2022)
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Oregon Reality Lab Manager at the University of Oregon (Immersive Media Lab)
Grants & Client Based Classes
COURSES TAUGHT or TEACHING:
(J410_J510) Creating in Unity
An introduction to the tools used for designing and building virtual environments (VR) in Unity, and augmented reality (AR) experiences using Zapworks Studio.
(J410_J510) Building for Immersive
(J410_J510) Production with Unreal Engine
Students work with Unreal Engine to develop VR environments used for storytelling and visualization.
An introduction to the production pipeline for creating custom assets for immersive and interactive media utilizing cross-platform workflows and production software.
(J410_J510) Photogrammetry
Introduction to Photogrammetry and an overview of industry standard methods and software used for optimizing assets for use in real-time rendering environments.
(J410_J510) Digital Portfolio
Students comprise a digital portfolio demonstrating their best work to date, develop an online presence and gain knowledge that will assist them in finding success in their industries.
(J410_J510) Motion Graphics
An introduction to motion graphics for advertising, storytelling, and communication using After Effects, and Photoshop.
(J410_J510) Create with 3D - 3D for Film/Adv
(J699) Creating for Immersive Platforms
Students explore the software and foundational skills used for creating 3-dementional graphical content. They are introduced to the 3D production pipeline for film and advertising using high quality static rendering.
An introduction to the tools used for designing and building for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences and more broadly, the Metaverse. (Online Only - 4crd Overview)
Coming Spring 2024!
Master's Candidate Capstones
Varied projects with instructor oversight.
(GA101) Introduction to Game Development
(GA131) 3D Modeling & Animation I
An overview of the games industry, theory, history and practices.
Fundamentals of modeling, lighting, texturing and animation in Maya. Course emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving.
(GA132) 3D Modeling & Animation II
Fundamentals of modeling, lighting, texturing and animation in Maya as it pertains to the development of a short film.
(GA304) Digital Sculpting (Intro to Zbrush)
(GA334) Comparative 3D Software
Proficiencies in organic modeling and sculpting within a digital environment (ZBrush).
Students learned concepts and skills related to modeling, texturing, Lighting and rendering in the 3DS Max.
(GA350) Adv. Lighting & Texturing for Games II
An exploration of expanded software packages commonly used in the industry for lighting and texturing techniques.
(GA362) Advanced Lighting & Texturing II
(GA409_GA412_GA413) Game Production Team
Expanding upon the techniques used in Advanced Lighting & Texturing I by emphasizing Mental Ray nodes, Arnold, light rigs, advanced rendering setups and compositing for animated scenes.
Students worked collaboratively to produce production materials for an original game.
(MA136) Image Manipulation
A practical introduction to the functionality of Photoshop and its uses within media arts.
(MA362) Advanced Lighting & Texturing I
Course emphasis on utilizing hypershade nodes in complex shading networks in conjunction with render layers and compositing to achieve stylized and photorealistic imagery while being render-time conscience.
(MA377_MA427) Foundation & Digital Portfolio
(MA385_MA435_MA485) CG Production Team
Prepared second and fourth year students for their portfolio reviews and introduced them to the post-graduate environment.
Students worked collaboratively to produce production materials for an original short film.
(MA391) Character Setup: Rigging
(MA401) Technical Direction
(MA417) Portfolio & Professional Practices
Character rigging basics. Exploring techniques, tools, and elements of simple embedded programming: Emphasis on hierarchies, structure, weight painting, GUI elements and functionality.
Fundamentals of technical direction pertaining specifically to lighting, texturing, rendering, compositing and VFX. Course emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving.
Fundamentals of building websites using Dreamweaver, Photoshop and HTML. Course emphasis on branding & identity, website creation and generating project estimates.
(MA491_MA492) Sr. Studio I & II
(VEMG121) Introduction to Visual Effects
(VEMG281) History of Visual FX & Motion Graphics
Refinement and completion of portfolio projects related to major area of focus.
Fundamentals of compositing in NUKE. Course emphasis on tracking, keying, rotoscoping, critical thinking and problem solving.
An overview of the visual effects industry with an emphasis on modern and traditional techniques in their historical context.
(VEMG361) 3D Effects I – Particles/Dynamics
Fundamentals of Maya’s particle and dynamic systems to create effects for compositing.
(VEMG461) 3D Effects II – Fluids
Independent Studies
Fundamentals of Maya’s fluid containers in conjunction with advanced shading networks, ocean systems and light MEL scripting in preparation for compositing final shots.
Varied projects with instructor oversight.
(Film360) Introduction to 3D
Foundational concepts and skills related to 3-D modeling and animation using a computer.
(Film360) Image Manipulation & Motion Graphics
This course explores the fundamentals of image manipulation and animated graphics using Photoshop and After Effects.
(DTC492) Engines & Platforms
This course focuses on game development systems on which they function in order to learn intuitive tools and rapid workflows for creating interactive 3D and 2D content, multi-platform publishing environments, and managing assets for producing games for various platforms.
(DTC499) Special Topics: Game Portfolio
This course focuses on the development of online branding and portfolio content, as well as gaining knowledge that prepares students for entering into the game industry.
(DMC100) Introduction to Media Arts
This course focuses on game development systems on which they function in order to learn intuitive tools and rapid workflows for creating interactive 3D and 2D content, multi-platform publishing environments, and managing assets for producing games for various platforms.
(DMC111) Introduction to Game Design
This course focuses on the development of online branding and portfolio content, as well as gaining knowledge that prepares students for entering into the game industry.
(DMC199) Hololens Development
This course focuses on the development of online branding and portfolio content, as well as gaining knowledge that prepares students for entering into the game industry.
(CG101) Introduction to VR/AR/MR Development
This course was part one in a three-part series of accelerated courses, designed to familiarize students with the skills needed to successfully navigate software and hardware used in virtual and mixed reality content creation.
(IL257-6) Introduction to 3D
In this course, students will learn foundation level concepts and skills related to 3D modeling, lighting, texturing and animation in Maya. Upon successful completion, students should have an understanding of the CG production pipeline for film and adverting through the creation of CG assets and short rendered movie files.
(IL257-5) Introduction to Game Design
This is an introductory course in basic game theory and development, history and current market trends. Additionally, students will learn how to develop with one of two primary game engines used in the industry for game and app creation as well as gain an introductory level understanding of the supporting applications used to build game ready assets.