Texturing Bootcamp with Krishna Babu (Unni)

On July 8th, Kinfra Park was buzzing with excitement as Datsi Caravan returned back to town where we hosted a Texturing bootcamp led by our inhouse course lead and industry expert, Krishna Babu (Unni) who has decades of experience working in the CG entertainment industry and has credits on "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Exodus: Gods and Kings"and many titles for EA, 2K, Telltale, Nickelodeon, Marvel, Fox, and Warner Bros. The bootcamp was open for all, giving an opportunity for the Attendees to enhance their creative skills without any prior CG experience.

Our goal with the event was to acquaint the local community with the captivating world of animation and Computer Graphics (CG). We introduced them to Texturing, which is a less-explored aspect in animation and surprisingly has remained unknown to many individuals.  Serving as a gateway for art enthusiasts, we invited participants to delve deeper into the wonders of this burgeoning art form within the digital realm and exciting career opportunities that await them, which not only promises professional growth but also offers a fulfilling and creatively gratifying journey.

Texturing in animation is a critical step in adding realistic and intricate surfaces to models or environments. It confers depth, dimension, and visual allure to animated scenes, enabling viewers to immerse themselves in the virtual world. Our boot camp session was replete with insights for beginners and art enthusiasts alike, providing them with a sneak peek into the world of CG.

The session started with introductions and trust-building exercises to foster a supportive environment. However, things became even more exciting as our course lead Krishna Babu (Unni) and mentors Visagh Chandran and Shahid PM took the students outside the walls of a conventional classroom to observe textures in the real world. They collected stones and scrutinised roadside architecture, aiding participants in comprehending the various dimensions of surfaces and how they can be brought to life in the CG world.

Unni shared his expertise, emphasising that texturing is a vital step in the animation pipeline that imbues richness and authenticity into the final product. Whether creating the roughness of a stone wall or the smoothness of a glass surface, texturing enhances the overall visual experience and helps bring the animator's vision to life. He added, "After two decades of diving into the world of texturing and look development, I've realised that painting textures are akin to breathing life into the virtual canvas, where pixels become emotions and colours tell captivating stories."

The mentors also hosted a demo session, showing how to use software tools to create textures. They explained the importance of lighting, shadows, and reflections in creating realistic textures. Participants were also shown to use procedural texturing techniques to quickly and efficiently create complex textures.

The bootcamp was an excellent opportunity for participants to network with other like-minded individuals and learn from industry experts. The supportive environment created by the mentors allowed participants to ask questions and receive feedback on their work , while the hands-on training and real-world observations offered invaluable insights into the world of CG.

Datsi hopes to establish itself as a creative hub for the local and global community, and events like these really help us to bring in the involvement of society, culture, and people into emerging digital artforms. This overlap pushes us to create more interesting and meaningful films and stories, by allowing more voices to be a part of the conversation. 

We’re planning more events in the coming months, so follow us on our social media to stay tuned.