Digital Media
Digital media majors immerse themselves in comprehensive courses of study that focus on either electronic game design or motion graphics. Both areas of emphasis are designed to establish the fundamental technical skills and aesthetic principles required to conceptually explore how each area has become central to wide-ranging fields of cultural production in contemporary art and society.
Game design is newly recognized as a contemporary art practice that exists both within and outside of the entertainment industry. KCAI’s game design program is committed to the craft and practice of all perspectives of games and interactive entertainment. Major studies culminate during the senior year in studio courses devoted to producing short and polished video games. Students are given studio time to create alpha, beta and final builds that have been thoroughly tested and iterated. This approach fully prepares students to enter the field with an informed perspective, strong portfolio and a well-rounded sense of artistic and technical confidence.
Motion graphics is a modern visual art form that exists at the crossroads of animation, graphic design and digital filmmaking. To that end, students are offered a unique and innovative hybrid of courses that form an interdisciplinary link between these same three established departments at KCAI. Students study all aspects and contemporary approaches to the creation of motion graphics while building a dynamic and professionally competitive portfolio over the course of three years.
Professional practice is a compulsory component of all instruction, and all majors benefit directly from interaction with world-renowned visiting artists, scholars and professionals. These generous mentors present their work and engage with students in one-on-one critiques and group workshops. The digital media program features studios and classrooms equipped with leading-edge technology.
Digitial Media Faculty
-
Doug Hudson, associate professor and chair of animation/digital media
Douglas Hudson is an independent animation director and educator. Hudson is associate professor and chair of animation/digital media at KCAI. He established the college's Student Academy Award-winning animation department in 2004.
His minimalist approach to animation ranges from stream of consciousness abstraction to short narratives using hand drawn, digital and stop motion techniques. He also produces and composes all the sound and music for his films.
At Warner Brothers in Glendale, Calif., he animated for the online Flash-based cartoons Gotham Girls and Lobo and was a member of the first team of animators to produce original Looney Tunes shorts for the Internet in 2000-2001.
Hudson earned a B.F.A. degree in animation from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and an M.F.A. degree in experimental animation from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia under the mentorship of Jules Engel.
Douglas Hudson on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/doughudson
-
John Baker, special instructor
John Baker joined KCAI in 2010 and teaches courses in digital media and animation. Previously he was an animator with MK12, a Kansas...
Read More
John Baker joined KCAI in 2010 and teaches courses in digital media and animation. Previously he was an animator with MK12, a Kansas City-based motion graphics firm, where he was responsible for generating concepts for clients from storyboards to final animation and worked as editor and data manager on national and international film and video production. At MK12 he was responsible for shooting footage, including client work and internal short films, and he handled filming and processing green-screen footage, rotoscope work and various visual effects. Before that he was an animator with Video Post Productions in Kansas City, where he worked in 2-D and 3-D animation for national and international clients. He has worked on projects for the Salvation Army, Oregon Lottery, Microsoft, BBDO, Harmonix, Swiss Air International, Fox Television, Mastercard, Universal Pictures and Budweiser, to name just a few.
-
Stephen Dinehart, assistant professor
Stephen Erin Dinehart IV is an educator, award-winning interactive narrative designer, writer and artist, currently acting as...
Read More
Stephen Erin Dinehart IV is an educator, award-winning interactive narrative designer, writer and artist, currently acting as chief wizard for independent developer Narrware. Dinehart has consulted and worked with Warner Brothers, Activision, Zenimax, THQ and more, on franchises ranging from The Marvel Universe, Constantine, Batman, F.E.A.R., and The Lord of the Rings, to Dawn of War and Company of Heroes. At the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles he also designed and produced the hit independent games Cloud and Journey of Jin while on scholarship from Electronic Arts. A leading expert in transmedia storytelling, his work broke early ground in 2006 and has since gone on to inspire a movement.
-
Melinda Robino, special instructor
Melinda Robino began her career as graphic designer and typesetter. In 1987, she was selected to beta-test a little-known computer...
Read More
Melinda Robino began her career as graphic designer and typesetter. In 1987, she was selected to beta-test a little-known computer called Apple (at the DuPont Company). From there Robino moved on to establish one of the first desktop publishing companies in the state of Delaware.
Since then Robino has taught high school and college level multimedia programs in Maryland and 3D animation at Olathe Northwest High School in Kansas. During her 8 years of teaching, Robino continued her own training and has become certified in multiple software programs while nurturing her love of the fine art. From 3D training at Stanford University to pouring bronze at SCAD in Atlanta, along with many freelance projects in between, Robino has honed her teaching skills to include a blend of art history, drawing, storytelling and animation.
Robino has a B.S. degree in Human Resource Management from Wilmington College in Ohio, an M.S. degree in Curriculum Development and Instruction from Emporia University in Kansas and graphic design certification from the University of Delaware in Newark.
