REGULAR PROGRAMS

CAMPUS / ONLINE

Explore CG, VFX, 3D animation, AI, games, and commercial production at SF Film School.

Start with the fundamentals and build your skills through hands-on projects, guided by instructors with industry experience.

Learn the production process in your chosen field as you build your portfolio and prepare for a career in the industry.

SFFS Signature Class Structure:
Students at different stages of the curriculum are taught in separate classes.

FX
DYNAMIC AND SIMULATION

Every explosion, flood, and collapsing building you've seen on screen was most likely built in Houdini.
The industry's most powerful tool for simulation and FX,

Houdini handles everything from pyro and fluids to destruction and character effects

— the kind of work that makes audiences forget they're watching something that was never real.
At SFFS, students learn Houdini as a core part of the FX pipeline,

building the technical depth to create effects that hold up on the biggest screens in the world.

MAYA

Autodesk Maya is the industry standard for 3D production —
the software behind character animation, visual effects, and environments in film, TV, and games worldwide.

At SFFS, Maya is the foundation of the pipeline.
From modeling and rigging to lighting and rendering,
you'll build the kind of fluency that studios expect from day one.

Duration

6 Months

Class Capacity

8 ~ 12

Class Hours

2 H

Including Breaks

BASIC MODELING

<Maya Basics for First-Time Learners>

Learn Maya’s interface and 3D space, progressing step by step from basic modeling to hard-surface modeling.

Basics → Modeling → Final Object

UV & Texture

<Adding Color and Materials to Bring 3D Models to Life>

Learn UV mapping, V-Ray materials, subdivision, and texturing to add realistic colors and materials to 3D models.

Modeling → Materials → Final Details

Shading & Lighting

<Creating Realistic 3D Scenes>

Learn basic shading and lighting, advanced texturing, and how to recreate the characteristics of different materials. Explore light and shadow by placing and adjusting lights in 3D space, then use physical and IES lighting to create natural illumination.

Build a complete scene by controlling materials, light, and shadow.

Camera & Render Pass

<Turning a 3D Space into a Finished Image>

Learn basic camera techniques to create the desired composition and perspective, and understand how cameras frame a scene. Use Render Passes to separate light, shadow, and reflections, then combine them through compositing to create a polished final image.

Go beyond building a 3D space and complete the final image through camera work and compositing.

Rigging & Animation

<Bringing Movement and Life to 3D Models>

Learn rigging by building skeletons and controllers for natural character and object movement. Start with keyframe animation, then use Constraints, Set Driven Keys, Motion Paths, and Expressions to control various movements and apply motion capture data to create realistic character animation.

Turn static 3D models into animated content and design the movements you want.

SUBSTANCE PAINTER

The difference between a 3D model that looks real
and one that doesn't usually comes down to texturing
— and Substance Painter is the industry's tool of choice for getting it right.

Working directly on the 3D surface, students apply materials,fine details,
and weathering effects using a layer-based workflow built around real-time PBR rendering.

At SFFS, Substance Painter is taught as part of the full asset pipeline,
seamlessly integrated with Maya and industry-standard renderers.