This class covers texturing/shading, with a focus on character surfacing. The class should leave with an understanding of texturing/shading strategies, methods, and best practices for a Maya-Mentalray pipeline.
The class has already concepted and modeled characters and environments (from a specific camera angle), and has had a week using Zbrush. The characters should also be uv'd, and posed. Because of our use of Mentalray, we expect the class to work with high(er) poly models and normal mapping (rather than displacement mapping).
During this time, the students will also expect to work on their own projects (at least two days of each week that are specifically set aside for their projects, or a period of time each day).
basics 
color spaces
gamma
bit depths
linear workflow
procedural vs. painted
shader networks and how they can help you achieve complex effects with a minimum of manual work
shading models
how light/surface is described in the renderer
different models and their uses
difference between textures/shaders
which to use, when
surface properties
diffuse, specular, reflection, bump/normal
interaction of textures on the shader
procedural vs. painted textures
photoshopped vs. zbrushed textures
working with reference/stock
distortion techniques to match textures to uv layouts
generating maps from one pictures
hi pass filters for bump mapping
combining textures
