Steve Rittler Professor • Department of Art View CV Website Steve Rittler is an independent designer, animator, illustrator, and educator. Steve graduated from Philadelphia’s University of the Arts (Honors B.F.A., Illustration, 1990; Animation minor) and Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute (M.F.A. with Distinction, Computer Graphics Animation, 2000). He has animated, storyboarded and modeled for many companies in NYC, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, including Disney Interactive. Films featuring his work as an animator/designer have been screened and awarded nationally and internationally, including the Annecy Animated Film Festival in France, and his own animated MFA Thesis film, Nor Gloom of Nyght, has been screened at the International SIGGRAPH Conference, The first Beijing International New Media Arts Exhibition and Symposium and at BUDi 2005 in Seoul, Korea. Steve has served on the NYC ACM SIGGRAPH Local Chapter Board of Directors from 2000 to 2015 and has presented courses on animation production at the 2003 and 2004 International SIGGRAPH Conferences in San Diego and Los Angeles, and at the 2008 SIGGRAPH Asia Conference in Singapore. He served as chair of NYC ACM SIGGRAPH MetroCAF 2006, the New York Metropolitan Area College Computer Animation Festival, was Co-Chair of MetroCAF 2014 and was the principal designer, illustrator and animator for these festivals. He holds an Associate Professorship in Animation at the William Paterson University Department of Art. He has his own company, Muse Machine Productions, is currently in production on two animated films, Monster Box and The Big Headache, and plays bass and sings in a rock band. Professional Interests Animation, sequential illustration, VR, game development, architecture, design, music, etc. Other Interests Too numerous to list Japanese Degrees MFA Computer Graphics, Pratt Institute Brooklyn, NY BFA Illustration, University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA Specialization Animation, 3D Animation, Illustration, Drawing, Game Design, Film Notable Courses Taught Courses I have taught in the past year and before include the following. Please note that I either proposed anddeveloped nearly all of them from scratch (marked with **) for the Department of Art, and the ones I didn’t, Ioverhauled and modernized, rewriting them completely (*).• ARTS 3850 * 3D Computer Graphics II, Animation: an introduction to 3D model design,construction, rigging, and animating in Maya software, following ARTS 2850• ARTS 6850 * Projects 3D Computer Graphics II, Animation (Graduate Level): an introduction to3D model design, construction, rigging, and animating in Maya software, following ARTS 5850• ARTS 4860 ** 3D Character Animation: focusing on character design, 3-D model construction,animation, and acting, following directly the instruction received in ARTS 3850• ARTS 6860 ** Projects 3D Character Animation (Graduate Level): focusing on character design,3-D model construction, animation, and acting, following instruction received in ARTS 3850• ARTS 4870 ** Advanced Character Animation: a class for both 3D and 2D animation filmmakerssupporting thesis projects and working on visual storytelling and cinematography.• ARTS 6870 ** Advanced Character Animation (Graduate Level): a class for both 3D and 2Danimation filmmakers supporting thesis projects and working on visual storytelling andcinematography.Advances I am making in the animation courses:o Keeping up to date with relevant technologies for new hardware and softwareo Introducing alternative software and methods for completing work and adding advancedsubject matter (such as cloth textures and automatic rigging for animated characters, whichmeans adding human/animal skeletons to 3D models to enable animation)o Seeking out new rendering and rigging software to keep pace with industry standardso Continuing to cultivate a culture of excellence, a clear work ethic, and pride in our animationstudent bodyo Continued participation in animation lab development and maintenance, working directlywith Institutional Technology to accomplish these goals• ARTS 4950 * BFA Senior Thesis: I have taught this course for the past six years and find it rewardingbecause it gives me an opportunity help artists of every major in our department with their final projects andfinal show, along with those whom I teach in the capstone animation courses. This course also allows me topoint out the importance of graduate study to fine artists who wish to continue their education.Advances I have made in the BFA Senior Thesis course:o Created and updated new guidelines for the written component of the BFA Thesis to make themclearer and more relevant, drawn directly from those for the MFA program but geared towardundergraduate levels of engagement and requirementso Created and instituted a new deadline and scheduling structure to help students stay on trackwith their projects and meet their final deadlines (in particular for, but not limited to, long-formanimated film production, which usually require two semesters to complete)o Added and intend to continue offering live, online streaming of the Thesis Night Exhibitions• ARTS 2890 * Dynamic Figure Drawing and 5890 Projects Drawing for Animators: a very popular drawingcourse addressing the study of human anatomy for artists and the figure in motion, picking up where ARTS2050 Life Drawing leaves off. Rooted in the Academic Tradition of artistic learning (see Brandywine Schoolabove), this is the gateway course I developed for all 2-D Cel Animation courses and is invaluable to anyart student seeking to specialize and understand renderings of the human figure, being equally essential forillustrators and painters who address the human figure• ARTS 3870 ** Storyboarding and Visual Storytelling: another very popular course that routinely fills,teaching pre production and cinematic skills necessary for animators, filmmakers, illustrators and visualstorytellers of all kinds. A gateway course to capstone animation courses beyond 3850• ARTS 6870 ** Projects Storyboarding and Visual Storytelling (Graduate level): teaching pre productionand cinematic skills necessary for animators, filmmakers, illustrators and visual storytellers of all kinds.• ARTS 3890 ** Advanced Dynamic Figure Drawing: a very popular drawing course addressing the study ofhuman anatomy for artists and the figure in motion, picking up where ARTS 2890 Life Drawing leaves off• ARTS 5890 * Projects Drawing for Animators: (Graduate level) a very popular drawing course addressingthe study of human anatomy for artists and the figure in motion, see ARTS 2890 and 3890 above• ARTS 3990 (Special Topics, Summer) Sequential Illustration, Graphic Novel: A popular course addressingvisual narrative and sequential illustration in the form of traditional and web-based graphic novels andcomics. This course complements our storyboarding, animation, illustration, and drawing courses and givesmany students additional access to necessary summer art studio credits required for graduation.• ARTS 5990 ** (Special Topics, Summer) Sequential Illustration, Graphic Novel (Graduate Level): seeARTS 3990 directly above Email 973 720 3649 140 Ben Shahn Center Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30 to 2:00pm by appointment, 4:30 to 5:30 In BS 204/5
