Brian Salisbury portrait
  • Professor (Lecturer), Division Of Games

Current Courses

Fall 2024

  • GAMES 3200-001
    Animation for Games
  • GAMES 3640-001
    Digital Fig. Sculpting
  • GAMES 6100-001
    Rapid Prototyping
  • GAMES 6100-002
    Rapid Prototyping
  • GAMES 6200-001
    Game Arts I
  • GAMES 6640-001
    Digital Fig. Sculpting

Spring 2024

Professional Organizations

  • Salt Lake Animation Meetup. 03/01/2022 - present. Position : Member. Presenter.
  • Higher Education Video Game Alliance (HEVGA). 01/03/2022 - present. Position : Member.
  • Adobe, Inc. 06/15/2020 - present. Position : Adobe Education Leader.
  • UDEN - Utah Digital Entertainment Network. 03/13/2017 - present. Position : Member - Associate.
  • Utah Virtual Reality. 06/15/2016 - present. Position : Member.
  • Polycount. 06/01/2016 - present. Position : Member.
  • CGSOCIETY. 12/02/2002 - present. Position : Member.

Teaching Philosophy

 

Out of all of the professors that have taught me in their labs and classrooms, a few dedicated individuals stood out from among the crowd and inspired me. The single common denominator with each of them is that they cared about me as an individual, and about my success both during and after the class room instruction or graduation from the program. As an Associate Professor, Lecturer at the Engineering Arts & Entertainment program I have a privileged and tremendous responsibility to inspire and prepare undergraduate and graduate art & animation students from a wide spectrum of backgrounds to succeed in the competitive entertainment industry as generalists and specialists.

Teaching video game art within the constraints of team project based graduate programs presents its challenges. The artist must develop individual skills and portfolio works in art classes while addressing the needs of the teams and peers from intensely competitive group project classes.

My pedagogical approach is to break down and demystify the art creation process for the students, continuously referring to foundational principles. For example, I point out how the overall shape of a 3D model can be broken down into major peaks and valleys. If one establishes the peaks and valleys first, the rest of the details will be less intimidating to work out. I draw parallels to these principles as they apply to drawing, digital sculpting, painting textures, animation, etc. My teaching methods include examples, demonstrations and video tutorials. Another key element is for the student to study and identify art styles and portfolios from contemporary sources, emerging sources and productions in order to effectively chart their portfolio goals.

Ultimately, I think of my students as unique individuals with dreams and passions who have entrusted me with helping them to achieve their goal of working professionally as a digital artist. Where appropriate, I both challenge and accommodate them individually. I’m available to listen to their concerns during their struggles and guide them in their all-important working relationships with their peers, teams and leadership capacities. I draw from extensive professional and academic experience in pointing out pitfalls to avoid and strategies for dealing with difficult individuals, circumstances and instilling and gaining confidence in others. It is my responsibility to strive to be positive, encouraging, complimentary, and yet be honest and realistic with critiques, feedback, progress and expectations. 

Small Group Teaching

  • Instruct student classes, student project groups, and individuals in the process and application of motion capture, using our motion capture equipment and studio. I also instruct them in techniques for editing and implementing motion capture data into their real-time projects. Due to Covid-19, the studio was closed, but students were still mentored using existing motion capture data from previous shoots.  10/23/2017  -  02/28/2022