Texas Tech's University Library has opened a new 3-D animation lab for students and faculty.
The lab features eight dual-platform Apple high-performance computers and new modular furnishings. Jeff Whitley, director of the University Library, said collaboration between students is the overall goal.
"The library as it's traditionally known - as a place to locate books only - is gone," Whitley said. "The new university academic library is a hub for technology and for vast resources being brought to the user via the Internet and computer technology. It's about electronic resources increasing."
The 3-D lab contains some of the most widely recognized and utilized 3-D software in the industry, Whitley said. The computers have Vue Infinite for designing landscapes and animals, Poser for the human figure, and 3-D Studio Max which is used mostly in designing 3-D video games.
"I think it's pretty cool," said Brian Morris, a junior electronic media and communications major from Lubbock and student assistant in the library. "It's great that they've gone out and gotten all this software that can be utilized by various departments. It's not limited to just one or two."
Whitley said Library Dean Donald Dyal was one of the first people at Tech to envision a library filled with technological innovations.
"Since the dean landed, he's been determined to transform the library into a technology-based center for students who want to access the latest software and equipment," Whitley said. "He said we need to put the latest equipment in the hands of the students, and he began to think about doing this."
As beneficial as the software is, the advanced level of it can be daunting, Morris said.
"Some of it is kind of intimidating to learn how to use," Morris said. "After a while you kind of figure it out, though, and then you can do so much with it."
The 3-D animation studio gives students opportunities they would not have through classes, Whitley said.
"If you're thinking about the film industry, these animation studios don't necessarily hire individuals with credentials," Whitley said. "It's less about a degree and more about skills, so we're opening this to the students. It's putting their fees to a good use. You have a very real possibility to make yourself employable to an animation house. What a great opportunity to have this software."
In addition to the film and gaming industries, 3-D animation can be used in highly specialized fields like science, engineering and medicine, Whitley said.
"If you're in medical school and you're studying the body, how would you do it? You could actually dissect one, you could look in books, but it would be better to have a life-size or larger 3-D model," Whitley said. "You could look at the surfaces, enter into the valves, the chambers of the heart."
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