Studios

Overview

Part of the Faculty of Design, the Material Innovation Centre offers a designated space for students to access and learn about unique materials used for diverse art and design projects. Student monitors and/or faculty are on site and can assist with materials, equipment and database searches. In addition to physical materials housed for reference, students can access an online materials catalogue offering material recommendations and advice. The Centre's equipment includes:

- colour test machines
- microscopes
- cutting boards and grids
- smart boards

Overview

Tool Loans is a free resource for any current staff, student, or faculty member wishing to loan tools on a short term basis. We supply tools ranging from sewing machines and mannequins, to power tools, hand tools, lighting equipment, paint and patch kits, and more.

The Store also sells supplies materials including plywood, sheet plastics, fabric yardage and textile notions, sheet metal, drafting equipment, stationary supplies, and more!

Overview

OCAD U has two central Computer Studios set up with desktops equipped with specialized software featuring Alienware Aurora R12 + Wacom Cintiq displays + 25" Dell Ultrasharp Displays and 27" 4K Dell Displays.

Overview

Our studio has all the equipment and materials you need for lost-wax casting, including:

- bronze, aluminum, micro-crystalline waxes and ceramic shell moulding materials.
- stationary equipment like sanders, band saws, sand blasters, tig welders, wax melters and grinding wheels.
- portable equipment including angle grinders, pneumatic tools, drills, chisels and wax working tools. 

Overview

Our shop has all the materials and equipment you need for metal fabrication, including:

- hot and cold bending, tube bending.
- cutting (abrasive saw, cold saw, band saw, plasma cutter, oxy/acetylene).
- sand blasting and surface finishing.
- welding (tig, mig, stick, spot, oxy/acetylene).
- machining and drilling;
- and you can buy all the materials you need in-shop (plate and sheet steel, angle iron, bar and tube)

Overview

Our shop has all the equipment and materials you need for plastic fabrication:

- cutting (table saw, band saws liquid cooled and dry cut, chop saw)
- abrasive shaping (dry and wet belt sanding, spindle sanding)
- machining (milling machine, lathes, drill press, routing)
- vacuum forming, heat forming and bending
- buffing/polishing and casting (acrylic, resins and liquid plastics);
- and you can buy materials directly in our shop (sheet materials, casting and rod/bar)

Overview

Our shop has all the materials and equipment you need for wood construction:

- major stationary and portable power equipment
- heavy tables for organizing projects and clamping
- saws (band, scroll, table), jointers, planners, sanders (spindle and disc/belt) and drill presses
- portable equipment like routers, jig saws, biscuit joiners, die grinders, drills, hand tools, etc.;
- and you can buy materials including lumber and plywood in shop

Overview

Our shop has all the materials and equipment you need to make 3D objects like piece moulds, flexible rubber moulds, lifecasting, armature building and direct modelling:

- marble bench tops, clay slab rollers, vacuum pumps, balance and electronic scales
- hand tools like chisels, scrapers and modelling tools;
- and you can buy materials like plasters, gypsums and cement in studio
- silicones, alginates, latex and rubber mouldmaking materials are also available.

Overview

2D maker space designed to support studio production related to illustration, graphic design, advertising, printmaking and publications. Production space outfitted with digital printers, a risograph, and tools and equipment to support book making and poster making.

Overview

We offer you access to digital fabrication services at accessible prices!  Our technical staff can help you with file manipulation, post-processing and finishing suggestions for your project! We offer lots of services like:

- FDM 3D printing, SLA 3D printing and SLS 3D printing
- laser cutting and engraving
- CNC milling, 3D scanning and waterjet cutting

Overview

Our studio has all the equipment and materials you need for experimental fabrication, including:

- digital equipment like laser cutters, 3D printers and CNCs
- stationary power tools like drill presses, router tables, sanders and saws
- hand tools and hand power tools
- physical and digital computing equipment

Overview

Our prototyping and model-making shop has all the materials and equipment you need to create working prototypes and presentation models using lots of tools and techniques:

- large power tools including table saws, milling machines, sanders (belt, disc and band), drill presses, saws (band, miter, scroll), wood lathes, polishing wheels, grinders, foam cutters, router tables, and compressed air and pneumatic tools (die grinder, orbital sander)
- a spray booth, vacuum-forming machine, plastic sheet bender and electric hand tools;
- and you can buy materials in our shop (plastic, plywood, sheet materials and insulation foam)

Overview

Our textiles studio has all the materials and equipment you need for weaving, printing, dyeing, knitting, sewing, embroidery, papermaking, feltmaking, basketry and more:

- computer-assisted floor looms, table looms and tapestry frame looms
- print tables, ink jet fabric printer, and silk screen frames
- fully equipped dye kitchen with electric stoves, mixing booths, stovetop and pressurized steamers
- domestic punch card knit machines and hand knitting and crochet needles
- domestic, industrial and embroidery sewing machines, dress forms and pattern books
- paper beater, paper press, dry racks, tools for sheet forming and casting
- drum and hand carders, needle felting and fulling machines and tools
- we also have a dark room, pressure washer and spray room, heat presses, vertical steamers, irons, pressing tables, embroidery and batik tools, and textile software programs

Overview

Our jewellery studio has all the materials and equipment you need for jewellery and metalsmithing. In our shop you’ll do:

- metal casting and fabrication, hot and cold joining and forging techniques.
- forming (including forging, smithing, hydraulic press and bending break).
- soldering, filing, emerying (belt sander), drilling (drill press and flex shaft).
- stone setting and 3D printing in castable wax resin.
- polishing, riveting, surface finishing, machining (unimat, sherline, lathe);
- and you can buy materials like drill bits, saw blades, and silver in-studio

Overview

Our ceramics studio has all the materials and equipment you need for mould and model making, slip casting, hand-building, throwing on the potter’s wheel and glazing, including:

- clay and casting slip, plaster, glaze, underglaze, resist emulsion.
- plaster lathe, band saw, cottles and clamps for mould making.
- working tables, Shimpo wheels, Brent wheels, large Bailey slab roller, plaster wedging tables, slip casting table for throwing, hand-building and slip casting.
- gas and electric kilns.
- spray booth, grinding wheel, glazing stations, pneumatic extruders and plaster reclaim tables.

Overview

Our photography darkrooms include traditional black and white and color complexes with 59 enlarger stations, 14 mural printing stations, and a large-format wall projection station. They are equipped with Colex color processors and black and white darkrooms with large sinks for hand printing. These facilities allow students to explore special interest processes beyond the curriculum, utilizing two UV light exposure units for making historical prints such as cyanotypes, salted paper prints, and VanDyke prints.

Overview

Our studio has lots of equipment for Faculty of Design students doing still life, portraiture, and editorial and product shoots including

- equipment that can be signed out overnight, like digital cameras, strobe kits, umbrella light kits, LED kits and portable studios
- a range of backdrops including black, white, grey and colour
- in-studio equipment like Speedotrons and Redheads

Overview

Our educational lab features large screen monitors for demonstrations and a hybrid studio for both digital and analog processes. The facility includes FlexTight scanning, two 44-inch large format printers, Epson scanners, and capabilities for production printing and scanning using Photoshop and Lightroom. Additionally, it supports the production of digital negatives for historic preservation processes.

Overview

Record audio in the acoustically treated booth, compose music using the MIDI keyboard and vintage synthesizers, and create background soundtracks with the drum kit, electric guitar, and experimental instruments. Capture vocals and instruments with the selection of studio microphones, utilize the RME audio interface for high-quality audio inputs, and create experimental soundscapes with surround sound and studio monitor speakers.

Overview

Animate using Dragonframe Software on the iMacs and Desktops, capturing stop-motion animations on top-down animation stations. Create green screen effects with the provided mat and studio lights, and edit videos and media projects using Adobe Creative Suite in our editing labs. Review content and present work in the 4K projector-equipped screening room, experiencing surround sound during screenings with the 5.1 system.

Overview

- Explore electronic art, interactivity, and design practices. Work on basic motorized electronics and wearable projects.
- Utilize ventilated soldering stations and electronic tools for hands-on projects. Explore coding and interactive projects with Arduinos and sensors.

Overview

Studio facility equipped with AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) technology for teaching and learning. 

Overview

Explore video production in our studio environment, experimenting with rigging setups using a lighting grid. Create performances against the cyclorama or green screen backdrops, and project images and videos on the cyclorama or alternative projection surfaces. Edit videos and media projects using Adobe Creative Suite in our editing labs, then review content and present work in the 4K projector-equipped screening room, experiencing surround sound with the 5.1 system during screenings.

Overview

Our studios have everything you need for drawing, and painting in watercolour, oil and acrylic:

- easels, tables and drawing horses
- optimal lighting, either natural light from skylights or daylight-quality LED lighting
- all studios are equipped with sinks and oily-waste canisters for disposal
- our build shop supports strainer/stretcher and braced panel construction and other build projects
- our workshop has large racks for temporary storage and a spray booth
- lots of hand tools you can use, plus you can buy both flat and beveled wood for building
- our digital suite has interactive tablets and high quality PCs for digital painting and 3D modelling

Overview

Brand press, Wepplo press, American French Tool press, acidroom for copper etching rosin aquatint box, and hot plates

Overview

We’re equipped for traditional printmaking techniques and we experiment with new technologies and materials. Equipment and materials include:

- four litho presses, a selection of stones up to 30” x 44,” and supports for photo plate and stone lithography.
- clean room containing flat file for student storage, clean workspace, guillotine paper cutter, scanners, and an Epson 4880 B&W dye-based printer (for film negatives/ positives).
- risograph: RZ 990U.

Overview

- silkscreen studio: seven vacuum tables, a one-arm manual printing vacuum table, selection of silkscreens up to 48” x 58”, washout room and pressure washer, light table
 

Overview

Our relief printing studio is equipped with equipment and materials including:

- three letterpresses, several intaglio presses, an intaglio/relief press, 8” x 10” polymer plate maker, Nipping presses, foil stamper, acid room for copper etching, rosin aquatint box, hot plates for grounds and wiping, guillotine paper cutter, large board shear, autocreaser, and a selection of lead and wood type.
 

Overview

Our studio is state-of-the-art. We’re equipped with lots of facilities for traditional B&W and colour printing, digital printing, plus historical and experimental processes:

- three shooting studios for indoor still life, portrait and tableau pieces; studios are equipped with tungsten lights and various studio accessories, and strobe units can be signed out from the photo equipment cage.
- historical processes area equipped with two UV exposure units; staff assist by preparing chemical formulas for you, which are weighed and mixed using recipes from the past.
- digital labs equipped with Macs, film and print scanners, and large-format Epson inkjet printers for photo quality digital prints up to 44” wide; can also output digital negatives, which can be used in our historical processes area to create cyanotype and Van Dyke brown prints.
- print finishing room is used for trimming, dry mounting and photo editing