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A student and a faculty member in the University of North Georgia's (Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û) Department of Visual Arts have partnered with the City of Dahlonega to create a rendering of a pedestrian bridge that will be built soon. The pedestrian bridge will be over Yahoola Creek at the Reservoir.

Vaughan Duncan, a senior from Augusta, Georgia, pursuing a degree in art with a digital arts concentration, worked with Dan Johnson, associate professor of digital arts, and city officials on the project.

Duncan has enjoyed getting to work with 3D modeling software and learning different programs while at Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û, and the work with the city was a great chance to use those skills.

"I really liked sending out work and getting feedback immediately," Duncan said. "I was able to mesh my work with the group of people I was working with."

Duncan and Johnson worked with City Engineer Mark Buchanan and City Manager Allison Martin to create the rendering placed on the backdrop of a current photo of the location. The faculty member said projects like this can help set students like Duncan apart in the job market as graduation approaches.

"It's a competitive workplace. I like for students to have a good range of skills that helps them have good opportunities," Johnson said. "I love seeing the end result. I like being able to hand it off to the client, and when they're happy with it, that makes it worthwhile."

Martin is grateful for the spirit of collaboration that led to the rendering.

"One of Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û’s most endearing qualities is that it still has that small-town feel. Getting in touch with the appropriate faculty to partner with the city was as simple as just picking up the phone and making a call to Jennifer Graff, the Visual Arts department head," Martin said. "We are always looking for ways to stretch our budget dollars, so being able to tap this resource saved us thousands of dollars. It is wonderful that we can provide a real-life client experience for the student. Not only is this a great addition to their resume, but it also gives them real experience dealing with a customer and learning how to create their finished product while respecting the needs and opinions of their client."

Martin said this opportunity was a great example of potential future partnerships based on technology.

"It was super easy and really an eye-opening experience. Seeing what could be done using a combination of human artistry and modern technology was quite surprising," Buchanan said. "Their ability to accurately merge generated images with a typical photograph wasn’t something I was expecting."

Duncan, meanwhile, has widened his perspective on potential careers through the experience he has gained at Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û after initially coming in with a focus on cartoons, television shows and animation.

"It's certainly changed what I thought was possible beyond school," Duncan said. "They introduced me to another whole world."