Digital Imagery for Non-Majors
FINA N-130
Indiana University Bloomington, Fall 2007
Mondays/Wednesdays: 11:15 am to 12:30 pm
Room: FA 102
Professor: Silvia Ruzanka, silvia-at-vitagrrl-dot-com or silruzan-at-indiana-dot-edu
Office: FA 104
Office Hours: Mondays 3-4 or by appointment
Course AI: Youngsuk Lee
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course aims to introduce nonmajors to the fundamental practice and aesthetics of employing digital imagery in art and to provide a survey on contemporary digital image-based art. The survey covers digital artworks in relation to a broader visual culture, and especially to how artists are employing and inspired by technology as a means of visual expression. Art projects will be assigned, and originality and creativity will be stressed with all art projects as well as furthering one’s technical abilities. Readings related to lecture content are assigned and will be discussed in class. A written exam covers lecture material and readings.
Lecture-based software instruction in Adobe Photoshop (with a small section devoted to Adobe Illustrator) is included in this course to advance the student’s technical abilities for the art assignments, and other means of generating digital images will be discussed in lecture topics. Technical demos and instruction in Photoshop and Illustrator will be conducted during some lectures as well as in AI lab demos, beginning with Photoshop basics, and later covering Illustrator basics and advanced Photoshop. It should be understood that this is not a software-training course, but an art course that includes some software training, and as with any art course, includes discussion of relevant art trends and examples. Since software-training here is limited to short demos in lecture and AI sessions, students are expected to follow these up with practice on the software outside of class time and to utilize the office hours and AI sessions for further assistance.
REQUIRED TEXT
Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas, Visual Quickstart Guide: Photoshop CS3
ADDITIONAL READINGS
Additional readings will be assigned throughout the semester.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
Flash Drive for storage of materials. Backing Up Files is Very Important!! A 1GB drive or larger is preferable, digital images use up a lot of space.
Notebook
On-line sketchbook
ASSIGNMENTS
All assignments are due at the beginning of class and will be marked down if turned in later. Late assignments will be lowered one letter grade for each day late. Satisfactory completion of projects and participation in group critiques is mandatory for a passing grade.
Losing your files due to a computer crash or other means will NOT be allowed as an excuse for turning in work late. You are responsible for backing up all of your files.
ON-LINE SKETCHBOOK
In addition to the three projects and the final, you are required to keep an on-line sketchbook/web journal. Use this to keep your weekly sketching assignments and reading responses. As well, a large component of the three projects is the recording of the inspiration, research, and process that goes into the creation of each piece.
ATTENDANCE
Late arrivals, early departures and unexcused absences are frowned upon. Only 3 unexcused abscences will be allowed. Every additional abscence will result in the lowering of the final grade by a letter. Do not arrive late or leave early. Three tardies or early departures are considered one absence. It is the student's responsibility to make up material missed due to absence; the professor does not provide lecture notes to students who miss class.
ORIGINALITY
This is an art class so the emphasis in this course is on you developing original image content. Use of other people’s imagery (e.g., from the web, and/or without acknowledgement) is considered plagiarism and you will lose points or fail the assignment for using other people’s images.
GRADING
If a student completes all assignments adequately, participates in class discussions and activities, and has a good attendance record, she/he can expect to receive a grade of C. Grades of B and A are given for work, participation and engagement that substantially exceeds the average expectation.
Grade Breakdown:
A :: Excellent :: 100-93
B :: Above Average :: 92-85
C :: Average :: 84-77
D :: Below Average :: 76-69
F :: Failure :: Below 69
15 %: Project 1
15 %: Project 2
15 %: Project 3
15 %: On-line Sketchbook
15 %: Attendance and Participation
25 %: Final
CALENDAR: (This syllabus is subject to changes and may be amended over the course of the semester. All changes will be announced.)
1. Introductions
8/27: Overview
- Introduction to the course
- Brief survey of digital imagery
- Student Questionaire
- Photographs
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8/29: Just the basics
- Introduction to Photoshop CS3: what is it and what does it do?
- Photoshop Interface: Menu overview, basic tools, palettes
- Creating and saving images
2. Manipulating and Saving
9/3: Cut, Paste and Undo
- Selection Tools
- Transform Tools
- Undo and the History Palette
9/5: Image Mode and File Formats
- Resolution: different resolutions for different purposes
- 'Garbage in/Garbage out' - degredation of data
- File Formats and File Mangagement
- Quick Introduction to Adobe Bridge
- Project #1 assigned. Due Week 5.
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3. Layers
9/10: Layer Basics
- Creating, duplicating and deleting
- Organizing and manipulating
- Merging and flattening
9/12: More With Layers
- Blending
- Layer Effects
4. Color Manipulation and Tonal Adjustments
9/17: Playing with Color
- Hue and saturation
- Color correction and balance
- Brightness and Contrast
- Histogram
9/19: Adjustment Layers
- Adjustment Layers
- Levels
5. Filters
9/24: Blur and Sharpen
- Blur
- Vignettes
- Sharpen
- Unsharp Mask
- Project #1 due.
9/26: More Filters
- Review of different types of filters
- Project #2 assigned. Due Week 9.
6. Retouching and Repairing
10/1: Clone Tool
- Cloning
- Matching Color and Replacing Color
10/3: Healing Brush and Patch Tool
- Healing Brush
- Patch Tool
7. Automate and Batch
10/8: Automate
- Creating Actions
10/10: Batch
- Applying one action to a folder of images
8. In-depth look at the Painting Tools
10/15: Paint Tools
- Painting modes
- Color Palettes
- Brushes: Creating and editing brushes
10/17: Pen Tool and Paths
- Difference between pixels and paths
- Pen Tool
- Paths
- Converting between paths and selections
- Shapes
9. Type
10/22: Type
- Introduction to Typography
- Project #2 due.
10/24:
- Using type as a graphical element
- Project #3 assigned. Due Week 13.
- Final Project assigned. Due Week 15.
10. Illustrator
10/29: Illustrator Basics
- Vector vs. Bitmap
- Menu overview, basic tools and palettes
- Importing bitmap and trace bitmap
10/31: More with Illustrator
- Pen Tool
- Making curves
- Color and stroke
11. Illustrator
11/5: Grouping and Layering
- Layers in Illustrator
11/7: Type
- Type in Illustrator
12. Outputing to Print
11/12: CMYK vs RGB
- Color preparation
- Color profiles
11/14: Screen vs Print Resolution
13. Outputing to Screen and Web
11/19: Using ImageReady
- Project #3 due.