COMPUTERS
AND THE ARTS
Instructor,
Tony Allard
Monday–
Thursday 6 – 8:20
pm Computer Lab in Room 239
Office
Hours: 5 – 6 pm Tues & Thursday
Email: antalla@cox.net
Phone: 1-760-750-4000 ask for Adjunct Faculty Extension
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
The
primary focus of this course
is to gain a mastery over the
Photoshop application and to
make art. As you develop your
skills in Photoshop, you will
complete a series of small technical
assignment and larger projects
that are oriented towards the
production of art. There will
be a strong emphasis on the
final form that the projects
will be output to, i.e. for
print, for the web, as stills
for video, for multimedia, for
projections etc. Class
critiques will be held for works
in progress and when major projects
are completed. The last week
of the session you will present
your print-based and digital
portfolio which will be assembled
for a multimedia presentation.
In week five of the session,
Jeff Kelley, Vice President
of Marketing for Movie Works,
will give a presentation on
Movie Works, a multimedia presentation
software.
In
regards to the content of your projects, emphasis will be placed on the process
of discovering what you want to say and how you say it. What you say can be
greatly effected by how you say it This process will include a wide range
of techniques, subject matter and issues such as: ways to integrate text and
images, producing final products with two or more applications, preparing
images for output to print and computer-based formats, exploring current issues
regarding society, community and the use of computers to make art. In addition
to learning the technical aspects, a playful and inventive spirit of discovery
and ways to integrate the use of computers in your daily life will be encouraged.
REQUIRED
TEXTS
Photoshop
7 Classroom
in a Book, Adobe
Photocopy handouts on related topics
ADDITIONAL
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR THIS CLASS
--You
may use a Zip disk for storage
space.
--All the computers in 239 are equipped with CD Burners and this would be,
by far the most economical way to work.
--A
third method would be to store
your work on the school’s
servers. However, if you choose
this method, you will need
to back up your work on either
of the two media sources mentioned
above.
--Folder
for creating a portfolio of “hard copy” images
for entire semester.
--Sketch book for taking notes and making drawings for project.
--Three ring binder for assembling handouts, technical information, etc.
Note: Later in the course additional materials may be used to complete art
projects. An Xacto knife, metal ruler, rubber cutting board, watercolors and
permanent markers, glue stick, unusual paper, string, objects and others might
be needed to develop and finish final products.
ATTENDANCE
Simple: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. Attendance will be taken at the beginning
of each class. This is a studio course and therefore participation is essential
and required. Part of your overall course grade will be determined by your
cooperation, time and attention given to course assignments, sharing knowledge
with other students, and active participation in readings, discussions and
class critiques. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out
what material was covered during the absence. I strongly suggest you exchange
phone numbers/email with someone in the class to take full responsibility
for any absences.
I
have a strict and very clear
attendance policy, as follows:
You are allowed two absences
which will not adversely
affect your grade. Absences
are neither excused nor
unexcused, which means I
do not need to know why
you were absent ( please
do not call me to tell me
you won’t
be in class). After these
2 absences, each absence
will lower your semester
grade by one full letter
grade. In other words, if
you are doing C work in
the class, and you miss
4 classes, you will fail.
If you are doing A work,
and you miss 3 classes,
you will receive a B.
INCOMPLETE
AND LATE WORK
Incomplete
and late work will be graded accordingly. I do not give extra credit.
GRADES
AND GRADING
Using
the A through F scale, a grade of C is average. To receive an average grade,
you must attend every class, complete all the assignments and participate
in class discussions and critiques. To receive an above average grade you
must fulfill all the above mentioned requirements for a C, then you must do
above average work to receive a B. To receive an A you must do exceptional
work and participate in class at the highest level. Your final grade will
be determined by the following:
25%
participation
in
class
discussions,
critiques
and
cooperation
75%
writing
assignments,
projects
and
final
presentation
We will conduct a total of three formal class critiques; in addition, there
will
ASSIGNMENTS
& PROJECTS:
Art
Projects: A
series of art projects will
be assigned on a regular basis.
These
projects are intended to challenge you conceptually and to incorporate many
of the techniques learned in the Classroom in a Book Lessons and your own
techniques that you develop. Presentations of these projects will be required,
typically during critique times.
Writing
Assignment
As you
know, every course at CSUSM has a writing component of at least 2,500 words
(approximately 10 pages). If you need help with your writing, use the Writing
Center, (Craven 3106 G and H, ext. 4168, M-T: 9-6, F: 9-3). The Writing Center
will give you very good help so take advantage of this!
Part
of your writing requirement will be to produce a five-page paper on an aspect
of computer ethics or subjects concerning computer and how they are changing
the world today. Topics for your paper will be discussed at a later date.
The internet will be used for the research of your paper and you may choose
a subject that is related to the subject or theme of one of the art projects.
Four sources are required, three of which should be from the internet. Two
weeks prior to the submission of the final paper your will be required to
hand in an outline or an abstract with bibliography. The remainder of the
writing requirement will be fulfilled in various projects involving the productions
of texts. As the course proceeds, I will explain in detail the writing you
will do.
Adobe
Photoshop 7.0 Classroom In A Book Lessons 1 - 18
When
you are doing the readings from the textbook you must be
at a computer and have the Photoshop
application open. Some of the
lessons will be done in class
and others outside of class.
In addition, the larger projects
will require more hours of work
in the computer lab than the
scheduled hours of this course.
Therefore, plan your lab time
wisely and efficiently both
in class and outside of class.
Some students will most likely
be more advanced than others
with the Photoshop application
and in those cases I will work
individually with each student—making
sure that you do, in fact, know
each Lesson in the book.
_________________________________________________________
Week
by Week Schedule (subject to change)
WEEK
#1 May 27, 28, 29
May
27
--Introduction to the course, course syllabus covered, three ring binder explained,
projects, due dates, etc.
--Introduction to Digital Art and Digital Art making strategies.
--Basic
Windows navigation & file
management review
--Photoshop basics and working with Classroom in a Book
--First explorations of the Photoshop application
--Personal Icon project introduced
--Topic for Research paper on Computer Ethics discussed
Out of class work: due May 29 Thursday
--Get
your campus e-mail address setup
with a password. Send me an
e-mail stating your major, your
experience with computers (have
you used a Mac?), and tell me
what you hope to get out of
this class. Due May 28, Wednesday.
--Bring to class a three ring binder notebook (with blank paper and section
dividers) for recording technical notes, for handouts and for ideas, etc.
--Begin developing sketches (on computer and on paper) for Personal Icon project
--Read: Critical
Art Ensemble, Utopian Plagiarism,
Hypertextuality and Electronic
Cultural Production. http://college.hmco.com/english/amore/demo/ch5_r4.html
Note: I will not be in class tonight. However, Kristine Diekman, Chair
of Visual and Performing Arts, will be there to get you started on the first
two Lessons.
Lesson 1 Getting to know the work area
Lesson 2 Using the File Browser
--Time permitting, start on Lesson 3 and 4.
Lesson 3 Basic Photo Correction
Lesson 4 Working with Selections
Out of class work: due May 29 Thursday
Lesson
3 Basic Photo Correction
Lesson 4 Working with Selections
May 29
Lesson 5 Layer Basics
--Presentation
on the Origins of collage,
montage & photomontage
in Dada, Surrealism and other
art movements at the turn of
the century to the present.
--Email Exquisite Corpse Project introduced.
--Preliminary sketches for Personal Icon due (analogue and digital)
Out of class work: due Monday June 3
--In
preparation for the Email Exquisite
Corpse project, bring to class
10 full length photographs of
people, 5 males, 5 females.
We will be scanning these images
in class.
--Computer Ethics: Make a list of three possible topics you would be interested
in researching and bring them to class on Tuesday, June 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
WEEK
#2 June 2, 3, 4, 5,
June
2
Note: I will not be in Class tonight. However, Dorothy Chance, a Digital
Artist and past instructor for this course will be conducting class to work
with you on Masks and Channels and also assist you during In-class work time
on your personal Icons. Dorothy will also hold a discussion on Computer ethics
Lesson 6 Masks and Channels
--In-class work on Personal Icon Project
Out of class work: due June 3
Lesson
7 Retouching and Repairing
--Work on Personal Icon Project
June 3
--Bringing images into Photoshop: scanning and resolution reviewed
--Email Exquisite Corpse Project collaboration groups selected.
--Computer ethics subjects discussed
--In-class work on Personal Icon.
June
4
Lesson 8 Painting and Editing
--Color theory: working with the Color Wheel
--Basic Design elements introduced.
--In-class work on Personal Icon Project
Out of class work: due June 5
Lesson
9 Basic Pen Tool Techniques
Lesson 10 Vector Masks, Paths, and Shapes
June 5
First Critique Personal Icon Project
(Both Hard Copy and Digital files due)
In-class work on Email Exquisite Corpse
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
WEEK
#3 June 9, 10, 11, 12
June
9
Lesson 11 Advanced Layer techniques
--In-Class work on Exquisite Corpse Project
June 10
Lesson 12 Creating Special Effects
--In-Class
work on Exquisite Corpse Project.
All layers from each group member
need
to be sent VIA email to each
other for compositing in class
tomorrow.
June 11
Lesson 13 Preparing Images for Two-Color Printing
--resolution demonstration: input and output, combining images of different
resolution and size
--In-Class work on Exquisite Corpse Project
June 12
Second Critique: Exquisite Corpse Project
--I
will check your three ring binder
notebooks to see if they are
up to date
--Web-based Alter Ego/Personal Avatar Project introduced.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
WEEK
#4 June 16, 17, 18, 19
June
16
Lesson 14 Optimizing Web Images and Image Maps
June 17
Lesson 15 Adding Interactive Slices and Rollovers
--In-class work on Alter Ego/Personal Avatar Project
June
18
Lesson 16 Creating Animated Images for the Web
--In-Class Alter Ego/Personal Avatar Project
--Animating your Alter Ego/Personal Avatar
--Using Dreamweaver, Setting up Online Gallery for Animated Alter Ego/Personal
Avatar. I will create a web page on the class website for this gallery.
June 19
--In-Class work on Alter Ego/Personal Avatar Project
(Alter Ego/Personal Avatar Project due Monday at the beginning of class)
Out of Class work: due Tuesday June 24
Lesson 17 Setting Up Your monitor for Color Management
Lesson 18 Producing and Printing Consistent Color
____________________________________________________________
WEEK
#5
June 23, 24, 25, 26
June
23
Writing Assignment Due
Third
Critique: Alter Ego/Personal Avatar Project
(Both
Hard Copy and Digital files due)
June 24
--Review of output format options: resolution for target media source.
--In-class work on Projections: Billboards and Murals
June 25th
Guest: Jeff Kelley, Vice President of Marketing at Movie Works will present
the Movie Works software and discuss strategies for assembling and outputting
a multimedia presentation. This software can be used to put your final presentation
together, if you choose to do so.
June 26
--Designing your final presentations using Movie Works and other multimedia
presentation options.
--In-class work on Projections: Billboards and Murals
____________________________________________________________
WEEK
#6
June 30, July, 1, 2, 3,
June 30
--In-class
work on Projections: Billboards and Murals
--In-class work on final presentation
July 1
--In-class work on Projections: Billboards and Murals
--In-class work on final presentation
--Prepare all the work you have done for this class for the final critique
on July 2 and July 3. This includes both virtual and hard copy portfolios
and three ring binder notebooks.
July 2
Final Critique and Presentations
The
site where the final presentations
is To Be Announced.
WORK DUE: Virtual and Hard copy Portfolios
July 3
Final Critique and Presentations
WORK
DUE: Virtual and Hard copy Portfolios