MAT-110 Course Schedule

Late-Start Online Spring 2012


 

Week 00 (2/6 – 2/12):

  • Orientation:
  • Make first post on “Class Introductions” discussion board by Tues, 2/7
  • Read intro page for ArtSpeak
    1. “Artspeak” is a section of the instructor’s website that is intended to educate students on basic foundations of art and design. Please read the extremely short intro page and feel free to look around further. This will be especially helpful to students without art backgrounds and to students who have not taken foundation art courses (2-D, drawing, 3-D).
    2. We will discuss the work you produce this semester in a discourse using art terminology, but we will ease into it. Photoshop, after all, is simply an electronic version of a darkroom, and its jargon and foundation principles governing the program are rooted in darkroom lingo, color theory, science, and basic design principles.
  • Lesson 01 : Getting to Know the Work Area
  • Read and do lessons in Chapter One of required textbook, pp. 10 – 44

 

Week 01 (2/13 – 2/19):

  • Lesson 02: Understanding Resolution
  • Lesson 02: Image Adjustments
  • Complete Lesson 02 practice work in the book (no grade but important!)
  • Start Exercise-1 (portion 1A)
  • Read-and-Relate: Shape
    1. Read this week’s art/design page about the element of “shape.” Specifically, notice different ways that we create, isolate, and identify shapes through the use of other Elements of Art, such as line, color, texture/pattern, and value.
    2. Relate this reading to what you are doing in your image repair assignment. Notice how blotches become apparent when color or patterns differ. Also notice how you can accidentally create unwanted shapes/blotches when you do not use tools exactingly. Pay attention to how the samples from the patch and clones tools work, and relate them to this week’s reading.
  • Read-and-Relate: Texture
    1. Read this week’s art/design page about the element of “shape.” Specifically, notice some of the different ways that we can create values (light and dark) through the looseness or tenacity of lines/shapes within textures.
    2. Relate these concepts to the image repair assignment you are working on, and start thinking about how the size and hardness of your repair tool samples contribute to either the success or failure of your repair attempts. If you magnify the image as you sample and clone, you can better see how the pixels can be considered as an organized pattern.

 

Week 02 (2/20 – 2/26):

  • Read-and-Relate: Line
    1. Read this week’s art/design page about the element of “line.” Specifically, notice different types of lines we can make, how they can have personality, how the changing weight within a line can affect perceived value (lightness/darkness), and how they can create shapes by delineating space.
    2. Relate this reading to what you are doing in your image repair assignment with the use of selections. Notice how the “thickness” or “thinness” of a selection line can be constrained or expanded with a feathered edge. How does a feather change the quality of the line, and thus the effect of the selection? How are some selection tools based on rectilinear lines, where some are curvilinear? How do those traits affect your decision to use them?
  • Read-and-Relate: Value
    1. Read this week’s art/design page about the element of “line.” Specifically, notice how the image’s histogram looks in relationship to the reading’s discussion of a “full tonal range.” Based on the reading and demos, how could you correct any problems with the poor representation of light or dark values?
    2. Additionally, notice that when the lightness or darkness of the image is adjusted, some textures within the damages areas may recede or become more prominent. Think about how contrasting value was able to create shapes in a previous reading about “shape”, and relate how changing the contrast of an image can make smaller, discreet sets of pixels become more dominant, thus creating undesirable shapes.
    3. Lastly, consider how value is used in a set of the selection tools. Specifically, the magnetic lasso and wand tools find the edges of shapes based on value thresholds. From your reading, demos, and practice lessons, think about how you can adjust the sensitivity to differing values with these tools to make them more or less discriminating.
  • Lesson 03 : Making Selections
  • Complete Exercise-1A: Image Corrections and Repair
    • Finish working on Exercise-1A and start working on Exercise-1B.
    • REMEMBER: Exercise-1A is not “due” for a grade. This is simply a stage of progress that you should reach prior to moving into the next phase of Exercise-1B.
    • NOTE: You will want to review the next lecture prior to working on the second portion of Exercise-1. Go to next week’s readings, lectures, and assignments.

 

Week 03 (2/27 – 3/4):

 

Week 04 (3/5 – 3/11):

  • Complete and turn in your Exercise-1B by Wednesday night, 11:55pm. Use Blackboard’s “Turn In Assignments” link to upload.
  • Lesson 06: Masks and Channels
  • Do Lesson 06 from textbook: pp. 160 – 179,  Chapter 6, “Masks and Channels” (We skipped Lesson/Chapter 05, but we will come back to it later).
  • Read-and-Relate: Primary Colors of Light and Pigment
    1. In this week’s Artspeak reading, you will be learning more in depth about the differences between light and pigment primaries, how they directly relate to one another, and how these primary colors overlap to make all other colors.
    2. Relate this reading you your understanding of how channels work in Photoshop. Specifically, relate them to two types of color modes: RGB and CMYK. Notice that RGB is the light primary model, which we generally use for screen output, and that CMYK is the pigment primary model that we use when printing.
  • Read-and-Relate: Hue, Value, Saturation
    • In this week’s Artspeak reading, you will be learning more in depth about hue, value, and saturation. This is a continuation of the last reading, but it gives us a much better understanding of modern color models. Additionally, you can learn specifically how the color wheel translates into Photoshop’s color picker.
  • Start Exercise-2: Compositing, Masking, and Shadows

 

Week 05 (3/12 – 3/18):

  • Turn in Exercise-2 by Sunday night, 3/18. Use Blackboard’s “Turn In Assignments” link to upload.
  • Prepare the following for next week!!!! :
  • Investigations of at least 5 of EACH category below for Project-1:
    1. patterns / textures (you can take your own pics or use morguefile.com )
    2. color palette options  (see http://colorschemedesigner.com/ )
    3. imagery sources (see morguefile.com for free images)
  • Read-and-Relate: Space
    1. Read this week’s art/design page about the element of “space.” Specifically, notice how in a two-dimensional space, line can affect directional movement, how the color/value and scale of shapes can help us understand depth-of-field, how overlapping shapes can imply distance, and so forth.
    2. Relate this reading to your current assignment where you are trying create a believable scene from disparate images of different resolutions and scales. Which of the above methods are you employing to create a realistic “space” in the 2-D picture plane? And how?

 

Week 06 – SPRING BREAK (3/19 – 3/25):

  • SPRING BREAK

 

Week 07 (3/26 – 4/1):

  • Read-and-Relate: Principles of Art/Design
    • Read this webpage in preparation for your Project-1 assignment! Think about what type of composition you want to create and how you want to achieve it. This will give you a starting place for employing a variety of methods to build your composition.
  • Make post on Blackboard’s “Project-1 Samples” Discussion Board with materials you collected.
    • Make posts of your textures, color samples, and imagery resources to show the instructor. Attach flattened jpg files of texture compilations, color samples, and thumbnails of the image resources. You can make these in separate files and “zip” them or compress them into a zipped folder file for the attachment if you want to only make one post.
  • Accomplish these things by next class and bring them to class with you:
    1. Start compositing a rough comp for P-1
    2. Resolve any resolution discrepancies. Be sure to use high-resolution images….NOT low-res web images
    3. Have your major selections made and saved in your image psd files.
  • Do Lesson 05 “Correcting / Enhancing Digital Photos” from textbook, pp.122-159

 

Week 08 (4/2 – 4/8):

  • Students should continue working on compositing for project-1. Remember that you can use the Technical Help discussion board to get help from your classmates!

 

Week 09 (4/9 – 4/15):

  • Students should continue working on compositing for project-1. Remember that you can use the Technical Help discussion board to get help from your classmates!

 

Week 10 (4/16 – 4/22):

  • Make posts on Blackboard’s “Project-1 Peer Review” Discussion Board.
    • PART 1 (DUE BY TUESDAY 11:55pm):
      Post a draft of your Project-1 flattened jpg file to this discussion board. For the best results, save the flattened, high-resolution jpg copy. Do not save over your original .psd file! Include in your post the word that you chose for the project and explain any issues that you still need to resolve or directions that you have yet to take upon completion. 

      PART 2 (DUE BY THURSDAY 11:55pm):
      Respond to your group members’ works with constructive criticism. Describe at least 2 strengths and two weaknesses and how you think the weaknesses could be improved upon.

      Here’s a link to some vocab terms if you can’t find the right words to describe what you are thinking:
      https://learn.leighcotnoir.com/artspeak/art-vocabulary/

  • Do textbook’s Lesson 07 on Typography.
  • Complete Project-1 for next week’s CRITIQUE!

 

Week 11 (4/23 – 4/29):

  • Make posts to Blackboard’s “Project-1 Critique” discussion board. This is worth 3% of you semester grade.
  • Start on Projcet-2 by familiarizing yourself with all aspects of it.
  • Create your book blurb for Project-2. You will email this to the instructor by the end of next week (preferably sooner!).

 

Week 12 (4/30 – 5/6):

  • Send your original book blurb to the instructor for review. You will hear back if there are any problems with it.
  • Review and do lessons: Chapter 8, “Vector Drawing Techniques”, pp.199-225
  • Do by next week:
    1. Have a basic layout file set up for book jacket with your imported image files in it.
    2. Start introducing brushes/textures
    3. Do a typography investigation with at least 5 type samples

 

Week 13 (5/7 – 5/13):

  • Feel free to email a FLATTENED JPG copy of your progress so far to the instructor requesting feedback!

 

Week 14 (5/14 – 5/18):

  • “Project-02 Peer Review” (2%) discussion board
    • PART 1 (DUE BY TUESDAY 11:55pm):
      Post a draft of your Project-2 flattened jpg file to this discussion board. For the best results, save the flattened, high-resolution jpg copy. Do not save over your original .psd file! Include in your post the word that you chose for the project and explain any issues that you still need to resolve or directions that you have yet to take upon completion. 

      PART 2 (DUE BY THURSDAY 11:55pm):
      Respond to your group members’ works with constructive criticism. Describe at least 2 strengths and two weaknesses and how you think the weaknesses could be improved upon.

      Here’s a link to some vocab terms if you can’t find the right words to describe what you are thinking:
      https://learn.leighcotnoir.com/artspeak/art-vocabulary/

  • Work on completing your final project based on peer feedback! Project-2 is due next week along with the graded critique! NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.

 

FINALS WEEK – Week 15 (5/19 – 5/25):

  • Final Projects due Friday 5:00pm. Use BB’s “Turn In Assignments” link and follow instructions.
  • “Project-02 Final Presentation” discussion posts
    • For this project you will upload a high-resolution flattened jpg file for your peers to
      view. Along with this file, you must present a well-developed artist statement that
      explains your intentions, motivation, and design concept. 

      All posts must be made by Friday night by 5:00pm.

      Responses are appreciated but not required; therefore, it is important that you put real effort into your artist statement.

      Here’s a link to some vocab terms if you can’t find the right words to describe what you are thinking:
      https://learn.leighcotnoir.com/artspeak/art-vocabulary/

Digital Art, Design, and Communication Education