1st Semester - Awesome PS Site- Worth 1000

Notebook- List of Notebook assignments and Due Dates
I will give selected notebook assignments which tie into certain events, exhibits or computer  issues.
It is your responsibility to check the web page section for your particular class early each week and complete
assigned questions and notebook activities outlined for each week. These assignments are due each Monday/Tuesday at the start of your hour and should be completed outside of class time (homework!)

The computer has become an important technological tool used in nearly every facet of our society, including the visual arts. Virtually all commercial art and design careers now require some type of computer graphics experience. This course will provide important and necessary skills to students seeking careers in a variety of communication and art fields.
 Students are evaluated on project-based assignments that will emphasize the fundamentals of the elements of art, principles of design, as well as, computer graphics techniques using the software applications of Adobe PhotoShop. These assignments will revolve around communication and design themes, including topics such as logotypes, letterheads, advertising, and layout. Assignments will be structured around the basic tools and techniques provided by computer technology available.

This is the Course Outline for Computer Art at M.H.S. Throughout the year you will be introduced to a variety of new computer artists, techniques and software. Please refer back to this page throughout the semester for added links, project explanations, due dates, technique workshops, and more.

Computer Survey 8-17-06

Computer Graphics Projects & Assignments
Week 1
I. Introduction to Computer Graphics- "History of Computer Graphics" handout and answers.
Create new folders- get organized!

 Complete Homework Weekly- Homework Link - Due at start of class each Monday! Do not do during class- "homework" ( if you do I will not accept it!). If completed after Monday deadline highest grade you can receive is a 67% (better than a 0%).
Review grades - Grades Link - Daily Work 20% (come to class and complete daily work), Homework 20% (complete all assignments/articles - see Homework link above), Projects 60% ( complete all projects).


 A. Introduce Paintbrush (Find, and introduce tools)
 B. Introduction Project/ Simple 

This is an introductory project that allows me to see your technical and creative abilities.  

Week 2 
Monday
 Introduction to  Adobe Photo Shop
 Getting to Know the Work Area-  .
Click on -http://graphicssoft.about.com/library/course/bllps5out.htm

Wednesday
Project- Working With Selections (Review)- This is a good assignment for the introduction into selecting different areas,
you can find the "05Start.psd" file in your "TEEN" folder. You will also need series of handouts that work you thru this tutorial,
these handouts are in your classrooms!

"Selection Collage"   Reassemble all parts to create a similar collage- you will have to use all selection tools, plus enlarge, rotate, transform, copy and paste, etc. to complete this task. Selection_Collage.psd

Xtra Project- "Starbursts"  complete tutorials and save to your "Y"/"P" folder as "starburst" and as your "Name"

Friday
Projects- Utilizing the knowledge you have gained from "Selection Collage", transfer your understanding of using the selection tools to assemble/complete these two fun project (the parts/beginnings are in your Teen folders):
        This is the example of "02End.psd"- click on it to see a larger finished example!  02start.psd

At this point  you should have these completed assignments in your "Y" or "P" drive "Computer Graphics Folder-
(in your completed project folder) 1. Simple Still-life 2. Starburst  3.Selection Collage  4.Veggie Man 

Week 3


 NOTE- ( Save everything to your "Web Design" folder - Saving as .JPG, As you begin to complete projects I want  you to assemble them all together on web pages- to make this easier for me (plus if you would want to open these works anywhere except PhotoShop), you must convert all projects to .jpg files. 1. Save as you normally would (this is a .psd file [Photoshop]) 2. With image still open, go to "layers" menu, pull down and click on "flatten image" 3. Now save file again as a .jpg file (pull down to find .jpg [yes, you can use the same names]) Do this for all files.

Monday-

 Introduction to FrontPage/ Building your 1st Web Site
You should have Still life, Veggie Man & Starbursts on your page.
 

FrontPage Instructions-

To Create a New Blank Page
Click File, New, Page
Save Page in your Webpage folder (calling it Tessellations, or 2ndQuarterWork)

To Create A Link to a Page
Type whatever text you want to appear on the screen (link to Tessellations, or 2nd Quarter Work)
  Highlight that text
    Click on the Hyperlink button
     Select a supporting page that you have already created for your web site. (from above)

Pictures
Saving Pictures from the Internet
Right click on any picture you find on the Internet
  Select View Image
    Right click again on that picture
      Select Save Image As...   give it a file name and save it into the SAME folder as your web page!
*Note - Do not use spaces in your file names and do save everything into the SAME folder.

Adding Pictures With File Names To Your Page
Position the cursor where you want the picture on the page
  Click the Insert Picture From File button
    Select your picture from the appropriate folder, then click OK 

To Edit Pictures
Click on your picture, this should automatically bring up the Picture Toolbar
If it doesn't click on View-Toolbars and click on pictures

Your pictures should be:
Resized: click on picture, grab a corner box and drag in to shrink or out to enlarge.
(even if picture is the perfect size, you must do this to be able to resamble -next)
Resambled: (#7 from right on picture toolbar)
Resampling a picture reduces the file size of the picture.  Even though you drag the corners of a large picture and make it appear smaller on the screen, it still retains the larger file size.  To Resample, resize your picture, click on the Resample icon.

At This point Save- This Saves the picture now as a resized and resambled file.
This is the step many of you missed initially!

Now- Create Thumbnails (#3 from left on picture toolbar)
Click on picture you want to thumbnail (this picture should have already be resized and resampled from above), now click on the Thumbnail Icon. Your picture should now shrink from a large picture to a thumbnail image.

At This point Save Again- This Saves the picture now as a smaller version of picture and is actually a separate file.

Mr. V's Golden Rules of Successful Websites!
1. Save everything to one folder (your webpage folder)!
2. Use only .jpeg's or .tiff's as images! ( save all PhotoShop files as these extensions)
3. Do not spaces or symbols when creating or saving files or folders! (yes- MyWebPage.htm, not My Web Page.htm

For added enhancements to your web site- 5 ways to dress up your web page

Week 4

Monday- 9-11-06
#1Catch-up day- finish up any of the projects you need to complete- "Still-life", "Vegetable Man", "Selection collage"
#2 Fix up your Webpage/ For added enhancements to your web site- 5 ways to dress up your web page/ Create your 2nd, 3rd and 4th Quarter pages/ I will re-publish at end of hour today
#3 Xtra Project- "Starbursts"  complete tutorials and save to your "Y"/"P" folder as "starburst" and as your "Name"

Wednesday- 9-13-05
 #1 Layer Basics  - Follow thru the tutorial, start on page 158, #5 (bottom of the page).
The starting file is 06start.psd which you will find in your in your Computer Art folder
 Save your finished work in your folder  and (flattened and as a .jpeg) as "Scrapbook". 
     
   (06end.jpg)
 

Friday- 9-15-05
#1 complete layers basics- Scrap book tutorial- get on your web page!
#2 Complete "Graffiti Project" below

Week 5
Monday-
Catch-up day- finish up any of the projects you need to complete- "Still-life", "Vegetable Man", "Selection collage",  "Scrapbook" and "Graffiti". If you are done with all of these projects, go back and get creative with your "graffiti " project- add.... more type (very rare one word  on a wall), images ( someone standing in front of wall or .....), take your wall image to another area ( stick your graffitti on the wall of a building). Get Creative! 
In your Computer Graphics "Finished Projects" folder you should have these projects (thumb nailed below)

When completed add to your Web Page!
Quiz- yes you will have a quiz, Monday, start of the hour- covers last page of packets #1 "working with selections"& #2
"working with layers", plus you should be able to explain the basic concept of "layers" and understand the 4 basic
areas of Adobe Photoshop (toolbar, status bar, palettes & menu bar)

Review over "Working with Selections"- You should be able to answer these! These will be on a quiz!!!!!!!!!
1. Once you've made a selection, what area of the image can be edited?
2. How do you add to or subtract from a selection?
3. How can you move a selection while you are drawing it?
4. When drawing a selection with the lasso tool, how should you finish drawing the selection to ensure that the selection is the shape you want?
5. How does the magic wand determine which areas of an image to select? What is tolerance, and how does it affect a selection?

#1 TEEN folder cleanup- remove all done parts (tutorials, unused images, etc.)
      "Finished Project Folders" within TEEN folder should include all completed projects if you want a grade!
#2  Grades- if we have daily work (tutorials or workshops), you are expected to complete these during that class unless absent. It is hard to catch up in this class, problem lies in access to computer and software!
*All late articles can earn up to a 67%
*All daily workshops should be completed on day we did them, late workshops can earn up to a  67% (unless you were absent that day- and then should be completed the next day you return to class!)
*All late project can earn full credit- but to complete these you might have to spend time (before school, after school or during seminar/ study hall) of your own. Do not get behind!
#3  Follow all instructions on my web site! Only about half of you followed the tutorial for the "Graffiti" and the other half were not even close in execution of assignment. We will do a new graffiti together in class today-
this will count for your daily grade (my workshop)- plus redo your own "graffiti" project using the knowledge you gain from the tutorial today! In your folders their is  a new folder called 'NewGraffiti". Within here you will find the starting point for today's workshop (file "ArtWall")- please follow along!
At the conclusion of my graffiti tutorial, I want you to complete a new "graffiti" word that is at least 5 letters. Complete this new word in the order/style  of today's  workshop- do not freelance or freak out picture.
Save your new word to the same folder 'NewGraffiti", along with the introductory "ArtWall" tutorial.
If you do this you will get daily credit, plus a project grade!

Wednesday-
Creative Collage Project-
Use a 8x10" or 10x8"  (resolution 300)- there is one in your TEEN folder, choose either horizontal or vertical format.
Project- Create a creative collage of found pictures.
"Found" meaning interesting images from the internet, digital photographs or scanned images.
The collage should have a theme; examples-"Monkey Football"- the combination of apes and NFL players scrimmaging in the super bowl, "The Great Drag Race"- Monster garage like vehicles (ones you create from many images of cars) participating in a massive race, "My Birthday Party"-(Who would you invite to your birthday bash; celebrities, bands, etc), "The Greatest Band" - (up on stage you have assembled the greatest guitar player, bass player, keyboards, etc.)
Your collage should include at least 20 different images- these should be cut out carefully and reassembled to a new page, once your image is reassembled painting or blending techniques should be utilized. Images can also be scaled (resized), flipped, rotated, filtered, etc.
Think about proportion (size relationships), balance, repetition, etc.
The overall collage should like like a finished picture when completed, not just a bunch of weird pictures stuck together- make photos work together!
This collage should be very creative, it could become very surrealistic (realistic looking but very dreamlike).
Above all- have fun, create appropriate images but still be "CREATIVE"
Must use at least 20 images in collage!
Examples of last years collages- check last year's web gallery

 Should be working on finishing up your collage, one added element- "please add a creative title to the overall picture, the title could be on a sign, side of a structure, in a voice bubble, or an overlay" once completed save the flattened image as a .jpeg in your finished projects folder.

Friday-

Short Tutorial-

 (using knowledge from above complete ) click here

Week 6-   

Monday- Quiz

Daily Workshop-  Lesson 8- Painting and Editing 

Wednesday-

#1 TEEN folder cleanup- remove all done parts (tutorials, unused images, etc.)
      "Finished Project Folders" within TEEN folder should include all completed projects if you want a grade!
#1 YourWebPage folder cleanup- remove all unneeded excess, NO .PSD files in this folder
#3  Grades- if we have daily work (tutorials or workshops), you are expected to complete these during that class unless absent. It is hard to catch up in this class, problem lies in access to computer and software!
*All late articles can earn up to a 67% maximum
*All daily workshops should be completed on day we did them, late workshops can earn up to a  67% (unless you were absent that day- and then should be completed the next day you return to class!)
*All late project can earn full credit- but to complete these you might have to spend time (before school, after school or during seminar/ study hall) of your own. Do not get behind!

Next Project- "Creative Font"- brainstorm and think of a word that could easily be
described as an illustration. (Example- Tree: could create bark texture and/or leaves, Rocky:
could create a rough textured surface similar to rocks texture, Oak: create the simulation of wood grain, etc.)
Yes, you can use font created from Photoshop, but everything else must be freehand drawn in Adobe Photoshop.
No clip arts or captured images from the internet.
Think about all of the painting, selecting and layers techniques you have discovered so far.
Experiment with some of the creative filters, if they could enhance your project.

To start- Open Adobe Photoshop- File- New-New Page- create a page that is 500 pixels wide and 300 pixels height (300 DPI)
Using the Font tool, type your word-should be between 150 to 200 pt.s (depending on the length of your word ).
Now begin to get creative, check out 2 examples of this project I created Monday evening.

Extra Credit- Project (yes you can receive extra credit if you complete this) Reflecting Sphere

Week 7-
 

Tesselations

Tessellation Project 2005  
 

 We are working on completing our 1st Tessel / Tessellations

Tessellation Project 2005

Check out "Tessellation to ART"
Complete outlined project

 Assemble all parts of this project to your webpage-
(Discussion start of class Friday)
* Open up your webpage in FrontPage
at the bottom of the page create a link to a new page titled "Tessellation Project"
On this new page include "thumb nailed" examples of your :
1. first Shape
2. 1st tessel art
3. 2nd tessel art
4. Tessellation Pattern (Alternating #2 and #3)
5. Tessellation Pattern (Alternating #2, color and #3)
6. Tessellation Pattern with #4 or #5 with flipped 1/4's
7. Tessellation Pattern with #6 plus filters
 

Plus explanations of the process and choices for artwork- you are telling your viewers how this entire project evolved! Include a link back to your 1st page or Compt. Graphics page

Remember to save all of this to one folder and to resample all images!

Week 8-