Course Description and Objectives:

This laboratory course introduces students to various Digital Media Tools for Image Adjustment, Illustration, Desktop Publishing, Web, and Interactive Design. Course provides both hands-on experience and theoretical discussion to aid in understanding the concepts of Digital Media. Software packages Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and Flash will be introduced.

Evaluation of Students:

Class Attendance           - 15%
Homework Assignments - 70%
Class Performance          - 15%

Attendance

to all sessions is required. More than three absences will result in an "F". Lectures will be held at the beginning of class so two late arrivals are equal to one absence.

Homework assignments

will be collected at the beginning of class. Homework assignment not turned in in time will be marked late. Points will be deducted from late homework.

Required Textbook and Materials:

- USB Flash Memory Stick
- a notebook to take notes
- time outside of class to complete homework assignments

Requirements for your final portfolio:

You should have 13 homework assignments in your final portfolio. Missing classes does not allow you to skip an assignment. Portfolio should be delivered in digital format (CD or Memory stick) and printed (US letter size for printed assignments). You are responsible for backing up your homework during the semester.

Course Outline

This schedule is subject to change!
Feel free to comment on the speed and the extent to which material is covered.

Week 1 January 26

1. Class Introduction, overview of the facilities.
Brief intro to Digital Media: from Image Adjustment - to Print - to Web: Multipublishing.
2. Photoshop for Image Adjustment. Resolution, Color Mode and Measurements for Print and Web. Creating a postcard in Photoshop. Choosing Colors with an Eye-dropper tool. Layers.
In-class exercises

Homework 1

Create your own postcard using your images. Hand it out as a Photoshop file(.psd)

Week 2 February 2

1. Photoshop continued. Creating a composite picture. Polygonal Lasso Tool, Magic Wand Tool for cutting images. Refine Edge feature. Design Concept of Negative Space. In-class exercises

Homework 2

Create a composite picture. Save as a poster 8" x 10.5", 150 dpi, Landscape(or Portrait) orientation. Hand it out as a Photoshop file(.psd) Also, save all original pictures you used when creating your poster.

Week 3 February 9

1. Photoshop continued. Image Restoration techniques. Clone Stamp tool, Healing brush. Color change. In-class exercises

Homework 3

Restore an old photograph or "photoshop" a portrait (fixing wrinkles and skin imperfections). Hand it out printed on US letter with the original picture next to a restored one.

Week 4 February 16

1. Adobe Illustrator. Raster graphics vs Vector Graphics. Solid Colors, Gradients. Outline and Fill. Layers in Illustrator. Pen Tool. In-class exercises

Homework 4

Create your illustration of one out of four animals(US letter) using Shapes and White Head Arrow tool. Color it. Save as .ai - illustrator file

Week 5 February 23

1. Adobe Illustrator. Color Mesh Tool for creating still life. Text on the Path. Pen tool continued. Layers. In-class exercises

Homework 5

Create an illustration of an animal in outlines from the photograph using Illustrator Vector line (Pen tool). Everything should fit US Letter print (10"x8.5").

Week 6 March 1

1. Adobe Illustrator continued. Creating a poster. In-class exercises

Homework 6

Create an Earth Day poster (US Letter) in Illustrator using Color Mesh tool. Add text on the path.

Week 7 March 8

1. Adobe InDesign for creating published projects. Setting up Layout in InDesign, Creating Text Box, coloring it, and Placing Text inside. Creating Picture Box and Placing Image inside. Making text flow through text boxes. In-class exercises

Homework 7

Create a four page Magazine document on the topic of your interest. It should have a cover page, two pages with text inside and the back cover page. Keep your layout and design consistent throughout the document.

Spring Recess starts March 12th. Classes Resume 8:00 a.m. (Monday) March 19th.

Week 8 March 22

1. InDesign continued. Creating a book for kids. Text on the Path, Shapes, Outlines. In-class exercises

Homework 8

Create a four page book for kids using bright colors, different shapes, text on the Path and Images.

Week 9 March 29

1. Back to Photoshop for Web Design. Inches and Pixels. Print setup vs Web setup. Creating a Web page in Photoshop. Creating Slices for WebPublishing. In-class exercises

Homework 9

Create a composite picture 1152 x 864, landscape orientation for the webpage. Add title and two buttons to create a web page along with the other content. Slice it and save as PSD Photoshop file.

Week 10 April 5

1. Photoshop for Web Design continued. Creating second and third page for your website. Creating Absolute and Relative Links. Dreamweaver for linking pages. In-class exercises

Homework 10

Create three pages website using your first page from assignment 9 with two buttons linked to two other pages of the website. Hand it out as a digital folder with your name. Inside the Folder there will be three ".html" files for three pages and another folder called "images"(this one gets generated by Photoshop to keep your images).

Week 11 April 12

1. Photoshop and Dreamweaver for creating RollOver buttons. Editing and Formatting Text in Dreamweaver. In-class exercises

Homework 11

Create RollOver buttons for your Website pages.

Week 12 April 19

1. Multimedia on the Web: Audio, Video, Flash. Intro to Adobe Flash. Drawing in Flash. Gradient, Layers. Creating animations. ShapeTween animation. In-class exercises

Homework 12

Create shape-tween animation with two layers for two animations: title and simple illustration created inside Flash. Save it as .fla

Week 13 April 26

1. Flash continued. Creating Motion Tween animations. Animating imported pictures. Mask and Guide animations. Saving and Publishing Flash project. Incorporating Flash in your HTML page. In-class exercises

Homework 13

Create one HTML page with the Flash insert.

Week 14 May 3 - Last day of classes

1. Flash continued. Sound and Video in Flash. In-class exercises

 

Week 15 May 10 - Exam week

The last day to deliver your portfolio of 13 homework assignments