Sunday, October 14, 2012


Portrait Procedure:

Step 1.
Prepare your portrait photograph in Photoshop by cropping and making tonal adjustments.
Go to ; 
image > adjustments > Black and White
image > adjustments >(Brightness /Contrast, Levels, curves,)
image > adjustments > posterize

Save the Photoshop file as a .psd and then save as a JPEG file, aprox 150ppi 12” x 12”

Step 2.
Import the JPEG into Illustrator as a template and trace with the pen tool. Your Illustrator file should be 12" x12" Remember to close your shapes!  Use your custom palette for your color scheme. You will need to decide which colors to apply to the highlight, midtone, and shadow.

Remember! To import your palette ; Go to the popup menu on the the swatches palette and select > open library > other library >  to desktop or wherever you saved your palette  
( you should have saved your palettes (color groups) as well as your defined pattern)


(if you are having trouble with tones being too similar, recolor to grey scale and notice the range from black to white.  You can change a particular tone to a lighter or darker shade, then recolor with your own color group.)

Step 3.
You should have already created a separate file using letterforms to create a motif that will be use as a pattern. 
Letter forms > create outlines
Use shape builder to color
Define pattern > edit > define pattern
Step 4.  Putting it all together
After finishing the portrait file and the pattern file, save copies of files and change the colors to another classmates palette. You will have two portraits and two patterns that are identical except for their colors.

Step 5 
Save files for yourself on your flash or hard drive as illustrator files. Turn both files into the shared drive as flattened files (jpg or pdf) .Choose the portrait with your favorite color scheme to print and Mat for the critique.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Color Wheel

Farbkreis Itten 1961

Some Notes on Color, from the "Elements of Design and Composition " lecture.


    • Hue: Hue refers to the color itself. Each different hue is a different reflected wavelength of light. 
    • Value: value refers to the lightness or darkness of the hue. Adding white to a hue produces a tint.
    • Intensity: Intensity, also called chroma or saturation. It refers to the brightness of a color
    • Temperature: describing a color by how cool or warm a color is.

Monochromatic: The color plus white and the color plus black. In other words, various tints of a hue
Analogous: Colors that are side by side on the color wheel .
Complementary: Colors that opposite eachother on the color wheel.
Split Complementary: Two colors that are directly on either side of the color that is opposite.
Triad:  Three colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel
Tetrad: Four colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel

Tuesday, April 24, 2012


Resolution and Pixel Dimensions 
Resolution refers to the number of Pixels per square inch of printed (or screen display) output. 
To determine resolution divide the image’s width in pixels by width in inches. For example, if you have an image that is 8” wide and 2400 pixels, you would divide 2400 by 8 to obtain the resolution of 300 ppi (pixels per inch). 

Friday, March 9, 2012


 Color Theory and Basic Shapes
Chapter 5 Sandbox - Digital Foundations
"Color has always been present in our natural environment and in art across the world. From the 30,000-year- old Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc cave drawings in southeastern France, where the creators used carbon black and ochre pigments to represent Paleolithic horses, to the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 1954, which was the first national television broadcast in color, color has been a focus of artistic creation.
Artists, mathematicians, and scientists have developed theories of color since the 17th century. Color theories are usually encapsulated in what is referred to as a color model. German Bauhaus school educators Josef Albers and Johannes Itten helped define and expand upon the RYB (red-yellow-blue) color model during the years 1919 – 1923. Albers created a course in color theory that inspired the tutorial in this chapter.  (Sandbox Chapter 5) 
...The traditional, analog color wheel utilizes the RYB (red-yellow-blue) color model. In this color model, red, yellow, and blue are the primary hues (what we think of as colors), which can be mixed together to create any other color on the color wheel. ...

...We usually encounter digital media as a projection of light or as a print made with ink. Art may be projected on a screen or uploaded to an electronic device such as an iPod, or it may be printed on an inkjet or a four- color press. There are different color models for various display purposes.

...The CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) color model is specific to the print industry. Artists and designers often create art for high-volume printing using the CMYK color model to synchronize the digital file with the four corresponding printing inks. Even though it is worked on with digital tools and examined via the projected light of a computer screen, this system is also subtractive, meaning overlapping inks create a darker hue.

...Television screens and computer monitors do not use ink or paint — they use red, green, and blue light. RGB is an additive color model. "

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Welcome Art 141


Digital Art -  Art 141
Spring 2012
Monday 11:15 – 2:10, Wednesday 11:15 – 2:25  TA 251
Instructor: Joy Curtis Urlik, email: jcurtisurlik@elcamino.edu
Office hours: (Please make an appointment via email or in person)
Art 141 is a 3 units; 2 hours lecture, 4 hours lab
Recommended Preparation: one semester of Art 10ab or Art 37ab with a minimum grade of C; eligibility for English 84; working knowledge of the computer and operating system

Credit, degree applicable Transfer CSU, UC

OVERVIEW:
This course provides students with a foundation in the two basic types of graphics software, vector (drawing) and raster (painting/photography), with a focus on the principles of two-dimensional design. Students will work on a variety of digital projects involving drawing, design, typography, and photographic manipulation.

You will be using software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and In Design This class is designed to provide you with a solid foundation that can be applied to a variety of art practices.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will use a computer and graphics software in class to demonstrate the use of the pen tool to draw a precise path to add a vector element to a raster image of appropriate resolution and color mode for the intended output.

OBJECTIVES & CONTENT:
 >Operate a computer system and use vector and raster graphics software to save files in different file formats, use file extensions, back up work, create 
folders for projects, and use keyboard shortcuts.


>Compare and contrast vector and raster applications, capabilities, limitations, and usage of each.


>Import and export files between vector and raster applications, use templates, and define links between files.


>Use line, shape, value, texture, scale, color, and compositional techniques to create spatial effects, pictorial structure, and expressive imagery using both vector and raster software.


>Scan images at the correct resolution based on intended end usage.


>Define color relationships and use different color modes including RGB, CMYK, HSB, grayscale, and spot color.


>Identify color and quality differences in images for web, multimedia, and print.


>Demonstrate use of typography in original designs, define typographic terms, and manage fonts.


>Assess the purpose, scope, and specifications of art projects and formulate solutions by applying the appropriate creative and technical strategies.


>Establish work schedules and prioritize tasks in order to satisfy production timelines.


>Translate preliminary sketches into finished art work by establishing a plan for computer production using appropriate software and techniques to organize design elements and simplify production.

>Demonstrate use of mounts and mats to present final printed output.


>Assess, discuss, and critique designs.

TEXT:
The Text we are using is: Digital Foundations, Intro to Media Design with Adobe Creative Suite; This is in the form of a Wikki , and will be put on the shared drive. You do not need to purchase the book. In addition to the Digital Foundations, there will be additional reading assignments and in class exercises in the form of PDF files.
There will be a demonstration at the start of each class covering the assignment, followed by class time to work on your exercises and projects.
Other Recommended books include:
>Visual Quickstart Guide Photoshop CS5, Elaine Weinmann, Peter Lourekas
> Visual Quickstart Guide Illustrator CS5, Elaine Weinmann, Peter Lourekas



REQUIREMENTS:
The student will create several smaller exercise projects and take a few quizzes to accompany the projects based on course instruction. Each project contains specific technical exercises and aesthetic issues. Projects and exercises will be printed and/or presented on-screen; both the hard copy (if required) and the digital file should be submitted for evaluation.

SUPPLIES:
Materials are needed. They are:
• notebook
• a flash drive
• materials for digital manipulation* - discussed on a per-assignment basis
• materials for print presentation,
• books:

ATTENDANCE:
Attendance is mandatory and will affect your overall grade. More than three absences will result in lowering you final grade. If you will miss class because of illness, etc., please email me before class.
If you stop coming to class, the responsibility to drop the class is entirely yours!
I may drop students who have stopped coming to class. However, do not expect to be dropped just because you stopped coming to class. Again, this is your responsibility.

EVALUATION:
Class participation
Digital/technical skills
Artistic judgments and creative design
Progression of work throughout the semester
Attendance

GRADING:
Exercises 15%
Projects 55%
Multiple-choice test 10%
Practical test 15%
Class Participation 5%

LATE WORK:
Your grade will be lowered 20% for late or lost work. Back up your work. Losing your work because your hard disk crashed or someone erased your work from a lab computer is not a valid excuse. Please back up your work and avoid this situation

MISCELLANEOUS:
>Come to class on time.
>Be courteous in class, no web surfing, texting or emailing  
>Please turn off your cell phones
>Back up your work! Don’t leave your work on the hard disks in the computer lab. The probability of it being there when you return is slim.
>If you are late or miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed.

Course schedule, subject to change
1. (Chapter 1 in Digital Foundations Book)
2. Geometry—Curves. Exercise; Geometry—Tracing. Exercise
. (Read Chapter 2 and 3 in Digital Foundations Book)
3. (Chapter 4 in Digital Foundations Book)
4. (Chapter 6 in Digital Foundations Book)
>Illustrator project: save for portfolio 
5. Pixel Dimensions—printing vs. screen display. Exercise:
(Chapter 7 and 8 in Digital Foundations Book)
6. Image Quality—resolution & compression. Exercise:
7. Image editing—correction. Exercise:
. (Read Chapter 5 in Digital Foundations Book)
8. Image editing—interpretation. Exercise:
>Correct & Interpret Photoshop exercise: save for portfolio
Last day for late work chapters 1-7 (same day as portfolio 1).
9. Compositing—Destructive techniques. Exercise:
. (Chapter 9 and 10 in Digital Foundations Book)
> Photoshop project: save for portfolio
10. Compositing—Non-destructive techniques. Exercise:
  (Chapter 11 in Digital Foundations Book)
> Photoshop project: save for portfolio
11. Digital/analog. Exercise:
>Digital/analog Photoshop project: save for portfolio
. (Read Chapter 12 in Digital Foundations Book)
Practical Test
Multiple Choice Test

12. In Design Exercise
. (Chapter 13 in Digital Foundations Book)
13. In Design Project
>In Design project: save for portfolio
14. In Design Project
>In Design project: save for portfolio
15. Final TBA