Day 6

Composition

- Rule of thirds

- Golden Rule

- Rules of Design from Paul Rand the godfather of modern design

- Positive and Negative space

Photoshop

How to flatten your image and save it as a JPEG

 

 

Things to consider when creating an Album cover

We are using the format of an Album cover so our viewer is already aware that the image has something to do with music and the music industry. They have a collection of music that all has imagery attached to albums and music genres.

What we are looking at:

- Color

- Composition (placement of visual elements in 2d space...positive and negative space, rule of thirds)

- Image - subject matter

- Image - style

- Font - literal reading

- Font - style

Each of these elements becomes a "signifier" to the viewer. Which means from these visual elements we will try to make sense of the image. In this case what genre of music might this CD contain?

 

 

Project 2 

 - Due before class next Tuesday. Make sure you label your CD covers with your name - # and save it as a JPEG. 

ex. joevonstengel-1.jpg. 

Save the image as a .PSD first. Make sure to 'flatten' the image before you save as a JPEG! Upload your images into the "Art213 Album covers F23" class album that I shared with you on Google Photos. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------

Project 3

Movie Poster

description:
Create 3 different versions of a movie poster for a movie you’d like to see.

How to Create Project 3

Part 1

a) Write out your Movie idea! First pick a movie genre. (Horror, Sci-Fi, Romantic comedy) Then you need to figure out 'who' the antagonist and protagonist are, 'where' the movie takes place, 'when' the movie takes place, finally the 'what' and 'why' of the story.
b) Look up and download 10 examples of posters that inspire you

c) Compile a list of important information that needs to be on the poster including: movie title, main actors/actresses, film company, producers, date, credits, ext… (use the 10 examples you downloaded as a guide)

d) Collect a variety of imagery to work with for your poster

 * Make sure to find the largest images possible

Part 2

a) Create a template for your poster 11x17” at 180dpi

b) Put in guides for the unprintable boarder and for the middle

c) Create 3 different versions of your movie poster

Part 3
- Create 3 variants of the best movie poster and the comments derived from the critique

Key things to Remember:

* Work on the poster template

* Duplicate important layers

* Save often

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

things to consider:
First you want to figure out a genre for your movie. Is it a Romantic comedy, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror, Comedy, Drama, Action, ect… Then look at and collect movie posters of that genre. Consider things like colors used, font type, text placement, use of actors/actresses images, are they full body or close up, what is their gesture.

Details:
all posters should be set for 11x17 inches at 180 dpi with a 1/4 inch unprintable boarder

Due

Tuesday Sept – Part 1a,1b,1c,1d (due beginning of class)
Tuesday Sept - Parts 2 all three on Google Photos (due end of class)

Tuesday Sept – Part 3 Best one Printed (due beginning of class)

Work on Projects

Day 5

Photoshop Day 2

- History / Undo function

-- It is a new way to create!

- Magic Wand

- Single Row Marquee Tool

- Paint Bucket/Gradient

- Erase/Magic Erase/Back Ground Eraser

- Vector Tools

— Pen Tool

— Shape Tools

- The Clone Stamp & Healing Brush

-- These are 2 part tools. Hold down 'Option' while clicking on the area you wish to copy. Move to where you want to place the cloned visual data and click and hold to draw.

-- Blend Mode / Opacity

-- Air Brush / Flow

-- Aligned

-- Sample (Layer)

Image Adjustments

- Color Adjustments

-- Histogram

-- Levels

- Color Correction

Filters

Type Tool

Work on Project 2 Joe will be coming around to review your work so far.

Day 4

 

  

 

 

 

Photoshop

 

Setting Preferences

Photoshop --> Preferences --> General

View
- Rulers, Grids & Guides
- Show
- Snap

Navigation

- Change Screen Mode

Color Picker

- Foreground/Background Color

- Eyedroper tool

Drawing Tools

- Erase/Magic Erase/Back Ground Eraser

- Sharpen/Blur/Smudge

—- Depth of Field - How much of the image is in focus in front of and behind the image

- Burn/Dodge/Sponge

Selection Tools (they define a workable area)

- Selection Tools addition and subtraction

- Magic Wand/Quick Selection Tool

— Tolerance

Layers

- Making Layers

--- New Layer

--- Duplicate a Layer

--- Delete Layer

- Layer Visibility

- Moving a Layer

- Opacity

- Modes

- Locking 

Text Tools

- Horizontal Type Tool/Vertical Type Tool

- Horizontal Type Mask Tool/Vertical Type Mask Tool

--------------------------------------------------

Virtual Record Shop

description: For this project you will appropriate images you find online through the process outlined below. The images and text you appropriate will be make up the bands name, album name and the base image used to create a CD cover for a fake band for the music genre of your choice. This project is an exploration of appropriation, manipulation, research & layout and design. We will consider the meaning attached to images through context and our own expectations created through societal influence.

Save your images using this naming convention: yourname_01.jpg, yourname_02.jpg. (ie... jvonstengel_01.jpg)

* to be successful with this project it will be important for you to do Google searches for examples of album covers for the genre you decide to bas your CD cover on.

The Process 1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit Random... or click here . The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations" or click here. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to this random word generator website at here. Search for a word and then use that word to do an image search. Download the 10th image in the list. This will be the bast image of your album cover.

4 - Pick a music genre that you think would go well with the album name, band name and/or image you got. Research the aesthetics used in album covers for that music genre using a Google search

5 - Create a template for a CD cover and save it as a PSD

6 - Use Photoshop to assemble the text and image on the template.

7 - Manipulate the text and images to create a visual that follows the aesthetic use of visual elements for the genre of music you chose

8 - Save your designs as explained above

9 - Create 8 different Album Covers

10 - upload the final images to the Google Photos Album

 

Work on Project 2

Day 3

.

 

Photoshop Basics

Bit Map vs Vector Graphics

memory vs math

Resoultion

72 dpi traditional screen resolution
180 dpi lowest printing resolution
300 dpi + good printing resolution
600 dpi + high resolution printing

 

File Types

Working File Types

---- Photoshop = .PSD = working file, the one you keep forever

End Product Files

---- JPEG = .JPG = web and email (Flickr) file
---- GIFF = .GIF = web file
---- TIFF = .TIF = full quality print file
--- RAW = .RAW = raw camera data uncompressed file

---- Portable Document File = .PDF = compressed print file

File Management in Photoshop

- Opening a file
- Save / Save As a file
- Windows
- File --> New

 

 

 

 

 

Laying out a design in Photoshop

before Photoshop

1) paper size

2) single or multiple designs on the page?

in Photoshop

3) size and resolution

4) define print area 

* Offset press - requires cut lines, a bleed and image area to fit within the paper size (print on anything thats flat)

* Laser Printer -  1/4",1/4",1/4", 1/2"
-- standard sizes 8.5x11",8.5x14", 11x17"

* Inkjet printer -  1/4",1/4",1/4", 1/2"
-- standard sizes 8.5x11",8.5x14", 11x17", 19" wide, 24" wide, 36" wide, 42" wide

5) Define the Middle

6) save as a template file named appropriately as a .psd.

ex LP_cover_Template.psd

Walk Through. Creating an 11x17" mini poster for a local event.

 

 

Assignment #1

create and save a template at 180dpi for each of the following:

• movie poster - with guides for unprintable border and center
  
• 8.5"x11" business flyer - with guides for unprintable border and center
• business card - with center guides
• postcard - with center guides
• bumper sticker - with center guides
• CD cover - with center guides

Work on Assignment

Day 2

 

WHO WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?

 

I'm sure that George Washington was your best guess. But think back to your history books — The United States declared its independence in 1776, yet Washington did not take office until April 30, 1789.

So who was running the country during these initial years of this young country?

It was the first eight U.S.  Presidents.

In fact, the first President of the United States was one John Hanson.

 The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation. This document was actually proposed on June 11, 1776, but not agreed upon by Congress until November 15,1777. Once the signing took place in 1781, a President was needed to run the country.
John Hanson was chosen unanimously by Congress (which included George Washington). In fact, all the other potential candidates refused to run against him, as he was a major player in the revolution and an extremely influential member of Congress. The Articles of Confederation only allowed a President to serve a one year term during any three year period.

Seven other presidents were elected after him — Elias Boudinot (1782-83), Thomas Mifflin (1783-84), Richard Henry Lee (1784-85), John Hancock (1785-86), Nathan Gorman (1786-87), Arthur St. Clair (1787-88), and Cyrus Griffin (1788-89) — all prior to Washington taking office

Why don't we hear about the first eight presidents?

It's quite simple — The Articles of Confederation didn't work well. The individual states had too much power and nothing could be agreed upon. A new doctrine needed to be written — something we know as the Constitution.

George Washington was definitely not the first President of the United States. He was the first President of the United States under the Constitution we follow today. And the first eight Presidents are forgotten in history.

 

 

 

 

The creation of reality!

The Man Who Photographed Ghost

Early Manipulations

Early Alterations

Photographs have always lied

The LA Times 2003

---------------------------------

How to use a Mac

Login name = student
Login pass = artist

1) Desktop
2) The Dock
3) Top Menu
4) Making a new Folder
5) Renaming files and folders on the desktop
6) Opening a program
7) Opening a file
8) Saving a file
9) Closing a program


Using Safari
1) Tabs and Windows
2) Searching
3) downloading a file

---------------------------------

 

 

Free Photoshop

FireAlpaca & the Gimp

Quick Intro to Photoshop

1. Making a new document

To do this you need to know what you want to make. the first question is, is the final product for print or screen. There are different rules that apply.

for Print
- you need to know the width and hight of the final product. Is it a movie poster? a post card? a flyer, will it be in a book, if so what size book?

- you need to pick a resolution. This is how many dots appear in an inch, generally referred to as DPI (dots per inch). 

180 dpi = minimum print resolution
300-600 dpi = professional print resolution 

for Screen
- you need to know the pixel dimensions for the final product. This changes a lot depending on what form of media you need. Adobe has a lot of templates ready to go, so you can usually find what you need in there. 

some examples
HDTV = 1920 x 1080
4KTV = 3840 x 2160

iPhone X = 2436 x 1125
Pixel 3a = 2220 x 1080

Macbook Pro 13" = 2560 x 1600
Lenovo ThinkPad 13" = 1920 x 1080


2. Saving a document

Photoshop is the great image translator. It can open up almost any image file type and can save into most any image file type. 

the most important file you save is the working file. This is always a photoshop file also known as a 'PSD'. As long as you have the original PSD, you can make any 'final' files.

PSD = working file, has layers, can make all other files

JPG = flattened file, good at compression and photo realism.

GIF = flattened file, good at transparency, can animate, limited to 215 colors, good for graphics

TIFF = flattened file, no compression, photo realistic

RAW = original camera file, uncompressed, un-rendered, pure unaltered image data



3. The tool bar

Each tool in the tool bar has sub tools. To see them jut click and hold to see the pop up menu. Hover over a tools icon to see how a tool works.


4. Getting an image from the internet into Photoshop

1) search for an image

2) make sure the smallest side is at least 1000 pixels

3) make sure to download the largest version of the image

4) drag and drop the image onto the desktop. if it won't let you do that, Hit 'control' and click on the image. From the pop up menu, choose 'save image', and save it to the desktop. If it will not let you do that, hit 'shift' + 'command' + '4' and select the part of the image you want to take a screen shot of. The file will appear on your desktop.

 5) drag and drop the image file (usually a jpg) onto the Photoshop icon in the 'dock' at the bottom of the screen. It will open as a new tab in photoshop.

6) use the hot keys 'command' + 'a' to select the image

7) use the hot keys 'command' + 'c' to copy the image data

8) navigate to the tab withe the image you want to add to

9)  use the hot keys 'command' + 'v' to paste the image data into the new document. This image will appear as a new 'layer'


5. Layers

Layers are a very useful aspect of Photoshop. They stack in visual order from the top down, and you can have as many as you want in a single document.

- the background layer
- layer visibility
- naming layers
- changing opacity and using blend modes
- erasing to create 'transparency'

Finding and Installing new fonts

Free Fonts - dafont

Double click on a font to install it!

Project 1 Assigned


Blogging
- How to hook up and use a blog.

* if you took the digital is fundamental class, you can use the same blog.


A blog is many things, a personal website, an archive of media, the ability to broadcast a message to a greater audience, even an art piece in itself. 



Lets make a blog using Blogger
1- Search for Blogger
2- Login using your school email and password
3- Create a new blog

4- Make a test blog post

Posting to your blog is similar to composing an email. You need to put in a subject line and then fill out the body of the email (blog post). You can post text, images, videos and links. 

Show Joe your post and email your blogs URL before you leave!

 

 

 

Day 1

Hello and welcome to the Art213 Intro to Digital Media blog. This blog contains up-to-date information on the class, assignments & projects. There are also important links from this blog to other class resources. This blog is the hub of the class, so don't forget to check if frequently. Make it an icon on your smart phone. I usually updated the blog within 24 hours of class.

Part of your first assignment is to bring your laptop to class and show me the bookmark to this site.

Make a link to this blog on your smartphone

1) open Safari or another web browser on you phone

2) add a bookmark to the home screen

The Intro to Digital Media class presents an introduction to print based media through image manipulation & graphic design, time based media through motion graphics, and 3d design and 3D printing. These areas of media are explored through the use of Adobe Photoshop, TinkerCad & Makerware, as well as a hand full of useful shareware and web applications (Google Photos, YouTube, & Blogs).

We will investigate the mechanics of creating Digital Media as well as consider the roll of media within American society and it's potential to alter our society. We will also look to consider the many facets of technology that interact with digital art.

Creating Reality with Imagery!

.

.

In 2017, Secretary of State John Kerry referenced this photograph when making a speech. He presented the image to point out how awful the Syrian chemical attack to present a reason for why  America should go to war. Unfortunately the picture wasn't from Syria. It was from Iraq and form the year 2003! Photographer, Marco di Lauro said he nearly "fell off his chair" when he saw it was being used to promote a war in Syria. "It's getting pretty disturbing to see how far our politicians, both Republican and Democrat, are willing to go to drum up support for a war nobody wants"

Ultimately, it is really hard to know the authenticity of an image without doing specific research on it!

Another factor to consider is how humans utilize visual information. Humans have two modes of visual awareness. 

- Through quick reflection and auto reaction. Used to navigate our everyday experience.

- Through thoughtful consideration. Used to gain a deeper understanding.

 

 

Lets take the Awareness Test!

 

 

 

Examples of Digital (New) Media Projects

 

 

  

 

 

  

How to use a Mac

Login name = student
Login pass = artist

1) Desktop
2) The Dock
3) Top Menu
4) Making a new Folder 
5) Renaming files and folders on the desktop
6) Opening a program
7) Opening a file
8) Saving a file
9) Closing a program


Using Safari
1) Tabs and Windows
2) Searching
3) downloading a file

Day 27

 

 

Class Final

Wed 12/7 12-3pm

 

 

 

Adding Audio

Sound Effects (explosions, feet walking on pavement, dog barking)

 

Atmospheric (sounds of the city, sounds of the wind blowing through the trees, sounds of a bowling alley)

 

Music (pre-made or custom made. literal use or ironic use)

 

 

 

 

 

Working on

 

- Signage for the dormitories on campus

Your working with:

- the shape of the sign

- the color

- the font

- graphics

 

- Project5

 

- Project 6

Theme a blog up on Google's Blogspot and upload your portfolio

- Make a Favi Icon

- Make a visual for your Header

- Pick fonts and font colors

- Pick Background Colors and Images

- Make a post for each of the following:

• All your CD covers (Jpgs)

• Final Movie Poster (Jpgs)

• poster for the Music Dept (Jpgs)

• Motion Graphic Video Project including; the video, photo of your storyboard and your written outline. (MP4) 

  Email me your blog's web address