- Catalog description
- Study of current computer techniques for
creating, editing, and displaying two-dimensional artwork
-- such as photographs, drawings, and layouts -- pursued
through hands-on exercises and lectures on underlying
concepts.
- Course objectives.
- Enable the students to develop projects
in the main areas of 2-dimensional computer art, stressing
the trade-offs between raster- and vector-based approaches,
as well as their ramifications in specific application
areas.
- Highlight the unique characteristics of
2-dimensional computer systems -- beyond the user interface
devices mimicking traditional tools.
- Explain and -- whenever possible --
demonstrate the different options for translating computer
images into distributable hardcopy.
- Topical outline
- Painting (raster graphics): relationship
of computer painting to traditional media; soft-edge style
and applications; image-processing tools; manipulation of
photographs and integration with computer paintings; file
format standards.
- Drawing (vector graphics):
Resolution-independent drafting; hard-edge style and
applications; methods for specifying free-form curves, with
an emphasis on Bezier curves; file format standards.
- Typography: bit-mapped (non-scalable)
fonts, and their design; outline (scalable) typefaces and
their design.
- Print media layout: interactive paste-up
applications; batch processing (style sheet) applications;
grey-scale and color halftoning; output devices.
- Presentation media layout: slides and
overheads; design and narrative strategies; output
devices.
- Other topics to reflect the development
of further computer applications in two-dimensional visual
arts.
- Week 1: Intro to course & lab, review
Fontographer, Fontographer asgnmnt
- Introductory videos
- "Apple Desktop Media" tape. 10:19 DTP
for 1-person newspaper in Maine.
- "The Power of Apple Desktop Media"
tape. BCW case study using DesignStudio.
- July '89 U.G. Connection tape. 51:05
to 53:04 Knight-Ridder use of Illustrator. 1:12:21 to
1:22:43 "The Discoverers": DTP revolution.
- April 90 U.G. Connection tape. Macs
& high-end systems @ Time magazine.
- Introduction to ImageStudio
(video)
- Introduction to Illustrator
(video)
- Review lab operation (disk layout,
server access, timbuktu, door combo)
- Fontographer assignment
- Create 'blocky' typeface characters
- Once the first bitmap ('H' is
probably best) has been traced, extract guidelines from
it to aid in constructing other characters.
- The guidelines should take
precedence over the bitmaps (the latter affected by
scaling errors, position errors, aliasing). Highlight
symmetries that allow one to work out exact
coordinates.
- Review step-by-step
- Copy and paste scanned bitmaps to
Fontographer
- Complete guidelines tracings
- Review Fontographer basics (confident
students can get started on the assignment)
- Week 2: Computer system, Digital
typography,work on Fontographer assignment
- Review of 22-242 Computer System Outline
handout
- Typography topics
- X-height
- Font & Function The Adobe Type
Catalog Winter 1990
- Typeface choices
- Review sampler of typefaces
available in the lab
- Personal Publishing "Type Drawer"
column, all issues
- Personal Publishing 04/00/89
- Personal Publishing 01/00/90
- "When in doubt, use Caslon",
Personal Publishing 04/00/90
- Fontographer assignment
- Start on common parts of
characters
- Show how to set outline, stroke
thickness (no more than 20 units), gray value, bevel
joins.
- Show how to get and assemble
parts
- Complete simpler characters
- Week 3: Complete Fontographer asgnmnt (due
today), intro ImageStudio, ImageStudio assignment.
- Additional Fontographer features
- Maintaining consistency
- Re-using components
- Using multiple windows
- Appropriate guidelines
- Metrics
- Special effects
- Scale
- Flip horizontal/vertical
- Rotate
- Skew
- Move
- Composite characters
- Correspondence between screen
typefaces and laser printer typefaces
- Onscreen bitmap "placeholders" for
outline typefaces
- Generating bitmaps at different
sizes from an outline typeface
- Demonstrate generating and installing
PS and bitmaps
- Different font files
- Font/DA files
- Downloadable PostScript font
files
- Metrics files
- Font editor files
- Explain basics of ImageStudio -- so
people familiar with computers can go ahead and explore on
their own.
- Compare to other paint programs: known
tools, new tools to accomodate grayscale operation.
- Explain toolbox, grayscale editor,
image sizing, selecting and using filters
- Introduce I.S. assignment
- Reassembling panoramic series of
photographs to create tight seamless background, add own
scanned image for out-of-context foreground.
- NOTE: big memory and disk access
problems here!!!
- Demonstrate facade perspective
correction using Image 1.16
- Week 4: ImageStudio in depth, work on
ImageStudio asgnmnt (scan foreground images)
- Art Samples-Image Processing
- Edge-sharpened color photographs,
Digital Review 12/04/89
- Notion of image processing
- raster -- as opposed to vector
- image analysis and modification -- as
opposed to synthesis
- demonstrate Pico syntax and effects
(notion of pixel math)
- ImageStudio: additional features
- Tool settings (pressure, etc.)
- Custom Pens & Tools (remember that
they can't be saved because I.S. file is locked)
- Effects of different graymap
settings.
- Illustrate use of I.S. "according to the
rules'
- Retouch FlatGull photo to bring out
desired detail, tone down distracting background
- "Creative use and misuse of I.S."
Samples of relevant artists' work
- Magritte: tight 'photorealistic'
rendering of real objects. Impact derives from changes in
scale/context.
- I.S. well suited to blending
together disparate photo images, creating believably
solid composit scenes
- Bacon: bases much of his work on
photographs, rendered in loosely painterly style --
portrait series showing distortions of features
- I.S. smear tool can be used to 'push
paint around', distorting photo images.
- Photographers juxtaposing photographs
to create panoramic views, composits. Hockney.
- Operation of scanner and/or video
digitizer
- Week 5: Work on ImageStudio asgnmnt (due
today), intro Illustrator, Illustrator asgnmnt.
- Art Samples-Painting
- Most "AV Video" cover art pieces
- Digital Justice (batman by Pepe
Moreno), MacWorld 02/00/90
- ImageStudio & different image file
formats.
- Intro to Illustrator features
- drawing (object-oriented program)
- graphical PostScript editor
- path separate from rendering
attributes (artwork vs. preview)
- tracing features -- layers (artwork
vs. template)
- Illustrator asgnmnt (hand holding
pencil)
- Week 6: Drawing with Illustrator, work on
Illustrator asgnmnt (scan hand drawings).
- drawing tools
- Pen tool exercises
- 2/3 rule
- change of direction rule
- Freehand tool
- Autotrace tool
- Rectangle and ellipse tools
- Paint menu
- Gray value selection
- Color selection
- process color
- custom (Pantone color)
- Creating and manipulating patterns
- stress that images for patterns MUST
wrap around to opposite edge
- Stroke
- Masks
- note layering (mask will only work
on objects in front of itself)
- difference between grouped and
ungrouped mask
- Text menu
- built-in Times and Helvetica. Other
fonts.
- text with patterns, text as mask
- Drawing exercise documents
- "Curve" and "Corner" templates
- "student Template"
- "Maze"
- "Freehand Template" (3 leaves -- try
all three drawing tools on them, notice difference in
number of points)
- "Autotrace Template" (drag-trace
silverware to obtain three separate shapes)
- Modifier tools
- Translation (option-arrow)
- Rotation
- Scaling
- Shear
- Reflection
- Blend
- As metamorphosis tool
- As shading tool
- Layering
- Modifier/Layering exercise document
- "Final Project"
- "Layer Art"
- Scan original drawings for Illustrator
asgnmt
- Get scaling correct to avoid problems
in Illustrator.
- Week 7: More Illustrator, work on
Illustrator asgnmnt (scan hand drawings).
- Review drawing/modifying
- Special effects
- Alignments
- "Neon" blend
- Daisy and gear (circular repeats)
- Arrows
- Folding a box
- Making a 3D object
- Splitting a shape
- Creating/modifying text outlines
- Composites
- Integrating Illustrator with other
programs
- PICT files through DrawOver
- EPSF (incl. raster images) into
Illustrator
- Labeled and cropped video console
photograph
- Option-copy to transfer raster image
to clipboard
- Integrating Illustrator drawings into
fonts (Art Importer)
- Art Samples-Drawing
- Digital Review 04/16/90, "Computer
site protection provides cheap insurance" article
- Corel DRAW! 89 competition, Desktop
Communications 03/04/90
- CorelDRAW! design contest, PC
Publishing 05/00/90
- Milwaukee TV station ads, Personal
Publishing 08/00/89
- "Line Art to Fine Art", Electronic
Publishing & Printing 10/00/89
- "Teaching your scanner to read"
article, Personal Publishing 05/00/90
- "Big" soapbox, The Active Window
07/00/90
- "Resolution: The artist, technology
and the mountain", AV Video 04/00/90
- "The Magic Box", AV Video
05/00/89
- Week 8: Illustrator due, Intro to Layout
pgm, Layout asgnmnt
- Review of ReadySetGo
- Templates
- ITC Desktop 07/08/90(or90?)
- Personal Publishing 04/00/90
- ReadySetGo assignment
- Publication describing the motivations
for, and the steps involved in, the making of one of the
previous assignments (ImageStudio, Illustrator
preferred).
- Week 9: Oct.30: More Layout
- Grid system
- Art Samples-Layout
- Adobe ad, Personal Publishing
07/00/89
- "Pulp Magazine", Personal Publishing
05/00/90
- Personal Publishing 12/00/89
- ITC Desktop 07/08/90(or90?)
- Electronic Publishing & Printing
10/00/89
- Look what I did with Corel DRAW!,
Personal Publishing 06/00/89
- "The Makeover Book"
- Other software/platforms
- Ventura, PC Publishing 11/00/89
- Aldus Pagemaker,Interleaf Publisher,
Quark Xpress, Xerox Ventura Publisher, InfoWorld
01/01/90
- Week 10: Layout due, Assign final project
- Typography
- Typesetting style guide
- Kickers and decks, Personal
Publishing 05/00/90
- Bullets, boxes and dingbats, ITC
Desktop, 11/12/89
- Personal Publishing 08/00/89
- Personal Publishing 05/00/90
- Special effects
- "Inline type in FreeHand", Personal
Publishing 04/00/90
- Kerning Style
- Personal Publishing 12/00/89
- Typographical glossary
- PersonalPublishing 06/00/89
- Overview of other possibilities besides
programs already studied, in view of final project
- Slides
- Animatics
- Sound
- SIGGRAPH poster contest
- Final project assignment
- Week 11: Charting (Illustrator)
- Slides/Charting
- The slide-making process
- Scripting the presentation
- Creating PICT files
- Queing and shooting
- Slide elements
- Charts & "Chartoons" (Edward
Tufte)
- Edward Tufte against "tinkertoy"
graphics, overdesigned "chartoons", MacWEEK
09/26/89
- Trapeze and Wingz
- Text
- Diagrams
- Photographs
- Slide design vs. page design, ITC
Desktop 10/00/89
- Infographics
- The Associated Press
- Knight-Ridder
- Personal Publishing 04/00/89
- The National
- Week 12: Draft of final due, color and
halftoning
- Color
- Color models
- The ABC's, RGB's and CMY's of color
image processing, MicroCadNews 03/00/90
- A color picker picks the right
Pantone colors, MacWeek 11/21/90
- Color computer technology
- "Controlling color to achieve
realism", an introduction to color input, output,
generation, and display, Personal Workstation
05/00/90
- Color Perception
- Advanced Imaging 03/00/90
- Color Printing
- Electronic Publishing & Printing
03/00/90
- Color copiers, Presentation
Products, 01/00/90
- Color use
- How to use color functionally,
Electronic Publishing & Printing 01/02/90
- Digital halftoning and printing
- Color Separations
- MacWEEK 03/27/90
- MicroCAD News 04/00/90
- ITC Desktop 05/06/89
- Shopping for a color service bureau,
MacWeek 02/27/90
- The mathematics of print resolution
- Photo reproductions
- ITC Desktop 07/08/90(or90?)
- Week 13: Design applications, hardware
- Art Samples-Logo design
- Personal Publishing 04/00/90
- "Hot Licks", AV Video 07/00/89
- Hardware
- Getting started with laser printers,
MacWorld 10/00/89
- Direct to plate printing, MacWEEK
03/27/90
- Guideline for Quality Control of Image
Scanners, Datamation 04/15/90
- Checking it twice: digital film
recorders, AV Video 11/00/89
- Supplies
- Paper/toner
- ITC Desktop 07/08/89(or90?)
- Electronic Publishing & Printing
03/00/90
- Week 14: Final project due, advanced
topics
- Editorial Management
- Edit management tools, MacWeek
11/21/90
- PostScript programming
- PostScript graphics contest
- Non-print publishing
- Alternative publishing: CD-ROM and
other new technologies, Electronic publishing &
printing 09/00/89
- CD ROM publishing arrives for the
little guy, InfoWorld 04/02/90