DMA102 - Color & Graphic Design
Your Final Project: Design a Music CD
(Read the Project Details)
Your course grade will be based on:
Attendance 10 pts. (0.7pt for each class) Midterm Project 25 pts. HW1 (LayerMasking) 10 pts. HW2 (Myster Toast Tabloid Cover) 10 pts. HW3 (Colorizing a BW) 10 pts. HW4 (Rule of Thirds Composition) 10 pts. Final Project 25 pts. Extra Credit Tutorials 1 pt. each Total: 100 pts.
Week 12 (July 26)
- Final Project Work Session
- Creating a PDF Package using Bridge
Week 11 (July 19)
- Continuing Techniques for Designing a Music CD
Week 10 (July 12)
- CD Jewel Case Template Files (Download Zipped Folder)
- Images for Design:
- Background (Download)
- Pose (Download)
- Brush Collection (Download)
- 35 Excellent Poster Design Tutorials with Typography Art | Tutorial Loungehttp://bit.ly/91cDy2
- Great Poster Fonts
Week 9 (July 8)
- Layer Styles (Customizing, Loading, Copying & Pasting)
- Using the Clone Stamp Tool
- Adjusting images in Camera Raw (from Bridge)
- Graduated Filter (Download this image)
- Using the Straighten/Crop Tool (Download this Image)
- Working with Exposure, Color Adjustments & Vignettes (Download this image)
- Clarity & Retouching (Download this image)
Week 8 (June 28)
- Composition: The "Rule of Thirds"
- Why it aesthetically works
- the connection between math and art
- the Fibonacci Sequence & Divine Proportions
- Using the "Rule of Thirds" grid Custom Shape Tool in Photoshop
- Assignment: Create 4 compositions using the Rule of Thirds layout. Your document should be 1024x768px. Use an image from StockXchange and add a line of text.
Week 7 (June 21)
- Midterm Project Due (no exceptions)
- Topic: Combining Color & BW with Adjustment Layers or Quickmasking
- Quickmasking Lesson
Week 6 (June 14)
- Use the class time to work on your Midterm Project.
- Email a jpg of your progress (do not send me a PSD file).
Week 5 (June 7)
- Midterm Project Details
- More on Type & Composition
Week 4 (Friday, June 4)
- Exercise: Supermarket Tabloid Cover (Part II)
- Topics: Adding & Formatting Type, Smart Objects, working w/Guides, Clipping and working with Shape Layers.
Week 3 (May 24)
- Topics: Gradient Layer Masking, Smart Filter, Blending Modes, Transforming
- Exercise: "Michael Jackson is in My Toast!!"
- Bonus Exercise: Baseball Head
Week 2 (May 17)
- Topics: Layer Masking & Adjustment Layers
- Exercise 1: "Panda Bear" Lesson
- Exercise 2: "Faceball" Lesson
- Homework #1: Use the techniques taught in today's lesson to combine two images using Layer Masking & Adjustment Layers. Save the file as a PSD file on your Flash Drive. (Do not print it out). Your primary source of images should be the StockXchange website. However, you are allowed to get your images elsewhere if necessary.
Week 1 (May 10)
- Photoshop Interface overview
- Basic Selection Exercises
Course Textbook:
"Photoshop CS4 Visual Quickstart" (Required)
Paperback: 456 pages; Peachpit Press
ISBN-10: 0321563654 / ISBN-13: 978-0321563651
Course Syllabus: Download a PDF of the Syllabus.
Handout: What You Will Need for This Class
Interested in Purchasing the Software?
We are currently using the Adobe CS4 Design Premium. You can purchase your own legal copy at Academic Superstore.
Extra Credit Tutorials
You can earn up to 10 points for the semester by completing 1 online Photoshop tutorial per week. Choose a tutorial from one of the sites listed below. After you complete the tutorial, save the file to your flash drive AND print out the tutorial instructions. You can do 1 tutorial per week -- up to ten tutorials for the semester.
Choose from any of these Photoshop Tutorial Sites:
Pixel2Life Photoshop Tutorials
