COURSE
SYLLABUS
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Course Title
and Number: Communication Arts Technology • 46-207-Graphics
Required Text:
The
Non-Designer’s Design Book; Second Edition
Robin Williams
Adobe
Illustrator 10: Introduction to Digital Illustration - (CD Included)
Against The
Clock Performance Support and Training Series
Adobe
Photoshop 7: Introduction to Digital Images - (CD Included)
Against The
Clock Performance Support and Training Series
Course website: http://blackboard.allegany.edu
Secretary’s
phone: Mrs. Barbara Renotas –
301-784-5328
Instructor’s
Name: James House, Jr.
Office
Location and Hours: Technology Building • T-138
Office hours: 2:00
pm - 3:00 pm, Tuesday, Thursday
Office hours: 12:00
pm - 1:00 pm, Wednesday
Other
conferences by appointment only
Office Phone: 301-784-5308 • e-mail: jhouse@allegany.edu
Day and Time of Class Meeting: 2594 – Cumberland Campus
2595 – Bedford Campus
2596
– Somerset Campus
This is a
course in graphic production techniques, emphasizing computer production of
type, illustrations, page layouts, and presentations.
A. Attendance Policy
Each student
is required to attend all lecture and laboratory classes. At the start of each
Communication Media Class (lecture or laboratory), the instructor will formally
obtain and record attendance or absence for each enrolled student. It is the
responsibility of each student to advise and explain to the instructor his/her
late arrival in class after the attendance has been taken. The instructor has
the prerogative to record the late arriving student as present or absent. It is
the responsibility of each student to advise the instructor of illness or
necessary absence that result in missing a Communication Media class.
B. Participating
Students are
encouraged to participate in lecture by asking questions or by answering
questions directed to them by the instructor. No grade value is given to this
participation. Students participate in lab by completing hands-on projects.
C. Grading
Students
enrolled in Communication Media courses will be issued grades according to the
following scale:
100-90
A
89-80
B
79-70
C
69-60
D
59-0
F
D. Extra Credit - (see instructor)
Basic
requirements for each assignment must first be met satisfactory, after which
extra work will be accepted. Extra credit will be considered and applied in the
case of a borderline grade (a numerical average within one point of the next
higher grade) at the end of the semester.
E. Tutoring and Extra Help Sessions
A student is
encouraged to contact the instructor or director of Communication Media.
F. Form of Assignments
All written
assignments are to be typed.
G. When Assigned Work Is To Be Completed:
All student
projects and assignments are due on the date(s) specified by the instructor of
the Communication Media course. Any project or assignment turned in by a
student after the due date will not be accepted. Consequently, the student will
receive a failing grade for the project or assignment. When an instructor
extends the due date or a student has a legitimate excuse for not meeting the
due date, exception to this policy will apply. When a project or assignment is
turned in on or before the due date but receives and unsatisfactory or re-do
grade, the student will have two weeks from the original due date to submit the
second attempt of the project. The instructor will determine the highest
possible grade on a project that is redone.
H. Plagiarism and Cheating
Refer to
student handbook
Students with
a valid written medical excuse may take the exam on the first day a student
returns to the designated course.
III. BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Required text and materials
The Non-Designer’s Design Book
Robin Williams
Adobe Illustrator 10: Introduction to Digital Illustration -
(CD
Included)
Against The
Clock Performance Support and Training Series
Adobe Photoshop 7: Introduction to Digital Images - (CD Included)
Against The
Clock Performance Support and Training Series
One blank Zip Disk (PC Formatted) for use with projects in
the lab. Items may be obtained at the College Book Store, Staples, Wal-Mart,
etc. Prices vary.
International
Paper Company’s
Pocket Pal, Latest Edition
C. Supplemental learning resources
Overhead
transparencies: Original Transparencies DCA Educational Series on Design
Process and Typeface Classification Filmstrips: Son-A-Vision, Inc. Insight Graphics series: I -Advertising
- At Work:
Advertising
Layout Design.
11-With Type; How to Prepare a Mechanical. 4
Printing
History/Letterpress;
Photo-Offset lithography. 6- The Evolution of Typography;
The Dynamics
of Typography. Slides: Example slides for projects. The Center for
Humanities; Inc.:
Learning to
See and Understand: Developing Visual Literacy, Part One.
Handout
Materials
Project
Examples
Direct
Visualize
Blackboard/external
links
IV. LIBRARY ASSIGNMENTS - NON APPLICABLE
V. COURSE CONTENT
WEEK 1: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
General Course
Information, Course History And Evolution, Changes In The Field, Where We Are
Today, The Internet, The Effect Of Graphic Design Through The Advent And
Introduction Of The Computer
The Illustrator Environment
Creating and
Opening Documents, Creating New Documents, Opening Existing Documents, Saving
Your Work, Illustrator PDF vs. Illustrator EPS, Page Tiling and the Art board,
Margins, Document Orientation and Size, The Toolbox, Palettes, Menus, Context
Menus, Setting General Preferences, Controlling the Grid, Rulers, Setting the
Zero Point, Ruler Measurement Units, Making and Managing Guides, Using Guides,
Outline and Preview Viewing Modes, Using Views to Maximize Efficiency, Pixel
Preview, Overprint Preview, New Views, Edit Views, New Windows, Creating New
Windows, Using the Navigator Palette and Features.
WEEK 2: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Graphics
Careers, Career Opportunities, Working Graphic Artist
Alignment and Repetition:
The Non-Designer’s Design Book
Drawing and Painting
Creating
Primitive Shapes and Paths, Ellipse
Tool, Using the Dialog Box, Circles, Starting Point of and Ellipse, Rectangle
Tool, Drawing with the Mouse, Using the Dialog Box, Starting Point of the
Rectangle, Rounding Square Edges, Changing the Corner Radius, Other Drawing
Tools, Twirl Tool, Spiral Tool, Star Tool, Polygon Tool, Creating Paths, Anchor
Points and Segments, The Pen Tool, Pen Tool Symbols, Drawing Curves, Control
Handle, Smooth Point, Corner Point, More Corner Techniques, Strategies for
Making Curves, Modifying Paths, Anchor Points and Segments Continued, Selecting
Single Anchor Points, Moving Selections, Deleting Selections, Duplicating Paths
and Objects, Connecting Anchor Points, Avoiding Mishaps.
Projects to be completed: Art Deco House
WEEK 3: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Pre-Visual
Design, Marketing and demographics, Formatting, Aspect ratios, Orientation,
Projected vs.
Non-projected, Print vs. Web
Contrast and Review:
The Non-Designer’s Design Book
Using Images
File Formats -
RGB vs. CMYK, Gamut, File Saving Formats, Saving for the Web, Placing Graphics
in Illustrator and other import methods, Using the Links Palette, Creating
Templates, Using Filters on Images, Raster and Color Filters, Creating Masking
and Compounding Paths, Creating Compound Objects, Using Masks - Image Masks,
Opacity Masks, Using Blending and Raster Color Modes
Projects to be completed: Walking the Dogs
WEEK 4: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Review Of
Course Material to This Point
Type and Life: The
Non-Designer’s Design Book
Creating and Editing Type and Painting Objects
Getting Type
on the Page, Creating Point Text with the Type Tool, Creating Area Text with
the Type Tool, Selecting Text, Re-sizing a Text Container, Typographic Basics,
Fonts, Font Styles, Leading, Tracking, Kerning, Scaling Type, Baseline Shift,
Paragraph, Alignment, Oversetting Text Blocks, Text Effects, Fit Headline,
Working with Type Outlines, Fill and Strokes, Open vs. Closed Paths, Strokes,
Getting Creative with Dashes and Gaps, Applying Fills and Strokes from the Toolbox,
Swatches Palette, Painting Objects, Painting Selected and Un-selected Objects,
Color Modes, Color Palette, Spot Color, The Color Palette Menu, Using the
Swatches Palette, Creating New Color Swatches, Color Icons, Spot Colors and
Tints, Importing from Swatch Libraries and Custom Colors, Styles, Effects and
Appearances, Styles Palette and Styles Libraries, Creating a Style, Editing
Styles, Tips on Styles, The Effect Menu, Appearance Palette, Tips on the
Appearance Palette
Exam #1 - Chapters # 1 through 4 on Adobe Illustrator and
Topics Covered In Lecture
Projects to be completed: Vinoy Hotel Ad
Record Label Logo Assignment
WEEK 5: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Lettering and
Typography, Letter Parts and Guidelines, Type Classification
Categories of Type:
The Non-Designer’s Design Book
Manipulating Objects and Organizing Your Art with Layers in
Illustrator
Object Menu,
Arrange, Group/Ungroup, Lock, Unlock All, Hide Selection/Show All, Arranging
with Front/Back, Precision Alignment Techniques, Manual Alignment, Aligning
Anchor Points, Aligning Segments, Transform Palette, Paste In Front, Paste In
Back, Duplicating Objects, Aligning and Distributing Objects, Using the Align
Palette, Layer Basics, Organizing Your Elements, Using the Layers Palette,
Palette Menu, Layer Options, Layer Levels, Changing Layer Levels, Reassigning
Objects on Layers, Tips on Layers, Keyboard Shortcuts, Sub layers, Nesting Sub
layers, Guides and Layers
WEEK 6: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Lettering And
Typography Continued, True type vs. Postscript Legibility, Type for Print, Type
for Web
Type Contrasts: The
Non-Designer’s Design Book
Working with Objects
Outline
Stroke, Offset Paths, Slice, Simplify, Add Anchor Points, Using the Pathfinder
Palette, Creative Drawing Tools, Pencil Tool, Smooth and Eraser Tools, Tips on
the Smooth and Eraser Tools, Paintbrush Tool, Brush Libraries, Applying Brush
Strokes to Paths, Editing Paths Containing Brush Strokes, Editing Brush
Strokes, Using Filters, Zig Zag Filter, Pen and Ink Filters, Free Distort
Filter, Roughen, Scribble and Tweak, Punk and Bloat, Using Trim Marks, Linear
and Radial Gradients, Using the Gradients Palette, Painting Objects with
Gradients, Painting Objects Using the Swatch Palette, Creating Your Own Gradients,
Multicolored Gradients, Changing Angles of Gradients, Gradient Tools, Applying
Radial Gradients with the Gradient Tool
Projects to be completed: Heart man
Word Art Project
WEEK 7: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Visual Design, Elements of Design, Principles,
Gestalt Theory
Publishing and Distribution
Transformation
Basics, Axis, Origin Point, Manual Transformations, Dialog Boxes, Changing the
Origin Point Manually, Using the Reflect Tool, Scaling, Manual Scaling,
Transformations Using the Bounding Box, Using the Free Transform Tool, Using
the Shear Tool, Manual Shearing, The Shear Dialog Box, Shearing Text,
Understanding What Illustrator Can Do With Images, Placing Graphics, The Place
Dialog Box, Other Image Import Methods, Drag and Drop, Cut and Paste, The Links
Palette, The Links Menu, Missing Links, Creating Templates, Placing Images, The
Layers Palette Menu, Template Tips, Placing a Vector EPS, To Link or Not To
Link, Placing Unlinked EPS Images, Placing Raster Images, Exporting Illustrator
Documents.
Projects to be completed: Robot Waitress
WEEK 8: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Visual Design,
Elements of Design, Principles, Gestalt Theory Continued, Review Of Course
Material to This Point
Color Separation and Printing
Color
Separation, Composite Proofs, Deciding Who Will Do Color Separations,
Registration Marks, Preparing for Print, Windows and Macintosh Concerns,
Separation Setup
Exam #2 - Chapters # 5 through 8 on Adobe Illustrator
And Topics Covered In Lecture
WEEK 9: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Computers For
Media Applications, Basic Terms, Hardware Components, CPUs And Operating
Systems, Keyboards And Other Input Devices, Monitors, Scanners, Printers,
Memory And Storage Capacity, Software Components
Introduction to Photoshop, Where Images Come From
and the Photoshop Document
Analog Images,
Digital Images, Photo CDs, Digital Cameras, Digital Art, Scanners and
Digitizers, Frame grabbers, Image File Formats, Where Images are Placed, CMYK
vs. RGB, Electronic Documents, Understanding Resolution, DPI and LPI, LPI and
PPI, Calibration and Color Models, Color Space and Gamma, RGB Color, CMYK
Color, L*a*b Color Space, Gamma, Calibration, Out of Gamut, The Working
Photoshop Environment, Navigating Photoshop, Keyboard Navigation
WEEK 10: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
System
Software, Application Software, Vector Vs. Pixel-based Graphic Design Programs.
Interchange File Formats Vs. Proprietary Application Files, Page Layout and Web
Page Design Applications
Photoshop’s Tools, The Photoshop Menu Bar
Controlling
the Grid, Rulers, Setting the Zero Point, Ruler Measurement Units, Making and
Managing The Photoshop Toolbox, Selection Tools, Painting and Drawing Tools,
Photo Effects Tools, Path Creation Tools, Tools That Provide Information, Tools
That Affect Image View, Other Toolbox Controls, File Menu, Edit Menu, Image
Menu, Layer Menu, Select Menu, Filter Menu, View Menu, Window Menu, Help Menu
WEEK 11: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
System
Software, Application Software, Vector Vs. Pixel-based Graphic Design Programs.
Interchange File Formats Vs. Proprietary Application Files, Page Layout and Web
Page Design Applications Continued
Photoshop Palettes and Image Sizes, Resolution and Color
Models
Using Pop-up
Sliders, Help Wizards, The Layers, Channels, and Paths Palettes, The Color,
Swatches and Styles Palettes, The Navigator and Info Palettes, The History and
Actions Palettes, The Relationship Between PPI and Line Screens, The Image Size
Command, The Canvas Size Command, Understanding Tones, Bit Depth, Color Modes,
Bitmap Images, Grayscale, Duotone, Indexed Color, RGB, CMYK, L*a*b Color,
Converting Between RGB and CMYK
WEEK 12: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Review Of
Course Material to This Point
Basic Selection Techniques and Painting Tools
Layers and
Selections, Basic Selection Tools, The Marquee Tools, The Lasso Tools,
Preserving Selection Information, Adding or Removing Portions of a Selection,
Other Selection Commands, Manipulating Selections, Mirrored Tiles, The Type
Tools, The Magic Wand Tool, Feathering, Working with the New Brushes Palette,
The Pencil Tool, The Paintbrush Tool, Airbrush Tool, Working with Fills, The
Paint Bucket, The Gradient Fill Tool, The Eraser Tools, The Eraser, The
Background Eraser, the Magic Eraser, The Clone Stamp and Pattern Stamp Tool,
The Healing Brush and Patch Tools (Photoshop 7.0 only)
Exam #3 - Chapters # 1 through 6 on Adobe Photoshop
And Topics Covered In Lecture
WEEK 13: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
The Psychology
of Color, Understanding Color Schemes, The Visible Spectrum
Working With Type and Layers in Photoshop
Photoshop is
Not a Typesetting Program. New Spell
Check Features in Photoshop. (7.0 Only), Using the Type Tool, Creating a Text
Layer, Creating a Type Mask Selection, Using the Text Palettes, Orienting Text,
Type Layers, Warping Text, Working with Multiple Layers, Photo Composites with
Layers, Shape Layers, Using the File Browser and Tool Presets (Photoshop 7.0
Only)
Projects to be completed: Gulls Poster
WEEK 14: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Reproduction
Of Print Media, Duplication Processes, Electrostatic Vs. Impact Printing,
Printing Processes, Raster Image Processing, Postscript And Other PDLs,
Four-color Process, RGB-savvy Printers, Future Printing Prospects
Blending Modes, Channels and Masks in Photoshop
Blending Modes
and Layers, The Blending Modes, The Practical Usage of Blending Modes, Color
Channels, Alpha Channels, Managing Channels, More Channel Techniques, Using
Quick Mask Mode, Quick Mask Options
Projects to be completed: Fallbridge Menu Cover
Begin CD Cover, Tray card and Disk Project
WEEK 15: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Reproduction
Of Print Media, Duplication Processes, Electrostatic Vs. Impact Printing,
Printing Processes, Raster Image Processing, Postscript And Other PDLs,
Four-color Process, RGB-savvy Printers, Future Printing Prospects Continued
Creating, Managing Paths and Filters in Photoshop
The Paths
Palette, Tips for Using the Pen Tool, Filter Groups, Artistic Effects Filters,
Image-Retouching Filters, Distortion and Stylization Filters, Render Filters,
Lighting Effects, Type and Lighting Effects, The Texture Fill Command, Other
Filters, Third Party Filters
Projects to be completed: Jazz Postcard
USA Poster
WEEK 16: TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN LECTURE AND LAB
Review Of
Course Material to This Point
Wrap-Up of Other Features in Photoshop
Exam #4/Final - Chapters # 7 through 12 on Adobe Photoshop
and Topics Covered In Lecture
Projects to be completed: CD Cover, Tray card and Disk
Project Due.
Deadline for all projects must be completed to count toward
final grade.
207 Graphics
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