This semester I've been given the opportunity to teach GRA2201 Electronic Imaging, aka the Photoshop class. This is an intermediate course where students of the Valencia Graphics Program get a chance to hone their Photoshop skills and learn some advanced techniques. Having taken the class myself as a student, I already had a general understanding of how the curriculum was structured, however I felt it necessary to make some changes and add in some additional assignments throughout the semester. So, in addition to the 4 major projects that the students will be working on this semester, they also have a series of 5, one-week long assignments that are designed to reinforce some of the skills and techniques learned in class.
A big part of learning Photoshop is through experimentation... trial and error... repetition, repetition, repetition. Though we give them step by step instructions on how to perform certain functions, it's important for the students to develop their own process and workflow and learn how to be problem solvers... hence the purpose of these assignments. Furthermore, these assignments are meant to coincide with the current project.
For Assignment 1, the students had to create a collage of images based on a day in their life. It could be just their average everyday, or a particularly memorable day in their life. This assignment was in some ways meant as a refresher of some of the basics learned in GRA1142 Design Essentials. Students had to use a minimum of 5 photos and one, scanned, hand-drawn element. They were given specific file dimensions, color modes, and file formats to turn in, but otherwise had complete creative freedom to design as they wish. Assignment 1 focused on the following skills:
- Organizing and managing images
- Scanning images
- Practice image composition
- Working with layers
- Working w/ file formats, resolution, and color modes
- Using selection tools
- Using blending modes
- Using adjustment layers
- Working with layer masks and selections
So, without further adieu, here are the results!
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| Brian Plaza |
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| John Coffey |
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| Dorothy Timmer |
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| Eric Rummells |
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| Dianna Lugo |
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| Joshua Murphy |
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| Christian Perez |
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| Christopher Reichert |
