Course Descriptions

Art 171- Sofia Adams 

ART 171 - Introduction to Digital Art

3 units - 6 hours per week (2 hours lecture and 4 hours laboratory practice)
Satisfies General Education for Grossmont College C3
Transfers to CSU and UC

An introductory studio course into the fundamental theories, concepts and practices of digital art production. The course provides for an in-depth study and experimentation in various digital visualization theories, and processes used in the visual arts. Topics include integration of traditional design, color and compositional principles with contemporary digital tools and emerging technologies. Lectures, demonstrations, and practice with
digital technology as artistic tools in a variety of mediums including illustration and painting, digital photography and image manipulation, typography and page layout,
digital animation and/or time-based media.

ART 172 - Web and Portfolio Design

3 units - 6 hours per week (2 hours lecture and 4 hours laboratory practice)
Transfers to CSU, UC

Introductory course that focuses on the aesthetics of digital media and emerging technology elements and issues surrounding usability in interactive environments. Through the integration of historical studies, theory and practice, students will address issues central to interactivity in art making and interactive responsive design. Students will engage in projects that incorporate a variety of digital media and emerging technology strategies, including lens-based, time-based, on-screen, sound and  physical computing and interactive environments within the contexts of art, business and marketing, design, and interactivity for the web. Students are introduced to authoring techniques and technologies as they learn how to create and develop a portfolio of projects in which interactivity and web design are the focus.

ART 175 - Digital Imaging and Art

3 units - 6 hours per week (2 hours lecture and 4 hours laboratory practice)
Transfers to CSU

In introduction to the principles of digital imaging for artists, using computers as a primary image manipulation tool. Course content will include fundamentals of the computer imaging environment, digital scanning, image enhancement through current raster-based software applications and optimized printing strategies for both photographs, graphics and drawings. Image restoration, experimental manipulations, merging of visual files and digital sequential presentations will provide students with an elementary understanding of the scope and range the computer provides for today’s digital imaging artists.

ART 177 - Digital Drawing and Painting

3 units - 6 hours per week (2 hours lecture and 4 hours laboratory practice)              Transfers to CSU and UC

This introductory course will survey traditionadrawing and painting strategies using the simulated tools and textures of current computer technologies such as painting software, drawing tablets, scanners and still video for input and the final image output will utilize color printers for optimum results. These digital technologies will allow for immediate
investigation of the fundamental pictorial elements of line, shape, space, color, and texture, as well as the formal relationship of these elements to image composition, harmony, contrast and balance. Various image formats and presentation modes will be explored including description, narrative, illustration, collage, and image sequencing.

ART 184 - Introduction to Animation

3 units - 6 hours per week (2 hours lecture and 4 hours laboratory practice) Transfers to CSU Prerequisite: “C” grade or higher or “Pass” in ART 120 or 124 or equivalent

Drawing and visual design are required skills to be successful in the field of animation. The principles of motion, story telling and conceptual development, as technology, as well as the application of these disciplines to current technology, will develop for the student an understanding of animation. By examining these essential steps and skills involved for visual artists, this course will emphasize such classical drawing topics as perspective,
composition and color theory as well as develop life-drawing skills through the study of proportion, line of action, structure and basic anatomy. The rudiments of animation such as layout and character design are introduced, as are clean-up, inbetweening and assisting.
Students will develop an understanding of animation through the exploration of timing and movement via digital vector graphics, digital ink and paint software and digital editing software to complete an animated sequence.

ART 240 - Portraiture and Character Design

3 units - 6 hours per week (2 hours lecture and 4 hours laboratory practice) Transfers to CSU, UC

Recommended Preparation: “C” grade or higher or “Pass” in ART 120 or 124 or equivalent.

The investigation of the human face and body through portraiture and character design is the basis for drawings of both representational and expressive styles, using both analog and digital media. The student will study the human face by means of fundamental shapes, axes, and formal devices as guides for correct proportions and structured compositions. The student will learn the names of the various bones that make up the skull and the
musculature of the human head. The students study facial expressions and caricature. Students will design their own characters based on unique scenarios and environments.
The history of portraiture and character design will be examined as well as its aesthetic and cultural implications as a genre in society. The course examines how portraiture and character design may express ideas about power, status, stages of life, gender, and identity and considers the many functions of portraiture as works of art, design,
biography, document, commemoration and memorial.