digital arts 1: a creative approach

8/14/2019 Digital Arts 1: A Creative Approach

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Digital Arts 1: A Creative ApproachCourse sample

This is a sample of OCA course materials. If you would like to

request a Guide to Courses or enrol on a course, please contact the

OCA administration team:

by Mail : OCAThe Michael Young Arts Centre

Redbrook Business Park

Wilthorpe Road

Barnsley, S75 1JN

by Phone: 0800 731 2116by E-mail : [email protected]


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Contents

You and your courseBackground

Introduction

Digital imaging

Creative digital arts

What your computer can do

Whats in your course pack

Basic minimum equipmentResources and materials you will need

The course

Starting the course

On completing the course

Going further

Project and tutorial plan

1: Getting started

Understanding the computer

Project 1: first scan

Project 2: digital stream

Bits and bytes

Memory

ROM

RAM

Storage

Project 3: scanning things

The size of images

The scanner

Resolution

File sizesFlatbed scanners


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Project 4: scanning 3D objects

Assignment 1: my 2D/3D scans

Summary

2: Scanning images

Your position

Breaks

Exercises

Project 5: scans that move

Project 6: still-life scan

Project 7: simple collage

The terms used to determine image resolution

The printer

Project 8: different output

1. Make your own contact sheet

2. Output to picture package

3. Output to a website

Assignment 2 : self-portrait

Summary

3: Painting and layers

Painting techniques

Opacity and pressure

Undoing/redoing

Cursor types

Resetting painting tool options

The brush settings

Project 9: new brush grid

Layers

Project 10: the watch layer

Project 11: working with layers

Blending Modes

Project 12: blending with layers

The 4 most common digital image file types


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1. JPEG

2. GIF

3. TIFF

4. BMP

File compression

How compression works

Lossless compression

Lossy compression

Assignment 3: my collage

Summary

4: Image manipulation

Colour terminology

Displaying and printing images

Colour reproduction models

HSB model

RGB model mode

Project 13: enhancing images

Project 14: using filtersProject 15: making selections

Feathering

Project 16: distorting images

Assignment 4: real or fake!

Summary

5: Creative development

Project 17: tracing and gradients

Project 18: translation

Images on paper

Prints that last

Papers

Inks and longevity

Project 19: clone and pattern

The clone stamp tool and the pattern stamp toolProject 20: more than one image


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A worked example

What about copyright?

Copyright issuesCopyrights and plagiarism

What are copyrights?

What is fair use?

What is public domain?

Work created copyright terms

Digital watermarks

Visible watermarks

Invisible watermarks

Adding your signature to your work

Assignment 5: metamorphosis

Summary

Appendix 1: If you plan to submit your work for formal

assessment


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Project 4: scanning 3D objects

Most of the scanning that you have completed so far has involved working

with mostly flat pictures and materials but you can scan three-dimensionalobjects as well.

Place some small objects on the scanner and do a preview to see what you get.

Remember it is a glass bed so please be cautious as to what kind of objects

you place on it! If you decide to use objects that might mark or mess up the

glass bed you can use an acetate sheet to protect the surface before you place

the objects on it. The glass surface needs to be kept as clean as possible when

you are using the scanner as any marks or dirt left on the surface will appear

in the scan. You will probably find that in the preview the background is

brighter than the objects and distracts from the detail that should appear from

the objects. To get a dark background three different techniques are available

and you should try all three:

LID

Scanner Base

first you can turn the lights off and scan in a darkened environment -this would obviously be easier to achieve later in the evening when it is

dark outside


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secondly you can place a black or very dark cloth over the scanner toachieve a similar effect, however, the texture of the cloth could also

appear in the scan using this method

Scanner Base

Scanner Glass

Scanner Lid

Box for scanning objects

thirdly you can make a black box that you place over the objects on thescanner; the black box is easy to make and can vary in depth toaccommodate different sized objects.

The reason you have been asked to use all three methods relates to the kind of

results that you will get. The first method produces excellent results if you

wish to have a completely dark background, allows your objects to go off the

edge off the scanner, but is not always practical (depending on your

environment). The second method is a very good introduction to

incorporating texture into the scan and allows you to have objects that go off


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the edge of the scanner. The third method is a very simple way of achieving

the dark background but limits the objects to the inside of the scanner. This

can be overcome by making a much larger box if you really want to. This

method can introduce you to other creative techniques where you can make

the box out of other coloured card or even to line the top with a particular

patterned surface. You need to experiment with as many different materials

as possible and carefully record your results in your logbook. Remember that

you need to work carefully previewing your results before you scan the ones

you are satisfied with.

Examples of scanned objects

This is a sample from Creative Digital Arts 1: Introduction. The full course contains 20

Projects and 5 tutor-assessed Assignments.

digital arts 1: a creative approach

Documents