Gregory Shmegory

Syllabus

AD219-001 Beginning Digital Art – Fall 2011
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Instructor: Gregory Wendt - gwendt@siu.edu - 453-3860

Class Time: M/W 11 - 1:50 Quigley Hall room 110

Office hours: By appointment or just stop by. My office is on the first floor of Morris Library in the Center for Teaching Excellence (formerly ISS), immediately inside the south entrance of the building. The receptionist will show you where I am. You will be required to meet with me outside of class hours at least twice during the semester.

Flickr Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ad219/

Blackboard: mycourses.siu.edu

Lynda: iplogin.lynda.com online tutorials free in this lab only.

SoAD server: From the Finder menu select Go then Connect to server. In the dialog box type: afp://soad.siu.edu/SoADCourses Click on Connect; then SoAD Courses then AD219 Wendt. From there you can access your Student folder where you can back-up your work; and the DROP folder, where you will submit exercises, assignments and projects for my viewing and grading. Only I can see inside the drop folder. All of you can see inside all student folders.

Course Description

In this course you will learn the foundations of digital art and produce a useful and creative variety of digital art pieces designed for both print and screen. By the end of the semester, you will have a printed portfolio in the form of a magazine. (Advanced students may be given the opportunity to create a web portfolio as well).

If you have no previous digital art experience, you will gain a level of comfort doing so, using some common tools of the trade—primarily the Adobe Creative Suite (CS5) using Apple computers. If you are already familiar with some of these tools, you will refine your skills and produce more advanced work. However, this is not a course to simply teach software. Instead, think of the software as a new set of tools that will help you fulfill your artistic visions and give you a much greater ability to communicate your work electronically and in print.

The work will consist of individual exercises, assignments and projects using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign and other software as needed. There will be group activities, quizzes, peer to peer instruction, written critiques of your work and that of your classmates. A strong emphasis is placed on sincere effort, strong attendance, active participation inside and out of the classroom, persistence, presence and willingness to help yourself and others. 

Overall, the course will operate like a hybrid of a studio and interactive lecture class. Much of our time will be spent working on our projects. However, many days will include some type of tutorial to work through as a means of continually expanding our range of skills. I will serve as a guide through the process, giving everyone individual and collective attention.

Due to the studio nature of the course, you should always have something to work on. Since the class meets nearly six hours per week, a significant part of our work will be done in that time period. Class time is our opportunity to make significant strides in our work with the added benefit of instructor and peer support. Some projects will require working with other students, so high attendance is critical.

Organization of materials

The course will make use of Blackboard, the SoAD server, a website and  Flickr. Each has its own purpose, which will be explained in detail.

Required Items

Portable USB Drive – this device is absolutely mandatory in this class to save your projects and related data. You need at least 2 GB of storage space and you must bring your device every day. Make sure that the drive is compatible for both Macintosh and PC platforms.

Debit Dawg Account – Some of your assignments will require prints that you must pay for. This lab will only accept payment from the Debit Dawg system. To open a Debit Dawg account, go to the Check Cashing window on the second floor of the Student Center. $20 is a good start. Your student ID will then become a cash card. Note: a Debit Dawg account is not the same as a Debit Dawg meal plan.

Raw Materials – In order to create graphics we need raw materials such as photographs, digital files, drawings, paintings, writings, videos, etc. Obviously, all of this material has to exist in digital form in order to be utilized. Scanners are available for flat art. Digital cameras can be checked out from the slide library in the basement of the Allyn building. Make a point of gathering your digital resources and having them available to you at all times.

Sketchbook and pencils - Digital art often starts with a sketch

Some of the course will be guided by a Wiki and book called Digital Foundations Intro to Media Design with the Adobe Creative Suite. The book is available in print and online at: http://wiki.digital-foundations.net/index.php?title=Main_Page. You may choose to buy the book or use the Wiki, or both. It’s up to you. It is a good reference even beyond this course, but we will only use it from time to time.  

Attendance Policy

Attendance and participation are the keys to learning. Missing class, while perhaps providing a temporary break, will generally make your experience and that of your classmates more difficult and stressful.

Two absences are without penalty. However, each absence thereafter will lower your final grade by a letter grade; i.e. 3 absences would drop you from an A to a B and so on. There is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. However, if you bring documentation of death of a loved one or serious illness to yourself or loved one, I may choose to excuse such an absence. However, if your attendance is generally poor, I’m less likely to do so. If there is a death in the family, I will send a letter of condolence to your family and respect the difficulties you will face.

If such calamity occurs that causes you to miss 5 or more classes, we will have to speak in person to determine the appropriate course of action. In general, Incompletes will only be given under extreme circumstances. Coming late and/or leaving early will be treated as partial or full absences.

If you are absent it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and to make up the work on your own time. This is very important! You must make up missed work. Preferably, you find out what you missed from a fellow student, or you can find out from me before the next class. But don’t expect me to seek you out to tell you what you missed. If you do not turn in assignments from the days you missed, you will fail those assignments.

Late-work policy
Late work will be down-graded a full letter grade for each day it is late. This means if it is due on Monday, Tuesday is one day late--NOT THE NEXT CLASS DAY--THE NEXT DAY.

Grading
Grading will be determined by the quality and completeness of your work. Your work will be assessed on such criteria as: fulfilling the requirements of the assignment, creativity, effectiveness, level of difficulty, and overall effort. A grade of “C” represents average work. An “A” represents high-level work in all criteria.

Students who improve considerably, demonstrate consistent commitment, frequently contribute to the class and have high attendance may have their final grade averaged upwards. I highly value sincere effort.

Grading Breakdown: Subject to modification at Instructor’s discretion!
55% Projects*
20% Assignments
15% Participation/Protocol – this means using class time effectively, asking questions, helping others, making sure you understand the material, problem-solving, proactive learning, no use of gadgets.
10% Exercises/quizzes

*After I review and grade your completed projects, you will have an opportunity to rework them on your own time and re-submit to achieve a better grade. This only applies to projects initially turned in on time and which demonstrate significant effort.

Academic Dishonesty

Cheating of any kind will result in a minimum of failure for your assignment and potentially result in failure for the course and disciplinary action from the university. Calling the work of someone else your own is cheating. Lying about what you have or have not done is a form of cheating.

Lab Policies
1. No food or open food containers or packages or non-sealable drinks are allowed inside the lab. You may eat and drink outside in the hall if necessary. Throw away all of your trash before leaving.

2. Offensive material on any computer will result in immediate failure and possibly a referral to the student judiciary committee or dean.

3. Games, phones, and non-class-related Internet use are forbidden. Phones must be turned off and out of sight. It is forbidden to check email, surf the web, use Facebook, or any other distraction during class time. If I see you breaking these rules I will subtract as much as 20% from your final grade. I may or may not warn you ahead of time. Consider this your warning.

4. If you need to communicate with someone via the computer, do so before or after class. Students may use the systems and software only for assignments specified by an instructor.4. Save your work on your flash drive, to the local computer and your student folder before you leave the lab for the day. Failure to do this will result in lower grades.

5. Students shall not move or unplug any cables or equipment.

6. No software application, subdirectory, or batch file shall be added to, removed from, or copied from any of the lab systems.

7. Bags, books, coats, etc., shall not be placed on the computer systems or peripherals.

8. Students responsible for intentionally damaging any of the computer systems or peripherals will be held financially accountable for replacing the equipment.

9. Big Brother is Watching You! We have a program in the lab that allows instructors and lab monitors to see what you are doing at all times. We can take control of your computer, turn off programs, send you notes, and do a variety of things to make sure you stay on task and follow the aforementioned policies.

Lab Hours
Open lab hours will be posted. Any student registered at SIUC has access to the facilities during open hours. You may work on your projects, scan, print, etc. during the posted times. You may not use the lab while another class is in session (unless instructor permits it), when the lab is closed, or when a monitor is not present. The monitors’ primary duties are to maintain the security of hardware and software, to take your money, help you print, and to make sure you’re not doing anything you shouldn’t on the computers. Lab monitors are not your instructors. You may ask them for help, but they are under no obligation to help you. Any advice or problem solving they provide is completely at his or her discretion. They are instructed to spend no more than five minutes with you on an issue. If you have a disagreement with a monitor, or the lab is closed when it should be open, bring your grievance to me, and I will correct the problem.

Emergency Procedures

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for study and work. Because some health and safety circumstances are beyond our control, we ask that you become familiar with the SIUC Emergency Response Plan and Building Emergency Response Team (BERT) program.  Emergency response information is available on posters in buildings on campus, available on BERT's website at http://www.bert.siu.edu/, Department of Safety's website http://www.dps.siu.edu/(disaster drop down) and in Emergency Response Guideline pamphlet.  Know how to respond to each type of emergency.

Instructors will provide guidance and direction to students in the classroom in the event of an emergency affecting your location.  It is important that you follow these instructions and stay with your instructor during an evacuation or sheltering emergency.  The Building Emergency Response Team will provide assistance to your instructor in evacuating the building or sheltering within the facility.

Personal Emergencies

If at any time you are feeling overly stressed—mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually, please bring it to my attention immediately. We can speak in utmost confidentiality and I can help guide you to appropriate resources for help. Students often feel stressed by the rigors of college life, so it is completely normal to need assistance from time to time. Don’t let it build up. Most problems can be solved if attended to early.

Syllabus is subject to change at Instructor’s discretion.