Course Description: Basic Digital Arts is an introductory course in the fundamentals of creating digital art. This course will cover the creation of Digital Images, Digital Audio, and Digital Animation and special effects. We will use several programs to achieve these goals, including Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia SoundEdit, Adobe After Effects, and Macromedia Flash. As well as learning the tools used to create digital art, students will engage in critical discourse about the mediums and work being covered.

Course Work: There will be three main individual Projects. The three main Projects correspond to the major forms we cover. Quizzes will be posted on the course website, one for each section of the course, and must be completed within a restricted time frame. Labs are to be done during classtime, when they are assigned. If you cannot finish a lab in the allotted time, you may continue to work on it at home and bring it in to class during the next class period to receive credit. Labs MAY NOT be sent to me as email attachments, and you WILL NOT receive an extension longer than one class period on a lab assignment.

Project Requirements: All Projects are to be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Late work will be docked and possibly not accepted unless a valid excuse is given and arrangements are made beforehand to make up late work. If you are having a problem completing work due to circumstances outside of your control (e.g., death in the family, loss of fingers), let me know two days ahead of time. All students are required to present their work to the class. Class participation is crucial, therefore any student working on the computers while other students are presenting will receive a zero for their project.

Loss of Data: Loss of data is never a valid excuse. Remember, to avoid data loss:

1. Always keep multiple backups of your files.

Attendance: 20%
Participation: 10%
Projects: 40%
Labs: 20%
Quizzes: 10%

All grades are given on a 10 point scale, which means 5-5.9 = F; 6-6.9=D; 7-7.9=C; 8-8.9=B; 9-10=A. Only exceptional work earns an A or B, which are considered honor grades. Work that meets all requirements satisfactorily, without going above and beyond the call, earns a C. NOTE: In order to pass the course, you must hand in all of your Projects. These Projects form the bulk of the coursework and are the final exhibition of your skills.

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. You may miss class thrice with no excuse. After three unexcused absences you will loose 1 point (of a possible 10) from your final attendance grade for each additional absence. Chronic tardiness will not be tolerated, and I reserve the right to penalize your grade for excessive late appearances.

Participation: Participation in this course is crucial. We are not only learning how to make digital art, but also about digital art. This is a burgeoning field, wide open for your exploration. You should be active in the course and vocal about what you do and do not like, and why. Intelligent, critical responses are welcomed when talking about the work of professional artists as well as when critiquing the work of your peers. In addition, due to the limited time we have to explore these programs, asking specific questions and expressing a desire to learn particular techniques will help you get much more out of the class.

Website: The course website is located here. It is the only website you may safely browse at all times during class, although "playing" around on this site while fellow students are presenting their work or participating in class discussion is not allowed. All project assignments, labs, and quizzes are posted on the website. While I am sympathetic when the website experiences technical difficulties, there is normally no excuse for non-participation or just "missing something" because you didn’t check the website. You should look at the website before each class period in order to prepare for the work we will cover in class. Also, you should be sure to set your preferred email address for the school, which can be done through the myUB interface (http://myub.buffalo.edu). This will insure that you receive notifications, updates, and, most importantly, grade reports from me in a timely manner.

Lab Fee: This course carries a $100 dollar lab that will appear on your bill.

Materials: Since you must back up your work frequently, you must have either CD-R, CD-RW, or Zip disks and plenty of them. I suggest buying a lot of cheap CD-Rs (with cases). They are cheap and can hold a lot of information. You must also have a decent pair of headphones. Readings will be supplied online or via the Library reserve system, and you will occasionally be expected to print out or make photocopies of them. You must show up to class each day with the needed materials.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you have a disability (physical, learning, or psychological) which may make it difficult for you to carry out the course work as outlined, and/or requires accommodations such as recruiting note takers, readers, or extended time on exams and assignments, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 25 Capen Hall, 645-2608, and also your instructor during the first two weeks of class. ODS will provide you with information and will review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations.

THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO’S DEFINITION AND POLICY ON PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism is a literary theft and betrayal of trust. The term is derived from the Latin word for kidnapper and refers to the act of signing ones name to words, phrases, or ideas which are the literary property of another. Plagiarism comes in many forms, all to be avoided: outright copying, or paraphrase, or a mosaic or disguised use of words and phrases from an unacknowledged source. To avoid plagiarism, make it your habit to put quotation marks around words and phrases, or to isolate and indent longer passages, that you are using from someone else’s writing. And be sure to cite the source, in a footnote or endnote, or within parentheses in your text. The penalties for plagiarism can be severe: from an F for the particular assignment, to an F for the course, to a referral of the case to the Dean of Undergraduate Education for administrative judgment. If you are unsure about how to use and document sources, please consult with your instructor.

Basic Digital Art is a deceptively difficult course. On the surface, it is all about learning the most "fun" parts of using the computer: you can make a hilarious ad parody, record a professional quality song, or create the next South Park in your dorm room. We engage with a lot of digital art (of a variety of qualities) for recreation and entertainment, so it often seems like it should be just as fun and happy-go-lucky to create these materials. It isn’t. We are learning difficult programs that take years and years to master. We are creating pieces that may require dozens of hours to complete. You are expected to be creative and eloquent, but also to assimilate a huge amount of technical data and memorize a variety of procedures, sometimes in frustrating and hostile situations. And you’re doing all of this on a computer. So I thought you could use some help:

• Be here. Come to class every day, all semester. Although you may "enjoy" learning programs all by yourself, or you may hate working on these machines, or you are just too lazy to tote your files around with you, you’ll learn more if you are here, participate, and pay attention.
• Be honest with yourself. Ask for help when you need help. When you begin to feel frustrated is when you need to raise your hand, write an email, or start reading the help files.
• Ally yourself with others. I try to be available as much as possible, and there are always websites and books available to help you, but sometimes what you need is a comrade in arms to help with a problem. Make a friend in the class and get his or her email address or instant messaging information.
• Forethought is better than afterthought. Many of the programs we work in require you to do significant planning and prep work before you can even begin to use them. And a piece of art is only as good as the idea behind it. You’ll have a lot less frustration and get a lot better results if you spend time planning and sketching out your projects before you begin work.
• Develop parts of a larger project over this semester. You will be creating a still image, an audio recording, and an animation of some sort. The still image and audio recording can easily build into a culmination in the animation project. You are encouraged to connect your projects as well as to utilize the multimedia nature of digital art to your advantage.
• Do all the work. Even if it’s late, if it doesn’t count for a grade, or if you do a really cruddy job, complete all work. Remember, you cannot pass the course unless you complete all three Projects.
• Bring your work into Lab sessions for assistance and feedback. I am always happy to give feedback at every step of the process, and seeking input from myself and your peers will help you develop a better, more finished, product.
• Make backups.
• Keep a sketchbook. Ideas come and go all the time, so make sure you can catch them when they happen in a sketchbook. The simple act of jotting something down can spark a whole creative project.
• Consume. Search the Internet, bookstores, video rental shops, nature, school, whatever – seek out what inspires you, provokes you, compels you, enlightens you, and engage with it. Experience other digital artwork, reflect upon it, and absorb from it. In order to develop a good idea of what you want to create, you must observe a plethora of possibilities.
• Digest. Don’t think you know something after experiencing it only once. First impressions are fleeting, false things. Re-watch, re-read, re-listen, and see how it becomes different. Understand not just that you like something, but why you like it. View material critically, and recognize that you can admire aspects of a piece at the same time as you reject aspects. Most importantly, develop an understanding of your subjective tastes, desires, and motives.
• Produce. Create stuff. Whether for an assignment or just in your day to day activities, make something good. Once you’ve been introduced to and influenced by other material, and after you’ve evaluated that stuff critically, it is up to you to create something better and more meaningful.