Digital Graphic Design

This course provides an introduction to the visual arts through composition, design, art, basic color, and graphics through a study of diverse artistic styles. This course is important in the design field, where traditional styles of art are often blended with current imagery to create new and significant artistic genres.

This course provides an overview of multiple projects across the broad spectrum of motion graphics advertising, including concept development, production, project management, and content delivery. Important workforce assets of individual drive and assessment, success within creative teams, management of timelines, deadlines, and budgets, and effective leadership are explored as they pertain to the motion graphics development pipeline.

This course provides an introduction to the technology, vocabulary and process for preparing digital images for preparing digital mechanicals for offset print production. This includes a focus on preparing basic mechanicals for brochures, newspaper ads and other print formats. This course also includes an introduction to digital video production techniques including camera operation and procedures, basic principles and aesthetics of film and video editing, and principles and techniques of sound and digital video editing.

This course provides an introduction to typography and its role in the visualization of language through an assortment of transmedia applications.

This course enhances design skills through the development and understanding of color properties and relationships through formal exercises, research and creative thinking. Students will identify and analyze color and color phenomena while learning about color theorists and using color for a variety of fields and applications.

Building upon skills already accomplished in earlier course work, students will advance their skills, aesthetics, and technique in digital image-making. Professional artists’ sample work will be viewed, analyzed, deconstructed, and discussed in terms of concept, message, technique, and approach. A variety of techniques for digital image-based art-making will be demonstrated, explored, and practiced. Images will be combined with typographic and written messages. Image output for print, screen, and broadcast will be presented. Software training builds on previous knowledge to advance students’ skills with various industry-accepted Adobe design software.

This course trains students in basic techniques of digital graphic design creation through the use of software programs employed by design and animation studios. Students will explore the production pipeline and focus on design with an emphasis on problem-solving. Students will learn the requirements of a digital graphic design project by demonstrating the creation of designed assets and gain a thorough understanding of animation techniques, special effects, image compositing, and motion graphics. Students will composite video, digital images, vector and pixel graphics, titles, and kinetic typography into cohesive digital graphic design pieces. Narrative and no narrative form will be explored. Projects include kinetic logo design, animated public service announcements, broadcast titling, and advertising spots. Students will assemble a demo reel of motion work.

This course is designed to explore techniques of 3D modeling. Students enhance modeling techniques, texture, lighting, and environmental effects to create one original portfolio-quality project. Further development of primitive objects, extrusions, nurbs, booleans, lofting, polygon modeling and revolving/lathing will be explored. This course includes training in industry-standard 3D design software.

By continuing to enhance knowledge of 3D modeling, rendering, and 3D animation skills, students will create an animated short film while working on advancing skills. The application and refinement of the 12 animation principles will be emphasized. This course will provide training in a variety of industry-standard 3D design software.

This course provides students the knowledge and skills to create illustrations to create concepts and themes that will be created for print and screen. Students will learn the process of illustrating a story from thumbnails to sketching, color and style studies, color comprehensives, to final illustrations.

This course provides opportunities for students to enhance their skills using color theory. As students elevate their learning about sophisticated methods of color correction, image manipulation and printing, students will learn scanning techniques, digital camera usage, the mechanics of calibration, and other more advanced sets of controls. Utilizing a professional studio framework, students will artistically develop their own various projects.

This course provides students opportunities to advance their knowledge of the use of typography to enhance definition in visual art and design and to communicate effectively and efficiently. The course will expand on topics such as information hierarchy, meaning, reading order, and the language of kinetics.

This course provides students with advanced skills in Motion Graphics Production by using 3D animation, video compositing, pixel and vector graphics, and typography. Students will enhance their demo reel by using Adobe design software to create a professional piece of motion work.

This course is designed for videographers, graphic artists, and animators with advance-level software experience. Students will learn how to incorporate text, graphics, and effects to their movies to master the menu and tools using software. Students will be using the menu and tools in the software to develop work with a high level of efficiency.

This course expands on students’ knowledge of interactive design learned in earlier course work, exploring interactive design from the perspective of user experience. Metaphors for graphic interfaces and icon design are studied through industry product examples, student practice exercises, and projects. Organizing, scoping, planning, designing, prototype models, and creating, working, and aesthetic interactive experiences of complex informational content through rich multimedia experiences are covered. Software training builds on previous knowledge to advance students’ skills with a variety of industry-standard design software.

This course provides students with the working knowledge of effects and animation presets included in Adobe After Effects software. Animation presets will be practiced within the Effects & Presets panel and Adobe Bridge.

This course includes an introductory discussion in the following areas: the economic setting of business, the structure of the business, business financing, management, ethical and social responsibilities of business, marketing, and physical distribution of goods and services. The areas discussed in this course serve as the basic foundations for more specialized courses in business.

This course introduces the key aspects of entrepreneurship including the attributes of entrepreneurs, identifying and evaluating opportunities, writing a business plan and developing a business model, marketing for entrepreneurs, the elevator pitch, financing the venture, raising capital, and building a successful team. The course will be interactive with lectures, group activities, start-up problem-solving scenarios, videos, and mini-presentations.

Animation Capstone Project 60 hours, 3 Credits. Students will apply their accumulated animation and motion graphics knowledge to create an original animated short. The culmination of this knowledge will be a final animation project using 2D and/or 3D animation techniques. Students will explore various theories and techniques to complete a professional animation project.

The course will provide the framework for the career decision-making process. It stresses the connection between the student’s chosen academic field and career objective. Among techniques employed include resume writing, interview skill development, and internet research.