syllabus — ART 227 / 395 / 427 — Digital Art

Final Artwork

description:

This last project is an opportunity for you to create your own artwork and express your own artistic voice. Consider this a chance to build a portfolio piece that relates to your artistic interest(s) instead of simply fulfilling course requirements. The subject matter, concept, format, production media, and output media (if you choose to make your work physical) is entirely up to you with one caveat – the work must relate to digital art through the media used to make it (production media or output media) or through the concept.

The goal of this assignment is for you to create a high-quality finished work. I hope that this is the best project you produce for this class and I expect it to be finished with the highest quality and care.

• Sometimes open-ended projects can actually be stifling because the options are too broad. Please speak to me ASAP if you find that it is stifling to you and we will work together to generate an idea (see “step one: concept proposal paper” below).

• You may re-address or elaborate on an issue that you touched on in a previous project by completely redeveloping it in terms of your approach or topic/concept or tone/point-of-view or scope (expanded or more focused) or aesthetic or process or form or some combination of these areas. Be sure the new work reflects a substantial change that I can evaluate for the final project grade.

requirements:

• Concept proposal paper: 2-page double-spaced / 1-page single-spaced
  (see specifications in the steps below).
• As stated above, the work must relate to digital art through the media used to make it (production media or output media) or through the concept.
• You may use any media, programs or combination of media/programs to create 2D, 3D/virtual 3D, time-based, or web-based work.
• Work should be appropriate size/resolution/quality for the media and purpose. Print work should be 300 dpi or higher and 150 square inches or larger in total.
• There is no size minimum for this work, but I will consider the size when evaluating the success of the work for your grade. Please make every effort to create large high-resolution or exhibition-quality works. Some technologies do not produce large or high-resolution (high pixel dimension) imagery; if this is the case, determine ways to make the work exhibition-quality as needed.
• For critique work should be physical (ex: a print) unless you clear it with me and have a plan for displaying the work (for example you may have a conceptual reason why the work cannot be physical or the work may it is time-based like a video or an animated GIF).
• Work must also be submitted to me in a digital format for grading. The digital format must be an accessible and self-contained format (ex: .jpg .tif .pdf .gif .mov etc.). The digital format should not require a specific program, app, or password to open it; talk to me if you have questions or concerns about how to appropriately save your work for submission in class.
  Talk to me in advance about all concerns. If we have not talked and your assignment is not accessible the day of critique or on the day I choose to grade it, it will be considered missing/late.

• NO WEB IMAGES unless you clear each image with me.
• You must author all parts of each artwork unless you clear it with me.
• Complete and submit all steps of the project (below)

· NOTE: Capstone exhibition work cannot be submitted for this assignment.

step one: concept proposal paper
After selecting a topic and beginning your research into the topic, write a 2-page double-spaced / 1-page single-spaced paper outlining your concept. Your paper should explain the following as it applies to your concept:

• Describe the concepts/topics that will you address.
• What is your specific angle or stance or subtopic or unique approach within the topic area? (This is a great place to leverage your own interests or point of view.)
• What is the relevance of the concept? Why is the concept/topic critically important given the current social, political or cultural context (on a personal, local, national, or international level)?
• What tone will your work have? (celebratory, critical, empowering, informative, ironic, satirical, subversive, etc.)
• What is your plan for creating this work (specific steps can be helpful) and which (if any) digital technologies will you use in creating your work? (Remember, this work can address digital art through media or concept or both.)
• What will be the final format of the work for the critique (a printed image, a set of digital image projections, photographs of non-digital artwork, website, video, book/virtual book, 3D work, etc.)

Turn in your typed paper either as a Microsoft Word document on D2L or as a printed copy by the start of class time on the due date on the schedule. If you do not have the ability to submit a Microsoft Word document, I will also accept a PDF document.

NOTE: Per class request, you may use images and sketches to augment your proposal.

step two: make the work / save the originals
Create your work and save it in the format that is most appropriate for the work. If the files don’t have original components for me to see when grading, then I will need to see working files or process of some type. This may mean providing work in multiple formats or screenshots of your progression.

step three: save / export an accessible copy

Save your work in a digital format that is accessible and can be archived (ex: exported JPG, TIF, PDF, GIF, MP4, “Web Page, Complete” files, etc.). The digital format should not require a specific program, app, or password to open it. If your work is physical rather than fully digital, please take multiple photographs to document it (a full image of the artwork and detail images at a minimum, process images can be helpful too).

Talk to me if you have questions or concerns about how to appropriately save your work for submission in class. Please title assignments with your LAST NAME followed by any title or description you choose and the file extension. (ex: LARVA_anytitlehere.tiff)

step four: submission

Load your original and accessible/archivable files (and any other necessary items) in the appropriate D2L submission folder by the start of class on the due date.

NOTE: I will use these files to grade. As long as the print is finished on time for critique, your work may be posted on D2L any time within 24 hours after the start of the critique and will be considered on time. PLEASE DO NOT POST FILES DURING OUR CLASS CRITIQUE.

NOTE: Partial submissions that do not include the original working files (non-flattened, non-rasterized layers) will result in a significantly lower grade.

step five: production

Produce your work in physical form for critique (ex: a print) unless it is time-based (ex: an animated GIF) or you have a conceptual reason why the work cannot be physical, in which case you must clear it with me. NOTE: Time-based digital work will be displayed via projection from a school computer.

step seven: critique

Be prepared to present your physical work in class.

optional step: title

You may choose to create a title label for your work that will hang with the work during the critique. The title may be typed or even informally hand written on a scrap of paper. Standard artwork label information includes: artist name, title of the work, year created, size (height x width x depth) and media used, but your label may include whatever information you see fit to include.

tips + resources:

• Check out production services: DePaul’s IRL lab(s) or Edgewater Workbench or Latitude Digital Lab or Moo or Blurb or issuu or Fastsigns or spoonflower etc.