Course Catalogue

Module Code and Title:        CMS203 Digital Graphics Lab

Programme:                          BA in Mass Communication

Credit Value:                         12

Module Tutor:                       New #1

General objective: With media content now produced almost exclusively digitally, this module provides students with the necessary exposure to digital graphics. The module will take students beyond the theories and practices initially covered in the Photography and Visuals Lab module to demonstrate how images are represented in the digital realm as raster (bitmap) or vector graphics for effective communication. While the Photography and Visuals Lab module teaches students to take photographs thoughtfully and skilfully, the Digital Graphics Lab module covers image editing and enhancement that occurs in post-processing. The module also introduces more sophisticated digital image compositing principles, techniques and software tools to enhance photographs, edit existing graphics, and create their own graphics for use in a variety of mediums.

Learning outcomes – On completion of this module, students will be able to:

  1. Identify digital image file formats and their relative advantages.
  2. Differentiate between raster (bitmap) and vector graphics.
  3. Discuss the fundamental and emergent properties of images such as light & shadow, colour, brightness, and contrast.
  4. Explain how visual information such as light and colour is represented in digital pixels.
  5. Apply image correction and enhancement techniques to photographs at an intermediate level.
  6. Create vector graphics at a beginner level, suitable as infographics, announcements posters, or advertisements.
  7. Produce effective composite graphics suitable for journalistic/news/informational, artistic/informal, and advertising purposes.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Approach

Hours per week

Total credit hours

Lectures & discussions

2

30

Lab Practicals

3

45

Independent study

3

45

Total

120

Assessment Approach:

A. Individual Visual portfolio (enhanced photographs): Portion of Final Marks 25%

Students will produce a series of visuals, which will be critiqued in class, in order to allow them to begin a deeper analysis of visuals and how they see images. Using both the critiques and the images themselves, students will be graded on their photographic composition, creativity and ability to use effective image corrections/enhancements, as well as on their short presentations they give to their peers. Presentations should discuss their initial ideas, the process of creation, and descriptions of the 5 compositions and the image correction/enhancement concepts applied. Each image will be evaluated as follows, then the marks of 5 images will be averaged to comprise 20%. The presentation worth 5% will be assessed based on the quality of the explanations of the acquisitions and enhancements.

5%       Photographic composition

1%       Subject

1%       Light

1%       Depth

7%       Utilization of image correction/enhancement concepts

5%       Creativity

B. Class participation - critiques on visuals: Portion of Final Mark: 5%

At numerous opportunities during the presentations of other students’ portfolios, students from the audience are expected to give constructive criticism and evaluate the images based on theory, composition and creativity. Specific audience members offering their well-reasoned and informed responses to the presentations will be credited marks toward this assessment on a 5-point scale. The final mark will be the average of their various critique attempts throughout the semester.

C. Practical midterm examination: Portion of Final Mark: 15%

Students will be given a list of tasks that they must complete during the duration of the 2 hour examination to demonstrate their knowledge on creating and manipulating bitmap and vector graphics that they have acquired over the first portion of the semester. 5% will be a viva requiring a live demonstration of a selection of specific image enhancement techniques.

D. Individual Graphics composites: Portion of Final Mark: 15%

Students will produce 3 digital graphic composites (1 each for a journalistic/news/informational purpose, artistic/informal purpose, and advertising purpose), combining original raster graphics (photographs and other bitmapped images) with original vector graphics. Each graphic will be evaluated as follows, then the marks of 3 images will be averaged to comprise 15%. Students will also submit a brief write-up of how they composited the graphics to aid in the evaluation, though the write-up will not be marked.

5%       Use of effective variety of elements and principles to present their information

5%       Ability to use essential vector graphics tools capably and effectively

5%       Aesthetics and effectiveness of the visual for the intended purpose (discernible and correct judgments concluding in a proficiently crafted final product)

E. Class test: Portion of Final Mark: 10%

A 1-hour written examination concerning the conceptual and theoretical portions of the class will be given.

Areas of assignments

Quantity

Weighting

A.    Individual Visual portfolio (enhanced photographs)

5

25%

B.    Class participation – critiques on visuals

 

5%

C.   Practical midterm examination

1

15%

D.   Individual Vector graphics (composites)

3

15%

E.    Class test

1

10%

Total Continuous Assessment (CA)

 

70%

Practical Semester-End Examination (SE)

 

30%

Pre-requisites: CMS102 Photography and Visuals Lab

Subject matter:

  1. Unit I: Introduction to digital compositing
    • Historical perspective
    • Standard terminology
  2. Unit II: Digital representation of visual information
    • Essentials of visual information: light & shadow, colour, brightness, contrast
    • Definitions: pixels, components, channels
    • Roles of spatial resolution and bit depth in image size, quality, and colour range
    • Overview of colour representations
    • Image input methods/types and devices
    • Comparisons of commonly used digital image file formats
    • Vector vs. bitmap graphics: typical use cases and advantages
    • Overview of image viewing and analysis tools
    • Quality vs. efficiency considerations for digital images
  3. Unit III: Essentials of image editing
    • Spatial manipulation
    • Colour manipulation
    • Geometric transformations
  4. Unit IV: Essential post-exposure image enhancement for quality photography for effective communication
    • Enhancing subject focus
      • Cropping to enhance subject focus
      • Blurring backgrounds to enhance subject focus
    • Colour adjustments
      • Adjusting colour balance to correct colour casts in specific tonal areas
      • Adjusting saturation to intensify or fade colours: technique and common uses
    • Tone, brightness and contrast editing
      • Adjusting brightness to enhance or correct for exposure errors
      • Adjusting contrast: Increasing to make photos stand out or reducing to flatten & even tone
      • Balancing: Adjusting highlights, mid-tones, and shadows separately to correct image issues
      • Purpose, technique, and uses of tonal curves to achieve finely tuned adjustments to the light space of a photograph
      • Using dodging and burning to exaggerate tonal differences
    • Using filters to achieve desired artistic effects
    • Visual literacy theory revisted: digital image manipulation
      • Advertisements, “photoshopping” and impact realistic expectations
        • Airbrushed make-up banned for misleading in UK
        • Photoshopped images to come with warning in France
        • Advertisement guidelines in Bhutan
  1. Unit V: Essentials of image compositing
    • Multisource operations: add, subtract, mix
    • Matte creation and manipulation
    • Use of masks
  2. Unit VI: Vector graphics
    • Software tools for drawing vector graphics: Inkscape / Illustrator equivalent
    • Typical interface: tools, panels, workspaces
    • Drawing shapes: lines and polygons; Bézier points and curves
    • Using strokes and paths
    • Applying transformations
    • Incorporating and manipulating text
    • Grouping and compounding vectors to build custom shapes
    • Colouring a vector illustration
    • Compositing along with bitmap images

Reading List:

  1. Essential Reading
    • Airbrushed make-up ads banned for 'misleading'. (2011, July 27). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14304802
    • Brinkmann, R. (2008). The Art and Science of Digital Compositing (2nd ). Burlington: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
    • Chazan, D. (2017, September 30). Photoshopped images to come with a warning under new French law. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/30/photoshopped-images-come-warning-new-french-law/
    • Digital Photography Tutorials. Retrieved from https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm
    • Lecarme, O. and Delvare, K. (2012). The book of GIMP. San Francisco: No Starch Press.
    • Long, B. (2014). Complete digital photography (8th). Australia: Delmar.
    • Kirsanov, D. (2009). The book of Inkscape. San Francisco: No Starch Press.
    • Photography Tips and Tutorials for Beginners. Retrieved from https://digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-tips-for-beginners/
    • Quinn, S. (2016). Digital sub-editing and design. New York.
  2. Additional Reading
    • Boyce, N. (2002). Web graphics for non-designers. Birmingham: Glasshaus.
    • Glitschka, V. (2016). Vector Basic Training (2nd ). Glitschka Studios.
    • Steuer, S. (1995). The Adobe Illustrator CS3 Wow! Book (9th). Peachpit Press.

Date:  May 14, 2018
Royal Thimphu College