UCSD Back to School Workshop Added: Introduction to Digital Illustration

The San Diego Supercomputer Center, at the University of California, San Diego, presents an exciting new workshop for middle and high school students in grades 7 - 12 as part of our focus on digital art and media.

Introduction to Digital Illustration 

Wednesday - Friday, August 25 - 27, 2010

8:30am - 3:00pm

Course Overview:

This intermediate level workshop will focus on the fundamentals of traditional illustration or "picture making" as simulated through the digital medium.

The capabilities available to contemporary illustrators, given the power of creative software such as Photoshop, have had a revolutionary effect on the illustration industry, particularly its techniques and approaches.  Digital tools have expanded artists’ create power and control over their respective mediums and have elevated their ability to create compelling, convincing imagery.  However, all wonderful capabilities aside, the digital tool is only just that, a tool, and students enrolled in this exciting workshop will not only be learning those tools, but will be steeped in the traditional techniques and history of illustration and encouraged to adopt many of those principles which have been so integral to the effectiveness of the great illustrative masters of the past and the present.

Students will learn how to develop an idea from the ground up, from initial brainstorming and thumbnail sketching, building up value and color studies, collecting visual reference and supporting information, to developing and finishing a final illustration.  This workshop will equip students with the knowledge and basic skills necessary to take their creative visions to new levels of personal achievement and put them well on the path to becoming the next generation of creative professionals.

Students are encouraged to bring with them drawings or photographic reference from home to use in their illustration project.

In this exciting workshop, students can expect to learn:

• Image planning (brainstorming, thumbnail sketching, compositional planning and reference collection)
• How to draw and paint on the computer with Wacom tablets
• Basic color theory and how it applies illustration
• Digital photo illustration techniques
• And much more!

Prerequisites:

• Must be a current middle or high school student
• Minimum level of art experience is requested, but must be familiar with Photoshop.
• Interested in art, graphics, and/or animation
• Careful and patient enough to learn some new skills and listen to expert coaching

Course Instructor:  Scott Flanders, Scott Flanders Art 

Course fee: $75.00. Registration deadline: August 20, 2010. Payment is payable the first day of class.  Registration assistance available upon request. 

To Register:  Please send an email to Ange Mason (amason@ucsd.edu) with your student's name, grade and school affiliation.  Registration will be confirmed via email. 

For questions or additional information, please contact Ange Mason at 858 534-5064 or amason@ucsd.edu.