CSC/FAR 020, Computer Graphics, November 2013 Dr. Dale E. Parson Final Image Assignment 8 Due in my Inbox 11:59 PM Monday December 9

Final Assignment # 8 Schedule We have had a total of 8 Image Composition projects this semester with no exams. The final course grade will be the mean (average) of these 8 project grades at 10% each + 1 “musical chair” sessions at 10% (5% for attending + 5% for images) + another 5% musical chairs session + the 5% final exam demo. We will meet in the Grim Building Planetarium during our Final Exam Period, 8-10 AM on Wednesday December 11, to view your final projects on the dome. Those projects are due in my Dropbox by the end of Monday December 9.

Final Project Overview The final composition must be a 1200 by 1200 pixel image that fits into a 1200 pixel-diameter circle that is centered in the image. The area outside the circle must be transparent. Also, roughly 50% of the internal area of the circle should be transparent. You must use both PhotoShop and Illustrator in the final assignment. You must save a PNG copy of your final image with transparency intact. Your use of these tools and the overall goal for the composition are your decisions. The next pages give alternative scenarios.

Final Illustrator Topics The final Illustrator topics covered in class include Trace, Expansion of Trace to Paths, Type, Symbols, Glyphs, Swatches, and back- porting results of Trace to PhotoShop. You are not specifically required to use these techniques, but if you are at a loss for ideas, you can use this final project to exercise them.

Project Outlines The following pages outline possible scenarios. You want to create something interesting to show on the 55-foot surface of the planetarium dome. You can following one of these scenarios or you can design a project scenario of your own. Your scenario can be entirely original, or it can be a hybrid of these scenarios. The goal is to create a visually satisfying and/or interesting and/or provocative image using appropriate mechanisms from both tools.

Scenario 1 Outline Capture a photographic image. Repair damage, enhance imagery, and/or compose visual elements in PhotoShop. Place the image into an Illustrator layer. Add illustration objects such as Type, Geometric objects, Live Paint, etc. Add effects via the Effect menu. Save As AI, optionally export to Photoshop.

Scenario 2 Outline Capture a photographic image. Repair damage, enhance imagery, and/or compose visual elements in PhotoShop. Convert a selection to a Path in PhotoShop, copy & paste the Path into Illustrator. Treating the Path as an abstract composition / line drawing in Illustrator, add enhancements as in the previous scenario.

Scenario 3 Outline Capture a photographic image. Repair damage, enhance imagery, and/or compose visual elements in PhotoShop. Place the image into an Illustrator layer. Apply Trace to the raster image, and then process further after Expand or Live Paint. Save As AI, optionally export to Photoshop.

Scenario 4 Outline Capture a line drawing, geometric art or symbol-based composition in Illustrator. There is no photograph. Apply additional Illustrator Effects, Live Paint, etc. Export to PhotoShop. Use PhotoShop as a post processor to add raster effects, Adjustment Layers, Smart Filters, etc.

General Scenario Guidelines Your can use one tool to prepare a composition, the other tool to add additional visual elements not supported by the first tool, and then back to the first for final edits. A one-way scenario from PhotoShop to Illustrator or Illustrator to PhotoShop is fine. The goal is to apply capabilities unique in each tool to a coherent composition. Sometimes one stumbles into good design ideas.

Illustrator Orientation Illustrator is good for abstracting away from photorealism – cartoons, posters, extraction of line art via Trace and Expand. Have some compositional ideas in mind before becoming mired in tool features, but... Be open to lucky accidents (serendipity). Use the project and tools to explore ideas before converging prematurely on a goal. The goal is not just to “get it done!”

Grading Criteria The composition trumps all. I have given extra points for focused and well executed compositions. However, aesthetics are subjective, and so, if the composition does not knock me over, then... Hard work trumps everything else. It shows. Significant use of tool features is next. Especially Illustrator features and cross-tool symmetries such as Path extraction in PhotoShop or Trace in AI.

Tool Mechanisms to Consider PhotoShop: Multi-Layer Composites, Image Adjustments, Adjustment Layers, Filters, Smart Filter Layers, Layer Blending Mode, Layers Masks, Vector Masks, Gradients, Paths, Type. Illustrator: Strokes and Fill, Multi-Layer Composites, Geometric Objects, Line Drawings, Object Groups, Symbols, Gradients, Live Paint, Live Color, Raster Image Tracing. Moving images back and forth between tools.

An Example I created the shape in the upper left in Illustrator and then added Layer Effects in Photoshop. The other images are planetarium rotations.

Technical Requirement Checklist In addition to your final Photoshop or Illustrator file, you must supply a final PNG file that includes transparency. The image must be 1200 pixels X 1200 pixels, and the area outside a 1200-pixel-diameter circular area in the center must be transparent. Use original images, include all images, and include a readme. I recommend making roughly half of the inside of the image transparent so that it “smears” well across the dome. You can start with a photo or Illustrator shapes, but you must use both tools on the way to your final image. Put everything in a FirstLastFinal zipped folder, where First and Last are your first and last name.