A look at Adobe Illustrator CS4

1. Bitmatp Vs. Vector Review
   

   Vector-based images generally contain well-defined elements such as curves and shapes of various colors. These elements can either be pure graphics, western alphabets or Asian characters. Each element is defined mathematically by the computer. For example, if a vector-based image contains a red dot, then information such as the location of the circle's center point, the length of its radius, and the color, red, would be the essential information for this image file.

   File names for vector-based images usually consist of extensions such as *.EPS, *.AI

   Vector-based files are more suitable for illustrations that require precise measurements. They are also easily scalable due to their mathematical nature. However, the vector-based file format has its drawbacks as well. It is not good for displaying photo-realistic images such as a photograph because images of this type generally do not contain well-defined shapes and curves.

   Bitmap-based images, on the other hand, do not rely on mathematical formulas to define their various elements. Each bitmap-based image is mapped into a grid. The size of the grid is based on the image's resolution. For example, a bitmap-based image of 1 inch x 1 inch with a 600 dpi resolution would be defined by a grid of 600 x 600 pixels. Hence, a bitmap-based image is like a mosaic of pixels with each pixel holding a specific color value.

   Bitmap-based files are more suitable for photo-realistic images that require complex color variations. They are, however, not easily scalable because each bitmap-based image is mapped to a non-flexible grid. If a bitmap-based image were to be enlarged, it would lose its sharpness. All edges within the image would appear to be jagged.

   File names for bitmap-based images usually consist of extensions such as *.PSD, *.JPG, *GIF, *.TIF, or *.BMP.

   In general, bitmap-based files require more computer memory for file storage than vector-based files. The former contains all information for every single pixel of the image while the latter contains only the defining mathematical formulas for each element within the image.

2. Watch Illustrator Videos in Class:
   
   I. introduction
   2. AI vs. PSD
   3. Paths and Shapes
   4. Selecting Objects and Paths
   5. Fill and Stroke
   
   
3. Select your own photo from the web based on a social media/web 2.0 technology and practice tracing it with the line , brush,pen and any other tools in illustrator
   
   save your result as a .jpg and post on your blog by monday march 1
   
   Adobe Illustrator Tutorials
   
   Drawing with the Shape, Line, and Eraser tools (Video Workshop)
   Drawing with the Pen tool (Video Workshop)
   Drawing with the Pencil tool (Video Workshop)
   Using the Paintbrush tool (Video Workshop)
   Reshaping a path (Adobe TV)
   

Social Media / Web2.0 Group Discussion exercises

for these SOCIAL MEDIA/WEB2.0 exercises please get into groups of 2-3 ...NOW. thanks


Using the information you learned in the Reading: "Social Media and Web 2.0" and The Blog Posting on Transparency in Social Media Please answer the following discussion questions Include any relevant links or media in your blog entries:

1. Today many TV shows and advertisements try to look amateurish or "homegrown" to emulate what is often seen on the Web. Do you think professional prodution values will continue to drop, or do you think amateur user-generated content will get better over time? WHY??
   
   
2. Find a news article and write down tags you would use to define what the article is about. Now goto http://delicious.com/ or another tagging site and see how others have tagged it. What did you learn from the differences or similarities in tagging?
   
   
   before answering question #3 please read the Transparency in Social Media Blog Article
   
   
3. Why is transparency such an important concept in the Social Media world? Is it MORE or LESS important in the offline world? Why?
   
   The wikipedia article on "Astroturfing" may be of help
   
   

Please post the answers to these questions in detail on all group members blogs... (you can just CUT/PASTE)

Digital_Nation_PART 2

CONTINUE FRONTLINE: Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier

WATCH: Digital Nation Parts 1, 2, 3, 4

and if there is time:

Friending Boo Radley

1. Due mon. 22nd Blog Posting with ANOTHER analysis of "Digital Nation" so far...continue and conclude your ideas about this program
(video/images optional)

6. FINISH READING "Social Media and Web 2.0" Have read by Monday Feb. 22nd
I posted a PDF of this HERE

***EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT****

CHECK OUT THESE COMMENTS BY VIEWERS OF DIGITAL NATION, AND FEEL FREE TO JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION.. if make any comments, then create a posting on your blog and link to your commentary..

This_Digital_World_

1. Any Photoshop/Collage questions or issues?

2.Discussion of Terms:
user-generated content
long tail
network as platform
folksonomy
syndication
mass collaboration
computer supported collaboration
social-software
mashups

3.Discussion/questions about "Interacting with an interface
or what happens when you switch on LG Chocolate."

1. what does manovich mean by the "aesthetisation of information tools and interaction"
2. what are aesthetics?
3. what is interaction as theater?
4. Experience Design: What happens when you turn on an LG Chocolate?
   
   
   

4. FRONTLINE: Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier

Within a single generation, digital media and the World Wide Web have transformed virtually every aspect of modern culture, from the way we learn and work to the ways in which we socialize and even conduct war. But is the technology moving faster than we can adapt to it? And is our 24/7 wired world causing us to lose as much as we've gained?

In Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier, FRONTLINE presents an in-depth exploration of what it means to be human in a 21st-century digital world. Continuing a line of investigation she began with the 2008 FRONTLINE report Growing Up Online, award-winning producer Rachel Dretzin embarks on a journey to understand the implications of living in a world consumed by technology and the impact that this constant connectivity may have on future generations. "I'm amazed at the things my kids are able to do online, but I'm also a little bit panicked when I realize that no one seems to know where all this technology is taking us, or its long-term effects," says Dretzin.

Joining Dretzin on this journey is commentator Douglas Rushkoff, a leading thinker and writer on the digital revolution -- and one-time evangelist for technology's positive impact. "In the early days of the Internet, it was easy for me to reassure people about what it would mean to bring digital technology into their lives," says Rushkoff, who has authored 10 books on media, technology and culture. "Now I want to know whether or not we are tinkering with something more essential than we realize."

WATCH: Digital Nation Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 (to be continued wed 1oth)

and if there is time:

Friending Boo Radley

English teacher Jenny Johns uses social networking tools to teach classic literature, such as To Kill a Mockingbird.

5. Due Wed. 10th Blog Posting with your analysis of "Digital Nation" so far...remember, this may change! 2-3 paragraphs (video/images optional)

6. Pass out "Social Media and Web 2.0" Have read by Monday Feb. 14th

save for web 2.0

1. Pass out
Interacting with an interface
or what happens when you switch on LG Chocolate.
by Manovich 2007
(read for monday FEB. 7th)

2. questions and terms review web 2.0: in-class: user-generated content, long tail, network as platform, folksonomy, syndication, and mass collaboration, computer supported collaboration, hosted services, web applications, social-software, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups, more???

3. PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOP:

1. distinguish between .psd and other bitmap files
2. bitmap vs. vector
3. vector text tool in photohop
4. layering
5. selection methods (magic wand, lasso, marquee, select by color)
6. how to create a transparent background --knocking out a background. example photo
7. SAVE AND OPTIMIZE FOR THE WEB IN PHOTOSHOP
   

DUE MONDAY 7TH
BLOG ENTRY WITH YOUR FINAL BEST QUALITY MCLUHAN MEDIUM IS MESSAGE COLLAGE. EXPORTED OUT OF PHOTOSHOP WITH THE "SAVE FOR WEB OPTION"

HAVE Interacting with an interface
or what happens when you switch on LG Chocolate. READ. AND READY TO DISCUSS.

AND

CREATE A BLOG POSTING BRIEFLY DEFINING/SUMMARIZING THE FOLLOWING TRAITS OR QUALITIES OF THESE WEB 2.0 TERMS:
user-generated content, long tail, network as platform, folksonomy, syndication, and mass collaboration, computer supported collaboration, hosted services, web applications, social-software, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups

Conceptual Collage

1. Discussion of Lev Manovich- "The Practice of Media in Everyday Life"

discussion questions:
What does the shift from media to social media mean for the way media functions?
What does this shift mean for the terms we use to discuss and talk about media?

Look at the shift from publishing medium to communication medium.
what new communication situations arise from web 2.0 practices?


2. Photoshop Collage Assignment
watch tutorial in class:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTyi3Qz5QwA
Questions about tutorial?
General Photoshop Questions?
Questions about Collage Assignment?

3. In class "save for web/optimize" in Photoshop CS4 Workshop

4. In-Class Lab to work on Photoshop Medium is the Message Collages

DUE WED. JAN 3rd:
1. BRING IN YOUR COMPLETED COLLAGE PHOHOTOSHOP DOCUMENT (.PSD ) ON YOUR FLASH DRIVE AND HAVE A SMALLER .JPG VERSION POSTED TO YOUR BLOG AS A NEW BLOG ENTRY BEFORE CLASS Wed. the 3rd

2. STUDY THESE WEB 2.0 / SOCIAL MEDIA terms to discuss in-class: user-generated content, long tail, network as platform, folksonomy, syndication, and mass collaboration