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Digital Arts 1: A Creative Approach
Course sample

This is a sample of OCA course materials. If you would like to

request a Guide to Courses or enrol on a course, please contact the
OCA administration team:

by M ail : OCA
The Michael Young Arts Centre
Redbrook Business Park
Wilthorpe Road
Barnsley, S75 1JN
by Phone: 0800 731 2116
by E-mail : enquiries@oca-uk.com
Contents

You and your course

Background
Introduction
Digital imaging
Creative digital arts
What your computer can do
What’s in your course pack
Basic minimum equipment
Resources and materials you will need

The course
Starting the course
On completing the course
Going further
Project and tutorial plan

1: Getting started
Understanding the computer
Project 1: first scan
Project 2: digital stream
Bits and bytes
Memory
ROM
RAM
Storage
Project 3: scanning things
The size of images
The scanner
Resolution
File sizes
Flatbed scanners
 Project 4: scanning 3D objects
Assignment 1: my 2D/3D scans
Summary

2: Scanning images
Your position
Breaks
Exercises
Project 5: scans that move
Project 6: still-life scan
Project 7: simple collage
The terms used to determine image resolution
The printer
Project 8: different output
1. Make your own contact sheet
2. Output to picture package
3. Output to a website
Assignment 2 : self-portrait
Summary

3: Painting and layers

Painting techniques
Opacity and pressure
Undoing/redoing
Cursor types
Resetting painting tool options
The brush settings
Project 9: new brush grid
Layers
Project 10: the watch layer
Project 11: working with layers
Blending Modes
Project 12: blending with layers

The 4 most common digital image file types

 1. JPEG
2. GIF
3. TIFF
4. BMP
File compression
How compression works
Lossless compression
Lossy compression
Assignment 3: my collage
Summary

4: Image manipulation
Colour terminology
Displaying and printing images
Colour reproduction models
HSB model
RGB model mode
Project 13: enhancing images
Project 14: using filters
Project 15: making selections
Feathering
Project 16: distorting images
Assignment 4: real or fake!
Summary

5: Creative development
Project 17: tracing and gradients
Project 18: translation
Images on paper
Prints that last
Papers
Inks and longevity
Project 19: clone and pattern
The clone stamp tool and the pattern stamp tool
Project 20: more than one image
 A worked example

What about copyright?

Copyright issues
Copyrights and plagiarism
What are copyrights?
What is fair use?
What is public domain?
Work created copyright terms
Digital watermarks
Visible watermarks
Invisible watermarks
Adding your signature to your work
Assignment 5: metamorphosis
Summary
Appendix 1: If you plan to submit your work for formal
assessment
Project 4: scanning 3D objects
Most of the scanning that you have completed so far has involved working
with mostly flat pictures and materials but you can scan three-dimensional
objects as well.

Place some small objects on the scanner and do a preview to see what you get.
Remember it is a glass bed so please be cautious as to what kind of objects
you place on it! If you decide to use objects that might mark or mess up the
glass bed you can use an acetate sheet to protect the surface before you place
the objects on it. The glass surface needs to be kept as clean as possible when
you are using the scanner as any marks or dirt left on the surface will appear
in the scan. You will probably find that in the preview the background is
brighter than the objects and distracts from the detail that should appear from
the objects. To get a dark background three different techniques are available
and you should try all three:

LID

Scanner Base

• first you can turn the lights off and scan in a darkened environment -
this would obviously be easier to achieve later in the evening when it is
dark outside
 • secondly you can place a black or very dark cloth over the scanner to
achieve a similar effect, however, the texture of the cloth could also
appear in the scan using this method

Box for scanning objects

Scanner Lid

Scanner Glass

Scanner Base

• thirdly you can make a black box that you place over the objects on the
scanner; the black box is easy to make and can vary in depth to
accommodate different sized objects.

The reason you have been asked to use all three methods relates to the kind of
results that you will get. The first method produces excellent results if you
wish to have a completely dark background, allows your objects to go off the
edge off the scanner, but is not always practical (depending on your
environment). The second method is a very good introduction to
incorporating texture into the scan and allows you to have objects that go off
the edge of the scanner. The third method is a very simple way of achieving
the dark background but limits the objects to the inside of the scanner. This
can be overcome by making a much larger box if you really want to. This
method can introduce you to other creative techniques where you can make
the box out of other coloured card or even to line the top with a particular
patterned surface. You need to experiment with as many different materials
as possible and carefully record your results in your logbook. Remember that
you need to work carefully previewing your results before you scan the ones
you are satisfied with.

Examples of scanned objects

This is a sample from Creative Digital Arts 1: Introduction. The full course contains 20
Projects and 5 tutor-assessed Assignments.