Introduction to Computer Art

The Digital Collage

Part I

Scan 10 objects other than photographs (at 150dpi).

Items to consider are - but not limited to -: leaves, feathers, wood planks, old letters and postcards, fabric, clothes, fish, and anything unusual that could provide texture and meaning to your work.

Do not harm the scanner or the glass. Clean the glass after you finish scanning.

Part II

Use Photoshop to create an original digital collage.
It should be a work that expresses either a mood, a feeling or an abstract idea.
Try not to merely illustrate an issue. Instead search for ways to portray abstract ideas through the properties of the medium. For example if you want to express the feeling of sadness, it is best not to depict someone that is sad. The best way to do it would be if your work itself emanated the feeling through the manipulation of your visual elements (texture, color, depth, transparency, line, etc.)

A few guidelines

Create your collage at 16x16 inches at 150dpi

• Use your own scanned images along with the scanned objects.
• Avoid using magazine photos or any images you downloaded from the Internet. Use items of popular culture only if they are relevant to your collage's content (i.e.. if you are making a statement on popular culture).
• Try to see the space of your digital canvas as infinitely deep.

What to save

Save the following versions of your finished collage:

1. One TIFF file 16'x16' at 150 dpi
   Flatten the Layers before you save it as TIFF.
   (add the extension .tif to the name, IBM PC byte order, NO LZW compression)
2. One JPEG file 400x400 pixels at 72dpi (add the extension .jpg to the name)
3. One GIF file 80x80 pixels at 72dpi
   (add the extension .gif to the name)
   To save a gif file don't use the "Save" command. Instead use the "File">"Save for the Web" command, select Gif (on the top, right), and follow the directions
4. One folder with at least 10 scanned objects at 150dpi each.