Adult Workshops | Digital Arts Workshops

In 2013 David Hockney, celebrated British artist, unveiled his “iPad Drawings” and changed the way we think of digital art. Most known for his large, bright paintings, Hockney has always been an explorer, working in varied mediums and arenas. It’s no surprise he started doing what he called computer drawings in Photoshop since the 2000s. As he later turned to the iPhone and then the iPad he echoed the eye and the heart of a new generation. He has exhibited huge prints of his work and you can see vivid examples online at davidhockney.co/works/digital/ipad

In this workshop students will explore up to three iPad painting and drawing apps. Please see the supply list for more information.

We’ll discover how our goals and styles adapt to what Hockney describes as this “incredible little thing… like a sketchbook and paintbox all in one… No cleaning up. No mess.”

Students will draw in class. Between meetings students will draw in prescribed circumstances. The class will view and discuss the results both in terms of actual work and as the work suggests possibilities.

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This workshop explains filtering photographs using Photoshop and the sophisticated Nik Suite of filters. These filters alter color, focus and exposure as well as simulating papers and films from the past. We will look at before and after versions of photographs and discuss the value and uses of these filters. Students will edit their own photographs and review them together.

What do these high-tech filters add to photography? When are they useful? Do they make photographs into something else? How do you know when you’ve created your final image? Students should bring 1-5 photos in digital format for transformation and discussion.

Basic computer skills are required for this workshop.

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Photoshop Elements is a great tool for organizing your photos, editing and refining your images and preparing them for applications in print and on-line. In this first course, you'll learn about the Organizer feature. Then we'll learn about the editor functions, including layers and the basic Elements tools. Because you will have exercises you can practice at home, you will need Elements on your computer. You can download a 30 day free trial from www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements/download-trial/try.html
Students must have basic computer skills for this course.

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Learn how to select a portion of a source photograph, place it on a layer and move that layer into the master photo. These simple skills open up a whole world of ways to improve your photos.
Students must have basic computer skills for this course.

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Learn how layers in Photoshop Elements can be used to create custom illustrations. Also, learn how to create your own text and place it into your image. Now you're able to put together professional publications using new found skills!
Students must have basic computer skills for this course.

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You have a film studio right in your pocket! Bring your smartphone and learn how to produce, direct, shoot and edit a 5 minute film with your phone and some free apps.

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How many times have we settled for documents as they are because trying to fix them or edit them is just too time-consuming and frustrating? In this workshop, we will learn how to set text using the appropriate tools so the content on our pages behaves more predictably. We will cover ways to make text “flow” better (formatting). Building on this knowledge, we will then create our own custom documents with confidence. Basic computer skills are required for this course.

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Your choice of fonts can be saying more (or less) than you think! In this introduction to Typography we will start with a brief historical overview. This will help us to understand type and how to use it more effectively. We will cover the different font families and the characteristics that make them suitable for different purposes. Learn basic text formatting, and ways to “manipulate” letters to meet your design needs and more. Basic computer skills are required for this course.

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Prepare images for your web site or social media pages. Learn the differences between image types (GIF, JPEG, PNG, etc.) and when to use them. You’ll also learn how to make your images load faster (optimization) and look brighter and sharper. We will also cover the differences between web and print and how to set up your images appropriately. Resize images for banners, thumbnails and cover photos. Basic computer skills are required for this course.

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Photoshop is an amazing program for working with digital images. In this beginner course, you’ll discover how it works and what you need to know to get started using it. You will see an overview of its uses with demonstrations of features like image cropping, color adjustment and brushes. Basic computer skills are required for this course.

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Learn to scan your artwork into the computer and clean up pictures of your artwork or products for print or the web. Use Photoshop to “repair” your old photos, make collages with your images and more. Basic computer skills are required for this course.

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Get more creative with Photoshop. Learn how to modify and distort parts of images. Use filters to create interesting effects well suited for book covers or slick posters and ads. We’ll also cover how you can import and edit your artwork from Adobe Illustrator. Basic computer skills are required for this course.

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Creating your own font can be very exciting, but it will require some patience. We will identify key characteristics in letters which will help you establish consistency in creating your own font. Next, we will cover the features that would determine its appearance and subsequently, its usage. We will then go through the necessary steps to generate your font. Finally we will discuss how you will be able to use your font. Basic computer skills are required for this course.

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Ready to create your own web site or learn how it works? We’ll begin with basic definitions and terminology. Students will be introduced to Hypertext Markup language (HTML) and begin creating web pages. Subsequently, they will learn about cascading style sheets (CSS) to start styling their content. The course will cover web design fundamentals (handling images and fonts on the web) and page layout. Finally, there will be an overview on web hosting from setting up an account to uploading files to the web. Students will be given resources to continue to maintain their website. Basic computer skills required.

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