THIS IS A TWO-SEMESTER COURSE.

This course will begin by introducing students to the fundamentals of web art, design, and animation. Students will learn how to design digital illustrations and create media designs for icons, logos, brochures, books, magazines, etc. They will also explore traditional animation styles by creating movable pictures and GIFs.

In the spring semester, the emphasis will be on animation and storytelling. The students will work on creating motion, storyboards, 2D animated stories, unique animated characters, and claymation videos. Finally, they will progress to product and architectural design, where they will learn conceptual designing, sketching, and 3D designing and create 3D objects, understand architectural design concepts, and build 3D visualization.

Live Classes: Mondays AND Wednesdays, 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Note that this course meets two days each week. Fall semester runs from the week of August 14th to the week of December 11th, 2023; spring semester runs from the week of January 8th to the week of May 6th, 2024.

Student Expectations: Students are expected to apply the concepts they learn in class to various assignments and projects that they will present during subsequent live classes.

Student Support: The instructor is available via email.

Feedback/Assessment: Students will receive ongoing feedback from the instructor on the projects they present in class, as well as a grade at the end of each semester.

Materials: Students will need a desktop or laptop computer. This course cannot be taken on a smartphone or tablet. Students will use the online apps Book Creator and Canva, as well as Inkscape and Wick Editor, all of which are free. The first live class will be dedicated to ensuring that students are prepared with the appropriate software/tools; specific instructions will be sent to each student before the course begins.

Prerequisites: None