Required Reading:
Documenting Your Work

Why we’re doing this:
We will develop our professional skills by practicing digitally archiving our work. It is important to learn how to create effective high-quality photos because it will not only prepare us for the basic requirements of being an arts professional, it is also a skill that will help you in any field.

Additionally, in your senior year, you will be required to create an online portfolio of all your work, and it is easier to take these photos semester-by-semester instead of trying to document everything during your final semester of school.

What’s required:

1. We will do this once at midterm, and once at the final: Scan or photograph (I recommend scanning – it’s easier) all the pages in your sketchbook, AND all the homework drawings/projects (this would include the drawings you will submit for your individual portfolio reviews in the hall, and any of the in-class/out-of-class alternative media assignments). The code to get into the computer lab is as follows: 4, 5+1 (pressed together), 2+3 (pressed together)The files must be 300dpi and at least 8 inches on its short edge. Make sure the color settings are set correctly with the scanner (do a test scan to see if it is working), or if you are photographing, make sure the lighting is even and/or that you are color-correcting in Photoshop. The images you submit must look like your original drawings/projects.
2. Be sure to crop the images to include only the drawing (no spiral bindings or space beyond the page).
3. Save all these files to a DVD or a thumb drive (note: I will not be returning the disks/drives).
   All the pages from your other sketchbook should be named as follows:
   LASTNAME_assignment-title_1.jpg
   LASTNAME_assignment-title_2.jpg
   LASTNAME_assignment-title_3.jpg
   (it starts with your last name in CAPS, then has the name of the assignment/project, then a number)I put together a couple walkthroughs for resizing and saving imagery in Photoshop. For our documentation imagery (and presentations), we will need to make sure that our files are sized correctly. If you have any questions, please let me know.Resizing in Photoshop: http://screencast.com/t/ExgZ82w5Saving an image for the screen: http://screencast.com/t/Q5jqp1vehlh
4. Label the DVD/thumb drive with your full name, “Drawing Documentation – Midterm (or Final), Fall (or Spring) 20##”
5. Make a copy of the documentation disks for your own files (you will not receive your disk back). This is a good habit to build because you will need access to all your artwork when you create a website your senior year (and students often loose/break hard drives on which all their work is stored).
6. Bring the DVD/thumb drive to class as scheduled.
7. Arrive with the documentation finished – do not label it or burn it in class. We will turn these in a the very start of our session.

Grading Criteria (20 points)

How to scan in the McCuskey Computer Lab:
the code to get into the lab is as follows: 4, 5+1 (pressed together), 2+3 (pressed together)

5. Click Scan when you are ready to Scan

How to COMBINE multiple scans into a single image (if your sketchbook doesn’t fit nicely on the scanner):

• Scan both halves of the drawing. Keep both files open.
• Follow the directions in this video (it can take a little while to load): http://screencast.com/t/ccgj289X

EXAMPLES OF GOOD & BAD:

This is what the student turned in (this gets an “F”):

This image is poorly lit, poorly cropped, crooked, it has a date/time stamp (NEVER turn on your date/time stamp when documenting artwork).  Additionally, the file was mis-labeled.