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Course description: Ultra Fractal Artistry
2 Semester Course
A continuation of the exploration of fractal images and techniques begun in the first two courses, this course will explore basic fine art principles as they apply specifically to fractal art, and fractal-specific principles and techniques that transform interesting graphics into works of art.
As with the first two Ultra Fractal courses, Artistry is an interactive course and may not just be audited. Students must actively participate by submitting homework in a timely manner, as well as commenting on others' images and contributing to discussions when appropriate. Failure to participate will result in losing access to the course material and forum (unless extenuating circumstances have been discussed with the instructor).
To allow for more thorough experimentation with each concept and technique, this course will last four months, with a new lesson and assignments posted every two weeks.
Prerequisites:
Students must have Ultra Fractal 3 or 4 installed on their computer,
have worked through the tutorials in the Help file, and have completed
the "Working With Ultra Fractal" and "Ultra Fractal Masking Techniques"
courses at the Visual Arts Academy.
Semester 1
Lesson 1 -- Elements and principles of fractal art (Weeks 1 and 2)
- Thoughts about artistry
- Centering
- Symmetry
- Asymmetry
- Digital perfection vs. human imperfection
- Writing about art
Lesson 2 -- Compositional issues (Weeks 3 and 4)
- Focal point
- Balance, proportion, and the Golden Ratio
- Eye flow
- More eye flow
- Cropping for unusual composition
- Atmospheric images
- Realism in fractals
- Borders
- Telling stories with composition
Lesson 3 -- Tonal range and distribution (Weeks 5 and 6)
- Creating emphasis with contrast
- What's wrong with this picture?
- Exploring contrast in value
- Sculpting and adding texture with gradations in value
- Blending shapes and values
- Bending some rules
- Creating highlights and shadows
- Angle/magnitude layering revisited
- Lost edges
Review week - final homework submissions for first semester
Mid Term Break
Semester 2
Lesson 4 -- Color (Part 1) (Weeks 1 and 2)
- Working with hue and saturation
- Monochromatic color wheel
- Exploring analogous color palettes
- Cool and warm palettes
- Analogous color wheel
- Making tonal adjustments outside Ultra Fractal
Lesson 5 -- Color (Part 2) (Weeks 3 and 4)
- Subdividing the color wheel
- Using discord to add interest
- All-purpose color wheel
- Unity and variety
- Color and perception
- Balancing tone and color
Lesson 6 -- Personal Issues (Weeks 5 and 6)
- When is an image done?
- Breaking the rules
- Developing a style
- The euphoria of creating and the desire for feedback
- Nurturing the artist within
Final Thoughts -- Where do we go from here? (Week 7)
Wrap up and Review for Course
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