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Visual Arts
  • Academic Programs
    Undergraduate
    Art Pathway (A.A.) Art Major with Digital Arts Concentration (B.A.) Art Major with Graphic Design Concentration (B.A.) Studio Art (B.A.) Art Education (B.S.) Visual Arts (B.F.A.)
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    Art (Studio Art) Minor Art History Minor Digital Arts Minor Digital Design & Fabrication Minor Game Studies Minor Graphic Design Minor
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    Digital Design & Fabrication Certificate
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    Digital Arts Area

    The Digital Arts area is technologically and creatively state-of-the-art. We use Wacom drawing tablets and Cintiq tablet-monitors, Apple and PC machines, animation tables, a professional-level capture station for digitizing hand-drawn animations, as well as several Oculus for virtual reality development. We also use industry-standard software such as the Adobe Suite, Toon Boom Harmony, Maya, Blender, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Marmoset Toolbag, and Unreal Engine among others.

    The program develops your proficiency in industry-standard hardware and software as well as your ability to solve challenges using traditional art skills like drawing, sculpting, color theory, and movement. Most aspects of professional digital art are fully represented through the use of traditional and digital techniques. These skills can be applied to over twenty different career paths, such as digital illustration, virtual reality design, 3D modeling, 3D texturing, 3D animation for film and games, 2D animation, visual effects for film and television, compositing, and many others.

    With the rising presence of the gaming and film industry in Georgia, you will have access to a rapidly increasing number of employment opportunities.

    • Digital Arts Faculty
    • Art Student Guide
    • Visual Arts Academic Programs
    • Digital Arts Courses

      Introductory

      • ART 2450 - Introduction to Computer Graphics

        An introductory course in graphic technology that meets requirements for basic computer literacy for all visual arts majors. This course is an exploratory course to address current hardware and software for existing and emerging computer graphic technology.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 1020 with a grade of C or higher or permission of Head of the Department of Visual Arts

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 2455 - Introduction to Animation

        This course is an introduction to the creation, manipulation, and critical interpretation of a wide range of techniques employed in animation since its inception, with a focus on the mid-nineteenth century to present. Through the completion of exercises and projects ranging from hand-drawn to 3D computer animation, students will gain a working knowledge of a wide range of both traditional and digital animation techniques, while simultaneously mastering the basic principles of animation.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisites: ART 2100 and ART 2450 with grades of C or higher (courses may be taken concurrently) or permission of Head of the Department of Visual Arts

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      Advanced

      • ART 3451 - Pre-Visualization

        In this course students will learn to develop a visually compelling motion graphic language. Students will learn how to break down a concept, idea and/or script into dramatic beats and then organize those into spatial or visual moments. Students will build the vocabulary and conceptual framework necessary to create a cohesive progression of images. Students will develop their visual voice by learning how to communicate their conceptual ideas. Emphasis will be on proper terminology, concepts of narrative flow, pacing, staging and budgetary considerations for pre-visualization art production.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 2455 with a grade of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 3453 - Digital 3D Animation Techniques

        This course provides the foundation for all of the other undergraduate 2D and 3D animation courses. Students will use industry standard software to explore the principles of animation while reproducing rudimentary animation exercises as demonstrated by the instructor.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 2455 with a grade of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 3463 - Traditional Animation Techniques

        This intermediate course focuses primarily on hand-drawn frame-by-frame and stop-motion animation, but also includes pixilation, silhouette or cutout, sand, and pinscreen animation.  Students develop skills in the use of software to develop storyboards and two-dimensional animation including constructing, importing, and sequencing media elements to create multimedia presentations.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 2455 with a grade of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 4453 - Digital Illustration

        Advanced studio course in the principles and practices of digital illustration. Most of the major illustration fields will be explored. Students will complete a series of illustrations utilizing a variety of software and techniques. Use of the computer as an illustration tool will be emphasized.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 3450

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 4461 - Character Rigging and Animation

        The fundamental purpose of this course is to prepare 3D character designs for animation. Students will build skeletons, rig characters, "skin" them, and pose the characters, testing them for animation. The course will examine the process of creating joints to assemble a skeleton, fine-tuning joints for realistic motion, rigging bodies and faces, and binding a characters skin to its skeleton.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 3453 with a grade of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 4463 - Animated Storytelling

        This course will grant students a unique opportunity to serve on an animation team for an entire semester and a single pupose: the production of a completed animated short film. Technique, style, narrative, and theme will all be determined as a team. Roles and division of duties will likewise be determined. Through the many stages of production, students will conceptualize, visualize, and then realize their chosen story. Advanced animation skills are required, and students must be well-versed in a least one of the following areas: hand-drawn animation, stop-motion animation, 2D or 3D computer animation, modeling, shading, lighting, rendering, storyboarding, or editing.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisites: ART 3451 and ART 4465 with grades of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 4465 - Digital Visual Effects

        This class gives students the opportunity to collect digital materials together in order to create compelling visual experiences, primarily using the digital studio environments of Adobe After Effects (for 2D and 2.5D) and Blender (for 3D). Students will build on the idea of collage, or placing items or actions in novel circumstances in order to register new experiences. Students will learn the practice of digital compositing, through which digital artists can combine different still and moving images to create new virtual/visual realities. Often collectively referred to as "CGI" (Computer-generated imagery) and "FX" (Special Effects) the techniques learned in this class are used to create and/or contribute to images in art, printed media, courtroom presentations, video games, medical/scientific imaging, and simulators.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 3451 with a grade of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 4915 - Special Topic in Art

        A detailed study of an art form, medium, style, technique, or other special topic of current interest not covered in catalog listings. May be repeated for a total of up to 9 credit hours.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisites: ART 1010, ART 1020, and ART 1030 with grades of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      Digital Fabrication

      • ART 2452 - Introduction to Digital Design and Fabrication

        This applied/hands-on studio class presents the foundations of digital fabrication technologies, including laser cutting and engraving, CNC milling, plasma cutting, and 3D printing. Utilizing various software, students will start by manipulating vector (curve) based 2D geometry, and work their way up to simple 3D geometric modeling. Designs created virtually will be optimized for each technology, and then be produced as actual, physical objects.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 1030 with a grade of C or higher or permission of Head of the Department of Visual Arts

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 3452 - Digital 3D Modeling and Printing

        This applied/hands-on studio class presents the foundations of 3D modeling and 3D printing. Utilizing 3D modeling/rendering/animation software, students will start by manipulating primitive geometry, such as cubes and spheres, and work their way up to complex organic sub-surface modeling. Designs created virtually will be optimized for Fused Filament Fabrication technology, and then be "printed" as actual, three-dimensional objects.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisites: ART 1030 and either ART 2450 or ART 2452, with grades of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 4352 - Advanced Digital Design and Fabrication

        This applied/hands-on studio class presents opportunities for advanced use of digital fabrication technologies, including laser cutting and engraving, CNC milling, plasma cutting, and 3D printing. Students will pursue individual solutions to designing and producing objects utilizing one or more of these technologies. Note: ART 4352 may be repeated once for a total of 6 credits.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 3452 with a grade of C or higher or permission of Head of the Department of Visual Arts

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      Art History

      • ART 3505 - History of Digital Art

        This course explores the historical, cultural, and aesthetic impact of digital techniques and technologies on traditional art forms such as paintings, photography, and sculpture, as well as the rise of new media art, from video to digital installation, and from computer-generated art to virtual reality. Students will discuss critical issues related to how art-making practices have shaped (and been shaped by) new and emerging technologies. Significant readings are incorporated into class discussions.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 2520 or ART 3500 with a grade of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 3507 - History of Illustration and Sequential Art

        This course examines the history of illustration and sequential art, with an emphasis on the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Topics include social, political, and aesthetic impact on the development of and roles played by illustration and sequential art. Students will discuss issues related to how illustration and sequential art have shaped (and been shaped by) changing critical an popular perceptions of those art forms, and, in particular, the rise of visual and material culture studies. Significant readings are incorporated into class discussions.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 2520 or ART 3500 with a grade of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

      • ART 3509 - History of Animation and Visual Effects

        This course examines the history and technology of animation and cinematic visual effects from the origins of animation forms and techniques to contemporary computer-generated imagery. Topics include cultural and political impact on the aesthetic development of and social roles played by animation and visual effects in a variety of analog and digital forms, including Claymation, stop motion, cel animation, and CGI. Students will discuss issues related to how animation and visual effect have shaped (and been shaped by) changing critical and popular perceptions of those art forms, and in particular, visual and material culture studies. Significant readings are incorporated into class discussions.

        Prerequisite/Corequisite:
        Prerequisite: ART 2520 or ART 3500 with a grade of C or higher

        Hours:
        3



        View Course in Catalog

    • Studios & Equipment

      Dahlonega Campus

      Digital Arts Studio - Choice Street Arts Complex, A 110, A 101

      • Wacom Intuos Medium Drawing Tablets
      • Wacom Cintique Tablet Monitors
      • Apple and PC Machines
      • Animation Tables
      • Animation Capture Station
      • Oculus Virtual Reality Headsets
      • Adobe Suite Photoshop Illustrator After Effects Premiere
      • Toon Boom Harmony Autodesk
      • Maya Blender
      • Foundation Blender
      • Pixologic
      • ZBrush
      • Adobe Substance Painter
      • Marmoset Toolbag
      • Epic Unreal Engine

      Digital Fabrication Studio - Choice Street Arts Complex, A 110 and Hamp Mill Complex

      • Large Boss laser cutter
      • Over thirty FDM and SLA 3D printers from MakerBot, Lulzbot, Gigabot, Afinia, and Formlabs
      • X-Carve CNC machine
      • Over thirty Mac OS and Windows computers and associated software

    Opportunities

    Find a Digital Arts Internship

    Internships are one of the best ways to gain hands-on skills while learning real-world applications and techniques in the digital arts industry. Interact with creative minds, problem-solve, learn new processes, network, and gain opportunities to hone your critical thinking.

    Register for ART 4850 Internship in Visual Arts to complete your digital arts internship. Once you locate your internship, contact your Digital Arts advisor!

    Where can I find internships? You can find internships in:

    • LinkedIn
    • Creatively 
    • Google
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