VISUAL ARTS TECHNOLOGIES

Instructor, Susan Lowther

Course Description
This course will prepare students for entry-level positions in a variety of art-related jobs or entry into postsecondary schools for additional art training.  Visual Arts Technologies builds a solid foundation in drawing, painting, rendering techniques and Adobe Illustrator skills.  Students explore more advanced computer skills and graphic design techniques, as well as cartooning, color theory, Adobe Photoshop skills, matting and framing techniques, and proofreading and prepares the student for entry into the world of work.  The emphasis is on more advanced computer rendering and graphic design skills to be used in the workplace.   Students learn Adobe InDesign skills to help them prepare brochures, booklets, calendars, and many other graphic design jobs.  They prepare resumes and practice job interviewing skills as well as compile portfolios, both comprising of their actual pieces collected over the year, and a digital CD of their work.

Students best suited for this course are those who are creative, like to draw, work well with others, like computers, and have organizational skills.

Prerequisites:  Applied Communications, Applied Math, Computer Literacy

Appropriate Occupations:

• Art Director

• Layout/Paste-Up Artist

• Sign Maker/Designer

• Exhibit/Display Artist

• Technical Illustrator

• Cartoonist

• Graphic Designer

• Illustrator

• Computer Artist

• Freelance Artist

Job Outlook

Over the next five years, an additional 50,000 jobs are expected to be developed in this field nation wide. Visual Arts Technologies is a vital part of the "information explosion" we are all experiencing and as such, it is a growth industry. Even locally, the market continues to grow, especially for enterprising freelance artists.

Further Education Opportunities

We are fortunate to have in Pennsylvania a long list of fine schools offering both two- and four-year degree programs in Visual Arts Technologies.  As in many other fields, additional education enhances job opportunities and earnings in Visual Arts Technologies.

Revised 8/12/08