Visual Arts
Chair: Michelle Carpenter
Office: CU Denver Building, 815N
Visual Arts Office: CU Building, Suite 800
Telephone: 303-315-1500
Overview
The Department of Visual Arts offers professional instruction in six interrelated areas: art history, art practices, 3D animation, digital design, illustration, and photography.
Visual Arts provides a vital educational environment where future artists, designers, scholars and curators explore the horizons of their own talents in an atmosphere of critical dialogue and professional art and design practice. Students learn and experience various media of animation, digital design, drawing, illustration, painting, photography and transmedia sculpture, all within the rich context of a research university. Learning is predicated on both an understanding of art and media theory, and on the practical knowledge of methods and materials used in making art and design today. Art history studies focus on historical knowledge integrated with critical writing and analysis.
The department prides itself on fostering an appreciation for diverse approaches to visual culture and to reaching out to the larger art history, arts and design communities. Internships are available.
Graduating seniors receiving the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree are required to participate in the BFA thesis exhibition during their last semester of study. This exhibition is scheduled for each spring term only.
Programs
Many of the above options require FINE 2600 Art History Survey I and/or FINE 2610 Art History Survey II. Either course may also count toward Core Humanities (as part of the General Education requirements). Contact the College of Arts & Media at CAM@ucdenver.edu for details.
Faculty
Full Professors:
Joann Brennan, MFA, Massachusetts College of Art
Carol Golemboski, MFA, Virginia Commonwealth University
Rian Kerrane, MFA, University of New Orleans
Melissa Furness, MFA, University of Iowa
Maria Elena Buszek, PhD, University of Kansas
Michelle Carpenter, MFA, University of Colorado Boulder
Associate Professors:
Quintin Gonzalez, MFA, Yale University
Bryan Leister, MFA, George Mason University
Jeffrey Schrader, PhD, New York University, MA, Oberlin College
Travis Vermilye, MFA, University of Michigan
Assistant Professor:
Yang Wang, PhD, The Ohio State University
Assistant Professor Clinical Teaching Track:
Howard Cook, MFA DC, National University
Matthew Rutland, MFA, University of Southern California
Principal Instructor:
Vivian George, MFA, Yale University
Senior Instructors:
Michael Brohman, MA, University of Colorado Denver
Jeremy Brown, BA, Hampshire College
Elizabeth Pugliano, PhD, Boston University
Rebecca Heavner, MLA, University of Colorado Denver
William Adams, MA and MFA, University of New Mexico
Instructors:
Paul Conner, BA, Art Institute of Colorado
Stephen Schaf, MFA, Academy of Art University, San Francisco
Lynn Mandziuk, MFA, Savannah College of Art and Design
Digital Animation (DACD)
A lecture/lab course focused on the mastery of creating surface models for digital 3D content. Students will develop skills/knowledge about the processes and techniques for building complex 3D objects with an emphasis on artistic excellence through application of current 3D technologies. Prereq: FINE 1810, FINE 1820, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1810 and FINE 1820 Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA with ANI sub-plan majors within the College of Arts and Media
A Lecture/Lab course focused on the fundamentals of lighting and surfacing in a digital 3D environment. Students will develop skills and knowledge about the processes and techniques involved in creating realistic and/or narratively powerful materials and lighting for 3D animated films. Prereq: FINE 1810, FINE 1820, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1810 and FINE 1820 Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA with ANI sub-plan majors within the College of Arts and Media
A Lecture/Lab course exploring advanced topics in the areas of surfacing, material design, lighting, and post-production. Students will further develop skills and knowledge learned in Surfacing and Lighting I. Emphasis will be placed on collaborative workflows for lighting and material design. Prereq: DACD 2810, DACD 2820, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: DACD 2810, DACD 2820, and acceptance into DAC (FINE_BFA ANI)
A lecture/lab course focused on mastery of skills for creating organic digital 3D models. Students will develop skills/knowledge to shape, mold, transform/articulate, and deform digital 3D shapes. Focus will be on creating digital models, with an emphasis on artistic excellence through application of current 3D technologies. Prereq: DACD 2810, DACD 2820, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: DACD 2810, DACD 2820, and acceptance into DAC (FINE_BFA ANI)
This is a lecture/lab course focused on the creation and implementation of collaborative workflows for CG filmmaking. Students will learn about 3D production pipelines and how they can be used to effectively and efficiently collaborate on large-scale projects. Prereq: DACD 2830 or DACD 2850, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A studio course focused on foundational skills for animating digital 3D objects/characters. Students explore the process/techniques of key frame/pose-to-pose animating considering character performance, thought, constraints and velocity with an emphasis on artistic excellence through applications of current 3D technologies. Prereq: FINE 1810 and FINE 1820 and acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1810 and FINE 1820, and acceptance into DAC (FINE-BFA ANI)
A studio course focused on foundational skills for animating and rigging full digital 3D characters. Students explore the process/techniques of rigging for motion capture characters and adjusting their performance with consideration for thought, and animation with an emphasis on realistic VFX driven character performance. Prereq: DACD 2830, DACD 2850, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: DACD 2830, DACD 2850, and acceptance into DAC (FINE-BFA ANI)
A studio course focused on mastery of skills for rigging and animating digital 3D characters. Students explore the processes/techniques of animation rigging and its relationship to animating character performances. Prereq: DACD 3820, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: DACD 3820 and acceptance into DAC (FINE-BFA ANI)
A studio course focused on mastery of skills for rigging and animating digital 3D characters and objects and advance motion capture techniques. Students explore the processes/techniques of animation rigging and its relationship to realistic simulation of dynamic objects. Prereq: DACD 3820 and acceptance into DAC (FINE-BFA ANI). Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: DACD 3820 and acceptance into DAC (FINE-BFA ANI)
A lecture/lab course exploring the theory/techniques of creating visual effects sequences. Students explore how to develop complete effects shots, including shooting live plates, camera tracking, visual effects, and compositing, with an emphasis on artistic excellence through application of current 3D technologies. Prereq: DACD 2830, DACD 2850, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: DACD 2830, DACD 2850, and acceptance into DAC (FINE-BFA ANI)
The first in a three-semester capstone experience focusing on the DAC-BFA thesis short. Students assemble a team, organize/develop production management tools, story animatic, and begin work on a high-production-value short or experience through an academic simulation of a real-world studio pipeline. Prereq: DACD 2830, DACD 2850, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: DACD 2830, DACD 2850, and acceptance into DAC (FINE_BFA ANI)
The second in a three-semester capstone experience focusing on the production/post-production of the BFA thesis short. With teams formed and production plans set and initiated in DACD 3846: Production I, the student team completes its high-production-value animated short or experience. Prereq: DACD 3845 or DACD 3846, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: DACD 3845 or DACD 3846, and acceptance into DAC (FINE_BFA ANI)
The final semester of the DAC capstone experience focusing on finalizing their DAC-Senior-Short, preparing the student to enter the professional-world/graduate school, confirming their BFA Thesis presenting their body of work, website, demo-reel, and professional personal branding/resumes and becoming skilled at cover letters. Prereq: DACD 3845 or DACD 3846, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
Prereq: DACD 3845 or DACD 3846, and acceptance into DAC (FINE_BFA ANI)
Fine Arts (FINE)
Through discussions, readings, writings and creative investigations, students will delve into theoretical and experiential approaches to creativity and consider how different kinds of creativity and passions can be identified, cultivated and leveraged in their current and future academic and professional lives. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, Arts.
The course introduces visual analysis and critical examination of art from prehistory to modern times. Through reading, vocabulary development, group discussions, tests, and research projects, students will learn how to appreciate art and critically evaluate form, content, and context. Max hours: 3 Credits. GT: Course is approved by the Colorado Dept of Higher Education for statewide guaranteed transfer, GT-AH1.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Additional Information: GT courses GT Pathways, GT-AH1, Arts Hum: Arts Expression; Denver Core Requirement, Arts.
This course is a look at world political, economic, social, and technological challenges through the lens of animation and visual storytelling. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, International Perspectives.
Through discussions, readings, writings, and creative investigations, students will identify and evaluate the digital tools and software present in everyday life while they explore and learn the basics of computer code and the power of code as a creative tool. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
By investigating various methods and theories, this course will examine how stories are crafted to fit the interactive aspects of video games, their resemblance and dependence on traditional stories, and how unorthodox plots, characters, and impact game play. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, Arts.
Typically Offered: Fall.
This course explores the act of drawing as a process of visual thought as an initial step to artistic expression. Students will develop an understanding of the basic principles of drawing as a way of learning to see. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Freshman level students. Repeatable. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Restriction: Restricted to Freshman level students
Students learn fundamentals of digital photography through creative assignments that promote a broad understanding of the photographic medium. Topics include digital camera operation, sizing and resolution, principles of design, and interpreting photographic meaning. This course is designed for non-art majors. Restriction: Open to all students except FINE-BFA & BA. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Open to all students except FINE-BFA BA
Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Students learn traditional, film-based photographic practice. Topics such as camera functions, film processing, black and white darkroom printing, and alternative darkroom techniques are explored through demonstrations, critiques, readings, and discussions of historical and contemporary photography. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Focuses on the concepts and visual elements of all forms of two-dimensional art. Students gain an understanding of basic design principles as they analyze and visually articulate formal concerns in viewing contemporary and historical artworks as applied to studio problems. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A core course for majors and non-majors Visual Culture: Ways of Seeing explores how the meaning of imagery is encoded in cultural settings and transforms globally through changing technology and is integrated into daily life. Max hours: 3 Credits. GT: Course is approved by the Colorado Dept of Higher Education for statewide guaranteed transfer, GT-AH1.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Additional Information: GT courses GT Pathways, GT-AH1, Arts Hum: Arts Expression; Denver Core Requirement, Arts.
Students explore the elements of art and the principles of design applied to three-dimensional design while developing an understanding of material properties, techniques, processes and tools. Creative practice is accompanied by written, theoretical and verbal critical thinking skills. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A lecture/lab course that explores the foundations of creating digital 3D content. Primary focus is an introduction to current 3D software. Class lectures, demonstrations and hands-on application will expose the student to the expectations for commercial high-end 3D animation production. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall.
An online course that explores the theory, practices and fundamentals of the producing 3D animation. Students will explore the foundations of the animation process Note: Offered through Extended Studies. Must provide sufficiently powered computer. See www.cu3d.org Computer Graphics Certificate for details. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A lecture/lab course that explores the foundations of animation. Primary focus is an introduction to foundational animation techniques and methods. Class lectures, demonstrations and hands-on application will expose the student the expectations for high-end animation production. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall.
An online course that explores the foundations of creating digital 3D content. Primary focus is an introduction to current 3D software. Note: Offered through Extended Studies. Must provide sufficiently powered computer. See www.cu3d.org Computer Graphics Certificate for details. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Students will learn to design characters and environments based on experimentations with color, proportion, texture, and expression that add depth and context to a story. Students will examine the history of character design and environment as applied to animation, children’s books, and toys identifying how practical and cultural processes influence design. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall.
Students explore complex problems in the representation of space and learn observational drawing methods. Perceptual and constructed perspective is utilized to visualize three-dimensional form. Contemporary and historical artworks are studied with emphasis on the design of effective compositions. Prereq: FINE 1100. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1100
This course introduces the student to the human figure, addressing anatomy, movement and proportion. Discussion of historic and contemporary critical methods supplement studio practice. Exploring a variety of drawing media, students expand their drawing skills and relate the principles of composition and design to figure drawing. Prereq: FINE 1100. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1100
Introduces collaborative interdisciplinary design and innovation from a human perspective. Using the wide array of Inworks prototyping facilities, teams of students will design and implement human-oriented projects of increasing scale and complexity, in the process acquiring essential innovation and problem-solving skills. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Students learn digital image manipulation, input and output strategies, and digital camera functions through assignments that emphasize conceptual development. Presentations, readings, projects and class discussions help students gain an understanding of the role of digital imaging in contemporary photography. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course is an introduction to the language of painting. Students will learn to develop composition in layers, working from value to color and from direct observation to abstraction while exploring the range of visual possibilities that painting offers. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A project-based exploration of the design potentials of vector, raster and motion based digital media. Through project critiques, discussion and demonstration students will create projects that examine technology as an art medium and a design strategy. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A project-based exploration of vector, raster, and motion-based digital media. Through project critiques, discussion and demonstration students will create projects explore the creative and expressive potential of digital media. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A studio course that teaches principles of typography and organization that is the foundation of design and artistic practice. Through drawing, editing, and moving typographic forms, students will create projects that examine how typography is used to create meaning. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Through lectures, readings and discussions students explore essential contemporary design movements and designers and their effects on design, visual culture and communication. In addition, students learn and practice critical thinking skills and have the opportunity to learn and practice design processes and problem solving techniques. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A studio devoted to learning the essential design-software needed to complete basic graphic design projects. Through lectures and creative projects students will learn how to create, manipulate, and prepare various types of art files for print or digital publishing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Through lectures, writings, readings, and discussions students will be introduced to Scientific Media Design as a profession as well as the history and emerging directions in the field. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Learn to produce metal castings. Bronze, aluminum and iron are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the new solid form. Learn techniques understand equipment and explore form to create personal artwork using traditional and contemporary methods. Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500. Repeatable. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500
Typically Offered: Fall.
Creative investigation and design are applied towards conceptual ideas while students advance skills in 3D printing, wood, metal, plastics, fibers, vacuum forming. Advancing relationships with materials and tools is the premise for the exploration of individual visual vocabularies. Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500. Repeatable. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500
Typically Offered: Fall.
A lecture course studying Western and non-Western art from prehistory to medieval times, including major artists and periods. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, exams, and writing assignments, students demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the arts. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, Humanities.
A lecture course studying Western and non-Western art from the Renaissance to today, including major artists and periods. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, exams, and writing assignments, students demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the arts. Prerequisite applicable only for FINE-BA majors: FINE 2600. No prerequisite for all others. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BA and FINE 2600
Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, Humanities.
An online course focused on mastery of creating surface models for digital 3D content. Students will develop skills/knowledge about the processes and techniques for building complex 3D objects. Note: Offered through Extended Studies. Must provide sufficiently powered computer. See www.cu3d.org Computer Graphics Certificate for details. Prereq: FINE 1810 or 1812 and 1820 or 1822. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A lecture/lab course focuses on mastery of digital cinematography and visual storytelling. This course translates key production techniques: composition, camera craft, depth of field, camera blocking, and more, into the 3D world. This unique approach bridges the gap between traditional live-action cinematography and cutting-edge 3D animation, giving the students skills/knowledge about cinematic theory, practices and methods, as applied to digital 3D content creation. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall.
An online course focused on mastery of lighting the digital 3D environment. Students will develop skills/knowledge about the processes and techniques for creating realistic 3D lighting. Note: Offered through Extended Studies. Must provide sufficiently powered computer. See www.cu3d.org Computer Graphics Certificate for details. Prereq: FINE 2812 and 2822. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
An online course focused on mastery of skills for creating digital 3D characters. Students will develop skills/knowledge to create digital characters. Note: Offered through Extended Studies. Must provide sufficiently powered computer. See www.cu3d.org Computer Graphics Certificate for details. Prereq: FINE 2812 and 2822. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Created for students doing travel study in a foreign country. Students register through the Office of International Education. Repeatable. Max Hours: 15 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 15.
This course introduces students to the visual language of the graphic novel through the creation of sequential imagery and page development. Students will delve into the pictorial methods found in both historical and contemporary comic books, Manga and alternative cartooning. Prereq: FINE 1100; Prereq: FINE-BFA ILS: FINE 2030. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Students apply traditional and mixed media skills, experimental printmaking, photography, and sculptural space to explore drawing. This course considers drawing as an active medium that can take on multiple dimensions where students create works that experiment with all aspects of the drawn mark and its translations. Prereq: FINE 1100 and FINE 1500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1100 and FINE 1500.
Typically Offered: Fall.
This hybrid course delves into how color is essential to traditional studio-based and digital media artists through focusing on visual color and light perception, color mixing with pigment and digital applications, and the interaction of color. Prereq: FINE 1100, 1400. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course is an exploration of representing the human form in pictorial space. Students will gain a knowledge of figural color, proportion, scale and space; and will understand the conceptual and visual weight carried by expressive gesture and figural form. Prereq: FINE 2030 and FINE 2200. Prereq: FINE-BFA PND: FINE 1100, FINE 1400, FINE 1500, FINE 2155, FINE 2600, FINE 2610. Prereq: PNDW-MIN: FINE 2200. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 2030 and FINE 2200 Prereq FINE-BFA PND: FINE 1100, FINE 1400, FINE 1500, FINE 2155, FINE 2600, FINE 2610 Prereq PNDW-MIN: FINE 2200
Students create artwork using techniques that combine photography and mixed media. Topics include expanding the photograph to a 3-dimensional form, working with light-sensitive materials, and manipulating the print surface. Students develop creative concepts that are enhanced by cross-disciplinary methods. Prereq: FINE 2155. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 2155
In this study abroad seminar course, students develop an understanding of their work within the context of the history of art and photography, particularly the artistic and scientific breakthroughs of the Renaissance, by exposing them to strategies and theories exemplified by the remarkably diverse and historically significant artwork that is available in collections in Florence, Italy. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Typically Offered: Summer.
Investigates the relationship between critical concepts and alternative photographic processes in the unique cultural and artistic setting of Florence, Italy. Students create images using historic photographic methods such as salted paper, P.O.P., albumen, photo-polymer gravure and bromoil. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Students learn lighting techniques that inform the conceptual and aesthetic qualities of their photographs. Topics covered include studio practice; location photography; commercial business practices; shooting and lighting techniques; and professional presentation. Prereq FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 1100, FINE 1150, FINE 1400, FINE 2155, FINE 2600. Prereq: FINE 2155. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 1100, FINE 1150, FINE 1400, FINE 2155, FINE 2600 Prereq: FINE 2155
Students explore traditional color photography, concept development and expressive uses of the medium. Topics include chromogenic printing, color theory, and 4x5 technique in assignments that focus on constructed imagery. Students learn about the creative impact of color on photographic representation. Prereq FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 1100, FINE 1150, FINE 1400, FINE 2155, FINE 2600. Prereq: FINE 1150. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 1100, FINE 1150, FINE 1400, FINE 2155, FINE 2600 Prereq: FINE 1150
Students learn advanced black and white darkroom techniques while translating ideas into photographic form. Techniques include the zone system, split filter printing, toning, montage printing, and film/paper choices. Students gain insight into photographic artists, techniques, and movements. Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO FINE 1100, FINE 1150, FINE 1400, FINE 2155, FINE 2600. Prereq: FINE 1150. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO FINE 1100, FINE 1150, FINE 1400, FINE 2155, FINE 2600. Prereq: FINE 1150
Students learn the fine art of digital printing as it relates to photographic practice and theory. Assignments focus on conceptual development, advanced image manipulation, workflow, color management, and digital ink jet printing. Students gain insight into the role of digital imaging in contemporary culture. Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 1100, FINE 1150, FINE 1400, FINE 2155, FINE 2600. Prereq: FINE 2155. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 1100, FINE 1150, FINE 1400, FINE 2155, FINE 2600 Prereq: FINE 2155
Typically Offered: Fall.
Students develop skills in alternative photographic techniques. Processes covered include camera-less and pinhole photography, reticulation, non-silver printing, liquid emulsions, digital/traditional cross-manipulation. Students gain insights into the relationship between ideas and experimental ways of creating images. Spring only. Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 3161. Prereq: FINE 1150. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Students learn strategies for creating visual narratives through photographic projects that involve the Denver community. Projects incorporate service learning, documentary photography, text and image, digital manipulation, digital printing, scanning, and handmade artist books. Spring only. Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 3161, FINE 3162. Prereq: FINE 2155. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
In this course students develop a body of work that expands on previous course work, to make the transition from assignment-based work to an independent body of work, and to prepare for advanced level study in painting and drawing. Prereq: FINE 2200. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 2200
This course explores the methods of abstraction as applied to painting and drawing. Through developing a body of paintings and drawings, students will gain an understanding of complex formal structures in the development of their work. Prereq: FINE 1100, FINE 2200. Prereq FINE-BFA PND: FINE 1100, FINE 1400, FINE 1500, FINE 2155, FINE 2200, FINE 2600, FINE 2610. Prereq PNDW-MIN: FINE 2200. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1100, FINE 2200 Prereq FINE-BFA PND: FINE 1100, FINE 1400, FINE 1500, FINE 2155, FINE 2200, FINE 2600, FINE 2610 Prereq PNDW-MIN: FINE 2200
This course explores the role of technology in the history of painting/drawing alongside studio practice. Students produce works that explore personal symbolism through the combination of graphically printed and hand-produce marks while utilizing technology as a tool in painting/drawing. Prereq: FINE 1100. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1100
Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
In a design laboratory, students learn how to design for the web and mobile devices. Through lectures, writings, readings, discussion and critiques, students will learn about HTML, CSS, CMS, web hosting, analytics and the principles of UX/UI. Restriction: Restricted to sophomore standing or above. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher.
A design laboratory that teaches advanced principles of typography including multiple page documents and complex typographic systems for print and screen. Students will create complex design projects that explore the relationship between type and image. Prereq: FINE 2415. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 2415
A studio course for non-design-majors that focuses on the basics of storytelling using digital video. Through class projects, screenings, discussions and readings, students explore the concepts of montage and strategies to develop compelling video for artistic and commercial purposes. Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 2155. Note: class may not be taken by Digital Design or Transmedia majors for credit toward degree. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 2155
Students consider the diverse perspectives of clients, viewers, and context while developing concept art and imaginative illustrations. Digital workflows, visual research, and an iterative process are emphasized. Prereq: FINE 3010. Restriction: FINE-BFA ILS or FINE-BFA APC. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3010. Restriction: FINE-BFA ILS or FINE-BFA APC
A course devoted to understanding time based imagery that focuses on utilizing video and motion graphics as a creative communication tool. Students create projects that explore topics using video, animation, time and motion using a non-linear digital editing software. Restriction: Restricted to students with sophomore standing or higher. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher.
In a design laboratory students learn to turn ideas into visual solutions through the application of design principles. Through lectures, writings, readings, discussion and critiques of projects assigned students will build visual literacy in relation to digital design. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG or DIGD-MIN. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restrictions: Restricted to FINE-BFA majors with sub-plan of DIG or DIGD minors within the College of Arts and Media.
This seminar class examines methods and processes used by designers to better understand the content they are asked to communicate while addressing increasingly complex social, technological and economic problems. Class topics will include: user interface and experience design, demographics, storyboarding, branding, and concept mapping. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG or DIGD-MIN. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restrictions: Restricted to FINE-BFA majors with sub-plan of DIG or DIGD minors within the College of Arts and Media.
Through print shop visits, creating, manipulating, and preparing various types of art files for print or digital publishing, students will explore the history, various processes, and file preparation that are essential to producing final designed products. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A foundational interactive design workshop exploring how to convey message and deliver information. Through critiques of projects, discussion and research, students will learn principles of user interface design, aesthetics and structure including their potential cultural impact. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG or DIGD-MIN. Prereq: FINE 3414 and FINE 3415. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3414 and FINE 3415. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG or DIGD-MIN.
A course devoted to 3D as a medium for creating works of art. Through demonstration, discussion, readings and project based explorations, students will learn to navigate and create in the 3D digital environment. Restrictions: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG or DIGD MIN. Prereq: FINE 3444, 3464. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3444, 3464 Restrictions: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG or DIGD MIN
Typically Offered: Fall.
An intermediate interactive design workshop devoted to using interactive design to solve communication and information problems at scale. Through investigations, readings and discussions students will create projects that explore user experience design, accessibility, and advanced research techniques. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG. Prereq: FINE 3424, 3454. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3424, 3454 Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG
Typically Offered: Fall.
An intense course devoted to using time and motion as a medium for communicating ideas and information. Through creative investigations, readings and discussions students explore linkages between non-linear editing, animation and 3-dimensional animation as used in motion graphics. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG. Prereq: FINE 3414 and FINE 3415. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3414, 3415. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG.
Typically Offered: Spring.
In a studio environment students will develop advanced projects using animation, interactivity and motion graphics to create innovative solutions to design problems. Students will learn to apply design theory to practice through discussion, critiques and assigned projects. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG. Prereq: FINE 3424, 3454. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3424, 3454 Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG
Typically Offered: Spring.
A course focused on interactive and emerging applications for creating immersive experiences, with a focus on designing VR and in-person experiences using well-known applications, related technologies, methods, and fields including gaming, experience design, virtual painting, augmented reality, museum/interactive installation. Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher.
Typically Offered: Spring.
Students learn to modify the way a particular space is experienced through material intervention in everyday public or private spaces. Material use incorporates found, fabricated and new media. Prereq: FINE 1100 and FINE 1500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq: FINE 1100 and FINE 1500.
Typically Offered: Spring.
Students create site-specific work to exist in a certain place or describe a specific location. This involves temporary outdoor landscaping combined with sited sculptural elements and gallery exhibition. The formal, political, historical, public, ecological, geographical and social context of the urban/rural environment will be explored. Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500. Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500
3D printing, mold making, and soft sculpture using rubber, resins, alginate and plaster to cast and build in metal, resin, glass, synthetics, concrete, plastic, paper and biodegradable materials. Exploration of multiples, life size and small-scale forms with personal imagery. Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500
Typically Offered: Fall.
Students connect with professional/visiting artists installing public art works in Denver. Public relations, installation techniques, curatorial and administration skills are developed. Students learn to establish, maintain and promote public art collections. Prereq FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500
Provides the art student (sculpture majors and non-majors) with a focused opportunity to look at contemporary sculpture, installation and performance art, and to examine the philosophical issues, processes, and methods, motivating practicing artists today. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course will focus on contemporary professional practices and will cover topics such as project planning, an introduction to computer-aided design, fabrication, and digital outsourcing for the production of sculptural works. Prereq: FINE 1500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq: FINE 1500
Typically Offered: Fall.
Video, sound and projection in contemporary sculpture. Introduction to sensors and motors and data visualization. A bridge between the digital laboratory and the sculpture studio in the context of object making, gallery and networked media. Prereq FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500, FINE 3405. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500, FINE 3405
Typically Offered: Spring.
A maquette is model created to visualize a larger sculpture or character for inclusion in illustration or animation development. Students work in wide ranging media and a variety of approaches to conceptualize personal 2D, 3D and 4D imagery. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall.
Students learn traditional and innovative mold making techniques for casting iron. Casting techniques include working with found objects, lost wax, ceramic shell and sand molds. Furnace design and equipment fabrication are researched. Public performance is integral to the class. Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500
This course addresses varying topics and trends in sculpture. Students produce work focused on issues in the professional field and develop their voice as an artist through thematic exploration. Course content rotates each semester to cover the dynamics of the field. Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500. Repeatable. Max hours: 12 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 12.
Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500
This course addresses topics and trends in studio art. Students produce work focused on issues in the professional field and develop their voice as an artist through thematic exploration. Course content adapts to cover the dynamics of the field. Prereq: FINE 1100, FINE 1500 and FINE 2200. Repeatable. Max hours: 12 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 12.
Prereq: FINE 1100, FINE 1500 and FINE 2200.
Typically Offered: Fall.
This course addresses varying topics and trends in illustration. Students produce work exploring contemporary issues in the professional realm and develop their distinctive illustrative voice through multiple media. Course content rotates each semester to cover the dynamics of the field. Prereq: FINE 2010. Repeatable. Max Hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Prereq: FINE 2010
Students examine the history of photography from its origins to the present. Emphasis is placed on photography as an artistic medium. Topics covered include important movements, photographers, and technical innovations, as well as photographer's broader role in visual culture. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Students investigate the historical texts of photographic criticism. Readings relate to photography as a fine art form, concentrating on 1970 to the present. Through discussions, readings and critical writing, students examine and appreciate the significance of photographic theory. Spring only. Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 3630. Restriction: All other students must be at sophomore-, junior-, or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 3630. Restriction: All other students must be at sophomore-, junior-, or senior-level standing.
Students investigate trends in fine art photography from 1990 through the present. By examining current topics, styles, and techniques students gain insights into contemporary photographic practice and its relationship to the history and future of the medium. Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 3630. Restriction: All other students must be at sophomore-, junior-, or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 3630. Restriction: All other students must be at sophomore-, junior-, or senior-level standing.
Students examine social issues relating to non-dominant cultures, minority groups, biases, and privileges through the lens of photographic imagery. Lectures, discussions, and assignments offer insights into the ways that photography both reflects and impacts attitudes about cultural diversity in the United States. Restriction: Restricted to students with Junior standing or higher. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Junior standing or higher.
Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, Cultural Diversity.
Variable: Art History lecture course pertaining to art before Modernism. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
Variable: Art History lecture course pertaining to art since Modernism. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture-based course about developments in art and architecture of China, Japan, and Korea after 1850. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, International Perspectives.
This studio course is focused on the foundation creature animation skills practiced in most VFX houses today. Students will explore the process and techniques of keyframe and pose-to-pose animation. Considerations include character performance, behaviors, physical constraints, and motion through space with an emphasis on artistic excellence through applications of current 3D technologies. The focus being believability and nuance learned by careful study of live-action footage. Term offered: fall, spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
A studio course focused on the art and science of node-based digital compositing for live-action film and video. Students will develop skills/knowledge about the processes involved in combining, altering and enhancing live action footage using industry standard tools and techniques. Term offered: fall, spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
An online course is an introduction to Motion Graphics, devoted to understanding time based imagery that focuses on utilizing video, typography and 3D content as a creative communication tool. Students will create projects that explore video, animation, time and motion. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Exploring Storyboarding will help you fall in love with making cinema. This course is a foundation to the art and craft of visual storytelling. This course teaches the language film, and techniques for illustrating action, composition, character, and drama.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course explores narrative methods used in animation, film, and connects film theory to visual storytelling. This course empowers you to engage with story process, and understand film theory as an interesting, integral, part of the visual storytelling creative process. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A lecture/lab course covering the foundations of the cinematic storyboarding process/techniques used for previsualization in the film, entertainment design and game industries. Students will develop skills/ knowledge for creating storyboards study and understand film theory, storytelling, film language and grammar, and filmic composition. Prereq: FINE 3841 or Junior standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3841 or Junior standing
A seminar course focused on the story development/preproduction phases for the DAC senior thesis short. The principle focus of the course will be story development, preproduction activities and organizing the production team and production pipeline for the thesis short. Prereq: DACD 2830 or DACD 2850, Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A lecture/lab course exploring the theory/techniques of dynamic and particle simulations for 3D content. Students explore how to develop effects (smoke, fire, steam, explosions) and dynamic materials (cloth), with an emphasis on artistic excellence through application of current 3D technologies. Restriction: Restricted to Junior standing or higher. Acceptance into DAC. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Junior standing or higher.
Students will learn how to utilize and navigate Unreal Engine to produce interactive stories and immersive environments in a lecture-lab classroom. Students will build virtual worlds that use lighting, surface design, environments, and interactions to tell stories highlighting personal experiences and socially conscious narratives in a virtual production environment. Restriction: Restricted to Junior standing or higher. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Junior standing or higher.
Typically Offered: Fall.
Designed experiences involving application of specific, relevant concepts and skills in supervised employment situations. Repeatable. Max Hours: 12 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 12.
Created for students doing travel study in a foreign country. Students register through the Office of International Education. Repeatable. Max Hours: 15 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 15.
Through research, discussion and projects, students learn marketing, copyright and business practices necessary for a career as an illustrator or artist. Students will develop professional materials, identify potential markets and implement a plan to promote their work. Restriction: FINE-BFA or FINE-BA and junior or senior class standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BFA DRW: FINE 3220, 3230, and 3310
Students will learn to use writing, research methods, and market analysis to develop original and unique approaches to illustration. Projects will explore how media choices and production processes impact potential markets and responses from the public. Prereq: FINE 3410. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA ILS majors within the College of Arts & Media. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3410. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA ILS majors within the College of Arts Media.
Typically Offered: Spring.
Students will examine historical and contemporary trends in illustration while developing a research topic and writing a thesis paper. Students will produce new work and illicit responses from faculty and outside industry mentors as they begin to prepare a professional illustration portfolio. Prereq: FINE 4001. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA ILS majors within the College of Arts and Media. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 4001. Restriction: FINE-BFA ILS
Typically Offered: Fall.
Students will present their thesis project proposal, create original illustrations for their BFA Thesis exhibition and develop a professional illustration portfolio. Students will be expected to document their process and implement a promotional plan in order to build an audience for their work. Prereq: FINE 4002. Restriction: FINE-BFA ILS. Repeatable. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq: FINE 4002. Restriction: FINE-BFA ILS
Typically Offered: Spring.
An intensive study of the human figure, focusing on its structure, movement and proportions. Skeletal and muscular systems are explored in depth using the classic texts of artistic anatomy to enhance students' drawings from observation. Prereq: FINE 2030. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 2030
Through intensive participatory workshops, study tours, and lectures this class examines the advantages of interdisciplinary community-based collaboration. This class also examines the complexities of cross disciple collaborations including multiple professional agendas, political and business establishments and the needs of the community. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Typically Offered: Summer.
Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Students create an independent body of photographic work that integrates sophisticated concepts with technical mastery. Through critiques, presentations and discussions, students relate subject matter to historical and contemporary context. Students build expertise in the area of professional development in photography. Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 3156, 3160, 3171, 3172, and 3630. Prereq: FINE 3161, 3162, 3171. Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Prereq: FINE-BFA PHO: FINE 3156, 3160, 3171, 3172, and 3630. Prereq: FINE 3161, 3162, 3171
Typically Offered: Fall.
Students create an independent body of photographic work that integrates sophisticated concepts with technical mastery. Through critiques, presentations and discussions, students relate subject matter to historical and contemporary context. Students build expertise in the area of professional development in photography. Prereq: FINE 4195. Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Prereq: FINE 4195.
This is the first level of advanced studies in art practices where students create a body of work that expresses a more complex individual vision. Students learn to develop their creative work with self-selected materials and processes in support of focused concepts. Prereq: FINE 1100, FINE 1500, and FINE 2200. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq: FINE 1100, FINE 1500 and FINE 2200.
Typically Offered: Fall.
Repeatable. Max hours: 12 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 12.
Specialized topics are offered in new design technologies, theories, processes and conceptual thinking. Course subjects are unique and changing semester to semester. Restriction: Restricted to students with junior standing or higher or with special permission. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Restriction: Restricted to Junior standing or higher.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Set up as a collaborative studio, students learn to identify problems in the cultural and urban environment and design solutions that address those problems. Through discovery and research students will learn how design can be a catalyst for change. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG or DIGD-MIN or FINE-BFA 3D ANI or SCOM. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG or DIGD-MIN or FINE-BFA 3D ANI or SCOM.
Typically Offered: Fall.
This theory/research-oriented course teaches students in media and technical fields how to tell stories interactively using 360-degree video and computer-generated scenes that subjects experience through leading virtual reality headsets. We will touch on creating content for larger format immersive experiences. Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher. Max Hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher.
An advanced interactive design workshop where students will use current industry tools to explore a range of topics such as emerging technologies, design interactive prototypes, and experiential design. Through prototyping, discussion, readings, and critiques, students will create unique projects that explore contemporary and futurist topics. Prereq: FINE 3444. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3444. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG.
A course that examines the role of the art director in virtual production, including motion pictures, television and game design. This course focuses on the process of world building, and interaction design from the standpoint of the virtual production art director. Students will work on projects that give them hands on experience in virtual art direction for entertainment productions. Restriction: Restricted to Junior standing or higher. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Junior standing or higher.
Typically Offered: Fall.
This course provides an overview of the concepts and principles of e-commerce website design and selling your products online. The content is geared toward design students who would like to build web stores for clients or yourself. By the end of the course, students will be able to create and manage their own online store. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall.
An intense workshop-laboratory devoted to advanced motion design techniques. Through creative investigation, the study of motion theory and hierarchy, compositing, filming techniques, broadcast parameters, aesthetics, typography and technical issues students will develop the in-depth knowledge necessary to excel as design professionals. Prereq: FINE 3454. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 3454. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG.
In a studio environment students will explore place in relation to contemporary digital art practice. Through readings, lectures and production of projects assigned, students will create work that addresses the natural, urban and virtual environment. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-DIG: FINE 3414, 3415, 3424 or FINE-BFA SMD: FINE 3414, 3415, and 3424 or FINE-BFA TRM: FINE 3434 and 3438
A studio course where students learn to develop 'nudge' solutions through the use of behavioral methods and theories. A 'nudge' is an attempt to influence people’s choices and behavior in a predictable way without limiting their options or significantly changing incentives. Through field trips and observation, students will gain knowledge and skills in the field of behavioral design, including dual cognitive processing, choice architecture, behavioral mapping, and cognitive biases. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
In our data and information-rich society, visual representations of data can be useful for making sense of available information and fostering understanding. This course engages students in critique existing work and encourages a thoughtful design process toward creation of information graphics and simple data/information visualizations. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq: FINE 3015/1015 or FINE-BFA DIG and FINE 3444 or FINE-BFA SMD and FINE 2030, 3444, BIOL 2061 and BIOL 2081 or FINE-BFA ANI: FINE 1820, 2810, and 2830
Typically Offered: Fall.
Sophisticated graphical components can help a viewing audience understand complex scientific information more clearly. This project-based learning course engages students in creation of thoughtful graphic explanations of science for the purpose of enhancing scientific presentations and audience comprehension. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
3D Animation can be a powerful tool for telling stories rooted in science and medicine. This course provides opportunity to learn from existing animated works while honing skills in storyboarding, narrative and 3D animation with focus on biology, science, and health education. SMD students explore and research BFA thesis topics. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq: FINE-BFA SMD + FINE 3434, 4020 and 4446 Prereq: FiNE-BFA DIG + FINE 3434 and 3444
Through lectures, discussions and conducting onsite research in international settings, students will become familiar with professional practitioners’ Perspectives and experiences in the field of socially engaged design while interrogating current practices, policies, and expectations that inform community engagement and by Design. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Typically Offered: Summer.
Through lectures, studio visits and research, students will engage the profession and examine the role of the artist as a designer. Projects will focus on resumes, interview techniques, portfolio and business practices to prepare students for entering the design profession. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG. Prereq: FINE 4400. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 4400 Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG
Typically Offered: Fall.
Through critique, research, and writing students will critically explore a thesis topic and develop professional quality visual solutions. Students will create work that expresses their personal artistic vision in relation to significant contemporary and historical artists and practice. Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG. Prereq: FINE 4480. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 4480 Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BFA DIG
Typically Offered: Spring.
Students apply traditional and mixed media drawing skills, photography and digital reproduction to depict the sculptural object in two and three-dimensional space. Students learn to construct small-scale models and develop sculpture proposals. Drawing as sculpture medium is explored. FINE BFA APC: FINE 1500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
Prereq: FINE-BFA APC: FINE 1500.
Typically Offered: Spring.
Students in this course develop a body of work that expresses complex individual vision across media. Students learn to develop their artistic practice with self-directed processes in support of focused concepts in multiple studio areas. Prereq: FINE 1100, FINE 1500, FINE 2200. Coreq: FINE 4950 (BFA Art Practices students only). Restriction: Restricted to undergraduate students with sophomore standing or higher. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq: FINE 1100, FINE 1500, FINE 2200. Coreq: FINE 4950 (BFA Art Practices students only). Restriction: Restricted to undergraduate students with sophomore standing or higher.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
The interdisciplinary course introduces students to the methods and concepts of contemporary site-specific art as critical theory through lecture and critique and as practice in the rural/urban landscape and studio along Ireland's County Clare coastline in the Burren region. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Additional Information: Global Education Study Abroad.
Variable: Art History lecture course pertaining to art before Modernism. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
Variable: Art History lecture course pertaining to art since Modernism. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A seminar about museums and art galleries as institutions for the preservation and exhibition of cultural materials. Through writing assignments, discussions, site visits, and analysis, students will demonstrate knowledge and critical thinking on the display of art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course involving the history of design from the Industrial Revolution to the present. The course will address the graphic design, typography, architecture, "Decorative arts", and new media from each period/major design movement in that time frame. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course on the art and architecture of Mesoamerica and the Andes before the Spanish conquest. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams, and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Cross-listed with FINE 5610. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course on the art of the United States from colonial times to World War II. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course studying Latin American art of 1520-1820, including major artists and periods. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, exams, and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the arts. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Cross-listed with FINE 5630. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course on art and architecture from ancient Greece and Rome. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course critically examining the art and architecture of an expansively defined medieval world across themes including geographies and peoples, materials, identities and medievalisms. Through close engagement with artworks and texts, students will gain new perspectives on the diversity of medieval art. Prereq: Visual Arts majors: FINE 2600 (Art History Survey I) and FINE 2610 (Art History Survey II) or permission of the instructor. All other students must be of junior or senior standing or have the permission of the instructor. Cross-listed with FINE 5680. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: Visual Arts majors: FINE 2600 FINE 2610 or permission of the instructor; all other students must be of junior or senior standing or have the permission of the instructor.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
A lecture course about developments in Italian Renaissance art and architecture. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course about developments in Northern Renaissance art and architecture. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course on Italy, Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
This lab course provides students with the opportunity to execute practical applications in the use of digital 3D media for commercial and/or non-profit venue. Repeatable. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 3.
A lecture course on art and architecture of the Islamic world from the emergence of Islam in the 7th century to c. 1850. Students will engage in visual and contextual analyses, object-based research, and vocabulary acquisition. Prereq: Visual Arts Majors (FINE-BFA) - FINE 2610 with a C or higher. All other students must be of junior standing, or have permission of the instructor to enroll. FINE 2610 with a C or higher. All other students must be of junior standing or have permission of the instructor to enroll. Cross-listed with FINE 5715. Term offered: fall. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE BFA: FINE 2610 with a C or higher. All other students must be of junior standing or have permission of the instructor to enroll.
Typically Offered: Fall.
A lecture course on selected themes and periods in Japanese art. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course on selected themes and periods in the arts and architecture of China. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A lecture course on selected themes and periods in the arts of India and Southeast Asia. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
A seminar about the various research methodologies in the history of art. Through reading, discussion, research,writing assignments, and presentations, students will demonstrate knowledge of art historiography. Prereq: FINE-BA: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610; ENGL 2070 or ENGL 3084 or ENGL 4180 or ENGL 4280. Prereq: FINE-BFA: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610. All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE-BA: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610; ENGL 2070 or ENGL 3084 or ENGL 4180 or ENGL 4280. Prereq: FINE-BFA: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610. All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
Typically Offered: Fall.
A lecture/lab course covering the 3D visualization of architectural projects. Students will develop skills/ knowledge about the techniques for creating realistic 3D models, texturing, lighting, and presentation. Special emphasis will be placed creating realism in modeling, materials, lighting, and professional renderings. Prereq: FINE 1820. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: FINE 1820
Repeatable. Max Hours: 12 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 12.
Studio: BFA Thesis involves the preparation, exhibition and critical faculty response to students’ Creative work. Course work focuses on contemporary trends in the arts, the commerce of the arts and the professional practices necessary to an artist’ Self-promotion. Coreq: FINE 4515 (BFA Art Practices students only). Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
Coreq: FINE 4515 (BFA Art Practices students only).
A seminar that emphasizes creative and original research through the composition of a substantial paper on a topic in art history. Through discussion, presentations, and individual readings, students will demonstrate skills in research, writing, and critical thinking. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Prereq: FINE 4790 Restriction: Restricted to FINE-BA majors with a sub-plan of ART within the College of Arts and Media.
A lecture course about developments in Modernist art and architecture from the late 18th century to 1960. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of the period’s historical developments and an ability to analyze its art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA and FINE-BFA majors ONLY. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
This lecture course will address ways in which gender issues have affected the creation and study of visual arts since the early 20th century, with an emphasis on art and culture since World War II. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
From prehistoric traditions to modern revivals, tattooing has proved to be an enduring feature of artistic practice. The seminar will analyze examples of tattoos from different cultures and contexts, so as to understand the variety in form and function. Prereq: FINE 2600: Art History Survey I and FINE 2610: Art History Survey II. Cross-listed with FINE 5981. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
A lecture course about developments in art and architecture since 1960. Through visual analysis, vocabulary acquisition, discussion, exams and writing assignments, students will demonstrate knowledge of historical developments and an ability to analyze the art. Prereq: FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq FINE 2600 and FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing.
Variable: Art History seminar pertaining to art before Modernism. Prereq: FINE 2610 for FINE-BA and FINE-BFA majors ONLY. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Prereq FINE-BFA/FINE-BA: FINE 2610
Variable: Art History seminar pertaining to Modern and contemporary art. Prereq: FINE 2610 for FINE-BA or FINE-BFA majors only. Restriction: All other students must be at junior- or senior-level standing. Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Prereq FINE-BFA/FINE-BA: FINE 2610
Created for students doing travel study in a foreign country. Students register through the Office of International Education. Repeatable. Max hours: 15 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 15.
Additional Information: Global Education Study Abroad.
Typically Offered: Summer.