1. Introduction
to Computer Graphics

• Review of computer basics

• Basic graphic hardware and software characteristics

• The "Paint Program"

Review of Computer Basics

See also Introduction to Computers

This course is designed to provide you with many hours of fun and enjoyment. The more we learn of our computer's capabilities the more we will enjoy it. As our knowledge base expands we become good friends with our personal computer. Today's home computer is a tool which is hard to relinquish. It is also hours of challenging relaxation. It is a tool for other hobbies. Never allow yourself to become frustrated by this inanimate object. Always remember that it is merely a recorder/player. All of the instructions are stored by programmers. They will not always anticipate all of your needs. Be patient with them and yourself. Your dialog with the software is always a learning experience. Practice, Practice, and more Practice. (With Patience)

MOST OF ALL - HAVE FUN

In this course you will be introduced to hardware and software used by home based personal computers. The computers, printers, and software available in the computer laboratory will be the basis for the material presented. A digital camera will be available to allow students to scan images into digital form. The course will allow the student to become familiar with various software packages and the tools they provide. The most basic will be the Paint program which comes with the operating system. Class participants will be expected to practice between classes and they will be encouraged to take on projects. Progress can only be made with practice.

LESSON 1
GETTING STARTED

During this course we will be working with several software applications simultaneously. This is referred to as multitasking. In this session we want to look at the hardware attributes as they relate to how the graphics appear on both the monitor and as printed output. There needs to be some continuity between the hardware and software.

Hardware

Resolution determines the amount of information which can be displayed.
A "PIXEL " is the smallest element displayed on a monitor screen. Resolution is measured by the number of horizontal and vertical pixels. The number of horizontal pixels is stated first followed by the number of vertical ones. Lower resolution monitors are 640 x 480 pixels. Higher resolution monitors are more expensive and the more common ones are 1280 x 1024.

The number of colors a monitor can display determines how realistic images appear. More colors result in more realistic images. The more common home used monitors are 256 colors. Some are only 16 colors. The number of bits used to define a color determines the number of colors available. 16 colors are 4-bit color. 256 colors are 8-bit color. 65536 colors are 16-bit color. Most modern monitors can be adjusted to use the number of colors you select. More colors use more memory. Older monitors which displayed 16 colors at a resolution of 640 x 480 were called Video Graphics Array (VGA) monitors. Newer Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) monitors display more colors and higher resolutions.

A video card has memory chips which temporarily store information before sending it to the monitor. To work successfully with photos you need a good video card, one with a minimum of 1 MB of Video Random Access Memory (VRAM). The bottom line is to have sufficient hardware to satisfy you, the user. As home users we should not expect professional quality for non-professional prices.

The resolution of printers is provided in dots per inch (dpi). Dot-matrix printers usually are not satisfactory for printing graphics other than clipart. A dot-matrix printer produces typewriter-quality documents. Ink Jet printers have higher resolutions, the standard was 720 dpi. Laser printers normally have resolutions of 1200 dpi. A color laser printer has superior output to an ink jet printer but it is more expensive. Printers which are affordable for photo quality are now becoming available. The better the quality the slower the printing speed for the same price range printers. Dye Sublimation printers are the most expensive and they produce images which appear like color photographs. These are mainly used by professionals, individuals can take photos on a floppy disk and have them printed at a print shop.

Software

Graphics software is the stored instructions which allows the operator of a computer to manage and process graphical information. The proliferation of graphics software in recent years has been tremendous. Software vendors have seen that profits can be made by keeping pace with technology advances in hardware. Software prices are low as little or no overhead is required. Companies like Seattle Film Works give software away when you use their film developing services. Manufactures of scanning equipment and digital cameras give graphics software away with their products. Shareware is available for a free trial basis on the Internet. This is to encourage the user to become familiar with the product in hopes that a more inclusive package with additional features will be purchased. One thing to keep in mind is that all graphics software comes from the same central or essential part of the operating system. That is to say all tools and commands originate in the basic graphics of the operating system itself. Second party vendors merely take the commands available to them and repackage them for you. For this reason it is extremely important that you learn and understand all of the commands and basic tools available in the MS Windows Paint software. All of the other graphics software you use will relate back to it in some fashion. This second party software makes the user's job easier and gives you lots of added flexibility. In this course we will use as many software packages as possible such that you can notice all the similarity and common features. Notice that the common features have different names used by different vendors. This is to provide protection of copyright laws. No matter which product you may have available to you on computers outside of the class room, you should still be able to do the exercises.

First we will review all of the basic computing principles of file management, editing, and formatting. We will then study the Paint software in detail. All of the commands and tools will be investigated. Multiple copies of Paint documents will be used simultaneously such that the various copy and paste commands can be used. Pasting with transparent backgrounds will be accomplished. During the week you should use all of the features of Paint to create a graphic. Save the graphic to discuss next week and share with the class particulars you learned or became more familiar with. We will start each class with a review and share period. This course is intended to provide you with many hours of fun and enjoyment. Every individual learns at their own pace and in their own way. Discussion and demonstration are two good ways to learn. Demonstrate to others what you learn.

Class Exercises

The only way to learn is to practice. In order to provide the class with opportunity to learn exercises will be provided. These exercises are a minimum. You are encouraged to be creative and use your imagination to come up with other projects and tasks. File space for your work will be provided on the computer you use during class. The path for your files will be provided. You can take work home but you are responsible for protecting your computer from viruses. Also be careful to use clean disks when bringing files into the classroom.

Class participants will be given the opportunity to experience new ways to become aquatinted with graphics software and it's capabilities by performing tasks. For the most part these tasks will be very general in nature, allowing the participant to use his ingenuity and develop his own style. We will attempt to use class time to share what we have discovered. There will usually be one or more tasks associated with each class. These tasks will have the following characteristics:

1. Have learning objectives.
2. Are doable and can be facilitated.
3. Can be evaluated and extend the learning process.
4. Are fun and creative.

Graphics Index .... Simple Immages

TASK 1 - Sign Creation

SUMMARY
(Revised 7/30/00)

( They provide choices for the user. )

( Some people refer to applications as Software or Programs. )

Applications are files; Applications are objects.