INSTRUCTOR
Zak Zych
Ben Shasserre
Jenny Gibbons
Daivd Haley
Zak Zych
John Schmitt
Tony Carosella
Mike Swoboda
Tim Linder
John Schmitt
Mike Swoboda
Tony Carosella
John Schmitt
Tim Linder
Mark Pennycuick
David Haley
Ben Shasserre
Tony Carosella
Joe Rollins
Charles LaGarce
Tony Carosella
Tim Linder
Richard Sprengeler
Daivd Haley
Tony Carosella
Darren Thompson
Tony Carosella
TITLE
Photoshop CC for Pros: First Step
Ez Websites for Pros: First Step
Ebooks with Smashwords
InDesign CC for Pros: First Step
Photoshop CC for Pros: Next Step
Illustrator CC for Pros: First Step
Final Cut Pro X- Video Edit: First Step
Restore & Repair Old Photos: First Step
AfterEffects for Pros: First Step
Illustrator CC for Pros: Next Step
Restore & Repair Old Photos: Next Step
Final Cut Pro X- Video Edit: Next Step
3D Printing Workshop
AfterEffects for Pros: Next Step
Adobe Edge Animate CC
Adobe Muse: Web Design
Website Design w/Wordpress
GoPro Camera
Maya
Intro. to Photoshop Lightroom 5
Avid Media Composer 8
Basic Game & Sim Design
Digital Architectural Photos
InDesign CC for Pros: Next Step
Social Media Marketing
Sketch Up
Drones for Video & Photo
SEC.
Changes to AAS in Graphic
Communication Degree
Where To Vote project
One of the great assets of the Graphic
Communications program at STLCC—
Meramec is our faculty, who go out of their
way to provide “real world” experiences for
our students. Two great examples of the
projects that provide this experience come
from Michael Swoboda, Assistant Professor,
in Graphic Design IV.
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Digital
Arts and
Technology
Alliance
OUR MISSION
2015
The “Where and How to Vote” project involves
design of printed materials that help educate
citizens on the electoral process. Posters were
created to encourage individuals to volunteer
as election judges at the various polling places
in St. Louis County.
The Digital Arts and Technology Alliance at STLCC—Meramec offers the
latest digital technology resources to support courses and workshops through
a multidisciplinary partnership of career and digital media programs that offer
AAS degrees, Certificates of Specialization and Continuing Education workshops
designed to meet the needs of professionals. This Center meets world class/global
standards of excellence through the skills of faculty and staff who are expert in the
use of the most advanced digital equipment and programs available. Students are
trained on the latest industry—standard computer hardware and software, gaining
skills within the professional fields and requirements of graphic artists, animators,
interior designers, architectural technicians, web designers, interactive designers,
etc. A large portion of the Center is contained in the Art Department at STLCC—
Meramec, one of the few community college art departments in the nation that
is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The close
association with this department provides hand, visual and technology skills taught
in the same building, allowing students a greater realization of the cross—disciplinary
benefits that can be incorporated into imaging design.
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Fall
Starting in the spring semester of 2016, students
seeking to earn the AAS degree in graphic
communications will have the option to switch to
new requirements or stay with the older program.
One major change includes two options for the
area of concentration rather than the current four.
The new areas of concentration will be Graphic
Design/Illustration and Animation/New Media.
Another significant change is the reduction of the
total number of credits required from 70—72 to
66—68. This will allow students to graduate and
move to the business world or transfer to a four—
year institution more quickly.
Students who enroll in the program or select the
program beginning in June 2016, will follow the
new requirements.
For details and more information, contact
314-984-7626 or email at mswoboda@stlcc.edu.
STAFFNEWS
3D printing
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DRONES
MANAGER’S
MUSINGS
in Photography & Video
With all the advances in technology, the popular press often features some of these advances, from 3D
printing to virtual reality. The use of drones (more formally known as Unmanned Aerial Systems – UAS)
frequently makes the headlines. The use of drones varies widely, from delivery of small packages —such as
medical supplies delivered to rural areas in some states— to inspecting pipelines. Equipping drones with still
and/or video cameras has emerged as a popular application. With high resolution digital cameras attached, a
drone becomes a very mobile platform to provide a point of view from grass level to hundreds of feet in the
air. These unusual perspectives can show us large buildings or tacks of land or show visually intriguing images.
Faculty and staff in the Department of Design, Visual
and Performing Arts go to great lengths to know what
is going on the art world in the region. We do this in
several ways, including (for Graphic Communications
and Digital Media) meetings with professionals in this
area, such as the Professional Advisory Council and
regular Tech Scans.
Whenever we ask the professionals, “What are you
looking for in a new hire?” we hear the basic skills
needed as one would expect; however, other skills
come up more often than “a working knowledge of the
basic software.” Here are some of the skills mentioned
frequently:
• The ability to communicate verbally and in writing.
• Flexibility in working with a wide variety of people.
• Critical thinking skills are a must.
• The ability to follow a workflow and work quickly.
• Good organizational skills.
Especially in smaller organization, employers want
employees who can work on their own with little direct
supervision, are reliable and who follow through with
assignments without many reminders.
Some of these are difficult to teach and difficult
to learn. The common factor is that they
all require a certain amount of self-discipline.
Our faculty work hard to incorporate
these expectations in the classes.
Students, how do you measure up?
Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
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Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
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Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
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Don’t fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying
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Don’t fly near people or stadiums
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Don’t fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs.
The US Dept. of Transportation recent released a new guideline saying that drones will be required to be
registered with that department. Recognizing the incomplete nature and tentativeness of these guidelines,
the FAA has promised to release complete rules early next year.
This issue was designed and produced by Graphic
Production class students Irina Pavlova, Tyler
Leiweke, and Darrin Pelloquin.
STLCC—Meramec from
January, 2013 to December,
2014. She majored in Graphic
Communications, earned
the Associate of Applied
Arts degree and now attends
Kansas City Art Institute.
Since our first purchase in spring of 2013, STLCC—
Meramec has earned the reputation for expertise in
3D printing. Thanks to the work by John Schmitt,
DATA Operations Coordinator, our reputation
continues to grow. John has made presentations
on 3D printing to a variety of groups in the St.
Louis area, ranging from professional marketing
organizations to high schools. He teaches a Digital
Arts Workshop on 3D printing, and he has met with
a number of individuals about the processes and
promise of this new technology. John has appeared
on local television. This August, John authored
an article,”3D Printing: A Brief Overview,” on the
Digital Mindshare blog at UMSL. The article was
very well received, and additional inquires on
3D printing have come our way.
SPOTLIGHT
ON ALUMNI
The arrangement provides very positive benefits
to junior and senior high school students. They
can earn college credit that is transferable to
most accredited institutions. The students will be
able to begin their college work with higher level
courses and will be able to graduate sooner or take
additional courses. The Dual Credit program also
reduces the cost of tuition by about half.
Even with the broad areas of application,
the tech scan results provide support for our
current program and good suggestions for continued improvement. Participants emphasized
importance of a solid foundation of basic design
drawing skills and knowledge of color theory.
The need for good communication skills (verbal
and written), interpersonal skills, critical thinking,
creativity, and good organizational skills also
ranked high.
On the technical side, thorough knowledge of
Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign applied to
entry level positions in almost every industry. For
motion media, job candidates must also know After
Effects, Premier or another video editing tool and
Audition or ProTools or similar digital audio editing
software/hardware. Several participants mentioned
the need for fast, efficient colorists, individuals with
good color sense who can adjust color on still photos, video or animations. Another job that students
may not realize as an entry into industry carries the
title “asset management.” People name, categorize
and organize digital files so that they can be quickly
retrieved for use, whether still photos, video clips or
other digital media files. This job requires thorough
knowledge of computer file systems and good
organizational skills.
For individuals who are interested in interactive
design, essential skills include a working knowledge
of HTML (hyper text markup language – the
code use by web browsers), CSS (cascading style
sheets, which control the look of the web site) and
Javascript. Knowledge of usability principles and
user-centered design need to be applied to all digital media. Workers who have these skills and design
skills are currently in high demand. Several of the
tech scan participants predicted that the demand
will increase over the next several years. Mobile app
designers and developers, 3D rendering artists and
A strong portfolio provides the key to getting
hired. In every industry represented, the portfolio
carries more weight in hiring decisions than almost
any other field. One participant said that he gives
potential employees a creative problem to solve to
determine the individual’s skills and how they might
fit into his organization.
Another essential area concerns the significant
difference between making digital media in a
school setting and making digital media in the
work world. Good employees must be able to
follow a workflow and work quickly and efficiently.
They must also be able to work with a team of
developers, designers, producers, editors and other
artists to complete projects on time. Working with
a wide variety of clients challenges even the most
experienced digital media creators.
When asked about her plans for the future, Judii laughed and said, “I always have way too many
interests in anything graphic design related. So I would really like to work with others to apply
my graphic design knowledge in several ways.” Her interests include web design, branding
and packaging design, typography and, most recently, motion graphic design. Judii is another
STLCC—Meramec alum with a bright future!
Tim developed expertise in the use of the Unity
software program, the primary game development platform that is being used to build virtual
environments. This powerful software is being
used to develop games and various educational and information experiences. Using this
program and the Oculus Rift viewing goggles,
he created several working environments to use
for teaching purposes in his classes.
Also for use in interactive design classes, he
devised a new teaching module for use in Blackboard, including presentations, assignments and
video tutorials. Students already benefit from
this work in this fall semester.
Internships (Workplace Learning) provide a good
way for students to prepare for this change. Individuals may enroll in Workplace Learning classes in
any semester, after they have completed specified
classes to gain appropriate skills.
The panel complemented us on the quality of our
facilities, hardware, software and especially our
faculty! We are very proud of all our programs. As
evidenced by the number of our students who are
hired in the industries and/or go on the four-year
schools, we are successful.
As to his future, “I am not
entirely sure what role I would
want after graduation as I am
still learning many new skills
to be able to present a diverse
portfolio that will hopefully
allow for more opportunities
upon graduation. Ideally
working in a small design studio
seems to be the best option as
of now, but through the various
internships that KCAI will allow
me to do, my horizons should
be broadened.”
Reflecting on her time here, two of her favorite parts of the experience were the convenient times
the classes were scheduled and “the fact that some of my instructors really struck a chord with
me and inspired me to create better work, pushing me to be a better designer and sharing all the
knowledge that they had. They were passionate about teaching us, which is one of my biggest
concerns when choosing a class or school.”
Last spring semester, Tim Linder, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor and Chair of the Dept.
of Design, Visual and Performing Arts, took
a sabbatical to deeper explore the creation
and use of virtual and augmented reality
environments. His research process involved
investigating options and technologies online
and meeting with several area businesses and
individuals involved in this field.
animators, user experience designers will also be in
more demand in the future.
Eric’s favorite part of his time
at Meramec was the availability
of his instructors. “Teachers at
community college seem more
invested in the success of their
students compared to the four—
year colleges I’ve attended.”
Judii stated that the classes she took at Meramec “were definitely similar to the rigorous program of
study that is at my new school. Upon transferring here, I didn’t have too much of a learning curve to
try to overcome to catch up to the other students.” The Meramec classes “helped me improve my
overall design aesthetic, figure out a more efficient workflow and comfort level with the programs
in my field, and time management to get all my work done. I’m able to execute smaller designs
that require less concept at a faster turnaround rate for my freelance clients.” Tran was able to start
immediately at the Junior level, rather than being pushed back a semester, as sometimes happens.
The Center for Visual Technology continues to provide the latest technologies for our faculty
and students. This past spring and over the summer, CVT acquired two Ultimaker 2 3D
printers to replace the Makerbot printers that were failing. The Ultimaker 2 features
better detail and faster printing for objects. Classes in graphic design, packaging
design and 3D modeling have begun using the new printers. This helps
students better understand how designs change when moving from
the two-dimensional screens and/or prints to three dimensional.
One challange faced in the tech scan process
stems from the wide variety of jobs and
businesses that incapsulates digital media.
For example, the 12 participants in this
year’s tech scan represent industries that
include graphic design, web site design
and development, mobile app design and
development, game development, animation,
still photography and digital video and other
motion media. These professionals work in a
wide range of environments, from boutique
design studios to very large corporations.
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Judii Tran attended
The sabbatical leave (usually referred to as a
“sabbatical”) comprises one of the unique features of the job of college professor. Every six
years, faculty may apply for a leave of absence,
usually for one semester, in order to pursue
research within their field. Faculty then bring
what they have learned back to the classroom
to share with students and other faculty.
Every five years, academic programs that are
classified as “career and technical education”
(CTE) must undergo a program review. The
review helps to ensure that the programs
adequately prepare students for the associated
jobs. This year digital media underwent the
program review.
IN THIS ISSUE:
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The course in the Dept. of Design, Visual and
Performing Arts is ART 131 Computer Art Studio.
The primary difference between the STLCC course
and the one taught at Clyde C. Miller Academy is
the duration. The course on campus is taught in
one, 16—week semester. The course at the high
school will be taught over four semesters.
Meramec helped Eric develop the basic skills he needs to find
employment in his field. His experiences here helped him put
together a professional portfolio, which aids him in his freelance
work and was a factor in his acceptance at KCAI.
Linder Sabbatical
A “tech scan” forms a major portion of the
review. Several individuals from the appropriate
industries are asked to come together to share
their thoughts on what skills and knowledge
are needed for entry-level positions and the
prospects for employment. This past July
Michael Swoboda —with help from Tim Linder
and John Schmitt— organized a digital media
tech scan.
3D Printing
Spotlight on Alumni
Digial Media Tech Scans
Tim Linder Sabbatical
NASAD Accreditation Visit
Applied Arts degree in Graphic Communication in 2013.
Two years later, Eric now attends the Kansas City Art Institute
(KCAI) where he is a junior majoring in Graphic Design and doing
freelance design work. He stated, “ I am a big fan of community
colleges and Meramec in particular.”
More on 3D Printing
Digital Media Tech Scans
In part as a response to these concerns, the Federal Aeronautics Administration (FAA) has issued
guidelines for the use of drones. Currently, the FAA lists three types of UASs: Public Operations
(Governmental) Civil Operations (Non—Governmental) Model Aircraft (Hobby or Recreation only)
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In a new agreement with St. Louis Public Schools,
students at the Clyde C. Miller Career Academy (a
SLPS High School that provides in—depth exposure
in Career and Technical programs) can earn college
credit for a course they take at their school. The
teacher for the class receives additional training,
materials and other resources so that the high
school class will help students obtain the same level
of skill and knowledge that they would be able to
develop at Saint Louis Community College.
As 3D printing becomes more mainstream, new applications
continue to develop. Even still, some job advertisements now list
3D printing knowledge and experience among the job requirements.
The Digital Arts and Technology Alliance has acquired a small drone equipped with a high definition, digital
camera capable of capturing still images or full motion video. The new technology will be integrated into
existing courses in digital photography and advanced photography classes with possible use by web and
interactive design. While drones offer great potential, their increased use and popularity has not been without
controversy. Popular media reports numerous incidents in which a drone has interfered with commercial air
traffic. In several highly publicized incidents, drones interfered with the ability of air tankers to fight wild fires
in California and Washington. A number of politicians and public interest organizations express concerns
about violations of privacy rights that could occur with the use of the drones.
The guidelines for model aircraft include:
Eric McLaughlin began working on an Associate of
Dual Credit Program
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COURSE
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DATE
DAY
*Schedule subject to change. Please refer to the interactive schedule online: www.stlcc.edu
For more information go to:
http://stlcc.edu/DATAworkshops
One Day Workshops Fee - $139
Questions: Call Michael Burks 314-984-7998
Digital Arts
Workshops*
Spring 2016
Non-Discrimination Statement: St. Louis Community College is commited to non-discrimination
and equal opportunities in its admissions, educational programs, activites, and employment
regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age,
disability, genetic information, or status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran and shall take action
necessary to ensure non-discrimination. Sexual harassment, including sexual violence, is also
prohibited. For information or concerns related to discrimination or sexual harassment, contact
the Associate Vice Chancellor Student Affairs at 314-539-5374.
The Digital Arts & Technology Alliance
STUDENTNEWS
According to his instructors
here at STLCC—Meramec,
Eric will have a bright future,
whatever his direction!
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FACULTYNEWS
Sabbatical Abstract 2015 — Tim Linder
The research, projects and learning activities for my sabbatical leave were undertaken during he
Spring 2015 semester. Through these activities I sought to advance my instructional capabilities,
provide resources for other faulty in my area, make meaning full connections with area industry
professionals along with creating projects to benefit the college. In summary, the activities
accomplished during the sabbatical leave organized by the original stated goals are as follows:
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To learn more about the options and technologies being used in virtual environments and
augmented reality. To achieve this goal I spent
much of my time researching the subject online,
completing several courses on virtual environment development, and meeting with area
professionals in the field.
To gain greater skill and knowledge with the
Unity game engine. The Unity game engine is
a popular choice for many educational institutions for teaching the development of virtual
environments and interactive design. I met with
several area professionals utilizing the Unity 3D
Game engine in their everyday work flow. I also
took several courses on the subject and created
multiple projects with the tool that are outlined
below.
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To provide measurable results of the studies
above by the production of a working virtual
environment that will be developed in a game
engine. I developed several working virtual
environments that can be used as teaching tools.
I also plan to present these projects in conferences, submit them for awards, utilize them to
recruit students, use them as examples of work
to apply for grants and show them to other
faculty outside my area in hopes of collaborating
on similar projects.
To create a new teaching module for interactive
design courses that address theoretical, technical and aesthetic issues in the areas of virtual
environments. A teaching module was created
and shared in blackboard including presentations, assignments, and video tutorials.
To compare the curriculum and technologies
employed in regional and national courses in
interactive design and virtual environments.
A document was written, comparing the
curriculum and technologies employed in
regional and national courses in interactive
design and virtual environments and is shared
online at www.timlinder.com and within a shared
blackboard course.
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To investigate and make connections with professionals and businesses working with virtual
environments in our region. I met with several
area business and individuals within the field.
Resulting in some becoming new members of
our Digital Media advisory committee, student
portfolio reviewers, attendance at our recent
summer tech scan, planned speaking engagements, forthcoming field trips and potential
student internships.
NASAD Accreditation Visit
One of the achievements —albiet, not well-known— of Saint Louis Community College is that we are a
select few of two-year institutions in the county to be accredited by the National Associate of Schools of
Art and Design. Only 15 community colleges hold this accreditation, and Florissant Valley and Meramec
campuses at STLCC are accredited. In order to maintain this prestigious recognition, the college must
undergo an accreditation review every 10 years. This is Meramec’s year.
Timothy J. Linder Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department Chair — Design Visual
and Performing Arts Humanities
& Social Science Division
The process involves a self-study that evaluates our programs by a number of criteria, which include the
financial stability of the institution, qualification of the faculty, courses and credit hours required for a
degree or certificate, rigor of the program, community involvement and an on—site visit by a committee
from NASAD. During the week of November 3, two reviewers visited Meramec to talk with students, faculty and staff. An important part of this review includes the viewing and evaluating student work. Faculty
collected samples of work that students have created over the past few years. Comments by the reviewers
were all very positive.
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