ASSIGNMENT

Create an original surrealist/fantasy digital composition in Adobe Photoshop inspired by dreams, imagination, personal experiences, and the unexpected.

YOU must be the central focus of the composition.

Your final artwork will combine a photograph of yourself with at least 10 photographic or graphic elements to create an imaginative environment that could not exist in ordinary reality.

Students will study the work of Surrealist painters such as Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, and René Magritte, as well as contemporary digital surrealists like Mario Nevado, Ted Chin, Herri Susanto, and Erik Johansson to inform their visual choices. Through this research, students will examine how artists use dream imagery, symbolism, juxtaposition, transformation, unexpected scale, unusual environments, and visual storytelling to challenge ordinary perceptions of reality.

Your goal is not simply to place unrelated images together. You must create a cohesive, believable surreal world by carefully considering composition, visual hierarchy, scale, perspective, lighting, shadows, color, atmosphere, and image quality.

You will use professional Photoshop compositing techniques such as layer masks, selections, adjustment layers, blending modes, transformations, color grading, and lighting adjustments to integrate your images.

During the project, you will move through the professional graphic-design process:

Research → Ideation → Planning → Image Acquisition → Production → Critique → Revision → Presentation

You will use your study of historical Surrealism and contemporary digital compositing as inspiration for developing an original visual concept rather than copying an existing artwork.

MAJOR DELIVERABLES

CLASS 1 — HOMEWORK

Digital Photograph(s) of Yourself (take in open shade or on an overcast day)

Students must take multiple original photographs of themselves specifically for the planned composition.

CLASS 4 — WORK IN PROGRESS

WIP JPG

The composition should be approximately 50–60% complete and demonstrate a clear concept, environment, focal point, and direction.

CLASS 7 — FINAL

Students submit:

• Final high-resolution JPG.

• Completed layered PSD available for review.

• Artist statement.

• Final critique/reflection.

For inspiration

• google "surreal photoshop"

• google "fantasy Photoshop"

Examples

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this assignment, students will be able to:

• Analyze historical Surrealist paintings and contemporary digital surrealist artwork.

• Identify how artists use juxtaposition, symbolism, transformation, scale, perspective, dream imagery, and visual storytelling.

• Compare traditional Surrealist approaches with contemporary digital compositing techniques.

• Use artist research to inform visual choices while developing an original artistic concept.

• Generate and develop an original concept using brainstorming, thumbnails, sketches, and visual research.

• Plan a digital composition before beginning production.

• Capture an original photograph of themselves with an appropriate pose, perspective, and lighting for the planned composition.

• Locate and evaluate high-resolution, appropriate source imagery.

• Use Adobe Photoshop as an industry-standard tool for digital image creation and manipulation.

• Use selections and layer masks to isolate subjects non-destructively.

• Combine at least 10 photographic or graphic elements into one unified digital composition.

• Apply scale, perspective, visual hierarchy, contrast, emphasis, balance, and space intentionally.

• Match lighting, shadows, color, texture, and atmosphere across multiple source images.

• Evaluate personal and peer artwork using appropriate graphic-design vocabulary.

• Use critique and feedback to revise and strengthen a work in progress.

• Prepare and export a finished digital artwork according to project specifications.

• Explain artistic choices through a written artist statement and critique.

BIG IDEAS

Surrealism Challenges Reality

Artists can transform recognizable people, places, and objects into unexpected visual experiences that challenge the viewer's understanding of reality.

Visual Communication

Graphic designers use images, composition, color, scale, and other visual choices to communicate ideas without relying entirely on words.

Imagination and Personal Voice

Artists and designers can transform dreams, memories, interests, fears, humor, and personal experiences into original visual communication.

Juxtaposition Creates Meaning

Combining familiar objects in unfamiliar ways can create new meanings and encourage viewers to reconsider ordinary objects and environments.

Artists Learn from Artists

Studying historical and contemporary artists provides strategies, inspiration, and visual references that can inform new artwork without requiring artists to copy existing work.

Design Is a Process

Strong finished artwork develops through research, planning, experimentation, feedback, revision, and refinement.

Technical Skill Supports Ideas

Photoshop techniques are most successful when they strengthen the concept rather than becoming the concept.

Visual Unity

Lighting, perspective, scale, color, atmosphere, and composition can make images from different sources appear to exist within the same visual world.

Creative Problem Solving

Digital compositing requires designers to identify visual problems, experiment with solutions, evaluate results, and revise.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• What makes an image surreal?

• How did historical Surrealist artists challenge traditional representations of reality?

• How have contemporary digital artists expanded the possibilities of Surrealism?

• How can studying other artists inform our work without copying their ideas?

• How can graphic designers make the impossible appear believable?

• How can surreal imagery communicate an idea, emotion, dream, or aspect of personal identity?

• How does juxtaposition change the meaning of ordinary objects?

• How do scale, perspective, contrast, and placement establish visual hierarchy?

• How can lighting, shadows, color, and atmosphere unify images photographed at different times and locations?

• How can Photoshop manipulate reality while still creating a visually cohesive image?

• How does planning improve the quality and efficiency of digital artwork?

• How can critique and revision strengthen both the concept and technical execution of a design?

• When does digital manipulation become meaningful visual communication rather than simply a collection of effects?

ARTISTS OF STUDY

Students will examine selected works from historical Surrealism and contemporary digital art.

Historical / Surrealist Artists

Salvador Dalí — Known for highly realistic painting techniques applied to dreamlike environments, distorted objects, unusual scale, symbolism, and impossible situations.

Max Ernst — Used experimentation, unexpected imagery, texture, collage, and unusual combinations of objects to explore subconscious and dreamlike ideas.

Marc Chagall — Created imaginative scenes featuring floating figures, altered scale, memories, symbolism, unusual color, and dreamlike relationships between people and environments.

Joan Miró — Developed abstract and symbolic imagery using simplified shapes, lines, color, and imaginative forms that suggest dreams and subconscious thought.

René Magritte — Combined ordinary objects in unexpected contexts, altered scale and relationships, and used visual contradictions to challenge viewers' assumptions about reality.

Contemporary Digital Surrealists

Mario Nevado — Creates atmospheric digital compositions combining photographic imagery, dramatic lighting, symbolism, color, and surreal environments.

Ted Chin — Uses digital compositing to create imaginative scenes in which people, animals, landscapes, and impossible situations interact.

Herri Susanto — Creates fantasy and surreal digital composites that use dramatic environments, scale relationships, lighting, and image manipulation.

Erik Johansson — Creates highly planned photographic illusions and surreal scenes in which impossible events appear visually believable through careful photography, perspective, compositing, and attention to detail.

VOCABULARY

Surrealism — An art movement associated with dream imagery, unexpected combinations, imagination, and exploration beyond ordinary reality.

Surreal — Having qualities that appear dreamlike, strange, impossible, or beyond normal reality.

Photomontage — An artwork created by combining multiple photographs or photographic elements into one composition.

Compositing — Combining visual elements from multiple sources to create a single unified image.

Composition — The intentional arrangement of visual elements within a design.

Focal Point — The area of a composition intended to attract the viewer's attention first.

Visual Hierarchy — The organization of visual information according to importance so the viewer's eye moves through the composition intentionally.

Emphasis — A principle of design used to make one element or area stand out from others.

Juxtaposition — Placing unlike or unexpected images or ideas near one another to create contrast, meaning, or visual interest.

Symbolism — The use of an image, object, color, or visual element to represent an idea or meaning beyond its literal appearance.

Transformation — Altering the appearance, function, scale, or meaning of an object to create something unexpected.

Scale — The size of an object in relation to other objects or to the overall composition.

Proportion — The size relationship among different parts of an object or composition.

Perspective — The visual system used to represent three-dimensional depth and spatial relationships on a two-dimensional surface.

Layer — An independent level of content in Photoshop that allows elements to be edited separately.

Layer Mask — A non-destructive Photoshop method for hiding or revealing portions of a layer without permanently deleting pixels.

Selection — An isolated area of an image that can be edited independently.

Non-Destructive Editing — Editing methods that preserve the original image information and allow changes to be modified or reversed later.

Adjustment Layer — A Photoshop layer that changes properties such as color, brightness, contrast, or saturation without permanently changing the original image.

Blending Mode — A setting that determines how the pixels of one Photoshop layer interact visually with pixels on layers beneath it.

Color Grading — Adjusting the overall color and tonal relationships of an image to create visual unity, atmosphere, or mood.

Atmosphere — The visual mood or environmental feeling created through color, lighting, contrast, texture, haze, and other effects.

Resolution — The amount of image detail represented by pixels; sufficient resolution is necessary for high-quality digital and printed output.

Source Image — An original or legally obtained photograph or graphic used as part of a digital composition.

Work in Progress (WIP) — An unfinished version of a design submitted or presented for feedback before final completion.

Critique — A structured discussion used to analyze artwork, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and support revision.

Visual Storytelling — Communicating a narrative, idea, mood, or experience primarily through visual elements.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

Your final Surrealist Scene must:

• Feature YOU as the primary focal point.

• Use an original photograph of yourself.

• Include at least 10 photographic/graphic elements.

• Create an original surreal, dreamlike, or fantasy environment.

• Show evidence that research into historical and/or contemporary Surrealism informed your visual thinking.

• Demonstrate intentional composition and visual hierarchy.

• Demonstrate believable or intentionally manipulated scale and perspective.

• Use non-destructive Photoshop techniques whenever appropriate.

• Demonstrate effective masking and clean image extraction.

• Demonstrate attention to lighting and shadows.

• Use color grading/adjustments to visually unify the composition.

• Use appropriate, high-resolution source images.

• Contain NO watermarked images.

• Demonstrate creativity and original problem solving.

• Include a short artist statement explaining the concept and major design decisions.

DOCUMENT SPECIFICATIONS

Size: 11 × 17 inches
Resolution: 150 PPI
Color Mode: RGB
Orientation: Portrait OR Landscape
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Minimum Elements: 10 photographic/graphic elements
Working File: PSD
Final Submission: JPG/JPEG

Naming Convention

Block-LastName_FirstName_Surreal.jpg

Example:

1A-Taylor_Kinte_Surreal.jpg

Keep your layered PSD file until the project has been completely graded.

CLASS 1 — SURREALISM, ARTIST RESEARCH, IDEATION & CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Standards

VAHSGD.CR.1 — Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.

VAHSGD.CR.6 — Keep an ongoing visual and verbal record to explore and develop works of art.

VAHSGD.CN.1 — Develop personal artistic voice through connecting uses of art within cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts.

Opening — Students Will...

View selected works by Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Mario Nevado, Ted Chin, Herri Susanto, and Erik Johansson.

Students will compare historical and contemporary approaches to surreal imagery and respond to:

What makes an image surreal rather than simply unusual?

Students will identify examples of:

• Juxtaposition

• Symbolism

• Transformation

• Unexpected scale

• Dream imagery

• Visual storytelling

• Impossible environments

• Altered perspective

Teacher Will...

Introduce the assignment, project requirements, specifications, deadlines, and checkpoints.

Introduce Surrealism and demonstrate how historical and contemporary artists use juxtaposition, transformation, scale, symbolism, environment, imagination, and visual storytelling.

Discuss how contemporary digital artists use many of the same conceptual strategies as historical Surrealists while using photography and digital compositing technology.

Emphasize the difference between being influenced by an artist and copying an artist's work.

Work Session — Students Will...

• Analyze selected historical and contemporary examples.

• Identify at least two artistic strategies they could apply to their own work.

• Brainstorm possible concepts.

• Identify a dream, emotion, memory, personal interest, fear, fantasy, or impossible situation that could become the basis for the composition.

• Produce multiple thumbnail ideas.

• Select the strongest concept.

• Develop a detailed planning sketch.

• Identify the necessary photographic/graphic elements.

• Plan their pose, camera angle, lighting direction, environment, and focal point.

• Identify which studied artist or artistic approach most influenced their planning.

Closing/Debrief — Student-Centered

Students will share their concept with a partner and complete:

“My concept communicates ________. I plan to emphasize this idea by ________.”

“One idea I learned from studying ________ was ________. I can use this idea in an original way by ________.”

Partners will respond with one question that could help strengthen the concept.

Students will use the language of VAHSGD.CR.1 to explain how they visualized and generated ideas.

Students will use VAHSGD.CR.6 to explain how their research, thumbnails, and planning document the development of their artwork.

Students will connect their research to VAHSGD.CN.1 by explaining how historical or contemporary artistic practices informed their developing personal artistic voice.

CLASS 1 HOMEWORK — REQUIRED DELIVERABLE

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH(S) OF YOURSELF

Take multiple photographs of yourself specifically for your planned composition.

Do not rely on only one photograph.

Your pose should match the action taking place in your composition. If you will be holding an object, jumping, falling, reaching, floating, sitting, etc., photograph yourself performing that action as accurately as possible.

Whenever possible:

• Photograph yourself outdoors.

• Use open shade or an overcast day for soft, manageable lighting.

• Avoid harsh mixed lighting.

• Consider the direction from which light will come in your final scene.

• Photograph from an angle/perspective that matches your planned environment.

• Take several variations of the pose.

• Make sure the entire area of your body needed for the composition is visible.

• Check focus and image quality before finishing.

CLASS 2 — SOURCE IMAGERY, FILE SETUP & ROUGH COMPOSITION

Standards

VAHSGD.CR.2 — Choose appropriate materials, methods, tools, and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

VAHSGD.CR.3 — Engage in processes, media, techniques, and technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

VAHSGD.CR.4 — Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

Opening — Students Will...

Review their homework photographs and determine which image best supports the planned composition based on:

Pose • Perspective • Lighting • Focus • Resolution • Concept

Students will revisit their artist research and identify one visual strategy they intend to explore during production.

Teacher Will...

Demonstrate:

• Creating an 11 × 17 inch, 150 PPI RGB Photoshop document.

• Importing source imagery.

• Organizing and naming layers.

• Smart Objects when appropriate.

• Basic selection and masking workflow.

• Checking source-image quality.

• Transforming images while maintaining quality.

• Saving a layered PSD.

Work Session — Students Will...

• Select their strongest self-portrait.

• Create the Photoshop document.

• Save using the correct naming convention.

• Import the self-portrait.

• Begin building the environment.

• Gather high-resolution source imagery.

• Organize Photoshop layers.

• Establish a rough composition.

• Experiment with placement, cropping, scale, and perspective.

• Establish the primary focal point.

• Begin working toward the 10-element requirement.

Closing/Debrief — Student-Centered

Students will conduct a partner screen-check and answer:

“Where does your eye go first, and what design choice causes you to look there?”

Students will use the language of VAHSGD.CR.2 to identify how their choice of digital tools and source imagery supports the intended outcome.

Using VAHSGD.CR.4, students will explain how visual hierarchy is beginning to organize their composition.

CLASS 3 — MASKING, SCALE, PERSPECTIVE & COMPOSITING

Standards

VAHSGD.CR.2 — Utilize appropriate digital tools, methods, and media.

VAHSGD.CR.3 — Experiment with processes, techniques, and technology through practice and persistence.

VAHSGD.CR.4 — Use design components and visual hierarchy to create works of art.

Opening — Students Will...

Compare digital composites and identify which appears more visually convincing.

Students will justify their responses using:

Scale • Perspective • Edges • Lighting • Focal Point • Proportion • Composition

Teacher Will...

Demonstrate:

• Select Subject.

• Selection refinement.

• Layer masks.

• Mask edge refinement.

• Transform and Warp.

• Matching scale.

• Matching perspective.

• Foreground, middle ground, and background relationships.

• Creating depth through overlap and atmospheric perspective.

Teacher will connect these Photoshop strategies to the visual illusion and impossible environments observed in the artists studied during Class 1.

Work Session — Students Will...

• Cleanly isolate their self-portrait.

• Integrate themselves into the environment.

• Add additional photographic/graphic elements.

• Correct scale and perspective problems.

• Experiment with surreal juxtaposition and transformation.

• Establish foreground, middle ground, and background.

• Refine visual hierarchy.

• Maintain organized layers.

• Continue working toward the 10-element minimum.

Closing/Debrief — Student-Centered

Students will complete:

“One compositing problem I solved today was ________. I solved it by ________.”

Using VAHSGD.CR.3, students will describe how experimentation, practice, or persistence helped solve the problem.

Using VAHSGD.CR.4, students will identify one decision that strengthened their visual hierarchy.

CLASS 4 — WIP CHECKPOINT, LIGHTING, SHADOWS & CRITIQUE

Standards

VAHSGD.CR.3 — Develop artwork through experimentation, reflection, collaboration, and critique.

VAHSGD.CR.5 — Reflect on, revise, and refine works of art.

VAHSGD.RE.2 — Critique personal works of art and the artwork of others individually and collaboratively.

Opening — Students Will...

Export and submit their Work in Progress JPG.

The composition should be approximately 50–60% complete.

The WIP should clearly demonstrate:

• Student integrated into the composition.

• Established environment.

• Multiple photographic/graphic elements.

• Clear focal point.

• Visual hierarchy.

• Intentional scale and perspective.

• Evidence of masking.

• Clear surreal concept.

• Progress toward the 10-element requirement.

Teacher Will...

Demonstrate:

• Identifying light direction.

• Creating cast shadows.

• Creating contact shadows.

• Matching highlights and shadows.

• Matching contrast.

• Using adjustment layers and clipping masks.

• Correcting obvious differences between source images.

Teacher will facilitate a structured peer critique.

Work Session — Students Will...

Participate in critique using:

NOTICE: What is visually successful?

INTERPRET: What idea, mood, dream, or story is being communicated?

CONNECT: Can you identify a visual strategy related to one of the Surrealist or contemporary artists studied?

QUESTION: What is unclear or visually distracting?

SUGGEST: What specific revision could make the composition stronger?

Students will:

• Record feedback.

• Identify at least three revisions.

• Begin implementing revisions.

• Improve lighting and shadow relationships.

• Continue integrating additional elements.

Closing/Debrief — Student-Centered

Students will complete:

“Based on critique, my most important revision is ________ because ________.”

Students will connect their decisions to VAHSGD.CR.5 by explaining how they will reflect on, revise, and refine their work.

Students will use VAHSGD.RE.2 vocabulary to explain how peer critique affected their next design decision.

REQUIRED CLASS 4 DELIVERABLE

WORK IN PROGRESS JPG

CLASS 5 — COLOR GRADING, ATMOSPHERE & VISUAL UNITY

Standards

VAHSGD.CR.3 — Engage in digital processes and techniques through experimentation and persistence.

VAHSGD.CR.4 — Incorporate design components to strengthen artwork.

VAHSGD.CR.5 — Revise and refine artwork through intentional artistic decisions.

Opening — Students Will...

Examine their composition at both full-screen and thumbnail size.

Students will identify the element that appears least integrated into the scene and determine whether the problem involves:

Color • Value • Lighting • Scale • Perspective • Edges • Sharpness • Atmosphere

Teacher Will...

Demonstrate:

• Adjustment layers.

• Curves/Levels.

• Hue/Saturation.

• Color Balance.

• Selective Color or similar color controls.

• Clipping adjustments.

• Global color grading.

• Atmospheric effects.

• Depth through contrast and saturation.

• Texture and environmental effects when appropriate.

Work Session — Students Will...

• Continue toward the 10-element minimum requirement.

• Correct inconsistent color and value.

• Match saturation across source images.

• Improve lighting consistency.

• Add environmental/atmospheric effects where appropriate.

• Strengthen depth.

• Refine masking.

• Correct distracting edges.

• Continue revisions identified during the WIP critique.

• Evaluate whether their surreal choices support the concept rather than functioning only as Photoshop effects.

Closing/Debrief — Student-Centered

Students will compare their composition before and after one major adjustment.

Students will complete:

“I revised ________ by ________. This improved visual unity because ________.”

Students will use the language of VAHSGD.CR.5 to explain how revision and refinement strengthened their artwork.

CLASS 6 — REFINEMENT, QUALITY CONTROL & ARTIST STATEMENT

Standards

VAHSGD.CR.5 — Reflect on, revise, and refine works of art.

VAHSGD.CR.6 — Maintain a visual and verbal record of artistic development.

VAHSGD.RE.1 — Reflect on personal works of art in relation to broader contexts.

VAHSGD.CN.1 — Develop personal artistic voice.

Opening — Students Will...

Conduct a Quality-Control Check.

Students will inspect:

• Concept.

• Focal point.

• Composition.

• 10-element requirement.

• Mask edges.

• Perspective.

• Scale.

• Lighting.

• Shadows.

• Color consistency.

• Resolution.

• Visual distractions.

• Overall visual unity.

Teacher Will...

Model professional final-inspection techniques:

• Zooming to 100%.

• Viewing at thumbnail size.

• Temporarily flipping the canvas.

• Checking edges.

• Looking for halos.

• Checking repeated/inconsistent lighting.

• Checking resolution.

• Reviewing layer organization.

• Comparing the current composition with the original concept.

Teacher will introduce the artist statement.

Work Session — Students Will...

Complete major revisions and draft an artist statement addressing:

1. What is the concept, dream, idea, or story behind your composition?

2. Why did you choose your specific imagery?

3. Which historical or contemporary artist studied during this assignment influenced your thinking?

4. What specific idea or visual strategy did you learn from that artist?

5. How did you transform that influence into an original idea?

6. How do composition, scale, juxtaposition, color, or lighting support your concept?

7. What significant Photoshop technique did you use?

8. What challenge did you encounter and how did you solve it?

9. What revision did you make because of critique or self-evaluation?

Closing/Debrief — Student-Centered

Students will exchange artwork with a partner for:

TWO STRENGTHS + ONE FINAL REVISION

Students will use VAHSGD.CR.5 to identify the final refinement they will make.

Using VAHSGD.CN.1, students will explain how their work demonstrates a developing personal artistic voice while being informed by historical and contemporary artists.

CLASS 7 — FINALIZATION, SUBMISSION, PRESENTATION & CRITIQUE

Standards

VAHSGD.CR.5 — Reflect on, revise, and refine works of art.

VAHSGD.PR.1 — Plan, prepare, and present works of art for exhibition, virtual presentation, and/or portfolio presentation.

VAHSGD.RE.2 — Critique personal works of art and the artwork of others.

VAHSGD.RE.3 — Engage in art criticism to make meaning and increase visual literacy.

VAHSGD.CN.2 — Develop life skills through collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.

Opening — Students Will...

Review the final submission checklist and identify remaining technical or conceptual problems before exporting.

Teacher Will...

Review:

• Final file specifications.

• Naming convention.

• 10-element requirement.

• JPG export.

• PSD preservation.

• Artist statement.

• Presentation expectations.

• Critique expectations.

Teacher will provide brief individual assistance as needed while students make their own final artistic decisions.

Work Session — Students Will...

• Make final revisions.

• Proof the artwork at 100%.

• Verify 10 or more photographic/graphic elements.

• Check masks and edges.

• Verify composition and focal point.

• Verify scale and perspective.

• Verify lighting and shadows.

• Verify color consistency.

• Proofread the artist statement.

• Save the final layered PSD.

• Export the final JPG.

• Submit the completed project.

• Participate in a class critique/gallery review.

Closing/Debrief — Student-Centered

Students will respond to:

“How did your final artwork change from your original idea, and which revision had the greatest impact on the finished composition?”

“How did studying historical and contemporary Surrealist artists influence your visual thinking while still allowing you to create an original work?”

Students will use the language of VAHSGD.PR.1 to explain how they prepared and presented their completed work.

Using VAHSGD.RE.2 and VAHSGD.RE.3, students will discuss how critique helped them analyze meaning and increase visual literacy.

Using VAHSGD.CN.2, students will identify how creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and problem solving were used throughout the project.

REQUIRED CLASS 7 DELIVERABLES

FINAL SURREALIST SCENE

• Final JPG

• Layered PSD available for review

• Artist Statement

• Final critique/reflection

ASSESSMENT / GRADING CRITERIA

CONCEPT & CREATIVITY

Students will demonstrate:

• An original surreal concept.

• Strong connection between concept and visual imagery.

• Effective use of imagination.

• Meaningful use of juxtaposition, symbolism, transformation, or unexpected visual relationships.

• Evidence of personal artistic voice.

• Evidence that historical and/or contemporary artist research informed the creative process without copying an existing artwork.

COMPOSITION & DESIGN

Students will demonstrate:

• Strong focal point.

• Effective visual hierarchy.

• Intentional use of scale.

• Intentional proportion.

• Effective use of balance and space.

• Effective perspective.

• Meaningful placement of visual elements.

• Effective integration of at least 10 photographic/graphic elements.

• A unified composition rather than a collection of unrelated images.

TECHNICAL EXECUTION

Students will demonstrate:

• Clean selections and masks.

• Effective image integration.

• Appropriate resolution.

• Believable or intentionally manipulated scale and perspective.

• Consistent lighting.

• Effective cast/contact shadows.

• Cohesive color grading.

• Appropriate use of Photoshop tools and techniques.

• Non-destructive editing techniques when appropriate.

CRAFTSMANSHIP & REFINEMENT

Students will demonstrate:

• Attention to detail.

• Clean edges.

• No watermarked images.

• High-quality source images.

• Appropriate image resolution.

• Organized Photoshop layers.

• A polished and finished appearance.

CREATIVE PROCESS

Students will demonstrate:

• Artist research.

• Concept development.

• Planning and thumbnails.

• Class 1 photograph homework.

• Appropriate use of class time.

• Class 4 WIP submission.

• Participation in critique.

• Evidence of revision following feedback.

• Experimentation and creative problem solving.

PRESENTATION & COMMUNICATION

Students will demonstrate:

• Correct file specifications.

• Correct naming convention.

• Final submission completed on time.

• Artist statement clearly explaining concept and design decisions.

• Ability to identify artistic influences.

• Ability to explain how influences were transformed into original visual choices.

• Appropriate use of graphic-design vocabulary.

• Participation in final critique/reflection.

GEORGIA STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE — GRAPHICS

CREATING

VAHSGD.CR.1 — Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.

VAHSGD.CR.2 — Choose from a range of materials and methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

VAHSGD.CR.3 — Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.

VAHSGD.CR.4 — Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.

VAHSGD.CR.5 — Reflect on, revise, and refine works of art considering relevant traditional and contemporary practices as well as artistic ideation.

VAHSGD.CR.6 — Keep an ongoing visual and verbal record to explore and develop works of art.

PRESENTING

VAHSGD.PR.1 — Plan, prepare, and present works of art for exhibition in school, virtual environments, and/or portfolio presentation.

RESPONDING

VAHSGD.RE.1 — Reflect on the context of personal works of art in relation to community, culture, and the world.

VAHSGD.RE.2 — Critique personal works of art and the artwork of others, individually and collaboratively, using a variety of approaches.

VAHSGD.RE.3 — Engage in the process of art criticism to make meaning and increase visual literacy.

CONNECTING

VAHSGD.CN.1 — Develop personal artistic voice through connecting uses of art within a variety of cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts.

VAHSGD.CN.2 — Develop life skills through the study and production of art, including collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.

VAHSGD.CN.3 — Utilize a variety of resources to understand how artistic learning extends beyond the walls of the classroom.

This version now carries the 10-element minimum through the objectives, requirements, specifications, Classes 2–7, checkpoints, quality-control process, and assessment. It also makes the study of Dalí, Ernst, Chagall, Miró, Magritte, Nevado, Chin, Susanto, and Johansson an instructional component of Class 1 rather than only mentioning the artists in the project description.

Open Shade

Examples