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Pre-class preparation - please go through this before classes begin.

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The Sawtooth Mountains - photo by Nathan Smith ©2020

Introduction

Below you will find software requirements for the course. Utah State University students will find instructions for formatting and submitting assignment files.

Objectives

  • Set up your personal computer with the right software.
  • Set up an email if you don't already have one. If you haven't set up an Aggiemail account, I'd suggest doing that. First of all you'll have unlimited storage in your Google Drive (think of it as a cloud-based hard drive where you can store and back up files). Second, Google Sites will allow you to very easily create the online portfolio required for this course.
  • ​Learn how to best contact the instructor
  • Learn how to compress or zip your assignment files into a single compressed archive.

Software Requirements

To succeed in this class you must have the correct software installed and ready to go for Lesson 1. If you are attending Utah State University in Logan, Utah all of the Adobe software you will need is installed on the computers in the YETC lab on the main floor in room 170 of the Jones Education Building. It's also available in most of the other student open-access computer labs on campus. If you are working from a personal computer, please make sure that it has the following:
 Screenshot: Adobe Photoshop CC 2021. Click image to enlarge.
​​Adobe Photoshop CC and Bridge CC: Utah State University students can apply for and download the Adobe Creative Cloud applications for free. Every year Adobe releases updated versions Photoshop. The version that is currently available through Adobe is Photoshop CC 2021 and this is the version that I'll be teaching from. 

​Not a Utah State University student? If you don't have this version of Photoshop, I recommend getting the monthly Photography plan subscription which will be the most current version of Photoshop. Photoshop Elements will not work for this class.
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A Word Processing Program
A word processing program such as Microsoft Word (USU students can download and use Microsoft Office 365 free),  Apache OpenOffice or LibreOffice (which are free and are compatible with the Microsoft Office Suite), or Google Docs (comes free with your GMail or AggieMail account)

A Reliable Internet Connection and Web Browser
This may be a foregone conclusion but you do need regular access to the internet for this class. Any of the major internet browsers work just fine with the website and tutorials.
Utah State University's Canvas
Utah State University students will be using Canvas extensively - for announcements, Zoom meetings, grades, assignments, discussions, messaging the instructor, and more. If you are unfamiliar with using Canvas, please go through the Canvas Student Guide! Knowing this will help you a great deal for most USU courses that use the Canvas Learning Management System.

Some information about our course...

For this class you will need to check Canvas weekly for announcements or personal messages I may send you.
Lesson Material and Tutorials
Each Lesson has video tutorials demonstrating Photoshop tools, design principles, and techniques. I've curated together helpful videos from other Photoshop pros, and created many myself. These videos are currently residing on YouTube and have been recorded mostly at a high resolution.

Whenever I connect you to a YouTube video to watch, I put you in what's called POPUP mode...This code change will show the YouTube video in full screen mode. Sometimes you might want to go back to regular mode because the video refers you to something in the comments below the video. To do that, just start moving your mouse and click on the word "YOUTUBE" in the bottom right area of the video.
There will be assigned readings during this course. They will be shared with you as Adobe PDF files. I have some tips for reading these online PDF files that will make it much easier for you. Please view the video, "some tips for reading online PDF files this semester."
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Video: Some tips for reading online PDF files this semester. (1:30)

How and Where to Contact or Visit with Me

​This course is an online class. Please click on the INSTRUCTOR/CONTACT link in the header above to learn how you can interact with me.

USU Students: How and Where to Turn in Assignments

​1) Your weekly assignments in this class will usually consist of several files. To save you and me time, please compress (or "zip") your files into a single archive file and submit that. Your archive should end with a .ZIP file extension. Let me show you how to zip files into a single archive file:
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Video: How to create a "ZIP" archive on Macintosh (1:25)
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Video: How to create a "ZIP" archive on Windows (1:10)
2) Please submit your assignments to me in Canvas.  Here's are instructions on how to do that. Please view the video, "assignment submissions."
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Video: Assignment Submissions (Students) (4:34)
If you have issues submitting an assignment in Canvas, you can use one of these alternatives:
Or you can use one of many other free large file transfer sites. Send your file to Nathan.Smith@usu.edu.  This one is WeTransfer, which lets you send up to a 2GB file for free.
You can use BFT - USU's big file transfer. Send your file to Nathan.Smith@usu.edu. Be sure to leave #6 blank! 
Optional resources to share with you! (Not required)
​I have so many resources around graphic design and Photoshop that I can share with you. You may not need these right now, but you might want to save any of them that might be useful to you later on!
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​This page last updated December 27, 2020.  This lesson combines my own work (images, text, videos) which are ©2021 by Nathan Smith.  All other images, videos, and cited text sources are curated from the internet, and are publicly available.