Crazy Graphics

This workshop enables pupils to lift the lid of computer graphics and explore how computers deal with the visually rich world around us. During this day pupils cover not only computational concepts, but also enable opportunities for coverage of programmes of study for Art, whilst building in numerical skills and understanding required for the Maths curriculum.Pupils begin the day by studying the work of famous artists, and how the colour and tones can affect the mood of the painting. They then move onto digitally enhancing and editing images of famous works of art. This is used as an introduction to how computers represent graphics.Pixels and binary are introduced through the use of spreadsheets; pupils use conditional formatting to change the colour of cells depending on the binary value they input. Using formulae they are then able to estimate potential file size for the graphic they created. Colour depth is introduced by adding an extra bit to each pixel allowing the pupils to add colour to their images. Pupils end the day by undertaking a series of challenges to investigate the difference between bitmap and vector graphics and file types.