Introduction

Welcome to this online course, studying the history of digital arts and culture. This will serve as our home base where I have designed a number of experiences that will introduce you to the wonderful world of digital technology. We will cover some important topics we feel you should be on top of, in order to help you develop a more wholly understanding of how we got to where we are today, where we might be headed, and what that means to you as a digital artist and an integral creative component.

To begin, please read the Course Information section which will explain the principles of the course. Then move on to Moodle to view the Syllabus which will explain the course content, course objectives, quizzes and assignment information, and semester schedule.  

This course does not require any specific software or special equipment, other than a computer with access to the internet. You are here reading this, so I assume we have all that taken care of. 

It is important to remember that all email correspondence sent through Moodle goes to your university email account so please check it regularly, even though you may use a different account as your primary. It is a legal requirement that all email exchanges do go through university mail servers – so if you need to forward email to a personal account, contact the university IT department to help make that happen.

Please notice that there will be a self assessment at the end of most sessions. These will not be graded or even visible by your instructor, but are in place as a way to make sure that you connected with the materials and are able to retain it in a meaningful way.

Again, welcome and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email.

Thanks! 
Greg Twigg

The instructor for this course is Professor Greg Twigg, who is head of the Digital Arts & Technologies BFA at the School of Media Arts. His most recent work has been primarily focused on motion graphic support for films and graphic design for regional outfits. His work on the film, “Valley Uprising” won his team an Emmy with the Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2017. He has also served as concept and storyboard artist and animator for “A Line in the Sand,” a short animation with a wild lands conservation message, achieving Official Selection status at three major film festivals and won the “Creative Environmental Activism” award at the Adventure Film Festival in California.

Greg received a B.A. in Fine Art as a UM undergraduate, and later completed an MFA in the newly developing Media Arts sector. This combination of traditional and more cutting-edge studies has served him well, as he finds numerous ways to weave the two realms into his work.

After graduate school, Twigg worked full-time for a local advertising firm, where, for a year and a half, he sharpened his image and motion software skills. Then when the opportunity arose to teach at the university in 2003, he seized it. Though he still keeps his hands in numerous, more solitary freelance opportunities, he obviously has a passion and a gift for teaching his skills to others. He seems to truly appreciate being, as he says, “involved in the variety of creative work that students bring to the table” when working in the Media Arts.

Twigg’s credo… “just play and see what happens!”

Contact: greg.twigg@umontana.edu