Oral Exam Review
The following is a list of questions that you may be asked in your oral exam. Other questions related to digital imaging may also be included, and follow-up questions related to your answers are likely. Each student will meet with the instructor individually, either during or outside of class to complete the oral exam, which will take from 5-20 minutes. You will be informed of your grade at the completion of the exam. Students wishing to re-take the exam will be required to schedule a second exam no sooner than one week after the initial exam. The second exam grade will replace the first grade, with no penalty for earlier failure.
What is a pixel?
- What is a pixel made of?
- What does it mean when we say a pixel (or layer) is “transparent”. What happens to the pixels?
- What does "dpi" stand for, and what is its relationship to a digital file?
- What is a mega-pixel?
- What does it mean when we say that an image is "pixelated"?
- What three aspects of pixels can Photoshop alter?
- When you change the size of a photoshop image, what happens to the pixels?
What is resolution?
- What is "ppi", and how is it different from "dpi"?
- If an image is three inches by four inches at a resolution of 200ppi, how many pixels does it contain? (you may be asked a different problem-don’t just memorize the answer)
- What is the difference between print size and image resolution?
- What is the relevance of the term 72dpi? Is it good? Explain.
What is light?
What is color?
- How is an Xray light, and how is it notlight?
- What are additive and subtractive color systems?
- What is the definition of the term "primary color"? (red, yellow and blue are examples of primary colors, not the definition of the term "primary color") Explain.
- What do CMYK and RGB stand for?
- What is the difference between CMYK and RGB color? Which is better?
- What is an "out of gamut" color?
- What is indexed color?
- What is hexadecimal color?
- Is magenta a color? Why or why not?
File Formats
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of the following file formats:
- jpeg
- psd
- gif
- png
- tiff
- RAW
- Ai
- Indd
Printing
- What's the difference between a halftone (or bitmap) image and a grayscale image?
- How does a laser printer work?
- How does an inkjet printer work?
- What are advantages and disadvantages of each?
- What is a printer profile?
- What is the difference between screen resolution, print resolution, and image resolution?
Photoshop Terms
- What’s the difference between a layer and a channel?
- Â What’s the difference between a path and a selection?
- Explain three ways to make a new layer.
- How is a background layer different from a layer named “background”.
- What are layer effects? How do you use them? What are some common layer effects?
- What is a blending mode?
- What is the difference between a “hard” brush and a “soft” brush?
- When was Photoshop born?
Artists
- Name and describe the work of 3-5 famous graphic designers.
Illustrator
- What is the difference between raster and vector graphics?
- Why can’t I change the resolution of my illustrator files?
- What is the difference between the selection tool and the direct selection tool? Which one is better?
- How does the pen tool work?
- What does it mean to group objects?
- What is a Bezier curve?
- What does it mean to “create outlines” of type?
- What are some properties of a good logo?
- How does live tracing work?
- If illustrator images are made for the web, how should they be saved?
- What’s the difference between a fill and a stroke?
Typography
- What is a font?
- What is a corrupted font?
- What is a serif? What does it mean to be Sans Serif? Which is better?
- What is the difference between the following font families: Roman, Italic, Egyptian, Novelty, Blackletter?
- What is the difference between tracking, leading and kerning?
- Does leading rhyme with speeding or shredding? Why?
- What is reverse type?
- What do the following tems mean: x-height, em space, en space. Which one is the biggest?
- What is optical margin alignment?
- What’s the difference between a small cap and a drop cap?
- What’s the difference between a ligature and a glyph?
- How many spaces go after a period? How many returns go after a paragraph?
- What are picas and points?
- What is justified text?
- What is the difference between a frame and content?
- Which is on the right, odd or even pages?
- What are bowls, counters, arms, tails?
- What is the significance of the font Helvetica?