Jeanne Verdoux
Generative AI in Teaching for Parsons First-Year: Drawing/Imaging
Drawing / Imaging explored how meaning is constructed and communicated through two-dimensional images. Students used both traditional drawing techniques and digital imaging methods to consider the conceptual, aesthetic and formal qualities of visual representation.
Faculty Reflection
Introducing Adobe Photoshop Gen AI to my image-making syllabus this semester was a very interesting experience. I was surprised to see the wide range of knowledge and attitudes of the students towards generative AI. Some students embraced generative gen AI as a creative boost—using it to experiment with wild visual ideas, generating beautiful surreal images, or simply getting inspired. Others were more reluctant and produced somewhat clichés photographic images. I loved how the lectures on art and technology, collage art as well as on AI in general, sparked class conversations and helped students form their own opinions on the topic.
Throughout the four weeks of classes of this unit, there were a lot of opportunities to learn, experiment and reflect. Some of the students’ critics pointed out how gen AI can be frustrating as it doesn’t always understand their instructions, and how it can feel more like producing a finished art work rather than enjoying the process of creation. Others were cautious about how AI might impact the art world, the job market as well as the environment. A majority of students preferred the analogue collage assignment to the gen AI collage. It felt more tactile and intuitive to them.
Because I added this Gen AI unit to the Drawing/Imaging First year syllabus, one challenge was balancing time between learning traditional Photoshop tools and experimenting with the gen AI features. Some felt their time might have been better spent digging deeper into Photoshop itself, which is totally fair. As gen AI becomes more familiar to students, I believe I can shorten the workshop.
Overall, what stood out most was the range of reactions. Some students were all-in, others were skeptical—but everyone was engaged and happy to learn about gen AI in general. I felt students had gained a lot of confidence from the class open discussions and the opportunity to express their own concerns on the subject. Moving forward, I will keep informed and find ways to introduce students to gen AI as one of the many image making tools available to us —something to use with intention.
Curriculum and Student Projects
Project 1: Visual Narrative Collages
This was a preliminary assignment for the Generative AI workshop.
Using paper cut-outs from used picture books, students combined 3 or 4 images to create a ‘character’. Using additional collage elements, students created surfaces to be used as background images. Using Photoshop, students combined character collages with background collages to create meaningful compositions. Inspired by these compositions, students brainstormed ideas to write a short narrative about their images.
Collaging and writing narratives was a process for students to create personal content to generate images using Photoshop Gen AI tools later.
From left to right: Dongge Su, Guilherme Triguis-Bacchi, Yumo Zhao
Project 2: Gen AI Expand
Using Photoshop AI generative expand tool, students expanded a vertical image into a horizontal one. Extremely useful to reformat images and a time saver.
Image by Guilherme Triguis-Bacchi.
Project 3: Adobe Photoshop Generative AI Image
Using Photoshop AI generative tool, students generated images based on their visual narrative collages as well as their narrative texts. Under the Photoshop Gen AI Contextual Task Bar, students had the option to either use their collages as ‘visual reference’ and/or their texts as ‘prompts’. It was a very experimental process. We did not know what would come out.
Students’ discussions followed to compare the visual results of the analogue and digital image making process.
Top: Iyanu Oluwafemi
From left to right: Dongge Su, Guilherme Triguis-Bacchi, Yumo Zhao
Project 4: Mixing Photoshop Generative AI & Other Digital Tools
Students generated an image using a prompt. They then used traditional photoshop tools to create a composition integrating this gen AI image into other shapes and colors. The results were very interesting and unusual images. Mixing gen AI tools with other tools to create a more controlled composition can be an interesting method.
By Dongge Su
By Guilherme Triguis-Bacchi
By Yumo Zhao