Good hands-on experience with the Adobe Creative Cloud specifically Photoshop and Illustrator software.

Computer Access

You will need regular and reliable access to a good internet connection.
An up-to-date browser; Safari, Firefox or Chrome
A newer model laptop or desktop computer that can handle the Adobe Creative Cloud (Please see below for software system requirements).
Portable drive, high capacity USB flash drive or portable hard drive, or cloud storage for storage and back-ups

CANVAS has an app for Apple and Android devices, but you will only be able to read and watch the lecture content. You will not be able to create content for your assignments on your phone.

Computer Software

This semester Adobe Creative Cloud is FREE to DDP students. Check the hardware requirements for each software app before you download any software. A word of caution when using this free version is to always back up your work away from the Creative Cloud and please remember that the last day of the semester will end your access.

To sign up, please do the following:

General instructions:

Once we have confirmed a student’s email address has been uploaded to the console, students should receive an activation email.
- The student should use the activation email for the initial login. It should direct them to the login portal where they will enter their email and password (or Create an account if a new user, then login).

*** Please note this is via Adobe ID Personal account, NOT a Federated / Enterprise ID

New users can Create an Account, as described here: https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/create-update-adobe-id.html. They can also be instructed to click the “Create an account” link on the Sign in page.

By the first day of the semester, you will be able to gain access after you set up an Adobe ID account using your mycod.us email address.. Choose the “Personal Account” option when logging in, which will then use the Adobe ID authentication method.

image of personal and official account

You are eligible to purchase a semi- or annual license to Adobe Creative Cloud via College Buys for $50 for six months and $85 for the year. You will have access to the cloud until your subscription ends but you can always renew it. This way is more convenient.

Alternatives to Adobe

These are 10 of the best free Adobe Creative Cloud alternatives for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Adobe’s Creative Cloud offers a great set of apps for creators of all levels.

In this video, you find the best free Creative Cloud alternatives for many of the popular programs including Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Premiere Pro and many others. All are available on Windows, MAC, Linux operating systems.

Lightroom

RawTherapee https://rawtherapee.com/ (Links to an external site.)
darktable http://www.darktable.org/ (Links to an external site.)

Photoshop

GIMP https://www.gimp.org/ (Links to an external site.)

Illustrator

Inkscape https://inkscape.org/ (Links to an external site.)

After Effects

Blender https://www.blender.org/ (Links to an external site.)

InDesign

Scribus https://www.scribus.net/ (Links to an external site.)

Premiere Pro

Shotcut https://www.shotcut.org/ (Links to an external site.)
OpenShot https://www.openshot.org/ (Links to an external site.)
DaVinci Resolve https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/prod... (Links to an external site.)

Audition

Audacity https://www.audacityteam.org/ (Links to an external site.)

Animate

Synfig Studio https://www.synfig.org/

Books

My requirements are that you get the software. That being said the following books are highly recommended to succeed in this course.

Computer Skills

You must have basic word processing and computer skills in order to be successful in this course. If you do not know how to format a document in Word, save files to PDF, or attach files you have saved, then you will need to learn quickly! You can find tutorials on YouTube and search online for other helpful resources.

You will also need:

Portable drive (high capacity USB flash drive or portable hard drive or cloud storage)
Hardware requirements (Links to an external site.)
Software
- Adobe Creative Cloud
  - The Adobe Creative Suite program can be purchased at a student rate upon verification of enrollment. If you already have the Illustrator software and it is a different version, please contact your instructor immediately.
  - Students at California's community colleges have access to greatly reduced technology through CollegeBuys. (Links to an external site.) Check out discounts on Adobe products, laptops, and other "gadgets" and software you will need to be a successful college student.
  - This software will not operate without activation. Broadband Internet connection and registration are required for software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services. Phone activation is not available.
Internet Browser (i.e., Safari, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla FireFox, Google Chrome)
Adobe Acrobat Reader to view instructor handouts (.PDF files).

To proceed through the modules, you can use the "Next" button, which is always located near the lower right-hand corner of the page. Once the button says "Next Module," then you have reached the last page of the current module.