TEACHING PORTFOLIO

As an art educator, I aim to provide insight into aesthetic theories and artistic practices, accompanied by real-life applications and an appreciation of the "big picture" context. In general, my approach aims to develop a critical understanding of artworks, encourage a high level of the visual form of awareness, and build better-rounded individuals with solid reasoning and problem-solving skills.

Skills Summary

Education

I graduated from the National Art Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria (bachelor’s degree 2004, master’s degree 2006), majoring in painting in Professor Valentin Kolev’s studio. In June 2012, I defended my Ph.D. dissertation, titled “Contemporary Painting in Macedonia – Innovations, and Tradition,” under the mentorship of Professor Svilen Stefanov. My creativity has been nurtured in an academic environment based on the traditional creative studio model, from which the most significant achievements in classical and classical-modern art have sprung.

Creative and Teaching Interests

My creative and teaching interests are interdisciplinary, equally oriented towards the traditional art disciplines and the new digital media and art forms created with computer technology. I have over ten years of experience at the higher education level. I am familiar and comfortable with many digital art forms, including graphic design and visual communication, vector drawing and illustration, digital photography, image editing/manipulation, 3D modeling and animation, art installation. I have considerable experience in creating and implementing undergraduate programs as well.

Academic Experience

University of Information Science and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle”, Ohrid, Macedonia

Assistant Professor in Digital Arts, June 2020 – Present

Assistant Professor in Visual Arts, Sept 2014 – Aug 2017

Lecturer, Dec 2009 – Oct 2013

Through my invaluable experience at the University of Information Science and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle” in Ohrid, Macedonia, I have gained awareness of the importance of liberal arts education, i.e., the breadth and flexibility given by education in arts, the importance of this kind of education nowadays, as well as the importance of knowledge transfer between the ICT field and visual arts.

Academic responsibilities:

Member of Senate
Head of the Center for Digital Art
Member of the committee for creating and implementing an undergraduate program in "Game Design/Digital Design and Animation”
Courses Taught
- Digital Arts
- Graphic Design and Visual Communication
- Web Design and Development
- Digital Media and Photography
- 2D and 3D Modeling
- 3D Modeling and Animation
- 3D Modeling of an Environment and Character
- Digital Media – An Introduction
- History of Art
- Cultural Heritage
Supervision of Bachelor theses
In-house visual artist (graphic design, digital photography, motion graphics/video)

Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, Nigeria

Lecturer I, Oct 2013 – Aug 2014

Elizade University (EU) is a private university located in Ilara-Mokin, in Ifedore Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria. The Founder, Chief Michael Ade.Ojo's main aim is to establish a world-class American-style university to empower Nigeria's youth and promote cultural, technological, and socio-economic development. I was offered a position at Elizade University due to the active recruitment of international scholars and administrators to act as "agents of change" in driving the university towards realizing its vision of empowering its students to tackle Nigeria's developmental problems. I was given a position in the Faculty of Humanities, Social and Management Sciences. My primary responsibility has been to design some of the teaching programs in Art and Art History. I have had the immense privilege and pleasure of teaching various subjects in the Performing and Film Arts and Mass Communication departments for one academic year.

Academic responsibilities:

Courses Taught
- History of Performing and Film Arts, 1st-year students
- Introduction to Film Arts, 2nd-year students
- Desktop Publishing, 2nd-year students
In-house visual artist (graphic design, digital photography, motion graphics/video)

University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Lecturer (Digital and New Media Art), Aug 2017 – Present

The University of KwaZulu-Natal is one of three universities in South Africa and, indeed in Africa, rated amongst the top 500 universities of the world according to the Academic Rankings of World Universities (ARWU). In 2018 UKZN was named one of the top 100 universities in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings. Ranked number 83, UKZN is the only South African University to feature in the top 100 list. The Department of Digital Arts is an internationally recognized, contemporary digital and new media art center. The Department is designed to meet the needs of the new generation of digital and new media artists, prepared to pursue their individual interests in academia, the industry, or as individual artists. The Department functions like a major studio, with production facilities essential for creating content for digital and new media art, animation, game, design, and more.

Academic responsibilities:

Member of “UKZN Strategic Planning Committee-Digital Art and Media”
Member of the committee for developing the discipline of Digital Arts and for developing a post-graduate program in GAMING, ANIMATION and NEW MEDIA ART, School of Arts, College of Humanities
Member of “Higher Degrees and Research Committee”, School of Arts, College of Humanities
Member of “Teaching and Learning Committee”, School of Arts, College of Humanities
Courses Taught
- DIGA101: Introduction to Digital Arts (Practical: laboratory-based)
- DIGA110: Introduction to Digital Media (Theory)
- DIGA301: Advanced Digital Arts (Practical: laboratory-based)
- DIGA302: Advanced Digital Arts 2 (Practical: laboratory-based)
- DIGA311: Advanced Digital Theory
- DIGA701: Digital Arts Studio Work I
- DIGA710: Critical Methodologies
- DIGA702: Digital Arts Studio Work II
- DIGA7RP: Research Paper
Supervision of Honours students
Supervision of MSc students

Teaching Philosophy and Samples of Students' Work

As an art educator, I aim to provide insight into aesthetic theories and artistic practices, accompanied by real-life applications and an appreciation of the "big picture" context. In general, my approach aims to develop a critical understanding of artworks, encourage a high level of the visual form of awareness, and build better-rounded individuals with solid reasoning and problem-solving skills.

My approach to lecturing is inter-disciplinary. It underlines the importance of art foundations and computer technology across all areas of visual arts. Digital media courses are an introductory gateway to a more focused study in the various media that constitute this new field. They give a broader view, introducing students to a range of different media and approaches. The software changes quickly, and hardware is constantly improving. The courses aim to provide knowledge of the constants that face any artist, designer, and student.

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Graphic Design and Visual Communication

This course introduces both the form and the function of graphic design. It is about applying the principles of visual perception to the practice of visual communication. The premise is that a course of study in graphic design should begin by applying basic design principles and theory. Interwoven with information about how we perceive and shape a two-dimensional surface is its application to graphic design problems. The computer is a powerful, complex, exciting tool to be mastered, but the end product is no better than the concept that defines it.

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Digital Photography

The principles of Digital Photography are introduced, combined with traditional concepts and techniques. As an instructor, I touch upon the history, technical, technological, and aesthetic aspects of photography. Digital Photography includes technical topics such as mechanics of shooting (image capture, defining the camera, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, lens and focal length, exposure and lighting, etc.), as well as composition and compositional techniques, framing, and seeing photographs, i.e., exploring the concepts behind visual storytelling through the use of images.

The course also acts as a companion to Graphic Design and 3D Modelling and Animation.

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Image Editing and Manipulation

This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to master image manipulation, photographic retouching, photo-montage, and compositing. It includes topics such as Editing Controls, Layers, Adjusting Color, and Value (Histogram, Levels, Curves), Selection, Masking, Using Filters (Blur and Sharpen), etc. The course includes a wide diversity of projects: improving the lightness and contrast of an image, color balance, stylizing photographs, creating an illusion of a shallow area of focus, reconstructing paintings by using found photographic imagery, and so on.

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3D Modelling

The course in 3D Modelling develops the foundational skills for creating CG imagery, including modeling simple shapes, working with important elements of the program interface, working with the basic geometry types (polygons, NURBS, and subdivision surfaces), modelling workflows, topology, texturing, rendering etc.

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3D Animation

The course in 3D Animation gives insight into the field, considering 3D animation as a tool for storytelling. By combining technical and art education and teaching, students learn to create 3D animation, and moreover, they learn how to create their unique 3D animation. They learn the essentials of 3D animation, how 3D animation projects are created. The course covers:

Working in 3D animation preproduction (Idea/Story, Script/Screenplay, Storyboard, Animatic/Pre-visualization, Design)
Working in 3D animation production (Modeling and Texturing, Rigging and Animation, Understanding Visual Effects, Lighting, and Rendering)
Working in 3D animation postproduction (Compositing, 2D visual effects (VFX)/motion graphics, Color correction, Final output)

3D Animation - Digital Arts Honours Project

The Digital Arts Honours Program at UKZN focuses on individual specialization within the field of Digital Arts practice. Students are required to research and produce a creative digital art project in a chosen area of practice. Students are encouraged to draw on various skills learnt in the undergraduate program.

"Anthropomorphous", 2019, by Limo Velapi, Hloniphani Buthelezi, Nosiphi Caluza, Thoba Magubane, Xolani Mnguni.

Animation - Digital Arts Honours Project

The Digital Arts Honours Program at UKZN focuses on individual specialization within the field of Digital Arts practice. Students are required to research and produce a creative digital art project in a chosen area of practice. Students are encouraged to draw on various skills learnt in the undergraduate program.

"Tenant and Mouse", 2018, by Sizwe Mthwethwe

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DIGA302: Advanced Digital Arts

Project: Site-specific digital installations, UKZN, 2017

The installations consist of a pedestal (and tablet PC or mobile phone) on which a virtual sculpture is displayed via AR (Augmented Reality) technology. The augmented reality system consists of a camera, computational unit, and a display. The system is run on a tablet PC (or mobile phone) using a built-in camera. By using marker-based tracking, it captures the marker placed on the pedestal, hence displaying the previously created virtual sculpture. Visitors can look at the virtual sculptures from all sides by moving the monitor around the pedestal. The installations are dynamic, interactive, and participatory, and they address the interplay between virtual and physical structures.

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Digital Drawing and Painting - Digital Arts Honours Project

Student: Jethro Settler, 2018

Settler’s work is based on Afrofuturism, which is trying to create a unique place for young African voices to envision a future that is theirs – ‘one they can feel proud of and not feel like they need to cut out aspects of being African to be modern’. Part of the work was showcased at the International Symposium for Electronic Arts (ISEA) 2018, hosted by the City of Durban, South Africa. In October 2019, the School of Arts hosted a Student Excellence Awards event where Jethro was rewarded for excellent academic performance in Digital Arts.

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3D Visualization of Archaeological Sites and Monuments

Students: Ermira Aliu, Vlatko Dojchinoski, Gjoko Momir, Aleksandar Ruseski, Georgij Lazarevski

Project: 3D Visualization of the Three Nave Basilica – Archeological Site “Plaoshnik”, Ohrid, Macedonia, 2012.

Project coordinator: University of Information Science and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle”, Ohrid, Macedonia.
Project partner: Department for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museum, Ohrid, Macedonia.

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Academic Award, Oct 2017

Certificate of recognition for best professor according to the students’ evaluation. University of Information Science and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle”, Ohrid, Macedonia.