> I vote for having both traditional and digital methods being taught
in all programs.  Seems to me the UC Santa Cruz has successfully
combined both in a program that lasts only a little over a year and
offers a grad. certificate.  Others are doing the same combination.
>
> G'ma Elaine
>

Traditional media must stay.  I say again, traditional media must stay
in the programs of any undergraduate art program.  Am I biased? Of
course I am.  I consistently see students creating computer generated,
oops I used that term, I mean digitally enhance, what are we saying
now? Anyway, students creating artwork on the computer who completely
miss the mark on understanding light, form, composition, value and
more.  Most of the time its because they have missed the traditional
concept of space relationships and light on form taught in simple
drawing classes using pencils, pens, and erasures. At the University of
Georgia, the scientific illustration program is teaching the
traditional media; pencil, technical pens and nibs on denril and
scratchboard, we use lamp black watercolor washes, and full color
watercolor, acrylic, and gouache.  We even work a few projects in
traditional airbrush, Yes thats true! In advance color we start with
three traditional airbrush projects and change to digital and stick
with that the remainder of the semester. The computer has made its way
into the curriculum and is here to stay. In fact, next year I will
begin the movement of calling the computer a traditional tool. The
students are required to have at least one digital media class and are
encouraged to have two or three.  Since we have a huge diversity of art
classes here, the scientific illustration students get all the drawing,
painting, photography, graphic design and most of the computer classes
with the other art students.  In these classes, they are creating their
own art and learning the essentials of light, composition, value and the
other rules governing the overall appearance of the visual image on the
page.  The students don't begin to work with the scientific subject
matter or with our guidelines and rules until they have had some of
these traditional art classes.  This combination has worked very well
for many years and I don't expect it to change for a while.  In short,
traditional media is an essential part of any artists background who
expect to understand the use of color, light, and composition to achieve
an aesthetic quality to thier images. Aesthetics in scientific
illustration? I think so.