Getting Started
The VRC can assist with creating custom digital images for your teaching, research, or publication. This could include line drawings, image stitching, maps, floor plans and elevations, and diagram creation. Please contact the VRC to discuss how we can help articulate your arguments through custom images. If you are working with a publisher, please send the VRC any image specifications such as image dimensions, file type (tiff, vector, etc.), and format (print or digital).
As part of an initial project consultation, VRC staff will discuss your proposed idea, the desired output, the project scope, timeline, and more, including VRC staff roles and how collaborative work should be credited and/or acknowledged. After the project consultation meeting, the VRC will evaluate your proposed custom imaging project to determine if we can support your project.
In addition to the VRC, there are other campus resources available for creating custom images, including Dale Mertes in IT Services. The VRC can also help train or work with your RA on custom imaging projects.
The VRC’s Personal Archiving Workshop series offers intro videos and resources on creating custom images for academic arguments. If you’re interested in using VRC Lab equipment to work on your own custom images and visualizations, reserve a desktop workstation with Adobe Creative Suite or a drawing tablet by emailing visualresources@uchicago.edu. The VRC can provide basic training on software.
Past Projects
Below are some examples of custom images and diagrams the VRC has created in the past for faculty and student use.
Custom diagram showing ornamentation on the structure using color-coded images.
Custom diagram showing mural placement in a building.
Reconstruction of mural by overlaying sections of contemporary drawings on a photograph of the current surface.
Digital tracings of line drawings from book to enlarge detail and image size.
Custom map showing color-coded areas of Aztec and Incan empire circa 1500. Map was created to replace a lower-quality image from a publication.
Other Campus Resources
ATS can assist with advanced multimedia concerns including creating or enhancing imagery, animation, 3D renderings, video production, and more.
RCC can help with data visualization and GIS projects.
Computer Science Instructional Lab
CSIL offers access to imaging software such as Adobe Suite and CAD programs. Software training on Photoshop is available through CSIL.