Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm sorry to hear that this man doesn't fit with what you want in a teacher. Sometimes it can be hard to get into a class that has a teacher you just don't click with. I think in all honesty the course should be renamed, as it gives people the implication that they'll be using Photoshop right off the bat, or at least within two months of the start of the year. When I took a Digital Arts class, it was named Digital Graphics. As the name implies we did more graphics than actual art, though it was still under that category, but it was at least appropriately named in itself. I don't think that's necessarily his fault though, as he has to teach the way the course is intended. But I do think he should have explained what the portrait was for. It's not fair to be surprised by something like that that counts for so much of your grade. I would hope he'll take into account that not everyone has the same skill level and just may not be able to reproduce what they brought in. If he had told everyone beforehand what it was for, I'm sure people would have chosen much differently. I can also see this as him wanting to make it a challenge, but if it counts for so much that isn't really right.