Author: Rachael

Homework deadlines extended

Let’s take a little more time to get through Chapters 1 – 3 in Foundations of Digital Art. Final exercises from all three chapters are due on Blackboard by Wednesday 1/28 at the beginning of class.  Chapters 2 and 3 are more time-consuming than 1, though I would say Chapter 2 is the trickiest of all.

The tutorial videos at adobe.com are a quick way to learn the basics of Illustrator.
The tutorial videos at adobe.com are a quick way to learn the basics of Illustrator.

I recommend spending a little time with the Illustrator CC tutorial videos created by Adobe. The videos are very short and might help fill in any gaps left by the textbook.  I especially like this 8-minute video that explains how to create a basic illustration using the Pencil tool. I’ve never made a digital badge before, but after working through Chapter 3 in Foundations and spending about 30 minutes watching tutorial videos about Anchor point and Pencil, I created this simple badge from scratch. Don’t judge! I’m still working on it. 🙂

tag-badge-02

Graphic design practice

In Chapter 5 in White Space, you read about many terms that can help you make compelling graphic designs.

Here are some examples that demonstrate the terms. Can you add your own examples as links or images to that Google doc?

These terms are important for our class and I’d like you to use them when you critique the work of your peers later in the semester.  Today in class, use Illustrator to create some compositions that demonstrate any of the elements/rules/laws of visual communication. Use a different artboard for each composition. Here are some student examples that might help you get started.

Save your images as .png files and upload them to your Tumblr or Pinterest when you’re done. You can export individual images as .png by going to File > Export, selecting the format, and which artboard you want.

If you are struggling in general with Illustrator, there are tons of tutorials online. Adobe has made a series of very short videos that will introduce you to the essential tools and tasks.

Sketching!

Image credit: Mike Rohde
Image credit: Mike Rohde

I came across this great blog post about the importance of sketching for any visual communicator. It reminded me of many points that the authors make in White Space Is Not Your Enemy. Especially when creating shapes in Illustrator, sketching is a way to play with ideas and share them with others while they are still in development. Sketching is really the best kind of “research” you can do as an artist.

Digital badges

Image credit: Flickr user VCU Libraries
Image credit: Flickr user VCU Libraries

In class on 1/21, we’ll talk about the digital badges mini project and the basics of Adobe Illustrator.

Here are some examples of badge sets we can look at in class. What do these badges say about the issuing organization and the person being rewarded?

Chapter 2 in White Space advises us to keep asking “what will appeal to the audience?” during the planning process. (Jess Klein offers great tips for doing that, specifically in relation to digital badges.) In addition to looking at other badge designs, consider drawing inspiration from emoji, computer icons, and Facebook stickers — these are familiar visual codes for your audience of college students.

Over the next 4 or 5 days, work on design sketches in a notebook and begin pinning or tumbling images (shapes, textures, logos, etc.) that give you ideas for the badges you might want to create. Follow the brainstorming/sketching process in White Space Chapter 2.

When you have your design vision or concept firmed up, search for online tutorials that will help you accomplish what you want to create. I’m working on a Resources page, and that might be a good place to start.

A note on the Foundations of Digital Art and Design book: if you go to the publisher’s website, you’ll find an eBook for $35. Also, when I visited the site, I was offered a 35% off discount code (POP35), so that might save you money if it applies to the eBook (I didn’t try it).

Welcome

… to the spring semester and to COM 202! Check here for the most updated schedule (see “calendar” at left) and for news/announcements related to class. I’m excited to learn alongside you this semester. This course is about getting a broad sampling of what tools and approaches are available for visual communicators. We don’t focus for too long on any one thing because it’s about breadth rather than depth. When it’s all over, you will not be a professional designer. BUT maybe you’ll do cool things like:

understand how color, typography etc. work rhetorically to create a mood & style

know why someone made a whole movie about one font

ask why commercials use particular cuts, lighting, and angles

ace that trivia question about the difference between raster and vector

list a bunch of great design skills on your resume and land that digital content internship this summer

By Friday 1/16, please share the link to your Tumblr site or Pinterest board (the one you will use for this class) on your section’s Google doc: Section 01 doc and Section 03 doc. You will use this space to post your final projects and mini projects for class critique / discussion. You will also pin or tumble design inspiration.

Here is the link to purchase the student version of Adobe Creative Cloud. The version we need is $20/month.