Due Monday, Nov 4th!

DUE FOR NOV 4TH:

1.  Have your info graphic, completed, printed BEFORE 9:00, and ready to turn in!

2.  Bring your .ai file to class to work in!

Remember:
If your project is not printed when class starts, it is considered LATE!

Furthermore, if it is turned in late, your letter grade drops by 2 grades instead of 1!

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Extra notes for transforming your objects, in case you want more fidelity than the "free transform" tools:

USING THE TRANSFORM OPTIONS:

You can manually transform objects by going to OBJECT ----> TRANSFORM, and then selecting one of the following:

• MOVE…
• ROTATE…
• REFLECT...
• SCALE…
• SHEAR…

The example above is the window for TRANSFORM ----> MOVE.

Once you select these objects, you can manually enter in the amount of space you want to transform your object.  Hitting preview will help you see what your image looks like before it is transformed.  From there you have two options:

Clicking "OK" will transform your object as desired.
Clicking COPY will make a second copy of your object where you transformed it.

You can repeat these transformations by hitting COMMAND + D.

Notes for 10/28

TOOLS NEEDED FOR PROJECT:

1) Shape Tool  (M)

2) Pen Tool ℗

3) Type Tool (T)

4) Brush Tool* (B)

5) Direct Selection Tool (A)

6) Selecton Tool (V)

7) Layers Tab

8) Pathfinder Tab

9) Eyedropper Tool: (i)

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Hotkeys for Tools:

A) UNDO: (COMMAND + Z)

B) REDO:  (SHIFT+ COMMAND + Z)

1) Rotate:  (R key)

2) Deselect:  (SHIFT + COMMAND + A)

3) Group: (COMMAND + G)

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IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS TO REMEMBER:

Importing images from your computer:

FILE ------> PLACE

Using the 3D tool:

EFFECT -------> 3D ------> EXTRUDE AND BEVEL

(rotate and revolve works as well, with different results)

Parameters for Project 7: Infographics and Time Management!

You will be graded on the following:

• Clarity of the message and information presented.
• Cleanliness and Craftsmanship.
• Visual hierarchy of information.
• Overall alignment and spacing of elements of the image.

For those of us that may still be a bit confused on what makes a great infographic, here is a handy resource that may shed some light on the matter, coincidentally, made as an infographic in its own right.  

http://visual.ly/what-makes-good-infographic

A good infographic has 4 things working together in harmony:

• Data:  What is the information I want to present?  How much information gets my point across without feeling lacking or too overwhelming?

• Design:  How is the information of my infographic presented?  Is it easy to understand?

• Story:  What is the overall message of my infographic? How do I get that message across?

• Shareability:  Is it easy to pass on to others without being overly confused about the information presented?

If you have some of one, but are lacking in others, you may find yourself with an infographic that is not as effective as it could be. This is represented in the graph with the amount of each of the four outside circles fluctuating in visibility and taking up less space in the inside circles.

Personally I believe this particular infographic could be improved upon. As you complete this project and polish up your skills in illustrator, ask yourself what you would do to improve on this example!

Helpful Information for Learning Adobe Illustrator!

In class today, we will review what we've covered so far, and how those skills can lead to you making amazing work in Adobe Illustrator!

Click this link for a list of hotkeys!

(There is a very descriptive menu that helps with finding the hot keys you're looking for!)

Click for a list of web tutorials that teach different techniques for creating artwork!

The webpage is called (45 Fresh And Best Adobe Illustrator Tutorials.)

Teefury.com:

 One of the best and most economically sound examples of using Illustrator in practical application!

Notes about Illustrator to remember:

The greatest strength of illustrator is that we create images in it using VECTOR GRAPHICS!

Vector Graphics scale up and down without limit! That is, we can scale our images as big or as small as we want without pixelated or jagged edges!  It definitely comes in handy when wanting to make a design and use it in as many places as possible, including the aforementioned Teefury website.  Many an artist has made money selling designs to "graphic tee" websites like Teefury.

As a point of contrast, Photoshop works with RASTER GRAPHICS, which are compiled through many tiny pixels, as opposed to the mathematical equations that create vectored images.

With varying degrees of success, you can Vectorize a Rasterized Image.  There may be some loss of color information when you do.  You can also Rasterize a Vectorized Image, but will lose the ability to scale infinitely.

Assignment for October 28th! (Homework at bottom of post)

Project 7: Infographics and Time Management!

Our next project will be one that merges artwork creation and technique with practical application!  As freshmen, your first semester is full of moments where we succumb to the pressures of juggling our lives and maintaing a keen sense of time management.  We have trouble meeting deadlines, and sometimes arrive to school with next to know energy.  As our first Illustrator-only project, we will create infographics that document the way we spend our time each week!  As we work on this project, you will become more aware of the true amount of time each of us have, and come up with ways you can better allocate your time!  Phase one of the project is indicated below.

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Infographics are defined as:

in·fo·graph·ic

ˌinfōˈgrafik/

noun

plural noun: infographics

1. 1.
   a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data.
   
   "a good infographic is worth a thousand words"

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Their use has risen in prominence over the years, and now you are able to find info graphics just about anywhere on the internet! As a point of reference here are some websites with tons of info graphics for examples! You can find more with a quick google search.

• http://blog.visual.ly/20-great-infographics-of-2012/
• http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design-tips/information-graphics-1232836
• http://trendland.com/10-great-infographics-for-graphic-designers/
• http://readwrite.com/2013/06/10/5-tools-for-creating-your-own-infographics#awesm=~ol6spFPC6tpvUQ
• http://www.good.is/infographics

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For homework:

Part 1:  Research

A.  Find 3 info graphics that are indicative of the level of polish and quality you want to achieve in your work in illustrator. Look for these things when selecting your image:

• Clarity of the message and information presented.
• Cleanliness and Craftsmanship.
• Visual hierarchy of information.
• Overall alignment and spacing of elements of the image.

B.  After you select each image, save a copy to bring with you to class. Write on your blog why you selected each image.  What about the information presented appeals to you?  What were you first attracted to when viewing the graphic-- the way the information was presented, or the information itself.

Part 2: Documentation and information gathering.

A.  Open up microsoft excel.  Create a table that documents your life on a weekly basis. I will review creating things in microsoft excel on Monday, but for those of you that missed class today, remember these things:

1. You can click on a square to type into it.  You can navigate around each cel with the arrow keys on the keyboard.
2. You can change the alignment of the type, and the font the same way you can in Microsoft Word.

B. Your table should be divided by each day of the week, and divided along the edges by 30 minute increments, similar to the example below.

(edit: noticed my image was not uploaded until 5:53, Thursday.  So sorry!)

C. Fill in the chart with Details on how you spend each block of time during your week. More detail is better!  We will use this information to create your infographic!

Part 3: Creation of your infographic

Start work on your infographic project!  Come up with an idea for how you want to convey the information presented, draw up some sketches, and begin work on your project in Adobe Illustrator!

Due for Monday: October 16th

Congrats on making it through the first half of Digital Foundations!  Over the fall break, you will need to do two things for our next project:

Project #6: Making Comics:  The Freshman Experience/ My Life as an Art Student

Objective:  Create a comic about your time at MCA so far! 

• Minimum number of pages: 1
• Maximum number of pages: 2

All of the projects we have done so far have touched on the many different disciplines at MCA. The next one we cover will be Illustration.  

The comics medium is used to tell stories, where each panel indicates a passage of time.  When words and speech bubbles come together, it creates a moving story where we perceive a cohesive story is taking place in front of our very eyes.

For this project, you will be asked to create a sequential narrative (comic) about your experience at MCA so far! Use the internet as a reference for the variety of comic styles and layouts out there, and create one that best describes your personal experience.

This project will be our first project to incorporate adobe illustrator.  Because of that, you are asked to complete the general layout of your comic and any images you need for it in photoshop, then use illustrator for laying out your text.

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Ways of creating your comic:

• Draw then scan into photoshop.
• Draw directly into photoshop.
• (The more experimental take:) Draw your work in illustrator. We have not covered the majority of tools yet, but you are free to experiment if you choose! 
• HAVE A .PDF, .JPG, or .PNG OF THE COMPLETED COMIC TO TURN IN BY 9:00 MONDAY MORNING!

Have a great weekend!

Midterm Expectations! (AND MINI PROJECT DUE AT THE END OF CLASS ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9TH!)

Your blog must be completed to this date!

Have documentation of

• Your first assignment (blocking shapes in photoshop)
• Your self portrait
• Your ideal landscape
• Your gestalt artist research
• Your gestalt principles project
• both version 1 and 2
• Your typography project
• Include on the blog:
• The parameters discussed for each project
• What was your initial idea? What colors did you choose to use? Which tools did you use to create your project?  What did you learn from making each project?  How well do you feel you understand photoshop at this point?  Excellently, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory?
• Include any images (including your final image for your assignments!)

If you've been keeping up to date with your project so far, well done! =)

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Midterm assignment! (DUE AT THE END OF CLASS ON WEDNESDAY!)

• Create one image in photoshop… the theme is "dealer's choice," meaning that you can create anything you want! Use it as an opportunity to make something in line with your interests!  Create something you want to make that demonstrates use of all the skills we've covered so far.
• On the blog, post your image, and mention which skills you are applying to your project!

To be completed by Monday! (OCT 7, 2013)

1. Have your typography project PRINTED, and ready for critique at 9 AM!
2. Between now and Monday, please complete the in class critiques mentioned in the previous posts below, getting two people to critique your work.  Write what their opinions were, print it out, and turn in to me in class!

To recap:

• 1) Someone you know well in class.
• 2) Someone you do not know well in class.

This is a good chance for you to get to know your classmates a little better, and gain a fresh perspective of the work you are doing!

• Make note of their comments!  (Typed, or handwritten.) Structure your critiques of the work in a sliding scale of 5 comments, based on the following:

• 1st:  What is the most successful thing about your image?  (STORYTELLING) (+ +)
• 2nd: (+)
• 3rd: (*) Something working, but still needs to be refined further.
• 4th: (-)
• 5th:  What is the thing that needs the most improvement in your image? (- -)
• Afterwards, write a couple sentences about what you learned, and what you plan to improve for the second draft of your project.