For students to refine their skills using Adobe Illustrator’s Pen Tool, my students accepted the challenge of the OMG project, as in “Oh my gosh, this is so challenging and time consuming!” But the effort is well worth the outcome.
The theme was to recreate a god or goddess in modern society. Students researched Greek, Roman, and Aztec mythological figures to learn about their core characteristics, and brainstormed how to apply them in our current culture.
They photographed themselves, friends, or family as their models. Then they used that photo as a template to make a vector illustration in Adobe Illustrator. Tiny solid shapes make up the entirety of the photo to make a realistic representation. They spent about three weeks on the project. The process is like creating a digital painting! Below are some examples that were turned in. I also included the outline imagery of a couple illustrations to show the number of shapes that were created to make up the compositions. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results! These illustrations are sure to blow your mind!
* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.
Aditi by Madison Wigginton(Outline of shapes)Hera by Carson BrantleyVenus by Caylee HubbardApollo by Darren CheairsHecate by Elizabeth GammillAthena by Grayson BrownLoki by Rebecca BaileyApollo by Whitney White
The third project for Intermediate Computing for Design class was called Reinterpret a Cliché. Imagery seen too frequently is often not seen at all. This is the case with overused design symbols and everyday objects. Overuse renders them ineffective, and they lose their power to communicate. It is the function of the designer to revitalize these clichéd symbols and objects by interpreting them in individual and personal ways.
Students picked 6 of the following 12 examples of typically clichéd objects to be reinterpreted:
Heart
Key
Apple
Sun
Stars
Mouth
Light Bulb
Tree
Cloud
Eye
Rose
Nuts & Bolts
Then they chose a theme all 6 illustrations would have in common. Not only were they to work stylistically, but conceptually, as well. The final product had to be black & white. They scanned their sketchbook designs into Photoshop or Illustrator to continue rendering them to completion, either using the Pen Tool or Live Trace option.
Below are some designs that were turned in. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!
* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.
by Bethany Smith; insectsby Cara Moore; flowersby Carly Bond; fairy-talesby Connor Booth; under the seaby Gerald Wicks; Harry Potterby Imani Smith; dancersby Ques Nevels; fightersby Sarah Ferguson; fruits & veggiesby Stephen Latham; bit-syle Mario charactersby Taylor Knight; stereotypesby Laura Leigh Hicks; facial hair
For Design I’s second project, we focused on geometric and organic shapes. Students constructed 3 compositions: 1 for all geometric, 1 for all organic, and 1 for a combination of geometric and organic. The medium used to depict these shapes was black construction paper and white Bristol cardstock. Good craftsmanship was emphasized. They also had to implement the elements and principles of design in their work.
Below are some of the composition sets that were submitted. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!
* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.
Combo by Abby JenkinsCombo by Breanna RochelleGeometric by Breanna RochelleOrganic by Breanna RochelleGeometric by Dylan TurnerGeometric by Forrest RussellCombo by Kaleb BakerOrganic by Kimberly KazmarkCombo by Landen RuckerCombo by Lexi BennettGeometric by Lexi BennettGeometric by Forrest BeasleyGeometric by Jillian LovatoOrganic by Jillian LovatoCombo by Laken BeasleyOrganic by Laken BeasleyCombo by Samantha MarshallGeometric by Samantha MarshallCombo by Taylor FikesGeometric by Taylor FikesGeometric by Wes Edgeworth
In Intro to Computing, students learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. This Spring semester, I teach one section of the class. During the Fall it is primarily students who are trying out for the graphic design program in November, but during the Spring it is mostly fine art students who are taking the class as an elective.
This is the second semester I have implemented this project as an introduction to Adobe Illustrator. For Creature Cartoon, each student pulled words out of separate bags– one for a physical trait, one for an action, and one for an emotion. The end goal is to illustrate a unique creature that accompanies all these traits successfully in Illustrator.
After receiving their words, students brainstormed and submitted a series of thumbnails of their ideas, which were then narrowed down to their top three when I visited them in class one-on-one. Those three were turned into well-drawn comps that were drawn with Sharpies and Micron pens, and critiqued by their entire class. The best drawing was scanned into Illustrator, and vector shapes were placed on top. The focus of this Illustrator project was learning the Pen Tool and conducting organized layer management.
For even MORE fun, my students will turn their illustrations into animated GIFs when we start the Photoshop segment. Stay tuned to see those later this semester!
Below are some illustrations that were turned in. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!
* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.
by Carson Brantley: anxious, fly, antlersby Elizabeth Gammill: crawl, giggly, long tailby Grayson Brown: mellow, shell, exerciseby Jacquelyn Mullins: bored, whiskers, jumpingby Shannon Shepherd: big feet, running, sadby Whitney White: afraid, mane, asleep
UPDATE: See GIFs created later during the semester here.
First let me say WOW! I have 780 followers that are keeping up with my blog. I am astounded and humbled. Thank you for taking an interest in the artwork done by me and my students.
This class’s second project was called How’d They Do That. Using Illustrator, they had to find a way to combine a typeface number with an animal in a creative way. All the shapes had to be pen-tooled, based on their original sketches. Only two Pantone colors could be used, but were allowed to use the shades and tints of those Pantone colors. (What are Pantone colors? Watch a video HERE. Also see a delectable video of how ink is made HERE.) This project was good practice in demonstrating forced connections– taking two unrelated concepts and forging a relationship between them. This kind of conceptual thinking helps to broaden their skill in producing thoughtful, well-designed logos.
Below are some designs that were turned in. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!
* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.
6 by Bethany Smith6 by Cameron Coleman5 by Cara Moore6 by Connor Booth9 by Trent Furr2 by Gerald Wicks9 by Imani Smith6 by Laura Leigh Hicks7 by Ques Nevels6 by Taylor Knight
This semester I teach 2 sections of Design I. A new experience for me is teaching an overwhelming number of Landscape Architecture majors, along with Fine Art, Photo, Interior Design, and Floral Management. Also in semesters past I have taught more girls than boys, but this semester’s numbers even out more.
For their first project, we focused on line and the psychological meanings of straight and curvy line work. Students chose 1-3 adjectives to illustrate using line, creating a “line explosion.” The medium used to depict these lines included Sharpies and Micron pens of different thicknesses, and good craftsmanship was emphasized. They were to also implement the elements and principles of design in their work.
Intermediate Computing for Design is for students who submitted their portfolios for the graphic design review in November and were accepted into the program. All of these students took my Intro to Computing class in the previous semesters. The last time I taught Intermediate was 2 years ago and I really enjoyed it, so I am excited to have the opportunity again.
Their first Intermediate project was called “Oh What a Character!” They found an image online of a celebrity, changed it to black and white, placed it in Illustrator, and worked on top of it like a template to create their own caricature of the person. The requirement of the illustration? It had to be completed using a maximum of 7 letters and 2 symbols in black only from one typeface on their computer. Yes, a typeface! They could rotate and resize typeface items as needed.
Below are some designs that were turned in. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!
* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.
Jackie Chan by Ques NevelsPrincess Diana by Cara MooreMiley Cyrus by Carly BondBette Midler (Hocus Pocus) by Connor BoothChance the Rapper by Darby TaylorThe Weekend by Gerald WicksConnor McGregor by Trent Furr
Fall 2016: For Intro to Computing’s final project, they built simple personal logos (in Illustrator if necessary) and constructed resumes in InDesign. This project was meant to create an awareness of how much or how little they have accomplished during their first years of college, as well as give them a little experience with logo development and InDesign. Many of the students had not typed a resumé before, and they found this project useful as they prepare to apply for part-time jobs and post-graduate jobs. The layout needed to be organized, easy to read, and fluid with a sense of style. Creating hierarchy with text was a new challenge for most of them, as they have not taken any typography courses.
As a new addition to the course project, we appreciated the resumé presentation and content critiques by Mississippi State University’s Career Center.
Below are some resume examples that were turned in. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was pleased with their results at this level of their education.
* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website. Contact info is purposely fake for their protection.
3 sections
by Ashley Rudeby Austin Smithby Carly Bondby Hannah Livingston 1/2by Hannah Livingston 2/2by Kaitlyn Uptonby Kennedy Caldwellby April Porterby Bethany Smithby Gerald Wicksby Laura Leigh Hicks 1/2by Laura Leigh Hicks 2/2by Mary Emily Mooreby Parker Webbby Allie Hanson 1/2by Allie Hanson 2/2by Meredith Morrisby Morgan Heltonby Ques Nevels
Fall 2016: For Design I’s final project, I wanted to do a collaborative vinyl installation similar to one my class did a couple years ago as blogged about HERE, but in a location with more permanency to be enjoyed by the public. Getting students outside of the classroom to put their skills to use opens them up to the realization that the things they are learning in this freshman level class has meaning and a place in the world.
I contacted Suddeth Elementary School in Starkville, MS to gauge their interest in the project. They happily accepted, and they considered windows throughout their campus that would be an inviting place for colorful vinyl stickers. This hallway with two sets of windows was chosen by their faculty committee for this project:
Next we had to determine a theme. Suddeth’s faculty committee decided to illustrate quotes based on kindness per set of windows: Plant Kindness, Grow Love and Throw Kindness Around Like Confetti.
My class was split so half were to work on one quote, and the other half focusing on the other quote. Each student brainstormed with a series of thumbnails, and I helped them narrow down to their best idea to be drawn in more detail on proportionally gridded spaces on typing paper in relation to the window dimensions. Then my students voted on the strongest sketches in the class, 3 designs for each quote for a total of 6 ideas.
I invited Principle Mosley to come to our class for a presentation of the top 6 sketches to choose the top theme for each quote. School counselor Mrs. Caradine joined her. After the presentations, they consulted their faculty committee and chose the final designs (labeled as WINNERs below).
Below are images of the top 6 sketches and presentations :
Meghan and Melissa were so excited to have their designs chosen!
I scanned in their designs and worked on various color combinations using Adobe Illustrator, only using yellow, blue, red, and green. I also added a fun elementary-feel typeface for the text in place of their sketched handwriting.
Meghan Norman’s design with colorMelissa Sones’ design with color
The vinyl was ordered and shipped, so it was time to cut out the stickers! The digital images were projected to scale onto our classroom wall. Students traced off the shapes onto the corresponding colors of vinyl with Sharpies, and handed them off to another group who cut out the shapes with an X-acto knife and peeled away the unnecessary background vinyl. Then large-surface masking tape was applied on top of the vinyl sticker and labeled to be fully prepped to operate as a sticker for installation day.
Finally it was installation day! Students carpooled over to the school that rainy morning and we got to work.
Organizing (and sometimes improvising) stickersPhoto by Megan Bean, MSU Public Affairs PhotographerPhoto by Megan Bean, MSU Public Affairs PhotographerWorking together to separate, organize, and install stickersPhoto by Megan Bean, MSU Public Affairs PhotographerPhoto by Megan Bean, MSU Public Affairs PhotographerThe finished product!The finished product!The whole crew: (Top left–right) Mary Katherine Swindoll, me, Tess Frazier, Savannah Martinez, Meghan Norman, Karleigh Harfst, Anna Terry, Hayden Hunt, Dee Triplett & Eric Lindsey. (Bottom left–right) Ashtyn Carpenter, Melissa Sones, Megan Henry, Caroline Fitzwater, Haley Lawrence & Elise Sears.
We greatly appreciate the opportunity of Suddeth Elementary School opening up their hallway for us to use as canvases, and hope the children and faculty enjoy these art installations for many years to come!
Fall 2016: My students’ next Photoshop project was entitled “Pen & Pixel,” in which they had to construct a self portrait. It was a requirement to scan in textures, drawings, paintings, or items they could edit to become a part of the image. Many students demonstrated impressive concepts about themselves. Below are some examples that were turned in. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!
* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.
by Carly Bondby April Porterby Bethany Smithby Gerald Wicksby Laura Leigh Hicksby Mary Emily Mooreby Milly Roneby Olivia Ketchumby Parker Webbby Allie Hansonby Katherine Jenkinsby Josie Goodmanby Meredith Morrisby Morgan Helton
Brittany Spencer // Papermaking & Graphic Design 