Intro to Computing Art // OMG American Gods

Fall 2016: 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.

In the past the theme has been to recreate a movie scene.  This semester to mix things up, 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.

Huitzilopochtli by Moesha Wright

(Outline of shapes)

Apollo by Allie Hanson

(Outline of shapes)

Poseidon by Kaitlyn Upton

Aeolus by April Porter

Aphrodite by Bethany Smith

Dionysus by Gerald Wicks

Karpo by Mary Emily Moore

Hephaestus by Parker Webb

Dionysus by Ryan Guillory

Hekate by Canaan Griffin

Hermes by Josie Goodman

Ninkasi by Meredith Morris

Demeter by Morgan Helton

Aphrodite by Taylor Knight

Intro to Computing Art // Creature Cartoon

Fall 2016: In Intro to Computing, students learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. In the past, their first project was creating an illustration based on an idiom in Illustrator. It was time to retire that project for awhile and try something new that challenged fresh ideas. This semester, I teach 3 sections of Intro to Computing for a total of about 40 students.

I am proud to admit that this new project was something I conceived on my own! 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. Then they had to illustrate a unique creature that accompanied all those 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 turned their illustrations into animated GIFs when we started the Photoshop segment. See how the GIFs turned out HERE.

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 Andrea Osby: joyful, shell, smell flower

by Ashley Rude: curious, climb, short legs

by Austin Smith: bashful, antlers, upside down

by Hannah Livingston: bored, talking on the phone, sharp teeth

by Kaitlyn Upton: angry, fly, whiskers

by April Porter: webbed feet, anxious, float

by Bethany Smith: surprised, fly, beak

by Brittany Riland: mad, long arms, swing

by Chris Gates: sing, short legs, giggle

by Gerald Wicks: excited, climbing, long tail

by Laura Leigh Hicks: squishy cheeks, afraid, smell flower

by Mary Emily Moore: big eyes, broken-hearted, eat

by Olivia Ketchum: happy, sharp teeth, read

by Ryan Guillory: horns, exercise, lazy

by Allie Hanson: long arms, calm, unicycle

by Ann Gray Flowers: mane, bored, smell flowers

by Josie Goodman: squishy cheeks, joyful, upside down

by Meredith Morris: tentacles, mellow, float

by Morgan Helton: beak, sleepy, read

by Ques Nevels: grumpy, webbed feet, skate

by Sarah Ferguson: sad, jumping, shell

by Taylor Knight: big ears, bashful, eat

UPDATE: See GIFs created later during the semester here.

Intro to Computing // Simple Logo & Resumé

For Intro to Computing’s final project, they built simple personal logos in Illustrator 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 to most of them.

Below are some resume 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. Contact info is purposely fake for their protection.

Fall 2015 // 2 sections

by Abbey Rigdon

by Alleigh Moffett

by Carly Melton

by Jeffery Daniel

by Joanna Bauer

by Katie Erickson

by Haylee Upton

By Justice Williams

by Lauryn Rody

by Maddie Marascalco

by Matthew Rogers

by Rebecca VanHorn

by Sarah Cuevas

Spring 2016 // 1 section

by Cara Moore

by Conner Booth

by Katherine Huang

by Darby Taylor

by Victoria Allgood

Intro to Computing // Pen & Pixel

My students’ second 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.

Fall 2015 // 2 sections

by Alleigh Moffett

by Amy Farrar

by Carly Melton

by Imani Smith

by Joanna Bauer

by Joseph Garland

by Katie Erickson

by Alex Cayson

by Calli Nelson

by Lauryn Rody

by Maddi Marascalco

by Matthew Rogers

by Sydney Armer

Spring 2016 // 1 section

by Abbey Goodman

by Connor Booth

by Dion Coleman

by Katherine Huang

by Stephen Latham

by Taylor Darby

Intro to Computing // Impossible Reality

For my students’ first Photoshop project, I wanted them to think outside the box and create an “Impossible Reality”. They had to gather their original photography and make new photos as needed to compose their surreal image. The main artist of inspiration was Eric Johansson. He is an incredible Photoshop artist, but also kind enough to post photos and videos to demonstrate his entire process, which is great for beginners to see. Like Eric, they needed to produce an image that tricks the eye to appear realistic.

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.

Fall 2015 // 2 sections

by Abbey Rigdon

by Alleigh Moffett

by Amy Farrar

by Carly Melton

by Imani Smith

by Katie Erickson

by Phoebe Fitzgerald

by Alex Cayson

by Haylee Upton

by Katherine Moore

by Lauryn Rody

by Maddie Marascalco

by Nicolette Johnson

Spring 2016 // 1 section

by Cecilia Lemus

by Abbey Goodman

by Connor Booth

by Gerard Woods

by Katherine Huang

by Stephen Latham

Intro to Computing Art // OMG Movie Character

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 hard and time consuming!!!” But the effort is well worth the outcome. The objective: Recreate a movie scene with your own models and photography.  Then use the 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.

Fall 2015 // 2 sections

O Brother Where Art Thou by Katie Erickson

The Hangover by Abbey Rigdon

22 Jumpstreet by Alleigh Moffett

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly by Amy Farrar

The Hobbit by Carly Melton

Mean Girls by Isabelle Cottrell

Breakfast Club by Joseph Garland

The Other Woman by Kenan Simpkins

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Phoebe Fitzgerald

Love & Basketball by Tykia Joseph

Nightcrawler by Alex Cayson

Shutter Island by Becca Van Horn

Legally Blond by Calli Nelson

Cool Hand Luke by Haylee Upton

Mulan by Justice Williams

Prisoners by Matthew Rogers

Princess Mononoke by Nicolette Johnson

Fried Green Tomatoes by Samantha Sumrall

Sherlock Holmes by Victoria Martin

Spring 2016 // 1 section

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Cara Moore

Fight Club by Cecilia Lemus

Phantom of the Opera by Connor Booth

Anne of Green Gables by Katherine Huang

Scream 4 by Dion Colemon

Reservoir Dogs by Stephen Latham

Harry Potter by Victoria Allgood

Intro to Computing Art // Idiom Illustration

FALL 2015

In Intro to Computing, students learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. For their first project, they had to choose an idiom (raining cats and dogs, hit the hay, you are what you eat, etc.) and construct an interesting, successful illustration. Brainstorming processes such as mind mapping and forced connections were introduced.  Then they had to submit a series of thumbnails of their ideas, and narrow down to their top three. Those three were then turned into rough comps that were drawn with sharpies and micron pens, and critiqued with their entire class. The best chosen sketch was scanned into Illustrator, and vector shapes are placed on top. The focus in Illustrator was learning the Pen Tool and layer management.

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 Abbey Rigdon: Pinching Pennies

by Alleigh Moffett: Whatever Floats Your Boat

by Carly Melton: Sleep Like a Rock

by Imani Smith: Easy as Pie

by Joseph Garland: Eat Like a Bird

by Katie Erickson: Broken Record

by Phoebe Fitzgerald: Eye Candy

by Alex Cayson: Get Off Your High Horse

by Becca VanHorn: Sick as a Dog

by Samantha Sumrall: Quit Cold Turkey

At this point I would intend to feature the Idiom Illustration student work from my Spring 2016 classes, but I was unfortunately on medical leave. I am thankful my art department colleague and Assistant Professor of Graphic Design Suzanne Powney was willing to step in to instruct my Intro to Computing class while I was out.

Intro to Computing Art // Simple Logo & Resumé

For Intro to Computing’s final project, they built simple personal logos in Illustrator 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 resume before, and they found this project useful as they prepare to apply for part-time after-school 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 challenge, as they have not taken typography classes yet.

Below are some resume 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. Contact info is purposely fake for their protection.

by Heather Hardman

by Reagan Huffman, pg. 1

by Reagan Huffman, pg. 2

by Morgan Linnett

by Sarah Tewolde, pg. 1

by Sarah Tewolde, pg. 2

Intro to Computing // Pen & Pixel

My students’ second 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 Ali Meeler

by Sarah Tewolde

by Randi Watson

by Morgan Linnett

by Justin Mayfield

by Heather Hardman

Intro to Computing // Impossible Reality

For my students’ first Photoshop project, I wanted them to think outside the box and create an “Impossible Reality”. They had to gather their original photography and make new photos as needed to compose their surreal image. The main artist of inspiration was Eric Johansson. He is an incredible Photoshop artist, but also kind enough to post photos and videos to demonstrate his entire process, which is great for beginners to see. Like Eric, they needed to produce an image that tricks the eye to appear realistic.

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 Ali Meeler

by Justin Mayfield

by Heather Hardman

by Randi Watson

by Morgan Linnett

by Tré Braswell

by Sarah Tewolde