Book covers are due today

You have today's class to finish working on your book cover projects. Please make sure to turn them in before you leave class!

I've enjoyed having you in class and hope you have a great summer!!

Continue working on book covers

Use class time today to continue working on your book cover designs. Ask any questions needed during class because these are due first thing on Monday! We will critique them on Monday.

Continue working on your book covers

Continue working on your book covers today during class. Please ask any questions you may have and I will be glad to help you. Take your time and make these great!

The story of your life - book cover design

For your last project, you will be creating a book cover design. It can be fiction or non-fiction. Realistic or sci-fi. Pretty much anything goes as far as your ideas for content and name. You must come up with a catchy title, interesting graphics, color-scheme and layout.

Your book cover must have a final flat size of 11"x8.5" (letter sized - landscape) and that includes both the front and rear cover with spine.

Your imagination is your only restriction. You may use any color scheme, graphics, illustrations, photos, fonts, etc. to create this project. Make it FUN. Make it GREAT. Make it SHINE!

Come up with your ideas in class today and be prepared to share your book's title and ideas for your "look" before you leave class today. You will come to class on Monday and begin creating your book's cover. You will have all next week to work on this and they will be due on Monday, April 30th

"Your choice" assignments - Critique

Today we will critique your individual assignments. Be prepared to talk about why you chose the project you did, what you learned, what techniques you used and how you feel it could be improved. Discuss your work intelligently and confidently. Pay special attention to speaking clearly and with enough volume that your classmates can hear you.

Presenting your work is an important part of a career in graphic design. By now you should be able to present your work in such a way that shows professionalism, dedication and sincerity.

NO HOMEWORK

Work day!

Keep working on "your choice" assignments today in class. Let me know if I can help you with anything. Sometimes you just need to tell your ideas to someone else so they can give you feedback and help you with direction. Talk to me, or each other to gain insight and inspiration.

Assignment of your choice

There comes a time when you've already learned a lot and you are craving very specific skills. Well, now is that time. I'm going to put YOU in the driver's seat on this assignment and you're going to tell me what YOU are going to do for your next assignment. Think of it as an independent study. Keep in mind, the difficulty of your "independent" project will determine your grade. So if you choose something that's too easy, or you don't take your time and make your assignment reach it's potential, your grade will suffer.

It's easy to do what someone tells you to do, but let's see how you do when I ask YOU what you should be doing! Think about this and be prepared to talk to me about it during class. I will speak to everyone individually.

Critique: Animal/Monster portraits

We will critique your animal/monster portraits today. Also be sure to turn them in to me at the beginning of class! Be prepared to talk about your portraits and explain: what your animal/monster is, why you chose it, how you created it and what techniques you used.

NO HOMEWORK!

Animal/Monster portraits: final day

Finish up your animal/monster portraits today. This is your final class day to work on them. They are due when you come to class on Wednesday, so work hard, work fast!

HOMEWORK:

• Finish your animal/monster portraits

• Bring them with you to turn in on Wednesday

Animal/Monster portraits: workday

Use today's class to work on your animal/Monster portraits. I'd like these to be finished by Monday, but I will make that decision after seeing your progress in class today. Work hard and work fast to get these done. If you prove to me you are working hard and still need more time, you'll get it. If you goof off, you won't.

Remember, I want to see some fun, creative animals and monsters!!!!

Animal/Monster Portraits: take two

After having so much fun with your photoshopped animal/human portraits, I've decided to let you do another animal project. This time, using Adobe Illustrator.

I want you to create either ONE highly detailed animal portrait -OR- a series of THREE lightly illustrated cartoon-ish animals. You may use ONLY Illustrator and these may be as realistic or as cartoonish as you like. Feel free to have fun with this project! Perhaps you'd like to create some characters in your favorite style of Japanese animation? Maybe you have a favorite cartoon from your childhood who's world could use a few more creatures? Or you could possibly want to create a nicer, more realistic portrait of an animal. Any of these work for this project!

I am going to also give you the option to create MONSTERS instead of animals, if you so choose. If going this route, I expect them to be VERY creative!!!

You may NOT copy existing characters. These must be from your own imagination! They may use the same style as existing characters, but must be new characters to that "world." I am giving you some creative freedom here, so don't make me regret it. :)

Feel free to research the style you'd like to use during class today and get started. We will work on these both today and Wednesday in class. They will perhaps be due on Monday of next week with Wednesday being the absolute latest. I will decide that based on how hard you work during class today and Wednesday.

If you would like to sketch your characters/animals on paper first, that is highly encouraged!

HOMEWORK:

• Work on your character design!

Animal portraits

Our next assignment will let you have some more fun with Photoshop. You will be creating old-timey portraits of a person with an animal's head. The goal will be to make the portrait look real. There are tutorials out there that can help you give the vintage look to your photograph. The next step is to give your person an animal's head. Sounds easy, right? Perhaps. But I will be paying attention to detail on this assignment so make sure your photoshop is seamless!

Use today's class to pick both your person's portrait and your animal's head. Start work on your photoshop to put those two elements together. You will be able to work on this during class today, and we will continue working on them when you return from spring break on Monday, March 12th. These will be due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, March 14th.

Designing with color: Critique

We will be critiquing your designing with color projects today. We will look at everyone's ideas and discuss them as a class. We will be deciding if they "work" or not and the class opinion will have an effect on you grade.

NO HOMEWORK

Designing with color: final work day

Take today's class to finish up your THREE different designing with color projects. Make sure to ask any questions that need asking today as these are due first thing on Monday. I will be looking over these today and giving some final advice for your finished projects.

HOMEWORK:

• Finish your THREE designing with color pieces to turn in on Monday.

Snow day!!

I'm not able to make it to classes today due to the weather in Roanoke, but keep working on your designing with color projects. In the meantime, check out this interesting article about designing with color. It's very informative and has a lot of good information:

How to use color to enhance your designs

Designing with color - build phase

Use today's class to build your best THREE ideas out of your ten sketches. Take your time and make them PERFECT! Use Adobe Illustrator to create these. They can all be on the same page if you like, or may be on separate pages as well.

Make sure you "finish" these designs as best you can. Meaning: If you create complex shapes that overlap, go ahead and "unite" them using the pathfinder so they become one shape. It's the small details that can take a design from being good to being finished. Ask me if you are questioning your design's completeness.

I will assess your progress during today's class. I may also give you Monday to work on these but will decide that based on how well (and fast) you work during today's class.

HOMEWORK:

• Keep working on your THREE best illustrations.

Designing with color

Color makes a big impression on design. Choosing the right color for your designs is important because color is the foundation for feeling, mood, look, tone, etc in your work. While the right color can make a great design better, the wrong color can ruin it.

To get a better understanding of color, I want you to choose 10 words to illustrate using color. You are allowed to use MORE than just color to illustrate these words, but be sure that the color is the most important feature. It's important that the color drive the design. The color must have great meaning in the explanation of the words you choose.

Don't be scared to illustrate your word by hand. You don't have to use an existing font to create your word. Be creative and come up with lettering that goes well with your design!!! (See above!)

You will SKETCH your concepts on paper for me to see before continuing. I can provide paper if you don't have a sketchbook with you.

HOMEWORK:

• Pick 10 words to illustrate.

• Use color as your main design element

• Illustrations may be used to help describe your word - NOT photographs!

• Make sure the use of color is the MAIN descriptor of your word.

• Think outside the box when picking your words and/or designs!!

• Bring in sketches of your 10 words to class with you on Wednesday (on paper.)

Pop Quiz: How to critique

You should all be prepared to take a quiz today on how to critique. You had homework to read the article I posted and make sure you understood it. I did not get any questions from you yesterday, so I'm assuming you all understand how to critique and all of you should make a great grade on this quiz!

NO HOMEWORK

Critique: Graffiti portraits

We will be critiquing your graffiti portraits today. Speak constructively, not viciously, and discuss the pros and cons of each portrait.

There's a great article here about how to properly critique art. READ it. (hint, hint.) And (hint, hint) usually means pop quiz. For realz.

Graffiti portrait: day two

Keep working on your graffiti portrait today during class. Take your time and make the background interesting as well. Remember, these will be portfolio pieces! Make them as nice as possible!

Make sure to get your artwork to look like it was painted on the background you chose. You might want to look into the "displace" feature of photoshop. (hint, hint)

For those who have completed their graffiti portraits (to MY satisfaction,) you will have a light day. But don't rush through your assignments!!!!

HOMEWORK:

• Finish your graffiti portraits

• Bring them with you to class on Monday to turn in