Text Assignment (Due: W, 10/22 ; F, 10/17)

Text in Illustrator: Create an image combining text with an image/s (i.e. a drawing, a photograph, trace an image or draw your own in Illustrator). Try to push the creativity of text. Think about what the text is about to choose an appropriate font (or make your own font) and image to correspond with it. The text can be the image (draw a path and then type on a path), the text doesn't have to legible, it can be distorted, blurred, skewed, etc. to give an overall feel to what the text or concept is about.
Use the Illustrator Help links I've picked out below to help you along if you get stuck.
And look at some of the "Art Sites" to your right for some inspiration or look up your favorite albums, movie posters, artists books, etc. to study how they combined text with image (Barbara Kruger is a good one).

As always, make sure you save an Illustrator file (.ai) version of this work and a jpeg one to go on your blog. Please post on your blog before next class so we can critique your work.

Illustrator Help with Type

Type
Entering Text
Resize Text Area
Text on a Path VIDEO
Move or Flip Text on Path
Working with Area Type
Threading Text between Objects
Appearance Panel (w/Type) VIDEO


Other videos that might come in handy:
Brushes VIDEO
Export your work VIDEO
Save for web VIDEO

Due Next Week (W: 10/08 & F: 10/10)

Finish your portraits, change them somehow and then publish both the original portrait/landscape and the new portrait/landscape to your blog for critique next week.

Also, don't forget to bring in some text (a poem, song, journal entry, passage from book, etc.) to begin our next assignment on type.

Homework (Due W: 10/01, F: 10/03)

Find a portrait of either you or someone who has influenced you; as well as a photo of a landscape or place that means something to you and trace both of them using the pen tool. We will combine the two in Illustrator next week. Therefore you need to think about how the landscape and portrait will compositionally work together. You will have some class time to finish these up next week.

Pen Tool Help Links

Drawing Curves with the Pen Tool
Drawing two curved segments connected by a corner
Reposition anchor points as you draw


Some useful keyboard shortcuts:

Apple + " Z " to undo (can do this many times)
Apple + " + " to zoom in
Apple + " - " to zoom out
Apple + " 0 " to fit to screen
Spacebar for the hand (to move the screen around)
Apple + " Y " to switch from Outline to Preview mode and back again

Due Next Week (W: 09/24, F: 09/26)

Drawing of an object with a gradient and some sort of background or border on your blog.

Help Links

Pencil Tool Options
Ways to Select Color


Other videos that might come in handy:
Live Paint VIDEO
Brushes VIDEO
Export your work VIDEO
Save for web VIDEO

Gradient Video

Reshaping Tool Gallery

(click to enlarge)

Click here for more on reshaping.

Lab Schedule (Updated)

Due Next Week (W: 09/17, F: 09/19)

2 Pictograms and 1 Warning Label posted on your blog.

Also, make sure you bring in an object to draw.

Illustrator Shortcuts and Tools

Click this: Keyboard Shortcuts.

Tools Panel Overview.

(click to enlarge)

For Next Week

By next week, you should have your blog totally set up, which includes a post with 2 images of work that has influenced you along with a brief description of how the work has influenced you; as well as a link list with links to all of your classmates' blogs. These links all need to work, I will check! Also, add a photo of yourself in the "About Me" section.

On another note: for this class, you will need some sort of portable, external harddrive to back up your work. Files get accidentally trashed, computers crash, etc., basically "stuff" happens therefore it's essential that you constantly back up all your work. You can get a jump/flash/thumb drive or even use an ipod/iphone. You just need something that can hook up to the computer and store data. You will need a minimum of 1GB of free space.

Click for an example of a flash drive.

Influence

I really like Lee Friedlander.