Downloading images to use in our symbolic self portrait

Today’s essential question: What are some images that might represent your interests or your personality?

Today we will download images we may use in our symbolic self portrait photoshop collage.

Here are examples of our current project created by last year’s Foundations I students:

Created by Bayleigh

Created by Ler

Created by Gabe

Created by La’ja

Project Requirements:

• collage created in Photoshop from at least 6 different images (the more, the better)
• contrast between silhouette & background
• unity throughout the piece
• mastery of layers, paintbrush, and eraser tool in Photoshop demonstrated through high quality craftsmanship

Today we will:

• Learn how to use google images to download large, print-resolution images in our symbolic self portrait
• Discuss copyright law and how it applies to the computer art projects we create in this class
• Use the steps in this handout to download:
  • 6-10 images (that are larger than 4MP) you can use for the silhouette portion of our project
  • another 2-3 images (that are larger than 4MP) you might use for the background
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • the images you downloaded this class
  • a paragraph describing why these images are meaningful to you. (You only need to write one paragraph total – you do not need a paragraph for each image!)
• Have Liz take a photo of you that you will use in this project

Previewing what our designs will look like on an actual t-shirt

Today we will preview what our designs will look like on a t-shirt.

Here are some print-resolution t-shirt images to start with. You must use one of these images, both because our actual t-shirt color options are limited to black or white, and because they are large enough that they will print at a high resolution.

Follow these steps to get your design on a t-shirt:

1. Open your t-shirt design in Adobe Illustrator.
2. Delete the layer with your original sketch.
   (Click on the layer with the sketch, then press the trash icon  at the bottom of the layers palette.)
3. Unlock all remaining layers.
   (Click on any lock icons  in the layers palette. When the lock icon disappears, it means you have unlocked the layer.)
4. Select the black arrow tool from the top of the toolbar.
5. Click and drag the arrow across the entire design area. This should select all the pieces of your design.
6. Copy your design by pressing control + c.
7. Download the t-shirt image of your choice from this post.
   (Click on the image to view it full size, then right click -> save image as and save it to your student number.)
8. Click on the t-shirt in this blog post that you would like to put your design on. This should bring up a full-size version of the t-shirt image. Right-click and save the image to your computer.
9. Open Adobe Photoshop.
10. Open the t-shirt file you have downloaded from this post.
11. Paste your design onto the t-shirt be pressing control + v. Several options will pop up. Select “paste as SmartObject.”
12. Scale your design to the correct size by holding down shift AND scaling from the corner.
    (If you don’t do both of these things together, you may distort your design.)
    
13. When you are happy with your design, press the “enter” key.
    Here is an example of what a design might look like on a t-shirt:
    
14. Save your design as both a photoshop file and a jpg.
15. Upload the following two files to your blog:
    1. a PDF of your final t-shirt design (this is what we will print on the t-shirt)
    2. a jpg of your design on a t-shirt

Today we will:

1. create a mock up of what our designs might actually look like on a t-shirt in Adobe Photoshop
2. finish vectorizing our t-shirt designs in Adobe Illustrator
3. create a blog post with
   1. a PDF of your final t-shirt design (this is what we will print on the t-shirt)
   2. a jpg of your design on a t-shirt

Creating Our Vector T-Shirt Designs in Illustrator

Today we will begin tracing over our t-shirt design sketches in Adobe Illustrator.
We will view a demo at the Smart Board and then follow these steps:

1. Open Adobe Illustrator.
2. Select “New Print Document” from the pop up screen.
3. Create a new file in Adobe Illustrator with the following guidelines:
   
4. Place the photo you took last class the file you just created. (File -> place)
   DO NOT try to open your downloaded image in Illustrator! This will cause strange things to happen.
5. Create a new layer by clicking on the “new layer” button at the bottom of the layers palette on the right side of the screen.
6. Select the pen tool.
   Trace over your first shape. (You may need to decrease the opacity of this layer so you can see what you are tracing. You can do this by clicking on the transparency icon on the right side of the screen and decreasing the opacity so it is below 100. )
7. Bring the opacity back 100% and adjust the color if necessary.
8. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you are happy with your vector illustration.
9. Save your Illustrator file, and then save a version as a .pdf
10. Create a new blog post with the PDF of your progress. I do not expect you to finish your design, but I do expect you to post what you worked on today.

Advanced Illustrator: Compound Paths

What is a Compound Path?

If your design has a strong balance of positive and negative space, there is a chance you will need to put a “hole” in the design so you can see the background. You can do this in Illustrator by creating a compound path.

Why should you create a compound path instead of just drawing a shape that is the same color as your background? Well, sometimes you need the negative space to be transparent (window decals, images in the background, etc).

How to Create a Compound Path in Illustrator

1. Right click to save this image to your desktop. DO NOT OPEN THIS IMAGE IN ILLUSTRATOR.
   
2. Open Adobe Illustrator and create a new file. File -> New. Set up the dimensions as follows:
   
3. Place the image in Illustrator. File -> Place.
4. Double-click the layer to and rename it “reference photo.”
   Click the box next to the eye to lock the layer (a lock icon should appear).
   
5. Click the new layer button.  Double-click on the new layer and name it “positive space.”
   
6. Select the pen tool.
7. In the colors palette at the bottom left of the screen, remove the outline by clicking the outline icon to bring it forward, then clicking the square with the red line through it.
   
8. Double-click on the fill icon (the solid square) to change the fill color to something you like.
9. Use the pen tool to outline the shape. Open the transparency window. (Window -> Transparency)
10. Select the black arrow from the tool bar on the left side of the screen. 
    Then click anywhere on the screen away from the shape you have just traced to deselect it.
    
11. Pick a different fill color.
12. Make a new layer. Name it “negative space”.
13. Select the pen tool and trace over the negative space shapes.
14. Select the black arrow from the tool bar on the left side of the screen.
    Click on one shape at a time and make sure the opacity of each shape it set to 100%.
    
15. Select all of the shapes by holding down on the shift key as you click each one.
    At the top of the screen, Object -> Compound Path -> Make.
16. Your “negative space” shapes should now be completely transparent.
    
17. Your “positive space” layer is now empty.
    Click on it and then click on the trash can icon to delete it.
    
18. Double-click on the “negative space” layer and rename it “rabbit”.
    

How to add a background:

1. Make a new layer above your reference photo layer and below your positive space layer.
   Name it “background.”
   
2. Click the rectangle tool in the tool bar on the left side of the screen.
   
3. Change the fill color to be your desired background color.
4. Click and drag to draw a box that covers the entire background area.
   
5. Save your file as a PDF (File -> Save as -> Select “Adobe PDF” as the file format)
   
6. Create a new blog post and upload the PDF.

Today we will:

• complete the compound path/adding a background tutorial, save our file as a PDF, and post the PDF to our blog
• begin sketching our t-shirt design

T-Shirt Design Guidelines & Vector Art Tutorials

Today we will continue practicing using the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. Students who completed the basic shapes worksheet last class will trace over an image of their choice today.

Basic Tutorial:

1. Download the “vectorpractice.zip” file here.
2. Move the zipped folder to your desktop.
3. Double-click the file to unzip it.
4. Open the unzipped folder.
5. Drag all the files onto your desktop (they will not work otherwise).
6. Double click on vectorpractice.ai to open the file in Illustrator.
7. Relink the images.
8. Trace over each shape with the pen tool. (They are numbered from the simplest to the most complex.)
9. Save your file as a PDF. (File -> save as -> PDF)
10. Create a new blog post with the following:
    1. A PDF of the vector images you have traced
    2. A paragraph describing any difficulties you had with the pen tool

Advanced Tutorial: How to create a multi-color vector image:

1. Download one of the images pictured below (Right-click on the image of your choice -> Save Image As -> Save to your student number)

   

2. Create a new file in Adobe Illustrator and place the downloaded photo in that file. (File -> place) (DO NOT try to open your downloaded image in Illustrator! This will cause strange things to happen.)
3. Create a new layer by clicking on the “new layer” button at the bottom of the layers palette on the right side of the screen.
4. Trace over your first shape. (You may need to decrease the opacity of this layer so you can see what you are tracing. You can do this by clicking on the transparency icon on the right side of the screen and decreasing the opacity so it is below 100. )
5. Bring the opacity back 100% and adjust the color if necessary.
6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you are happy with your vector illustration.
7. Save your Illustrator file, and then save a version as a .pdf
8. Create a new blog post with the following:
   1. your source photo and the .pdf of your vector illustration
   2. a brief paragraph describing your image, any difficulties you had creating the image, and how you worked through them.

Tshirt design guidelines (how you will be graded):

• 1 color
• show balance of positive & negative space
• original design (no copying another design or copyrighted character)
• solid craftsmanship (smooth lines and curves; shapes do not look ragged)
• show an interesting variation in line weight

• 

  Beautiful design drawn by Darla, but all the lines are the same thickness

• 

  Lauryl did a great job including a variety of line thicknesses in her design

• submit two files
  • the design on its own (what you would submit to a t-shirt printing company)
    

    T-shirt design by Betty

  • the design Photoshopped onto a t-shirt
    

    t-shirt design by Betty

If you would like your design printed on a t-shirt, give Ms. Lawson $10 for a white t-shirt or $15 for a black t-shirt by Friday, February 26th.

Today we will:

• practice using the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator
• save our work as a PDF and upload the PDF to our blog

New Project: Vector T-Shirt Design

For our next project, we will create a vector t-shirt design in Adobe Illustrator. You will have the opportunity to purchase a t-shirt with your design. White t-shirts are $10, and black t-shirts are $15. Here are some examples created by students last year:

Alyssa, Grade 10

Francheska, Grade 9

Jason, Grade 9

Ler Tha, Grade 10

Lily, Grade 9

Taylor, Grade 9

Today we will learn how to use the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. This is the tool and software program that we will use in our t-shirt design.

Pen Tool for Beginners: Vector Practice Tutorial

1. Download the “vectorpractice.zip” file here.
2. Go to your Downloads folder, locate the zip file, drag it to your Desktop, and double-click the file to unzip it.
3. Open the .ai file in Illustrator.
4. Trace over each shape with the pen tool. (They are numbered from the simplest to the most complex.)
5. Save your file as a PDF. (File -> Save as -> PDF).
   Remember where you saved your file! If you don’t know where you saved your file, the teacher certainly won’t.
6. Create a new blog post. Upload the PDF containing the vector images you have traced and describe any difficulties you had with the pen tool.
7. Create a second blog post with your Donors Choose thank you note. (If you have not done so already!)

Thank You Note

The easy to cut linoleum squares and new cutting tools we used for our printmaking project were funded by an organization called Donors Choose. After you make at least 10 prints, please write a 150-200 word thank you note to the donors and post it to your blog. I will then print and mail the thank you notes to the donors, along with some photos of our class in action and the finished projects. If you would like to be in a photo for the Donors Choose thank you package (or would like a photo of your artwork to be included), please let Ms. Lawson know.

If you are not sure what to write, here are some questions that will get you started:

• What did we get? (Safety Cut linoleum, new linoleum cutting blades, printing ink in a variety of colors)
• How did we use these supplies?
• What was special about these supplies? (Hint: regular linoleum is really difficult to cut and smells really bad)
• What did we learn?
• How did their donation make a difference to our art class?
• Begin the letter with “Dear Donors” and sign it with your first name only

New Project: Personal Symbol Prints

For our next project, you will design a symbol that represents you, create a stamp with that symbol by carving linoleum, and use that stamp to create a series of prints. Your design should feature a balance of positive and negative space. Here are some sample student projects:

Marina, Class of 2017

Alyssa, Class of 2017

Yoshua, Class of 2017

Taylor, Class of 2018

Positive space is the space taken up by the subject of the image.

Negative space is the space around and between the subject or subjects.

Here are some examples of images that contain a balance of positive and negative space:

Visual Arts Midterms Week Open Studio Hours

If you have not completed both the Animal Beyond the Border Drawing and the 1Pt Perspective Room with Figure Drawing, you must complete them during the Open Studio Hours this week.

Visual Arts Open Studio Hours are as follows:

• Tuesday 8-11 in Mr. Latorre’s room
• Friday 8-11 in Ms. Rudy’s room

Assignments that count towards your MP2 Grade:

• Bellwork
• Exit Tickets
• Daily Participation Points
• Sub Still Life Drawing
• Animal Drawing
• 1Pt Perspective Room with Figure Drawing

New Project: 1 Pt Perspective Interior with a Figure

Today’s Essential Question: How can I draw room details (furniture, windows, wall and floor textures) in one point perspective?

Our next project combines the skills we have learned in our previous projects. We will use one point perspective to draw an interior space that contains a figure, and use our knowledge of colored pencils to set the mood in our artwork.

Project requirements:

• Uses one point perspective to draw a realistic interior space
• Includes a variety of interesting architectural details and/or pieces of furniture
• Contains at least one figure
• Figure and room work together to tell an interesting story
• Mood established through skillful use of colored pencil
• Fills a 12×16 sheet of paper

Think outside the box. Here are some examples that would fulfill the project requirements:

Closets
  

Architectural Ruins
  

  

Windows to the Outside World
  

Industrial/Urban
  

  

  

Ballrooms
  

  

Today we will:

• Learn how to draw furniture and architectural details in 1 point perspective
• Complete the 1 point perspective furniture handout
• Practice drawing at least 10 different architectural details (windows, doors, light fixtures, floor or wall textures, pillars, ceiling beams) or pieces of furniture in 1 point perspective in our sketchbooks