Westwood GD121

Eve Fisher, Instructor, efisher@westwood.edu

Lecture: Course Introduction, Basic Lines & Shapes, Using the Precise Pen Tool, Live Trace tool
Reading Assignments: Chapters 1, 2, 3 In Review questions
Project Assignment: Select one line image and one photograph for your project. Use the pen tool and the Live Trace tool on both to create four images. You may use color as well. Do the Chapter 4 exercises in the book for practice.
Class Folders for Projects: Set up a folder with your name and the class name on your Flash drive. Create folders for Questions, Projects, KGA #1 and KGA #2. Place projects and assignments in these folders and turn in each week for grading. Weekly assignments will be placed on the instructor's computer under My Documents/GD121.

Lecture: Choosing and Applying Color, Color in Design, Live Paint tool
Reading Assignments: Chapter 4 & 5, In Review questions
Project Assignment Due: Using images from your sketchbook, create a composition with lines, colors, brush effects, transparency and gradients. Add a background to the image. If you do not have a sketchbook, find 1-2 related sketches/vector images and create a compostion. Create a color pallet using the kular.adobe.com site and apply it to your composition.
Class Presentations: Pen tool & Live Trace illustrations

Lecture: Creating and formatting type, Designing with type, Cooper Black movie
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7, In Review questions
Project Assignment Due: Type Composition - Create an image that is recognizable using type to create the objects/character. The objects/character must be created using words that correspond to the image. For example, if you are creating a likeness of a comic book character, use the character's name repeated to create the image. Be creative with the use of type. Apply colors, textures, kerning, different font faces, spacing and transform effects.

Lecture: Illustrator tools, organizational skills, creative processes
Project Assignments: Research character profile development and fill out the Character Profile. Hand in by Wednesday end of class.
- Super Hero Illustration: The finished project will be a tear sheet showing your character with a profile, full body frontal view and three quarters view. You may also show the front, side and back full body view for your character if you prefer. Put the character's name on the tear sheet using a creative typeface. Create a color pallet using the kular.adobe.com site and apply it to your character.
- Alternate project: Create a poster or comic book cover using the superhero image. The finished image must have all necessary elements, including titles, sub-titles, barcodes, etc.
Discussion Activity: Content Grading Rubric
Class Presentations: Typeface compositions

Project Assignments: (if KGA #1 is complete) Create a vehicle, nemesis or an environment for your superhero. Use patterns, colors and custom brushes that you have created as well as gradients and transparency.
Class Presentations: Super Hero presentations

Lecture: Custom brushes and patterns, composition, web graphics
Reading Assignments: Chapters 6, 8, 11 In Review questions
Project Assignments: Create mock-ups of the home, about, portfolio/products and contact pages for your portfolio or for a real or fictional organization. Use the best practices outlined in the Website Guidelines (GD241).
- Research sites on the Internet to get design ideas
- Review the book assignment on building a web page & refer to the template created in class
- Gather/create content including the logo, title, tagline, text and graphics
- Save the page as a JPG for the web
- Optional: Create the website using CSS and upload it to a free hosting service (or to your own hosting space if you have one).
Class Projects: Create 3 patterns that could be used as body backgrounds for your site
Class Presentations: Web page designs

Lecture: Creating complex paths and shapes, gradient meshes, 3-D effects
Reading Assignments: Chapter 9 & 10, In Review questions
Class Activities: Movie Poster Project: Take the Superheros you created for the KGA #1 project and combine them into a game or movie. Decide on a plot for the movie based on the characteristics of each of your superheros and how they would interact/battle/assist one another. Create a poster for the movie depicting a pivotal scene. One group of 3, One group of 2.
Submit a Word doc with the following info:

Place all characters in the scene. Add a background, the movie title and tag line. Size poster to 11"x17" vertical format. Students are responsible for placing their superhero in the design.