It's HALLOWEEN week!!!! Let's do something fun!

Halloween is upon us! Now is the time to use your creative skills to make something spooky, scary and fun! This is going to be a fun assignment with very few boundaries, so let your minds go wild!

Your task is to create some sort of Halloween imagery. It could be a flyer to a Halloween party you are hosting or attending. It could just be a graphic designed to scare the bejeezus out of others! It could be a fun Halloween illustration! It could be a Photoshop zombie self-portrait or an Illustrator zombie self-portrait!

You are free to use any software you would like and there are no size requirements. The only thing I'm requiring is that it fit in somehow with a Halloween theme. So, knock yourselves out with this one!

These will be due at the end of class on Monday, November 1st. So, I want you to have at least three ideas sketched out in your sketchbook by (the beginning of class) next Monday. If at all possible, try to have your digital work started before class next Monday. At the very least, bring all of your images and sketchbook to class, so you'll have everything you need to get started.

Happy Halloween everyone! Have fun this week and most importantly, be safe!

HOMEWORK:

• Make at least three different Halloween imagery sketches in your sketchbook

• Come up with an idea for your Halloween imagery and start digitizing it

• Use ANY software you want

• Use ANY subject matter you want (keep it at least PG-13 though. . .)

• Most importantly, use your IMAGINATION!

10-18-10 Finalizing your logo designs

This week in class we will be talking more about techniques to use in Adobe Illustrator to help with your logos. We will go over the type tool, shape tools and other items you'll find essential to your logo project. Tonight's class will primarily be work time and one-on-one instruction as you continue to work on your designs. Your finished logo designs will be due at the end of class on Monday, October 25th.

For your homework, I want you to do some more research on logos. Look around at items you use every day and see what techniques are used to create them. I'd like you to bring in five examples of logos you like, and be prepared to tell us what attracted you to them. You can bring in digital logos or you can bring in products, posters, etc. that show the logo you are talking about.

HOMEWORK:

• Bring in five examples of logos you like (digital or hard copy)

• Be prepared to work on your logo designs in class

10-11-10 Logo Design

We see logos all over the place. Have you ever stopped and thought about the people who create them? How about the creative process they go through? Well, you will now. Our next project will be LOGO DESIGN!

Logos can be simple. Logos can be complex. Most importantly, logos need to make a statement. It isn't the method of logo creation that is important, instead it is the impact of the logo that determines its success or failure. Some logos are type heavy and some are image heavy while many balance right in between. In any case, you'll be looking at logos closer than you ever have before.

The first thing I'd like you to do is to go out in the world and take a look at some logos you see often. Really take a long, hard look at them and think about what went into creating them. Try to be thinking about why the designer used that specific font. Think about how the graphic (if any) works with the composition of the logo. Think about what you might have done differently. Now, in order to understand logos, you'll need to actually make some. So, for the first part of this week's assignment, I want to you to draw some logos in your sketchbook. I want you to choose THREE different logos and draw each of them, taking a full page for each, in your sketchbook. Take your time and try to make them as accurate as possible. These sketches will be GRADED.

The next thing you're going to do is start creating a logo for an imaginary company. You can choose between these businesses:

• Jack's Poker Parlor

• Bud's Rose Garden

• Three Circle Marketing

After you've picked your company, I want you to start sketching ideas in your sketchbook for a possible logo. I want to see a LOT of these. Remember, sometimes you have to draw the bad ideas to get them out of your head to make way for great ideas! That means, I want to see a MINIMUM of 20 sketches for your logo ideas. You are encouraged to draw more than 20, but fewer will result in a poor grade. Yes, these sketches will be graded also.

HOMEWORK: (in your sketchbooks)

• Sketch three different existing logos (full page each)

• Pick your imaginary company

• Sketch 20 (or more) logo ideas for your company

• Be prepared to start digitizing your logos on 10/18.

• You MUST pay for your sketchbook by 10/18 or I will collect it and you will receive a grade of "0" for BOTH assignments. There is no reason to slack off paying your $3.25 for these sketchbooks. Pay up!

9-27-10 Make yourself into a Na'vi

First, I need to address the fact that I will be unable to make it to class this evening. However, Ben and Tina have assured me that the Earp Lab will be OPEN for you to use during our regularly scheduled class time. So, I figured I would let you use this time to start practicing for our next assignment. As I told you last week, we will be photoshopping yourself into a blue-skinned na'vi from the movie Avatar.

As your homework required, you should have brought a photograph of yourself with you to class. If you need to scan a photo, scanners are available in class to do so. Since I can't be there to give you a tutorial lesson on this fun photoshop lesson, I've found you some YouTube videos that will allow you to follow along. Watch all four of these and feel free to practice learning the techniques needed to complete this project. Don't worry about having your na'vi transformation done by next class, as I will help you complete them when I return next week. Also, don't get overwhelmed with the details. These tutorials get pretty in-depth with photo retouching and it may go over your head. Don't worry! I basically just want you to get acquainted with some of photoshop's tools like the liquify filter (it's a FUN tool!) and changing colors using the hue/saturation adjustments. Go through all four of the tutorials, they are only 10 minutes each, and start playing with your photos.

When I return next week, we will have our QUIZ (so keep studying - an extra week means no excuses for bad grades!) and then work on our na'vi projects in class. I'm really sorry I have to miss tonight, but use your time wisely and I'll see you next week.

YouTube tutorials for photoshopping yourself into a Na'vi:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

There are plenty of other tutorials on transforming yourself into a na'vi on YouTube, so after you watch these four videos, watch some of the others to see different techniques.

9-20-10: Important stuff. Please read.

1- All of you have received your sketchbooks by now but only a few of you have paid for them. PLEASE bring your $3.25 (in cash, with correct change) to class tonight if at all possible.

2- There will be a QUIZ on Monday, September 27th. Study your handouts on Photoshop's tool pallette and understanding resolution. The quiz will have multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank and matching questions. You must know this stuff well in order to pass this quiz. STUDY! I will be going over some possible quiz questions in class tonight, so if you don't understand something, ask about it!

3- Not all of you have emailed me using your preferred email address. If you have not done so, please do so A.S.A.P. so I can have an up-to-date email list. You can mail me at: tjthemaxx (at) cox.net

4- You will need (another) photo of yourself for next week's class. Please try to make this a nice quality photo if possible. A school photo or other portrait will work fine or you may take a current photo if you would like. Must be high-resolution, so no camera phone pictures! I will be bringing a digital camera to class tonight if you want a new photo.

5- Come to class tonight prepared to finish up your "styles and effects" photoshop assignment and turn it in. We will be talking about these at the end of class.

Photoshop layer styles and effects

We've talked about layer styles and layer effects in photoshop, but now I want to see you experience them first hand. Your homework this week will involve you taking one (or more) seemingly "normal" photographs and really making them spectacular using Photoshop's unique layer styles and layer effects. Take what we've gone over in class and dazzle me! You are free to incorporate typography with your photos if that helps in your design.

I want to see some wild and crazy photoshopping here! If you think it looks good, DO IT! If you want to look up additional techniques to include in this assignment, I encourage you to do so. Just be prepared to talk to the class during critique about your methods and how you learned them. After all, the purpose of the class is to learn and I'm not the only teacher!

We will be using some of the Image Size Dialog information you learned in class to create a specific size for your document. See the details below.

Homework:

• Pick one or more photographs

• Use the Photoshop layer styles and layer effects

• Typography is allowed if you want to include it

• Use ANY photoshop technique to make this image

• Final document size must be 10"x 10" at 72 dpi

• DAZZLE ME!

Be prepared to turn in your finished photoshop document by the end of class on Monday, September 20th. You will have next week's class period to work on this project but it MUST have been started before then for you to receive full credit. I will be checking on your progress at the beginning of class. Utilize your lab time!

Sketch Books

Prices have been set for the sketchbooks handed out during the last class. They will be $3.25 each and will need to be paid for using cash only. For those who missed last class, I have sketchbooks for you, too.

So, if everyone could bring in their $3.25 to class tonight, that would be spectacular. :)