Points to ponder for week 1:
- Illustrator CS2 is a vector app NOT raster like Pshop is
- Illustrator plays nicely in the CMYK color space. It knows what RGB is as well. DO YOU know what other color spaces are out there?
- jpg images do not have a transparent background
- If you want a transparent background, be sure and work with GIF and PNG formats.
- Lossy formats "throw away" information. this is aprt of the compression codec that lossy formats use like jpg, mpg, etc.
- Lossless formats save ALL image information. Nothing is thrown away, in part because usually there is no compression involved in a lossless format. Examples include psd, ai, and tif. Most working file formats are lossless.
Class issues -
FINAL EXAM option - There is a three part tutorial on using Illustrator's Live Trace feature and After Effects to effect a video clip of our choosing such that it looks like something from "A Scanner Darkly". If you opt to do this use your own video, use something short (~5 seconds), and make it something that you can add to your demo reel. If you do this and have it complete prior to the final exam for this class, I will trade you an "A" on the exam for your completed work. This is something you must do on our own. I won't devote classtime to it nor will I spend much time on it, although I do find this a great tutorial. I will help where and when I can.
To find the tutorial go to the Assignments drive - then to the MM205 After Effects folder - then to the "Creating a Cartoon From Video" folder. You can also find this on
Creative Cow quickest way is to go to the After Effects forum, then click on the tutorials link and search by author = Aharon Rabinowitz.
- There are four projects in this class that I will assign, and two that you can come up with on your own. Each project should be either placed in a folder and dropped on my drop box OR printed out. We'll discuss project output in class.
- PROJECT 1 - Based on the work that the graphic design firm Character is doing, create a mascot/character/cartoon for a brand of your choosing. This is a multi-part project that will include discussion and some research. Due at the end of class week 8 - Most of the work must be done in Illustrator, however you can use other applications. Overall though, this is pretty wide open here. Enjoy.
- PROJECT 2 - due at the end of class for week 3 - create a marketing package for your "business". This includes at a minimum: a logo, a brochure, a business card, a postcard, and letterhead. Note that this is due before Project 1 as it is smaller with fewer moving parts.
- PROJECT 3 - this is one of your own choosing due at end of class in week 6.
- PROJECT 4 - due at the end of class week 10 - this is a project that emphasizes typography. Again wide open. Consult with me if you are uncertain what to do. Think about the different fonts and how people choose to use them. Think about serif, sans serif, leading, kerning, making your own font, how fonts have been used through history, usability issues, etc. Do a little research on the internet.
- PROJECT 5 - due at the end of week 12 - another one on your own. Develop an Illustrator-centric concept, write it up, we can talk about it real quick, hopefully I approve it and you are on your way.
- PROJECT 6 - due at the end of the week 15 class - this is the week of the final as well. The project is simply tracing a person. Here as an example, is a tutorial on Tracing people using Illustrator and a photo. There are many other good tutorials out there, including this one, which does a good job working through the gradient mesh tool. Below are links to three images you can choose from for this project. If you have a fourth image that you would like to use show me first.
Here is the first option.
Here is the second option.
Here is the third option
