Make 3-4 icons representing an image on Adobe Illustrator.
I think I put a lot of effort and did a good job on my icons. My coffee cup was the best in my opinion but I did like my other icons, too. I learned that searching for a picture of what you are trying to make an icon of is helpful.
Create 9 textures that we found with the shape and pen tools in Adobe Illustrator. The top 3 squares are mainly textures. The middle 3 are to incorporate space--especially negative space. The bottom 3 squares have various values.
The textures were hard to represent at first, but after a while I got the hang of it and was able to make great images to portray them. I liked making the top 3 squares because they had more varying line thicknesses and it was fun to see the image I was trying to make. The middle squares I feel were a little easier then the rest. The bottom row of textures were interesting to make because I had to choose different shades to complete the picture
Assignments #3: Color Wheel
Create 2 circles of complementing objects and use the colors of the color wheel to fill them in. Work with the Pen tool on Adobe Illustrator.
I think this color wheel is very cute. :) I really wanted to use teddy bears, but I don't think the paw was very original. I only used it because I couldn't think of anything else; maybe next time I can spend a little more thought on the 2 objects. I think I got used to using the pen tool with this assignment.
Assignment #4: Pop Art Portraits
Use Photoshop to create a Pop Art image like Andy Warhol's works. Take a self-portrait and use the 4 color schemes (monochromatic, complementary, analogous and split-complementary) to color in your portrait. Manipulate the photo so that is is only black and white.
I do not think I did the best job I could have done on this assignment, but I did put time and effort. I actually did the assignment wrong because I did triadic as one of my color schemes instead of split-complementary. But OVERALL, my picture is still nice and smiley. :)
Assignment #5: Photo Mosiac
Create a photo mosaic using Photoshop.! :)
I really liked this assignment. I think I did a good job with it too! I thought it was fun because I could incorporate my own personal life into it. I also like to work with pictures.
Assignment #6: If I Crossed the Road.... Collage
Create a collage that can answer the sentence "If I crossed the road..." that is based on Stephen Kroninger's childrens' book If I Crossed the Road. Mimic his style, except in a digital format.
I thought this assignment was very cute and fun. It was like cutting and pasting to put together a collage, except on a computer. It did get a little hard at times because our hands are not very steady so its hard sometimes to get a nice smoother curve or outline on a shape/object.
Some principles that I used in my work would be the principle of repetition (the fishes), the principle of proportion and scale (the fishes vs. the people and polar bear cub), the principle of variety (different types of fishes), the principle of contrast (multiple colors), and the principle of variety (I used a lot of different pictures/images and textures to put this collage together.
Assignment #7: Blend Yourself
Using Photoshop, insert yourself into a group photo of your favorite TV stars or music group.
I've always wanted to put myself into a picture with famous people. Now, I actually have. I thought this assignment was fun and also difficult. It's hard to find a place to fir yourself in sometimes. I used layers to layer myself behind some of the members in this boy band. I also layered myself on top of some so that it looked realistic.
Assignment #8: See What I'm Saying
Pick an image to recreate in Adobe Illustrator with only the letters of the significant word chosen. Use the same typeface throughout the whole assignment, but use different type styles, sizes, etc. It should have a variety of different appearances and create interest to the viewer.
I thought my penguin turned out really well. You can actually tell that it is a penguin and it is very cute. I wish I could have spent a little more time on the shading of the penguin and how I layered my letters.
Assignment #9: Designing With Type
Choose a font within the given type classification. Then, choose 3 characters--an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, and a number-- to design with. Using the characters, create a typographic design based on the given principle.
I had a tough time starting this project because I didn't know where to start for some of them, but once I got it started I found in fairly easy to keep going. My favorite box I did would have to be the one where I used the capital L, the lowercase n, and the number eight. I thought It was pretty creative and well-done. It was creative and unique. Overall, this assignment was a little complicated but worth doing.
Assignment #11:
Using Adobe Photoshop, combine text and a photo. Take a picture to go along with lyrics or a poem that you choose.
I felt like this was not one of my best assignments. It was a little rushed and seems kind of sloppy. It still turned out alright but I could have done a little better.
Assignment #12:
Create a poster using your alphabetography images.
I liked putting this poster together even if it did take quite a long time. It was hard getting all the letters to cooperate with each row height. My pictures do have some sense of rhythm through them. I feel like my top row was the best because the letters really stand out.
Assignment #13:
We got into groups of 3 and divided the 3 parts between all of us. One person got assigned the head, one person got the torso and the last person got the legs. Using Adobe Illustrator, we drew out our own pieces and then used InDesign to combine it all together.
This project needed a lot of creativity and imagination. I felt like I had no boundaries and just drew out what I had in mind. It turned out to be really cute, but I feel like I didn't have that much detail. Next time, I'll try to add more detail.
Assignment #14: Career Poster
We were all assigned a career or an organization. We were to create a poster describing it.
I thought this was an assignment I could have spent a little more time on. It seems very bland and I should have made the "Photo" text in white instead of the "Journalist." I could have also incorparated the other pictures better instead of just sticking them on there kind of randomly.
Assignment #15: Illuminated Manuscript
Create an illuminated manuscript in Photoshop. Choose a song, poem or literary passage to be the text of our page. Use brushes to add "illuminations."
I liked the way my paper and my initial came out but I felt like my organization was not very good. I didn't plant out where the text would all go. It looks a little cluttered. I still like my work because it still worked out alright and I made everything work. I like my faded colors and my text being black. It makes it more noticeable.
Assignment #16
Create a visual time line of the History of Visual Communications using Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.
I felt like this was not one of my best designs. It seems a little rushed, and I had not taken the proper time to lay-out everything the way I wanted to. It does still have a sense of organization to it, but it is not done very well. I did like how the laptop I created turned out. It looks a lot better than I thought. The orange flashdrive seems a little out of place but gives it a little color. This piece doesn't have too many colors to it.
Assignment #17
Using Adobe Illustrator, create a logo for the given brand names.
I liked this assignment because it was fun making up our own logos. I did the Three Tree Landscaping first and I liked how my trees turned out. I think I did my visual hierarchy well, too. Your eyes draws in at the 3 where I wanted.
Making the Spin Records was simple but I felt like I did it in a unique way. :)
The Johns Creek Symphony was the last one I did and just thought about what symphonies are like. It does have a sense of sophistication, yet still not too serious--which is what I wanted.
Assignment #18
Create a wordmark for the given brandnames.
I liked making these wordmarks. They are very formal and official looking. I have seen wordmarks everywhere so it wasn't hard coming up with my own. I think I got my logo across the way I wanted too. :) Mimi's Flower Shop was the funnest to make because I actually drew most of it. The rest were just made of text.
Assignment 19:
Create a logo and a business card using Adobe Illustrator and InDesign for the given shops/companies.
I liked how my card and logo came out. It looks playful and gets the message across. It appeals to the target audience. I liked the colors I used and I had margins. My text does align at a certain point and it is noticeable. I spent good time on this.
Assignment 19: (part 2)
The letterhead was fun to make. I liked making it because it's nice to see everything matching along. My whole stationary package flows, just the way it was supposed to. The envelop also flows with everything else and has all the needed things. This wasn't as time consuming as some projects but it did require time to focus on the details.
Assignment #20:
Making the actual portrait was the best part for me, in my opinion. I spent a lot of time on it and filled in most of the details.The colors look depressing which is the ones i wanted. I didn't like how my icon came out though, I thought I could have done better.
