VT2500: Computer Illustration (S10)

4/22/10 class, uh, relocated.

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:37:15 +0000

Tonight's class will not meet formally. Instead, since your final is in the wild and you're familiar with the deadlines pertaining to it, you'll use the time to work independently towards its completion. Class will reconvene next Tuesday as normal.

A seemingly violent set of images

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:29:37 +0000

You'll need these files to continue with our in-class discussion of InDesign.

Assignment 5 stuffs

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:32:40 +0000

In lieu of a video, here's a PDF with several examples of infographics created by former students. And these are just that: examples, not law or templates for you to follow.

Some hints for success with this:

Pick a topic you're interested in. But not everyone has to do yoga or snowboarding.
Keep in mind the maxim "show, don't tell." This is a graphic (or series of graphics) that conveys information; I don't want a book report.
Keep, and be prepared to submit, your source materials. But this isn't like the first three assignments—it's up to you to select how much details is needed.

Be sure to have fun with this and use it as an opportunity to a) show off your rockin' Illustrator skillz, and 2) show off your critical thinking/creative/problem-solving abilities. We'll take a progress report (wherein I peep your sourced materials and sketches) on April 1st in class. You'll be done and submit this for grading no later than April 9th.

SimpleDesktop mini-Assignment

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:55:18 +0000

Please don't forget to take an element from Assignment 3 and turn it into an appropriate submission for the nice folks over at SimpleDesktops. Be sure to consider color, placement, size, and proportion, as well as ruminating on the concept of "simple" (based on the catalog of desktops that have already been accepted).

Either CC or BCC me on the submission email and you'll earn yourselves a nifty 50 points. But be sure to do it today before 10pm.

Typography and W!nd0w$

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:30:57 +0000

We spent a fair amount of time with this week's typography bootcamp so I thought it only fair that I push out some of those keyboard shortcuts for Windows, as well as a reminder for the Mac.

Type Quotes, Apostrophes, and Primes
Typing Curly Quotes, Accents, etc. In OS X
Accessing the Windows Character Map
(you can also go to Run and type 'charmap')

iDon't use primes

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 05:00:16 +0000

In light of our typography boot camp:

You know, if Verizon is going to pour millions of dollars into rolling out their iPhone-killing “Droid” handset, they could have at least hired an ad agency who knows how and when to use proper apostrophes and primes, and who doesn’t mix them multiple times in the same television ad.

~~See it here.~~ Hrm…looks like that link is dead. Here's another (and another).

Grunge, texture, and opacity masks

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:16:35 +0000

Elephants

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:10:06 +0000

We'll be needing these files in class tonight. Hop to.

Olympic Pictograms Through the Ages

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:52:49 +0000

Take four minutes to watch this. I'm not sure I agree with all the analysis, but it's interesting nonetheless.

As Seen in Class™

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:22:42 +0000

Did the cartoonish Bang! we created in class blow your mind (ha! get it? blow your mind — I kill me…)? If so, here's a video of how we did it. Watch it at your leisure and learn from its magics.