Final Project Update

Hi everyone here are some updates to the final project timeline.
Nov. 28 everyone should have artwork in Illustrator.
Dec. 3 or 5 Turn in a draft of zine. Entries will be added to the O'Keefe contest.
Dec. 10 last night to work on project in class.
Dec. 12 Turn in projects projects
(Hard copy, front and back, you will need to go to Kinko's. Also turn in the Ai. file).
Dec. 17 Zine read and crit.
* If you want extra help I'm here on Friday's from 9-3 if you want to use the lab.

Try not to Panic!

Thought you might enjoy seeing some of the DOD heads together

Tonight!

Hi everyone,

By the end of the night your concept art must be ready to scan. I'm looking forward to seeing your Zines come to life. We will also talk more about your mini zines.

Field Trip Handout

Homework

What a busy night, here is a recap...
1. No class Oct. 31 (This Wednesday) because we are going on the field trip to the Oakland Museum of art. (see earlier posting).

2. Next Monday we will look at your comic book samples.

3. If you did not get a chance to turn in your organic skull you can do so on Monday night. For a total of 4 Art Boards
1. Single B/W and a single color skull sample. 
2. Full page of B/W Pattern. 
3. Full Page Color Pattern. 
4. Full page Color organic pattern.
We will look at the projects on Monday night.


4. When you come to the field trip I will give you a hand out that describes what you need to look for as prep for your final project. (BRING YOUR SKETCHBOOK, PENCIL and a CAMERA).

5. Your final project in class will be in two parts.
    A. First: As a warm up, you will create a quarter sheet zine on any topic that you would like. I have created a template in Illustrator for you and placed it into the class folder in scratch, titled MASTER ZINE. I have also placed a PDF. about zines for you to read into the folder. We will work on the quarter sheet zine in class on Monday. Please bring your subject matter to class that night.
    B. Second: For the big project you will create a 12 page, half sheet zine. (This means 3 sheets of 81/2 x 11 paper printed on both sides.) The 12 pages includes the front and back cover. After the field trip I will go into more detail about the second part of the project and give you a larger template to work from.
6. The hand out that I passed around tonight in class is for you to review and note the changes that a comic must go through before it is ready for publication. Note how the line work, shading and the composition from panel to panel changes. The Artists on this work were some heavy hitters in the comic world: Will Eisner, Wally Wood and Jules Feiffer.

See you on Sunday..... at the museum.

Have a great Halloween

The Mechanics of Comics

Here s a good primer before you begin your comic:
http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/comics/the-mechanics-of-comics/



Even if you think you know comics, you will learn something new. 

Homework reminder

Hi,

On Monday, bring in you comic samples and ideas. Be prepared to talk about why you have chosen them. Online comics, short form, graphic novel, newspaper, all of them are ok to use. Again, be prepared to talk about your choices, line, story, technique.... why is it special to you and how does it relate to the kind of stories that you want to tell. Have fun picking your comics.

 

 

Class Update

Hi everyone,
On Wed. we will continue working on the Mascot Project. We will have a working critique on Oct. 17, and the final version is due on Oct. 22. At that time you will turn in the ai. file and a published version of it as a jpg.

Also on Wed. in class, be ready to show some preliminary concept art of your face/skull that incorporates the decorative elements that are associated with The Day Of The Dead.

 For the Day of the Dead people don wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend, according to Mary J. Adrade, who has written three books on the ritual. The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth. The skulls were used to honor the dead, whom the Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations believed came back to visit during the monthlong ritual. Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake.
"The pre-Hispanic people honored duality as being dynamic," said Christina Gonzalez, senior lecturer on Hispanic issues at Arizona State University. "They didn't separate death from pain, wealth from poverty like they did in Western cultures." However, the Spaniards considered the ritual to be sacrilegious. They perceived the indigenous people to be barbaric and pagan. In their attempts to convert them to Catholicism, the Spaniards tried to kill the ritual. But like the old Aztec spirits, the ritual refused to die.
To make the ritual more Christian, the Spaniards moved it so it coincided with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2), which is when it is celebrated today. Previously it fell on the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar, approximately the beginning of August, and was celebrated for the entire month. Festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The goddess, known as "Lady of the Dead," was believed to have died at birth, Andrade said. Today, Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and in certain parts of the United States and Central America. "It's celebrated different depending on where you go," Gonzalez said. In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. They decorate grave sites with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults. They sit on picnic blankets next to grave sites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones.


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html#ixzz28ohK6Gv9

Here are some images to start you thinking about it.

For more on the artwork of Posada click this link

Homework Info

Hi everyone, two things:
1. For Monday please review chapter 25 in the text book.
2. In your sketchbook draw your version of the Great Pumpkin from the Peanuts Halloween special.

Monster Draw Photos

Hi click the link to see lots of photos from the Monster Draw
http://165-166.blogspot.com/

Class Reminder

On Wednesday we will be scanning in the final sketches of your mascot character and begin recreating it in Illustrator. Also, we will look at the B/W & Color Herman Heads.

Homework Reading and Drawing

 Heads up! next Monday we will be talking about chapter 24, its all about gradients.

For the homework drawing I would like you to develop a new Mascot for DVC.

A little devil character.

1. You will need to sketch out your design, full body in your sketchbook.

2. After I talk with you about your design, you will scan the drawing and digitize it using Illustrator.

3. You will be appealing gradients to the image.

4. Try to have your image look as original as possible.

5. You must include the DVC logo into your design.

6. The logo should say something about DVC.

7. We will begin this project next Monday.

Do some research...

What does DVC have as a Mascot?

Do you think it fits us?

Why do we have the one we have?

What do some of the other local schools have?

Why is Mt. Diablo called that?

Be prepared to answer these in class.

Have fun drawing...

Herman Munster and Homework Reading

Great job on the Herman Munster images.

For the homework reading: Look at chapter 17 it backs up all that I covered on importing and converting images.

For the homework drawing: Draw a full body image of yourself as Herman or Lilly Munster in your sketchbook.

Homework

Homework Reading: Read pages 283-286 and chapter 22.

Homework Drawing:Use you sharpie and draw something on an image from a magazine.
Whatever you draw needs to be part of the image. Not just stuck on with no relation to the image.

Homework Update

Homework: Take two Simpson's characters and on a full page in your sketchbook, draw the two unrelated characters as if they had a love child (it doesn't need to be a child...it just needs to look like a mix up of two characters). Male of female it doesn't matter... have fun mixing the characteristics, color is optional. Notice that they have no chin and a big over bite. On Monday we will look at them and work on the Poe Project.

Text as Image Project

How to do it:

ARTDM 117                                                                                            

Text as Image Project

Goal:
Create an image using only text that describes the story:
"The Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe.

 

1. Read the story twice.

2. The second time you read the story have your sketchbook handy and note down the names of the principal characters, key phrases spoken and the plot of the story.

3. After you have completed the second review of the story and made notes, on two separate pages of your sketchbook try grouping and arranging the information into different combinations.  Experiment with scale, direction, font, pattern and creating the illusion of depth. This can be accomplished by layering the main plot points/characters of the story on top of lesser ones.  This will create a hierarchy of lesser and greater meaning. (In Illustrator you will add color)

4. On Wednesday in class I will show one more text tool then you can begin the project. The most important thing you can do is read the story and make some notes before you come to class on Wednesday evening.

5. Set up an art board that is 8.5" X 11".

6. The entire art board must be filled.

 

Here is a link to the story:

http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/tell-tale-heart.html

Homework Update

Homework:
1. Make sure you have uploaded your traced cartoon character and the homework drawings onto your BLOG.
2. Read chapter 19 on "Type" for Mondays class.
3. Draw yourself as a baby in a baby advertisement. make sure to have the baby look a little like you. Draw it full page in your sketchbook, use the wash pencil or sharpie over a pencil sketch.
*(Hint if you do not know how to find baby adds try conducting a Google image search for "vintage baby add")
4. You can change the product in the add to best suit your personality... have fun with this... this is what being an artist is all about. See example below....

Monster Draw