Adobe Photoshop CS4 Workshop

I freely admit that what you will learn about Ps during the next couple of weeks will only be drop in the ocean of content that exists in this amazing piece of software. My goal is to give you some basic tools, and my hope is that you seek out tutorials to guide you further down the rabbit hole.

Day One

Navigating the workspace

Need more?

Day Two

Please have a photofile you can work with today (and the ones I send, too)

Working with documents, composition, color

Day Three

Selections, masks, lettering, and layers

Need more?

Day Four: Elements of Line, Color, Texture; Principles of Contrast and Emphasis

Looking at how good and bad composition is affected by the elements and principles

Day Five: Creation Statement as a Movie Poster

You will design poster that includes type of various styles, colors and sizes. Your goal is to communicate what you want to accomplish as an artist: a model of your personal goals as a creative learner.

Do a SKETCH of your CONCEPT (idea) first, in your sketchbook. A sketch is a fast drawing that will help you plan out your composition once you get working on the computer. Like this one:

Requirements:

• 8" x 10" at 300 dpi
• No pixelization
• Must be original, contain a photograph, and lettering heirarchy
• You are encouraged to use the rule of thirds in your composition
• You are encouraged to use a planned color harmony
• I'll send you a link to a Picasa album where you'll upload the final JPEG version of your artwork.

Artwork of the Week--Page 23

Contour line is a line type that defines the interior and exterior edges of a form. The line moves beautifully, changing thickness, sometimes becoming an implied line. Modified Contour Drawings (where you glance occasionally at your paper) do not have shading.

You have to observe closely--INTENSELY--while you draw. For your artwork of this week, I would like for you to do three contour drawings of your hand, your foot, or a sliced-open cabbage using PEN or MARKER.

1. Set a timer. You want 20 minutes per drawing.

2. Sit comfortably, arranging your foot, hand, or cabbage in an interesting pose.

3. Don't move once you've settled in to a spot.

4. Gaze for a couple of minutes, "drawing" with your eyes first.

5. Begin drawing. Glance at your paper only to check positions/relationships. DRAW SLOWLY, without "naming" the parts as you draw.

SAR #1

Please follow these steps:

1. Find our conversation in Gmail.
2. Hit "Reply."
3. In the Subject Area, please put "SAR #1" and your name.
4. Please answer the questions below. You can answer directly in the email, or you can attach a document.
5. Submit your SAR before class starts on Monday. SARs that do not authentically address the questions will need to be resubmitted.

Participation

• What are the expectations for participation in this class?
• Are you meeting the expectations in and out of class?
• If you are meeting or exceeding expectations, how has this impacted your learning?
• If you are not meeting the expectations, how is this impeding your learning?
• What can/will you do next?

Progress

• What have you done over the past three weeks to ensure your success? Reflect on successes and challenges.
• How has your understanding of Why Artists Create, Typography, and the elements (line, color, texture) shifted?
• What will you do next?

TYPOGRAPHY: Lettering Models

Image: http://finerhosting.com/

Have you ever thought about just how critical our typography choices are? How many times a day do you interact with typography? Leading to our ultimate goal of visualizing information, we are going to look at a few of our elements and principles through typography. By the end of next week, you will:

• understand typography choices
• connect emotional qualities to typefaces
• create a font by hand
• use technology to create an artwork focused on abstract letter design
• successfully use and understand the elements of line, color, and texture
• successfully use and understand the principles of contrast and emphasis

Our first goal (page 21 in your sketchbook) is to generate an understanding of four terms: typography, infographic, serif, and sans serif. On the same page, find a font that matches three emotions, and draw these words into your sketchbook.

Our second goal is the creation of your own font. You'll tape tabs on your handout into page 21. Create a font that fits YOU.

Our third goal is technology-based. Stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, check out these font resources:

• Typeface Directory
• Letterhead Fonts
• I Love Typography

Week Two Rituals--P18

"From the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape . . . We must pick out what is good for us where we can find it." -- Pablo Picasso

"We should talk less, and draw more. Personally, I would like to renounce speech altogether, and like organic nature, communicate everything I have to say in sketches.." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Line is a rich metaphor for the artist. It denotes not only boundary, edge, or contour, but is an agent for location, energy, and growth. It is literally movement and change--life itself." --Lance Esplund

"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." --Herman Melville.

Post a comment about whether or not you agree with the above quotes and your reasons!

ARTWORK OF THE WEEK--YAY!

Art 1--Page 20

• Pick one of your themes from the Journaling Activity (p 19) and fill an entire page with the theme, combining words, drawings, and collage. Your artwork should reflect at least an hour of creative work and is due next Thursday, August 25th. I also will be looking at sketchbook organization on that day, as well.

8th period Art

• Your AOW is "Synectics," based on the three numbers/words selected last week.

Bioscience Art is BACK

WELCOME BACK!

We've had a fantastic first week back. To refresh:

• Monday: Oh, The Places We'll Go!
• Tuesday: Rituals of the art classroom
• Wednesday: Essential themes and questions
• Thursday: What 3Ps looks like in the art class--and sketchbook handout!
• Friday: Sketchbook preparation.

One of the Art Rituals we established was the 5-minute observation drawing upon entering the art space. I'm looking forward to seeing the results in your sketchbooks!

Next week, look forward to continued personalization of our sketchbooks, and a journey into our big question, "How do we make sense of the world?"

Below is a brainstorm webdemonstrating the main concepts that you will know and understand when you leave the art class. If you're returning, you'll have a more sophisticated understanding of these concepts.