November 2018, December 2018 and January 2019

By now you should be very proficient in the use of most of the Adobe Photoshop CC Tools. If you have any questions regarding the Move, Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee, Magnetic Lasso, Magic Wand, Polygonal Lasso, Brush, Eraser, Paint Bucket and Custom Shape Tools, please let me know.

You can start experimenting with the Gradient Tool, the Type Tool, the Eye Dropper Tool and the Crop Tool (I will teach these tools in class).

November's Essential Vocabulary is the following:

Typography (Leading, Tracking, Kerning, Hierarchy); Serif, Sans Serif, Display Fonts, Opacity; color (color theory - the color wheel - color harmony - color palettes - color schemes), hue, saturation, value; monochromatic, analogous and complementary. To check COLOR PALETTES go to: Color Palettes (click link).

December and January's Vocabulary is:
Surrealism, René Magritte,  Salvador Dalí, Rafal Olbinsky, Marcel Caram, branding, visual (brand) identity, images, advertisements, consumer, logos, magazine covers, magazine ads, book covers (and their importance).  You will also learn tips for designing effective posters and advertisements, and magazine covers and book covers.

For Exercise 4 you are creating art for the theme "Our Creative Garden." I will select the best ones for the "Echoings" Literary Magazine. Remember the techniques you already learned in class to create something interesting and attractive. 

We will also create an advertisement in December, and will try to imitate some of René Magritte's and Salvador Dalí's work. We will learn about "Surrealism" and try to look into our unconscious minds for inspiration. The Surrealists sought to channel the unconscious as a means to unlock the power of the imagination. Many surrealist paintings are based on dreams and the artists' imagination. We will learn about Magritte and Dalí and other surrealist artists, and look at some of their work. And you will certainly use your imagination to create a "surreal" piece of digital art. You will complete three or four Surrealist works of digital art.

"Surrealist art often uses dream imagery to show the inner workings of the mind. Have you ever had a dream that your teeth were falling out or that you were flying? Surrealists used images like this in their art to create instinctive meanings the viewer would not need rational thought to understand.

Surrealists also used symbols as a method of telling a story. Symbols are objects that stand for ideas, events, or emotions. For example, a smile can be a symbol of happiness; an image of a heart can be a symbol for love.

Surrealist artists used collage. A collage is a work of art created by using images not normally associated with one another. These disparate associations were meant to make the viewer question previous rules of art and popular culture."

From: What is Surrealism? (click link).

If you have any questions,   please feel free to ask me.    Other surrealist artists you can check (to try to imitate their work) are Marcel Caram, Rafal Olbinsky, and Frida Kahlo. Check: Google Classroom for the Presentation on Surrealism  (I will show you and  we  will discuss  in  class),   the  PDF  on  creating  effective  posters  and your assignments. GET INSPIRED, GET CREATIVE!

TEST: You will have a TEST ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018 regarding the following vocabulary: Typography (Leading, Tracking, Kerning, Hierarchy); Serif, Sans Serif, Display  Fonts. Study: 1. What is Typography? 2. What are Serif Fonts? 3. What are Sans Serif Fonts? 4. What are Display Fonts? When do you use them? 5. Which fonts should we AVOID? Why? 6. Can you combine Font Styles? 7. What is Kerning (in Typography)? 8. What is Leading? 9. What is Tracking? 10. What is Hierarchy in Typography? 11. What is Bad Kerning? 12. Review examples of "Bad Kerning." (YOUR HOMEWORK) and 13. Why is it important to pay attention to Kerning? 14. Why is alignment important in typography? 15. Why does font size matter? 

CHECK TO REVIEW AND STUDY: Typography and Color (click links).  You can also find these videos on this Blog under  "My Favorite Links" on the right side.    You may also want  to check  the  Branding & Identity video  as well as the Power of Images video. All these videos are essential to understand Graphic Design.

Also included in Test: primary and secondary colors, hue, saturation, value, the color wheel; monochromatic, analogous and complementary colors and learn about the importance of choosing the right colors for your graphic designs and publications (you don't have to know about Split Complementary, Triadic and Tetradic color schemes). Why does color play a vital role in design and everyday life? How do we know which colors look good together and which ones don't? How do we achieve Color Harmony? The handout on "Color" with 13 questions will be included! The Test will be a Google Form.