Digital Illustration Class Schedule

Syllabus   Projects   Class Schedule

Digital Illustration Art 441M, Class Schedule

Week 1

Tuesday, January 16

  • Introductions.
  • What is illustration and digital illustration?
  • Review schedule, web site & syllabus.
  • EVERYONE NEEDS A TABLET
  • Review hardware (About This Mac) and software (Adobe Creative Cloud, ProCreate, Sketchbook).
  • Set up naming convention (lastName1stInitialProject), folder system and online backup.
  • Introduce semester-long project: Character design.
  • Explain proposals, timesheets, character profiles
  • Introduce Theater Poster project.
  • Self portraits
  • Upload written proposal and initial sketches for poster to shared Google Drive by 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 1/23. Name files: lastName1stInitialPosterProposal, lastName1stInitialPosterSketches

Thursday, January 18

  • Review vector vs. bitmap, image size, resolution, color modes and file formats.
  • Demo Photoshop, Sketchbook: image size, custom brushes, layers.
  • Draw faces: happy, sad, mad, scared, surprised (take pictures with phones or computers for reference)
  • Try different color/lighting schemes on drawings to enhance emotions.
  • Work on posters. Proposal and sketches due on Tuesday.
  • Post Project Proposal and Character Profiles to shared Google Drive folder by 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 1/30. Name files: lastName1stInitialProposal, lastName1stInitialCharacterProfiles

HeadDrawingReferences

Week 2

Tuesday, January 23

  • Review Poster Proposals, sketches.
  • Demo Magic Poser
  • Create a scene using Magic Poser with at least two characters and two props. Save it in three different points of view and lighting conditions.
  • Upload character sketches to shared Google Drive by Thursday, 2/1, 6 p.m. Name files: lastName1stInitialCharacterName
  • Work on posters

Thursday, January 25

  • Watch this digital illustration process video: John Frye  (it’s long, but it’s a good introduction to Sketchbook)
  • Illustrator type: scaling, warping, effects, outline, mask.
  • Demo screen-resolution and multi-page PDFs.
  • Work on posters, character designs.
  • Have written project and character profiles for next Tuesday’s class.
  • Posters and character sketches due next Thursday.

Week 3

Tuesday, January 30

  • Review Christoph Niemann’s online portfolio.
  • Review story proposals and character profiles.
  • Illustrator blob brush/eraser, art/texture brushes.
  • Work on posters
  • Upload final Posters to shared Google Drive by 6 p.m. on Thursday, 2/1. Name files: lastName1stInitialPosterFinal
  • Upload initial character sketches to shared Google Drive by 6 p.m. on Thursday, 2/1. Name files: lastName1stCharacterSketches
  • SuperheroFigures

Thursday, February 1

  • Critique Posters
  • Watch this digital illustration process video: Bobby Chiu1
  • Review character sketches.
  • Work on characters. Upload finished characters to shared Google Drive by Tuesday, 2/20, 6 p.m. Name file: lastName1stInitialCharacterFinal

Week 4

Tuesday, February 6

  • Review Chase Stone’s online portfolio.
  • Demo atmospheric perspective techniques
  • Intro Website project. Pick a platform by next Tuesday.
  • Work on characters, due Tuesday, 2/20.
  • Share Instagram story

Thursday, February 8

  • Watch this digital illustration process video: Bobby Chiu2
  • Demo atmospheric perspective techniques
  • Work on characters, due Tuesday, 2/20.

Week 5

Tuesday, February 13

  • Review Environment proposals and sketches.
  • Review website choices
  • Review Zina Saunders’ online portfolio.
  • Demo linear perspective techniques (Sketchbook)
  • Work on characters, due Tuesday, 2/20.

Thursday, February 15

  • Watch illustrator Nimit Malvia’s process video
  • Demo combining shapes and gradients, perspective in Illustrator.
  • Demo 3D models in Magic Poser
  • Work on characters. Upload finished characters to shared Google Drive by Tuesday, 2/20, 6 p.m. Name file: lastName1stInitialCharacterFinal

Week 6

Tuesday, February 20

  • Character design critiques.
  • Introduce Environment project. Upload initial written proposal and initial sketches to shared Google Drive by 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 2/27. Name files: lastName1stInitialEnvProposal, lastName1stInitialEnvSketches
  • Demo filters, effects, masks to fade effects
  • Post character designs to website
  • Review Jason Seiler’s online portfolio.

Thursday, February 22

Week 7

Tuesday, February 27

  • Review David Cowles’ online portfolio.
  • Review environment sketches
  • Work on environments

Thursday, February 29

  • Watch illustrator Eisuke Ogura’s process video
  • Demo 3D and type distortion in AI
  • Work on environments

Week 8

Tuesday, March 5

  • Review Tony Rodriguez’s online portfolio.
  • Work on environments. Upload finished environments to shared Google Drive by 6 p.m. on Thursday, 3/7. Name file: lastName1stInitialEnvironmentFinal

Thursday, March 7

  • Critique Environment project
  • Post environments to website
  • Introduce Title Art project.
  • Upload initial written proposal and initial sketches to shared Google Drive by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, 3/19. Name files: lastName1stInitialTitleProposal, lastName1stInitialTitleSketches

SPRING BREAK, NO CLASSES MARCH 11-15

Week 9

Tuesday, March 19

  • Review title ideas
  • Review Viktor Koen’s online portfolio.
  • Work on titles. Initial sketches due Thursday, 3/21, by 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 21

  • Watch this short digital illustration process video: Daily Grafix
  • Review Nithin Kumbleker‘s online portfolio.
  • Work on titles.
  • Upload finished project to shared Google Drive by 6 p.m., Tuesday, 3/26. Name file: lastName1stInitialTitleFinal

Week 10

Tuesday, March 26

  • Critique Title project
  • Introduce Poster, Cover, etc. project.
  • Upload initial sketches to shared Google Drive by 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 4/2. Name files: lastName1stInitialCoverSketches
  • Post title designs to website

Thursday, March 28: NO CLASS HOLY THURSDAY

Week 11

Tuesday, April 2

  • Review Mirko Ilic’s online portfolio.
  • Review poster/cover ideas
  • Work on project. Due on Thursday, April 11.

Thursday, April 4

Week 12

Tuesday, April 9

  • Review Bill Mayer’s online portfolio.
  • Work on posters. Post finished project to Google Drive by 6 p.m. Tuesday, 4/16. Name file: lastName1stInitialCoverFinal

Thursday, April 11

  • Critique Poster/Cover/Etc. project.
  • Introduce Storyboard/Animation project.
  • Post poster/cover designs to website

Week 13

Tuesday, April 16

  • Review David Newton’s online portfolio.
  • Work on storyboards.
  • Upload initial sketches to shared Google Drive 6 p.m. on Thursday, 4/18. Name files: lastName1stInitialStoryboardSketches

Thursday, April 18

  • Review storyboard ideas
  • Work on storyboards. Upload finished project to shared Google Drive by 6 p.m. Tuesday, 4/23. Name file: lastName1stInitialStoryboardFinal
  • Watch this short and interesting painting critique of The Horse Fair
  • Learn more about Rosa Bonheur, the impressive, ahead-of-her-time artist who painted The Horse Fair

Week 14

Tuesday, April 23

  • Critique storyboards
  • Post storyboards to website
  • Introduce Animation project. Due Thursday, May 9.
  • Review Michael Dziekan’s online portfolio.
  • Animation demo

Thursday, April 25

  • Animation demo
  • Work on animation

Week 15

Tuesday, April 30

Thursday, May 2

  • Work on animation

Week 16

Tuesday, May 7

  • Work on animation. Due Thursday. Upload to shared Google drive.  Name file: lastName1stInitialAnimationFinal

Thursday, May 9 LAST CLASS

  • Animation critique
  • Website critique