Final: Sending Messages

During this art class, I learned how to interpret art not just for an aesthetic object, but tried to be open to the message or "concept" behind what was being done. Messages are huge...they speak at times when words won't pass our lips. They are used to start controversy, to entice people towards an action or a decision, or they can even give us an opportunity to question our very own ideas.

Two artists, one a street artist and the other an advertising executive, have made a name for themselves by spreading messages. The first find ways to put his ideas into unsuspecting places. The other has put unsuspecting ideas into the usual places. Both work with different medium, and both are driving by a different vocation with regards to art, however both are using their skill to spread messages to a large audience...whether or not the audience agrees with the message.

The street artist known as "Banksy" has become well known for his street art. Placing his art into areas that could get him in trouble at the federal level, Banksy has used different venues to place his art into the midst of the world. While some may call his work destructive, his work has become known throughout the world.

For a show in Los Angeles for MOCA entitled "Art in the Streets," Banksy displayed several pieces of art in his usual post-modern fashion. One of the pieces was a cathedral glass window. The glass was replaced with graffiti...a collaboration he'd made with local Los Angeles school students. At the bottom of the window, there's a stencil of a hooded boy with a paint brush, praying with his hands together.

The wooden chapel frame is crafted out of wood, and the area for the glass has been filled with wooden plates that were spraypainted by others. The actual display appears to stand 9' high or so...approximately the height of an actual stain glass window in a church. The praying youth is done in black and white and appears to be a stencil of some sort.

Compositionally, it takes the gothic frame of the church window and combines it with the colorful and chaotic lines of the added plates. The hues change from yellow to red-blue near the top...drawing the eye to the center of the window. One could imagine that a light source actually existed on the other side of this window frame. Dwarfed by the immensity of the window, the boy is created using different values of great to show shadow and light. A large number of lines are used, as the boy appears to be quite intricate. Judging from this picture, it's hard to tell if the boy is part of the overall image or if he's separated from the window.

As a friar, the message of this work is rather profound. I experience this work as a statement regarding the need for the church to be relevant not only to today's issues, but to the issues of the inner-cities and the poor. Glass windows traditionally were used to help tell stories, specifically biblical stories and stories of the saints. They were a way to catechize parishioners who attended church. By extrapolating those images with graffiti, graffiti made by LA youth, I interpret the image as saying that the new catechesis, the Church's stories of grace and strength, are rooted in the experience of the poor and marginalized. I'm reminded of the "preferential option for the poor," as written in the South American Council of Bishop's meeting in Medellin in 1979.

I see two things here that maybe others wouldn't connect with: 1. The boy's hoodie looks like the cowl of my religious habit, the garb of my profession as a Capuchin Franciscan. On the left side, it looks like a rosary is visible just under the hoodie. It's as if the actual work calls me, in my own particular experience, to partake in this action of re-focusing the stories of the Church.

The second artist created something that I wouldn't have ordinarily categorized as art. George Lois made a name for himself by telling people what to do...and having people listen. His trick, according to him, is "theres a chance you can do something different, exciting, unique." Defining himself as a communicator, Lois has created some of the greatest advertising campaigns, including MTV, Esquire, and ESPN. One that he's most known for is his ad promo for Tommy Hilfiger.

Discussing the craft of this ad is complex, because the concept is what drives everything for Lois. His goal: to figure out the "big idea" of each item and, using his words, "sear" it into the minds of people, in hopes that they will buy the product. For Tommy Hilfiger, the idea was to create an ad campaign that would make his clothes a household item for shoppers.

The design is simple, crafted with easy to read text and plenty of negative space. Only a few hues are used. It's crafted in a way to be used on print, billboard, or other mediums.

Compositionally, the piece is designed to be easily read. Since the piece requires people to think, Lois uses a good font, while also using black type on the white surface. Negative space is key in this piece, as it assumes that the viewer will be able to guess. Everything is centered, and while the logo (the only object in the piece that is a true graphic) grabs the eye, focus shifts from there to the top.

The concept of the piece, asides from the obvious advertising aspect, is to make the viewer think they should know someone they don't. A shopper might be able to recognize Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, and Calvin Klein from this, however people would not know the Tommy brand, and would be moved to do further research. It challenges the viewer remember the logo the next time they go shopping, and that if they are shoppers who are interested in labels, they are missing out.

As an ad, it places Tommy Hilfiger among the existing giants of his field. It is a bold statement, a message that Tommy deserves to be big, that has been copied in various outlets and mediums. For Lois, the idea was big and it directly challenged buyers to look into this new designer. And, for all purposes, it worked.

While both pieces come out of different mindsets, there are various similarities. As I mentioned in the beginning, both have clear messages. While Lois spells it out (so to speak), Banksy allows the user to interpret the meaning. Both pieces speak to something other than themselves, perhaps challenging the viewer to make a choice afterwards. It's also important that both artists make work that is meant to be seen en masse. It is reasonable that both artists would compete for the same space to place their works, insomuch that they would be prime locations for their work to be seen by the most number of people...or at least a target audience. Last, but not least, both artists seek to be in-your-face with their work. Neither of these works are subtle, in fact these pieces figuratively pull some sense of emotion from each viewer, be they positive or negative. They contain powerful messages, challenging the viewer to agree or disagree.

In spite of these similarities, there are distinct differences as well. George Lois has a specific goal for each viewer: to buy the product. Buying the product defines the success of the artwork, and validates his ability to send a specific message to the audience. Banksy produces pieces that are post-modern, lacking any overt message. While the church window lacks a clear message, if it did have one, it's not important for the viewer to agree. In fact, the medium in which it is created can be disagreeable for some.

I found both pieces to be important statements that, for their respective audience, were successful in sending a specific message to the viewer.

Week 14: E-Publishing

Along with our magazine, we had to upload our magazine to three online digital publishing sites to see how they looked.

Open publication - Free publishing - More art

This is from Issuu.
Digital Friar


 This version is from Scribed.

Digital Friar

Publish at Calaméo or browse others.

This version is from Calameo

Week 13: Sending off the Ebook

Today we sent our books off to Lulu.com to get printed. Here were the steps:

1. Create a Lulu account.
2. Log in
3. Click on "Publish"
4. Click on "Books"
5. Click on "Start Publishing"
6. Title>Author>Public
7. Standard>Letter>Binding Type>Full Color
8. Cover > Choose Themes > Choose Image Only Themes > Upload Pics
9. Keywords: SXU, Computer Graphics, Nathan Peck, Vito Martinez, Spring 2012, Creative Commons License.
10. Bill to me, ship to Nathan Peck here at SXU.

A specific file was downloaded and installed, making the actual settings fit with Lulu.com's settings.

Week 12: The other 10? Spreads

So the assignment originally calls for 10 more spreads (10+10 = 20 * 2 =40 pages). However page 1 and page 40 are not actual spreads. We're not able to print on the inside of the covers, so there's 2 individual pages...and the 9 spreads.

The first spread finishes off the extended article on social change and social media. I created an image of the famous "HUELGA" image of Delores Huerta in Illustrator to go with the motif of the article...iconic to some people...others may never recognize it. (Something I intended). I also wanted to showcase some of the internet-created art that comes out of the spur of the moment...sometimes known as "memes."

As I mentioned in my last post, I knew that I would not have enough content to fill up the magazine, however just adding art did not fit with the concept that I'd created for this project. However I knew artists that were religious friars who had plenty of art and were rarely ever showcased. I asked these artists if I could use their work and they were elated to share it with me.

This series of chalk drawings are an important aspect of composing for others' work. My black line drawings had little color and I found it complicated to integrate the work. Now that I was handling someone else's art, I felt a mandate to showcase it in the best possible way. In my interpretation, I tried to create an aesthetic in the positioning of the art with the white space, and made sure that the text and body copy did distract from the art.

Unfortunately I ran out of ideas to use for text to compliment the art.

The second artist I used also is part of the order and was happy to contribute. His work varied over different mediums, so rather than try to portray a story, such as the spreads before, I wanted to use the magazine space to feature the variety of the work. The intricate Tau symbol worked perfect as the dropcap for this article, even though the rest of the article mimics the rest of the magazine.

Showcasing the various art pieces, I used different sized images to do this. It also shows the different scales of art as well.

While not really a spread, these pages serve as the "catch-all" or the "mail-bag" of a magazine. One discusses the construction of the cover, while the other is an article based on my midterm blog.

This page is the standard "About Me" paired with my first advertisement...an ad for religious vocations to the Capuchin Franciscans. I found the process of making the ad to be something of an interesting experience, as it seeks to reach out to an individual and call them to a specific answer. These are sometimes subtle or direct. I focused on the ideas of people, who are discerning a religious vocation, have about making a life-changing decision.  This ad received positive response from our Vocations Director.

Week 11: 10 Spreads

As I started to develop the rest of my magazine, I came to some realizations:

1. I cannot create art as fast as others. It is not my gift.

2. As an ex-car salesman, I can create words (well, stories to be precise) a lot faster, and use them to get people thinking.

3. My focus piece was an example of both: my slow pace at working with art and a desire to pull people into a discussion about something...not the artwork, but what the artwork represents to people at a theological level.

Another key thought came to me as I developed a further concept for the magazine: How often do I see a good technology/religion merger in a piece of work? The Catholic Church isn't known for keeping up with the pace of technology, and technology isn't known for emphasizing the spiritual needs of people. Since, through my schooling, I am trying to do both...why not create a magazine that does this?

With that concept developed, I continued to craft more spreads in InDesign. The use of topic headers gave it an official look...and the feedback I was getting from other students is that it look "official" or "like a real magazine."I was inspired by a science journal that used images to pull people into dull articles about algorithm design...so I liked how they crafted the pages.

This week, I created 8 more spreads to equal 10 total.

This was a wider image of the chapel that I used for a center-piece in the magazine. I blurred the image with a filter in photoshop to soften the light as well as alter the look somewhat. I liked the image because of the large negative-space on the left side, providing room for either text or just to make a statement regarding the placement of the artwork in real life.

I knew I had to include my artwork in this magazine, regardless of how I looked at the overall concept. However I struggled to find a good way to display what I'd created. The blue/black backdrop on the blue bottle with the black backdrop served as an interesting eye piece...both framing the image and drawing the eye to the bottom of the bottle.

The more spreads that were created, the more I realized that I was standardizing how the entire magazine would look. All pull-quotes would be in the orange font, with black lines above-and below. Much the way art can draw you in through framing that centers on an area, the black lines frame a larger text...pulling the eyes to read...and consequently getting the "previewer" to become a "reader."

The line drawings page gave me a lot of confusion. These were monochrome images in a magazine that was becoming quite colorful. It didn't help that I was displeased by these images. As I mentioned before, art is not my strong subject, yet these early attempts to use a graphic tablet were part of the course. I think I'll continue to have problems with this part of my magazine.

I liked the space and the text used in the section headers. There was not reason for choosing pink, other than I was following a similar color palette as Adobe does with it's different programs. Each section had a different name, and should also have a different reference color. We'll see what colors I use in further aspects of this magazine.

After getting all my artwork displayed (which didn't take long), I started working on the in-depth parts of my magazine. I created an article that looked at social media and social change...using the media that was being tied to both of these current movements. By this point, I'd pretty much solidified how the rest of the pages would look.

This was the first page that I used the concept of smaller sub-articles and graphics to explain. The separation of color removes the text from the rest of the article, without disturbing the flow of the body copy.

At this point, things were working easily. I took a book review that I'd done several months ago, and converted it for this project. I snagged an image from NASA's hubble telescope site, and added everything. While the the article is devoid of art, the entire article looks at how we define creation in terms of the physical or spiritual understanding.

Week 9: Starting the Magazine

The first part of our class has focused on the actual construction of art, using some of the tools available to graphic designers. Now we're going to combine our art into a magazine that will be available in several different formats. We will be working with Adobe InDesign as well as some e-publishing tools.

Here are some of the requirements that are being asked of us as we go through the process.

1. Look at several different magazines to get an idea of a layout. Some of these magazines include those by past students...giving us an idea of what to do and what NOT to do.

2. The magazine must be 40 pages at least. If we go over 40, then additions have to be in multiples of 4. (44, 48, etc.)

3. There must be 4 orders of text per spread. This can include the title, subtitle, a pull-quote, a drop-cap, a list or image description.

4. Body copy must be 10pt font, either Arial or Times.

5. Stick to 3 main color values per spread, 2 or three font types for the entire magazine.

6. All art MUST BE CITED if it is not your own.

7. Body copy must be in 2 columns.

8. Put text into blog or text editor prior to putting it into the magazine.

9. Edit all images with Photoshop/Illustrator..not in InDesign.

Week 10: First Two Magazine Spreads

The next part of our class involves the collection of artwork into a magazine. Our task is to create a 40-page magazine using Adobe In-Design. After the pages have been made using In-Design, the files will be sent off to an actual printer where an actual magazine will be created. This magazine will be the major focus for the rest of the semester.

While we are using In Design to actually build the magazine, some research went into choosing exactly how I wanted the magazine to look. There are many types of magazines out there; be they for art, technology, reading, or photos. Since I am not an art major, I realized that I did not have a lot of artwork to make a full-blown art magazine. What I am able to do, based on my history of writing and blogging, is creating plenty of text for a periodical.

Recognizing this, I decided to make the text an important part of the magazine. I looked at various magazines to get some ideas together, and then started the project by making my first two spreads.

My photo trace is the pinnacle of my small "body of work," so I used it as my initial article. The image, based on feedback from others, speaks volumes, so I decided to give it a full page. I realized that it needed to be accommodated by text that would draw the casual browser into the actual text.

Therefore I used not only the different type faces that were available to me, but I used other tools that are often seen in credible periodicals: a section heading to imply the focus of the article, focused images that show the detail of the work, a sub-title that gives more information about what the reader should expect, and pull-quotes that were relevant and interesting.

Using these devices, my attempt was to create a concept of a "professional magazine." Whether or not my magazine will be considered to be professional remains to be seen.

Mid-Term: White Crucifixion

During February of 2012, I was required by my professor to attend a tour at the Chicago Art Institute. While I'd been to the Art Institute a number of times before, this was to be a guided tour, by our professor, through the modern European art into the contemporary, specifically looking at the development of the craft, composition, and concepts of pieces throughout the years. During this tour, we were required to pick one piece of art as the masterpiece of the Institute, and explain this critique.

One of the first things we had to do was prove that we were actually there with our professor:

The piece that I found most impressive, and the piece that I think stands as the masterpiece of the Institute, is Chagall's White Crucifixion. This is an oil painting on canvas, done in 1938. The time is significant in that it the piece speaks to the reality of Jewish oppression that was taking place in Europe at this time.

The piece is composed rather simply, with not much detail in the figures or objects that exist on the canvas. Chagall uses the crucifixion to immediately draw attention of the viewer. The crucifixion is an extremely recognizable icon that has tremendous meaning, and by using it he draws the viewers' attention and creates an immediate conceptual idea. By doing this, Chagall is able to boldly proclaim a message through this painting.

Not much color is used in this piece, nor does this piece demonstrate great depth or detail. The few changes in color values are dramatic; grey is the only gradient in this image. One can assume that the drastic value differences were chosen by the artist to draw attention to those areas. There are two light-sources: one that is rendered to come from above the painting, as well as a small light source below the feet of Jesus. These light sources do not create shadows, but rather emphasize those immediate objects.

White Crucifixion is composed in the ways of an iconography rather than a painting intended to render a perfect realism. The overall image is a story, composed of smaller images that have a specific meaning. And when all these small stories are put together into a large painting, an overarching story is told. Like other artists such as John August Swanson, Chagall is interested in the narrative much more than in the realism of the image. And it is the concept that makes this piece the best in the Institute.

Much of Chagall's work surrounds the events of World War II and the treatment of Jews at this time. Perhaps this influenced his decision to emphasize the Jewish lineage of Jesus. The image presents a Jewish Jesus, along with the biblical patriarchs and matriarch, at the time of crucifixion. Surrounding the crucifixion are other symbols of oppression and martyrdom that are happening at the time this painting was made.

While this painting was made as the Holocaust was starting, Chagall would have also been knowledgeable of the larger theological implications of a Jewish Jesus image. Soon after the death of Jesus, as the Gospels were being written, there came a shift in the recognition of Jesus as the Messianic Figure from the line of David. As evident in the letters of Paul, the desire was to take the message of Jesus to the Gentiles, and in doing so, the image of Jesus was eventually removed from his Jewish roots. The Christological statement that this painting makes is astounding as it attempts to reach back in time to re-capture an understanding of faith that has been lost through the generations.

White Crucifixion is the most important piece in the Chicago Art Institute because it has a message that transcends through the centuries that looks at how we understand one of the most important individuals of the Abrahamic tradition.

Week 5: Shape Drawing

Our task for this week was to create a shape drawing from an actual photograph using Adobe Illustrator. The focus of the task was to render an image similar to the original photo.

Rather than choose an existing photo, I decided to take a photo of my own, thereby controlling the variables such as light, depth, and ensuring I had a large photo file to increase the level of detail.

Since part of the concept of this assignment was to create a shape illustration that would be recognizable and realistic, I decided to choose an iconic image that would be easily-identified. I also wanted the image to be something that I could possibly use in my religious order, perhaps something that could use beyond an Art class.

While I was happy with the concept of the image, the craft and composition would prove too much in order to render this image realistically. I also realized that the wooden crucifix could stand alone as its own shape drawing, due to the numerous hues and variations of brown, red, and green that were visible in the original picture. I also realized that a better picture of the cross would render a more detailed drawing.

For this reason, I switched the focus of this piece after finishing only the initial crucifix.

As seen from up close, the shapes in the crucifix are very simple. Little is available with regards to shading, depth, or realism. It was after this initial work that I decided to work with the crucifix where the corpus would provide endless amounts of shapes to render.

Week 6: Illustration - Revision

The following illustration is a trace of a photo, taken of the processional crucifix from our chapel here at the friary. The original wood sculpture was designed by Fr. Mark-Joseph Costello, OFM Cap.; Mark-Joseph is a student of the Chicago Art Institute and is a consultant for worship spaces all over the world...including McDonnell Chapel at Saint Xavier University. The crucifix, along with the specific lighting to project shadow onto the wall, were all designed by Mark Joseph. Because of the various ways that his crucifix embodied the areas of focus for this project, I chose this image as the piece to work on.

The image is a photo trace done with Adobe Illustrator CS5. The original image, taken at an angle below and to the right of the object, was taken with the daylight shining through the windows and with the spotlight designed for this particular piece. The image was then imported into Illustrator, where it served as a base for outlining. It is similar to a process, used when I was a kid, of placing an image against the window pane and placing a blank piece of paper on top...albeit much less technical.

Due to the nature of the actual carving, the trace had to be composed in a specific way. First and foremost, the wood carving did not have many smooth areas. The edges were sharp and drastic from the tool used to create the image. Second, the wood is porous and reflects light in a unique, non-uniform fashion. Various greens, browns, reds, magentas, and shades of grey can compose a small area of this image. Third, the image captures an image of depth; a 3-dimensional object is casting a 2-dimensional shadow onto a flat surface. All of these considerations were made before even starting on the actual piece.

The cross was the smoothest part of the image, and that was drawn first. The cross also has the most light reflected onto it's surface...again because it is the smoothest part of the object. This would also serve as the initial point for the viewer's eyes, After the cross was rendered, the reconstruction of the corpus was done from the bottom to the top. Starting with the toes, the actual trace became a mosaic of values and saturations, attempting to properly render reality for that area. Because of the way light reflects on wood, much of the work was done at a highly magnified scale. Some of the work cannot be seen by the naked eye, but creates a visual effect of shading and gradient as the different hues merge together in this image.

Right foot at 6400%

Trace of image at same magnification.

In a similar way, the process was repeated for each aspect of the body. This method, connecting colors like a puzzle rather than building layers on layers, required over 1000 layers and over 30 hours of composition.

As I continued to draw and compare the trace with the original picture, I was aware of a desire to render as realistic an image as possible. It was not necessarily because of the picture, but because of the theological importance that the image represented, and that the trace would also represent. Reminded of the European artists who painted images of the Bible, their works were used to instruct and to provide a visual connection with their viewer's faith. At this point, I realized that the overall concept of the piece would be theological in nature, and one that would be emphasized with a composition that best rendered reality.

The construction of the head of the corpus was the most exhaustive process. Countless shapes and hues were used to render an overall image that was as real as the original. The shape was traced against the original, then a proper hue was selected to best represent that area. Sometimes the decision of the color value was as exhaustive as the drawing of the actual shape. And since much of the work was done up close, I was forced to zoom in and out to see how the viewer would eventually see the artwork.

Face of "Eccolo" at 2400%.

The background of the piece is a huge part of the piece in that it frames the shadow of the crucifix against a believable backdrop. I grabbed a color from the original picture, then used a transparent radial gradient to transfer from the background color to the white that would represent the light source. I adjusted the opacity of the gradient as well as of the shadow in hopes of meshing the two together.

Another important part of the background is the actual title and information required of the piece. The word "Eccolo" is Italian for "Behold Him," a Christological understanding that was started with Saint Clare of Assisi. "Behold him, consider him, contemplate him...and desire to imitate him" is the entire quote. Wanting a title that would both set the concept of this piece while still convincing the viewer of the 3-dimensional nature of the image, the title became part of the image. The text was rendered using the 3-D Object tool in Illustrator, then matched to align with the overall angle of the image. The text works to convince the viewer that they are seeing this object from a specific angle, that they are viewing the object near a flat surface, and the depth of the overall piece is real.

It is my hope that this image, created only as a realistic rendering of a reality, is a tool or device by which people are able to enter into an internal discussion of their Christological faith.

As always, a picture of the work from my MacBookPro at home.

Week 4: Color Value & Textured Drawings

For week three of our Computer Graphics class, we were given two different tasks. The first was to make three drawings using values of color to render an image. The second task was to move away from line strokes and use a letter or number to create an image. All images were made using Adobe Illustrator and a Bamboo graphic tablet. All images were completed on my Mac Book Pro.

This is a wine bottle. A small brush was exclusively used, using both horizontal and vertical lines. The size of the brush shows the lines as well as the negative space, giving the appearance of a wire or wicker construction. A black box lies behind half of the image. The box draws the eyes of the view through it's contrast to the white, as well as emphasizing the blue of the bottle.

This piece was a rendering of a bottle of laundry detergent. The image was constructed with thick, horizontal lines to quickly define the boundaries of the object. Five different hues were used to represent the visual effect of lighting on the object. This piece uses a variety of different lines. The main body of the work was drawn with a thick brush, giving the appearance of a smooth plastic surface. Small lines, both vertical and horizontal, were used to represent the highlights on the bottle. Smooth, thin lines represent the screw-off lid. Combined with different hues, this give the appearance of a clear, plastic surface.

This is a metal water bottle. The image was initially constructed with quick, horizontal lines, then covered with fat, vertical lines. Small lines were used on the top of the water bottle in order to capture that various light values as well as give the top an appearance of depth. Rather than drawing a line to represent the rubber stop under the bottle top, white space was used to represent this area as a way of drawing the attention of the viewer towards the top of the image.

This is a texture drawing using the number "3" as the stroke. The stroke gives the entire image a hazy, unfocused appearance, making this image appear as if it were made with finger paint. Small strokes were used at the top of the bottle to represent the values of light as they reflected against it.

A green background was used to represent this half-image of a tea cup on a saucer. This piece uses a variety of stroke widths in order to form the rendering. Thick "D" strokes were used on the surface of the cup to give the appearance of a clear and reflective surface. Very small "D's" are used to represent the highlights and different values of red on this image.

Is image is of a bowl, using "X" as the stroke type. Early on, I realized that the "X" was going to create a very different type of image than the other values I'd used previously. Even when laying the backdrop of the image, this would not be a smooth or soft piece like the others. Aware of this, I chose to emphasize the harsh and jagged nature of this rendering. Initially the eye is drawn to the large black X, with the bowl sitting in the center. The small brush creates a thatched look, as if the bowl could actually represent a blue bird house. Overall, the use of this stroke creates an angry, almost "angsty" feel when trying to render a smooth glass bowl.

Included with every post is a picture of my desktop:

Week 3: Value Drawings

This week's assignment was to use different shades of grey to create the illusion of lighting on a 2-dimentional rendering. Adobe Illustrator was used for all drawings. All but one of the drawings were made on my MacBookPro. The assignment called for 5 drawings, however I had a busy weekend designing a new web template for a client, and was only able to do 4.

The first image is a coffee cup. It was drawn in the classroom around 11AM. The cup was at eye level, providing light from the right onto the vessel. I used a 2pt brush (a brush I like using) to render the object.

The second image is a coffee mug. I used a ceramic mug with the light almost directly above the object and slightly to the right. It sat on a slightly reflective surface which produced different shadowing effects. The object was rendered with a 2pt brush, then a 5 pt brush was used to cover the extra negative space. A small 1pt brush was used to render the thin shadow lines.

The third object was a ceramic salt shaker. It's octagonal shape created a unique series of shadows that proved challenging to render. A 2pt brush was used to render the object. The light source was a lamp without the shade 45 degrees above and right of the object.

The last object is an expresso cup. This object was unique for two reasons: I used a 1pt brush to render the drawing, and I positioned the cup in such a way that I looked down on the vessel. I regular lamp was used for the light. A 1pt brush left a lot of negative space as I drew, so I used fast, vigorous strokes to draw the lines.

Included is a screenshot of Adobe running on my MacBook.

Week 2: 100 Stroke Sketches

The first lesson of the class focused on getting to be comfortable using a graphic tablet for drawing. The assignment was simple: make 5 sketches using exactly 100 strokes in each drawing. The drawings should use long, filling strokes instead of outlining the object.

All images were done using Adobe Illustrator on my MacBook Pro. To become more familiar with this skill, I bought an inexpensive WACOM graphic tablet to outside of class.

The top drawing is of a 3-stemmed candle holder. I used this image as the thumbnail because I felt the most comfortable drawing this object. Using a graphic tablet takes practice, and this image felt fluid. The drawing uses both vertical and horizontal lines to represent the rectangular edges on the base. A 2pt brush was used.

This was my first image: a soda can. Honestly, this was a "warm up" image. There wasn't much detail in a can, and it gave me the opportunity to really explore my strokes. A 1pt brush was used, creating a scratchy look.

The coffee cup sketch allowed me to work on my vertical stroke...something I already recognize as a weakness. I actually drew this image 3 times...this is the drawing I chose to keep.

The candle holder was an image I tried with a smaller brush. I found the smaller brush to be tougher to use, and that it renders a scratchy look to my drawings. Like the coffee cup, I drew this image several times before choosing to keep this one. In the future, I will prefer to use at least a 2pt brush.

The hexagonal vase proved to be a tough image to draw for two reasons. First, it used vertical strokes exclusively. Second, the shape of the object presented some issues I'd not foreseen...issues in the fact that I am not a artist and I could not sufficiently render the dimensions of the object. In it's defense, the vertical strokes felt more fluid in this drawing.

These objects were all found in the friary where I live. I have the Adobe Suite, version 5.0 installed on my MacBookPro and am able to do my graphic design from my own personal computer. Here is an image of my desktop. (I run a dual-monitor configuration and only captured the Mac desktop):

Thanks for viewing.