Tool Isolation in Adobe Illustrator

There's nothing worse than having to learn a software program by means of a textbook. Page after page of instructions gets old really quick and limits creativity. I have found a better way to engage students and strengthen technical skills. Each class, I give them an assignment that forces them to utilize various tools or program features.

Illustrator Circle Challenge

Instruct students to make a specific-sized document (we used 5" x 5"). Their layout can contain only circles/ovals using the ellipse tool in Illustrator. By isolating tools, you are forcing your students to go in depth with shape, color, size, arrangements, and so on. More importantly, you are challenging them. Only allow them one class period and we always share our creations.

By Ashley Turman

By Kevin Dawson

By Caroline Pollock

By Nicholas Woods

By Kendall Cooke

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McKinney-Vento Logo Design

Selected logo design by Victoria Torres Our class was recently approached by the McKinney-Vento department within Stafford County Public Schools for a new logo design. According to the Stafford County Public Schools website: The Federal McKinney-Vento Act guarantees school enrollment for anyone who, due to a lack of permanent housing , lives in inadequate or temporary setting such as: Emergency shelters or transitional housing Motels, hotels, or campgrounds due to lack of an adequate alternative Cars, parks, public places, bus or train stations, or abandoned buildings Doubled up with relatives or friends due to loss of housing or economic hardship This was an excellent learning opportunity for my Design & Multimedia students. They were able to gain real-world experience working with a client. The client visited our classroom and gave a presentation on McKinney-Vento while also expressing what she was looking for in...

The Power of Type

Typography... you either love it OR hate it. I absolutely love it and I am proud to be a "font snob." My students know from the start that I better never see particular fonts. I have quite a list (Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Myriad just to name a few). Are you a Comic Sans criminal? Typography is all around us. It should never be overlooked as it's a fantastic vehicle for expression. It delivers messages and either engages or disengages viewers/readers. Therefore, type has the power to easily make or break designs. And it's my job to effectively relay this to my students and thus today, we started our typography unit. Using art materials plus color, texture, hand lettering, and composition, I encouraged self expression with a typographic execution. I asked my students to illustrate an emotion. Avoid using representational images, like hearts or smiley faces because they already have a symbolic meaning. This assignment was adapted from an AIGA lesson.

Monochromatic Animal Illustrations

As I have said before, students love a challenge. In this one, students randomly select a specific Pantone color and an animal (we draw out of cups). Students are required to illustrate this animal using only tints of their Pantone color. (Silhouettes are not allowed.) This activity encourages students to explore realistic definition using percentages of just one color. Again, it is also further strengthening their pen tool skills. I have yet to share that there is even a "live trace" option in Illustrator. The foundation of a successful designer is one that can master the pen tool. By Caroline Pollock By Victoria Torres By Io Titan By Jackson Downs By Jacky Tuckwiller By Danielle Piper By Braedon Rodgers By Jacob Grena By Nicholas Woods By Brady Young

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