GRD 211 Final Project Student Artwork: Fall 2009

Project Specifications

The GRD 211 Electronic Artistry Final Project was the creation of an image that was suitable for the individual student’s homepage of their personal professional website. It was to be an image that represented the student’s capabilities and their very best work in their program of study (either animation, graphic design, or Illustration). The image could be of any subject but be personally challenging and the end results suitable for their professional portfolio. The artwork had to be in color.

Below are the results of that assignment. Student work is shown in alphabetical order by last name.

Click on the artwork to see an enlarged version.

Dale Abbott

Melissa Al-Azzawi

Brittany Bauman

Jake Bell

Kari Braley

Brian Carey

Athen Decker

Jordan Decker

Chad LaForce

Cassey McPherson

Amy O'Donnell

Andy Peninger

Julia Sabrosky

Matt Sahlgren

Joshua Standish

Brandon VanDusen

Sarah Zomer

Final Project Artwork (30 points)

Bravo! Your artwork is coming along very well. Yesterday’s critique was very constructive and, in my opinion, one of the most effective student critiques that I have witnessed. This says a lot about your understanding of the creative process and your growth and development as visual communicators!

Next week a hard copy is due.

Final Project Paper (15 points)

A written paper is required to be handed in with your final project. Follow the paper specifications listed below. 

The Final Paper must:

1) be type written in 12 point type – double spaced.

2) have a “research paper” style Title Page (see example on handout)

3) follow the outline on the handout

Organize the paper’s content to follow the “Creative Process” outline. You will find a detailed outline on this Final Paper Handout: 211-final-paper_f09

Final Project Presentation (15 points)

You are to do a presentation (PowerPoint, PDF or Bridge) to the class reviewing the creative process of your final project. Limit your presentation to 10 minutes.

Presentation should include:

1) Overview of your subject and purpose stating the message/emotion

2) Overview of your relevant research, include images of your research material

3) Design Analysis and Rational (be specific and tie the rational to the message/emotion)

4) Overview of your project development, including:

a. Compositional study thumbnails (not concept)

b. Developmental drawings (for illustrators and animators)

c. Compositional Roughs

5) Final Artwork

Process Book (20 points)

211-processbookinfo

Each student was to keep a process book for this course. When handed in the process book will hold all of your class notes (taking notes was mandatory) and all of the development of your standard lab, open lab assignments, developmental projects, and your final project.

Click on the link above for a PDF of the “Process Book” informational sheet that was handed out at the beginning of the semester.

For next week – Wednesday, December 16:

This is the agenda for the class session:

1. Hand in outstanding class assignments.

2. Final Project Presentation 

- hand in digital copy of presentations in your student folder

- order of presentations will be alphabetical by last name

- presentations will start at 9:05

3. Hand in:

- Final Project printout (hardcopy)

- Final Project Paper (hardcopy)

- Final Project Presentation (digital copy in your student folder)

- Process Book

I’m looking forward to seeing you in class on the 16th. Class will start at 9:00 am. Please plan accordingly.

Final Exam Comments

The Reverse Engineering of a Design Analysis Exercise

The results of this exercise demonstrated that the class as a whole has grown in their knowledge of the attributes of design principles and in the understanding of how they can be used to create artwork that successfully conveys a message.

The content of the answers ran the gamut from brief general descriptions to specific detailed descriptions and discussions. Many of you demonstrated a very strong understanding by specifically describing the artists’ use of design principles by citing examples within the artwork. I chose to include segments of various answers as examples of descriptions that successfully demonstrate thorough knowledge of the subject matter. These examples are taken from 4 different students exams.

STUDENT #1 –

They Came For Doughnuts (emotion defined as “Habit Forming Addiction”)

Line: Vertical and diagonal lines bring strength, movement, and eye direction to the focal point and accents. The horizontal positioning of the type throughout the design brings about a calming effect to the eye, a “calm” among the “storm” of the diagonal & vertical line. These lines are also thick and angular shading to bring a “heaviness” to the “doughnut” theme.

Value/Color: The artist uses primary colors of Red, Blue, and Yellow with the accent secondary color of Green, finishing with black on a white background. I believe the artist chose the colors for the attention they bring. The Red in the main title of the piece “They Came for Doughnuts” jumps out at the viewer as it “begs” to be read. The value of the green in the face and lines bring an eerie feel overall to the piece, very “cool” color [is used] to balance the warm colors.

STUDENT #2 –

Batman (emotion defined as “power”)

Emphasis: Emphasis by Contrast and Placement is used. The focal point is the bright light in the lower left section, which is in high contrast to the other colors on the piece. There is good use of directional force through implied and actual lines that draw the viewer’s eye to the focal point. The actual lines are most evident in the rays of light emanating from the focal point, and the implied line is created by the gradient of color/value that radiates from the focal point. The strong contrast at the focal point helps to reinforces a sense of high-energy and action.

Elements: The elements used most prominently are the main character (Batman), the starburst, and the headline; also present is the shadowy image of the bad guy. The elements are well placed to create a strong hierarchy in the piece by drawing the viewer’s eye to the bright light at Batman’s head/chest and then pulling your eye to the text above and finally to the shadowy figure of the bad guy.

All of these elements work very well together to create a piece that is very powerful and conveys a great deal of energy and action. The sharp, diagonal lines and use of high energy colors and contrast help to create the staccato rhythm which all work together to produce the sense of powerful action/motion. All of these elements culminate at the focal point and seem to explode from that point.

STUDENT #3 –

Batman (emotion defined as “excitement and action”)

Rhythm: Staccato – The elements chosen for this composition utilize the staggered and broken shapes associated with staccato rhythm. This can be seen in the stylized starburst and the pattern of circuitry in the background. [The staccato rhythm] conveys excitement and action.

Unity: All of the elements chosen for this composition are rendered with the same line quality. None of the elements clash or conflict with one another to give the composition a cohesiveness and uncluttered message.

STUDENT #4 –

Plant Pet (emotion defined as “dazed”)

Unity: Unity is created through [the] cool color scheme more importantly the blue. Blue is used all throughout the piece except for in the lizards and in the person. Overall use of blue gives the piece a calm state and makes the piece noticeable and eye catching.

Elements: The elements used in the piece are structured elements because you can tell what the shapes are but with a soft touch. The artist wants you to know what those elements are but giving them a soft edge makes them have a dream like feel to them All the elements work together through unity of the “peace of mind” that is “dazed”. Nothing sticks out as being a dominant element since they all work well together. For example the color blue mixed with the legato rhythm will always create a calming effect because of the nature of their design. This piece was successful in creating “dazed”. 

The Production of a Detailed Rough Exercise

The results of this exercise demonstrated that given the direction, the time, and an example of a rough of acceptable quality everyone in the class can:

1. successfully produce a tracing of a piece of artwork to resemble a rough, 

2. render line and value successfully, and

3. produce a neat, clean and well crafted rendering.

Well Done!!!!!

Emotion Design Comments

I continued to see improvement in the creation and production of design thumbnails, roughs, design analyses and rationals.

Regarding the digital production/execution of these pieces– the use of color and line to visually convey your emotions was well done over all. And for the most part the composition of the work was excellent. Some of the feelings of emotion that were so successfully conveyed in some of your roughs did not carry over into the digital versions. We’ll have to watch closely so that doesn’t happen in your final project digital production.

For next week – Wednesday, December 9:

This is the agenda for the class session:

1. Hand in outstanding class assignments.

2. Final Project Digital Artwork Critique

- Preliminary critique in groups

- Entire Class Critique

3. In-class Final Project work time

- Come to class prepared to work on your final project artwork, presentation, and/or paper.

I’m looking forward to seeing you in class on the 9th. Class will start at 9:00 am. Please plan accordingly. 

Please take the time to review the sample presentation in the Lesson 12 folder of the GRD 211 class folder. Let me know if you have any questions regarding the content of your Final Project Presentation and Paper. I will be happy to review drafts of these for you prior to their due date.

Sequel Project

For those of you that were required to do more work on your thumbnails and roughs – be prepared to hand those in at the beginning of the class session on December 2.

Final Exam

The Final Exam will take place on December 2. As explained at our last class session the exam will consist of one or more “reverse engineering” design analyses and a creation of a rough from a print I will give you. The print you will receive will be related to your program of study.  

Things you will need to bring to class in order to complete your exam:

1. Something to write with.

2. Tracing Paper (one 8-1/2″ by 11″ piece)

3. Drawing Pencil

4. Eraser

Final Project

On December 2 an in-progress digital production of your final project is due. I will be reviewing these with each student after the exam. Have your design analysis, rational,  compositional thumbnails and roughs with you so we can refer to them when reviewing your digital artwork. Continue working on your final project. By now you should have the following completed:

1. Message/Emotion defined

2. Target Market/Audience defined

3. Purpose defined

4. Design Analysis and Rational completed

• A Balance selected and a description of how it best visually conveys your message/emotion;

• A Rhythm selected and a description of how it best visually conveys your message/emotion;

• An Emphasis selected and a description of how it best visually conveys your message/emotion;

• A type of Line selected and a description of how it best visually conveys your message/emotion;

• Values and Colors selected and a description of how they best visually convey your message/emotion;

• Elements you have chosen and a description of how the best visually convey your message/emotion;

5. Your Research 

• Imagery that conveys the same emotion/message of your final project.

- Same or similar use of balance, rhythm, line, emphasis, value/color, and elements.

• Imagery that show how others have solved similar problems

• Relevant information articles (procedures)

6. Good Quality Compositional Thumbnails and Roughs (and Developmental Drawings for illustration and animation majors).

7. A good start on your digital production.

For Next Week

This is the agenda for our next class session:

1. Hand in outstanding assignments
2. Final Exam
3. Review of your Final Project In-Progress digital production work.
   1. Come to class prepared to work on your Final Project while waiting for your review time.
   2. Bring all Final Project development for review purposes.

I’m looking forward to seeing you in class on the 2nd. Class will start at 9:00 am. Please plan accordingly. 

The Sequel Assignment

I’m sorry I had to cancel class today. Please continue to work on “The Sequel” project – next week please have all thumbnails and roughs recreated.

The students that have received comments from me regarding the needed improvement in rough craftsmanship and design must do the rough exercise (link below) Do this over as many times as necessary  in order to increase your craftsmanship to an acceptable level. I’m looking for good quality compositional thumbnails and roughs with great craftsmanship. I will review your thumbs and roughs next week – then you will proceed on to the production of a digital comp. You are to scan your roughs and use them as a template for your digital final.

Link for the rough exercise roughexercise_1. Print this document out and follow the directions. Repeat the exercise enough times until you are able to duplicate the craftsmanship of the rough samples that appear on the document.

Final Project

Today your research images were do. Please drop them off at the front desk at CNM – make sure you have your name on them. Kim or Char will make sure that I get them. 

Continue working on your final project. By now you should have the following completed:

1. Message/Emotion defined

2. Target Market/Audience defined

3. Purpose defined

4. Design Analysis and Rational completed

• A Balance selected and a description of how it best visually conveys your message/emotion;

• A Rhythm selected and a description of how it best visually conveys your message/emotion;

• An Emphasis selected and a description of how it best visually conveys your message/emotion;

• A type of Line selected and a description of how it best visually conveys your message/emotion;

• Values and Colors selected and a description of how they best visually convey your message/emotion;

• Elements you have chosen and a description of how the best visually convey your message/emotion;

5. Your Research 

• Imagery that conveys the same emotion/message of your final project.

- Same or similar use of balance, rhythm, line, emphasis, value/color, and elements.

• Imagery that show how others have solved similar problems

• Relevant information articles (procedures)

This week you should be creating your compositional thumbnails, any developmental drawings you will need, and creating your roughs. These should be finished by next week so you can begin your digital work.

The Emotion of Color & Line Assignment

Hand in your Design Analysis, Rational, Thumbs and Roughs at the front desk. Hand in your digital files in you student folder in the GRD 211 class folder. 

For Next Week

At the beginning of the class we will critique/review the Color & Line assignment. Next, we will concentrate on the design and production of your final project artwork. Come to class prepared to work on your Final Project.

I have read through all of the summaries that I received and sent out e-mails in response to the summaries on Friday, November 13th. I sent these responses via e-mail to your KVCC e-mail address. If you have not received an e-mail and you did hand in a summary please contact me at: lrzoska@kvcc.edu

The content of the summaries ran the gamut from brief general descriptions to specific details of target markets to be reached with the stated emotion/message to be conveyed, why the message was important and the written design analysis and rational.

For those of you that are looking for some direction –  you have passed the Strategy Stage (message/emotion; audience; specifications; etc.) of this project and are now in the Concept Stage of Research. In order to research imagery that visual conveys the same message/emotion you intend for your artwork – the message/emotion needs to be defined and the design principles need to be chosen.

I’m looking forward to seeing your research imagery on November 18th. For information regarding research for this project click the link below to take you to the Research Category of the class blog.

Final Project Research Information 

Scale Confusion: Digital Comps from Roughs

The discussion resulting from this team exercise was a very important one. You all worked very hard on this exercise. This class is fortunate because it consists of individuals that are able to have mature and dynamic discussions like the one that took place on Wednesday. Such discussions can only lead you to better understand what will be expected of you and aid in your growth as new media communicators and new media professionals. I’m proud of all of you – and how you are embracing your growth.

A ran across this writing of John O’Donohue’s this morning and thought it was appropriate to share it with you:

It remains a dream of every life to realize itself, to reach out and lift itself up to greater heights. A life that continues to remain on the safe side of its own habits and repetitions, that never engages with risk of its own possibility, remains an unlived life. There is within each heart a hidden voice that calls out for freedom and creativity. We often linger for years in spaces that are too small and shabby for the grandeur of our spirit . . .

A threshold is not simply an accidental line that happens to separate one region from another. It is an intense frontier that divides a world of feeling from another. Often a threshold only becomes clearly visible once you have crossed it. Crossing can often mean the total loss of all you enjoyed while on the other side; it becomes a dividing line between the past and the future. More often than not, the reason you cannot return to where you were is that you have changed; you are no longer the one who crossed over . . .

A threshold is a significant frontier where experience banks up; there is intense coalescence. It is a place of great transformation . . . And on each side there is a different geography of feeling, thinking and being. The crossing of a threshold is in effect a rite of passage.

For the class session next week:

As always bring your class supplies with you.

1. Homework is due at the beginning of class:

• Thumbs, roughs, design analyses, rationals and digital comps of the Emotion With Color and Line assignment are due. You should have two complete design processes to hand in. One representing a positive emotion and one representing a negative emotion.

• Your Final Project research imagery is due.

2. Be prepared to start on “The Sequel” assignment in class. Have one of your previous assignments chosen to use for this new assignment.

Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday – class will start at 9:00 a.m. Please plan accordingly.

Image samples of your research are due on November 18. When doing your research look for images that visually convey the specific message you want to communicate to your target audience.

Finding the answer to the following questions will help you in your research – also the information from these answers should be included in your Final Project Presentation and Final Project Paper.

1. What is your target market buying?

2. Who are they buying it from? (these are your competitors)

3. What images are your competitors using to market themselves? 

Where You Can Find Reference Images

We have an outstanding collection of books on Graphic Design, Illustration and Animation in our library here on Arcadia Commons Campus in Anna Whitten Hall. I recommend dedicating at least 2 or 3 hours of your time in the library looking for reference and checking out a book or two. Scan the images you find helpful and bring printouts to class on the 18th. You can e-mail our librarian Jim Ratliff to ask him to locate the books you will need – he will be more than happy to pull some books so they will be there when you go. Contact him at: jratliff@kvcc.edu

I have let Jim know of this assignment – he will be expecting your visit. Please let him know that you are in the GRD 211 Electronic Artistry class.

211Sequel_F09

Click on the link above to open a PDF of the Creative Problem Solving Assignment “The Sequel” for GRD 211 Electronic Artistry.

I enjoyed seeing your progress on the revisions and redos of the Commercialization Assignment during the critique. I recognized that there were students in the class that chose not to participate in the critique – please realize that critiques are a vehicle to help you strengthen your artwork, by not participating you are throwing away an opportunity for growth.

Your Design Development Package

Take this opportunity to redo your Design Development Package for this assignment. Remember to include the following:

1. Strategy (message/emotion; audience; specifications; etc.)

2. Concept (brainstorming; research; design analysis and rational)

3. Design (well crafted thumbnails and roughs that create the final artwork)

4. Production/Execution (well crafted digital comp of your rough)

Scale Confusion Assignment

I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing about this collaboration. Please be prepared to present and digitally display both the roughs and the digital comps you and your team member designed and produced.

For class on Wednesday, November 11th:

We will continue with our review and discussion of emotion of Color and Line.

As always bring your class supplies with you.

1. Homework is due at the beginning of class:

• Your redo of the Commercialization Assignment along with the revised Design Development Package is due.

• Regarding the Scale Confusion  Assignment: Be prepared to present and digitally display both the roughs and the digital comps you and your team member designed and produced.

Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday – class will start at 9:00 a.m. Please plan accordingly.

Click on the link above to open a PDF of the GTD 211 Electronic Artistry lesson 9 handout on the subject of ” Color and Line”.

211Lesson9Lab_F09

Click on the link above to open a PDF of the GTD 211 Electronic Artistry lesson 9 Open Lab / Homework assignment on ” Color and Line”.

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