IWD Poster, Painting in Progress

I've had a few people email me to say they won't be in tomorrow because of the snow. Please work on your painting and bring it with you on Tuesday so we can do a class critique in our Portfolio class.

You should be about half way done after Monday's class and be ready to post your work in progress on your blog. I would like to see a step by step as the painting progresses with your written description of what you're doing and why as you go along.

Show at least three photos (more would be better) of progress as we see on Jessica Oddi's blog

This component will be worth 10 percent of your marks for the semester.

As promised, the final painting is not the big part of the mark (for those of you who feel a bit insecure about your painting abilities).

 The marks for this assignment break down as follows:

5% for minimum three thumbnails

5% for minimum 3 colour scheme thumbnails

20% for graphic design of the overall poster as demonstrated by your full size pencil drawing with hand-rendered type in place (see our general graphic design assignment rubric on our class blog for criteria of good graphic design)

10% for thorough step-by-step of work in progress.
(5% this week, 5% next week)

5% for attendance, participation, communication and good attitude

5% for the final file ready for printing on deadline (drop-dead date is end of class, Monday Feb. 20).

* Files handed in late get a zero on this last component.

 Total: 50% of semester.

IWD Poster Assignment: Thumbnails

Your thumbnails are due for Monday's class. As well, I would like you to print out the Al Parker image that you're specifically using as inspiration for your poster design.

Here's the link to my Al Parker set on Flickr

Bring both the printout and your thumbnails to class. We will be doing a class critique on the board. 

This stage is worth 5% of the total for the assignment and is due on Monday.

Marks will be posted on Tuesday. Thumbnails and your Al Parker inspiration piece must be posted on your blog by Monday at 6 p.m. Any work not posted by 6 p.m. on Monday will lose 50% of its potential mark. Work not posted by 6 p.m. on Tuesday gets a zero.

In class on Monday, you'll be working on revisions, colour scheme exploration thumbnails, and an 8.5 x 11 inch colour rough. Bring colour media of your choice (i.e. pencil crayons, markers, water colours and WC paper). Due the following Monday.

Here's a comprehensive rubric defining grading criteria for all our assignments in this class and our Tuesday class. All Projects Rubric

Questions? Please ask them via the comments section at the end of this post so others with the same question can see my replies.

Have a great weekend - see you on Monday!

Here We Blog Again!

Very exciting: a new group of designers is beginning to implement a vast array of social media tools!

Here's a checklist of sites you need to join as we begin our journey...


Create your blog at Blogger

* Remember that you must choose a blog address that incorporates your name in some way.

* Once you've set up your blog, email me with the URL so I can add you to the Contributors List in the sidebar.

Archive your images on Flickr *

Remember to search for three groups on Flickr that appeal to you and are relevant to the theme or topic you're planning to explore. Begin sharing IF images with those groups when it makes sense to do so (i.e. when your image is appropriate to the theme of that group)


Join the email list at Illustration Friday

Here's how to approach your blog posts:

Begin by exploring my Flickr archives of mid-20th century illustration.

When you find an artist or image that interests you, add that image to your blog post. Explain why that image inspired you and what aspects of that artist's work you intend to incorporate in your own efforts.

Create a minimum of three thumbnail sketches for each topic. Add them to your post. Explain what you're thinking was for those three concepts.

Begin developing the image in whatever manner appeals to you (digital or traditional media - or a combination). Photo treatments MUST be more than just a 'straight' photo. Manipulate them in some manner to make them "illustrative" in some way.

Show work in progress and explain your working process.

Show the final design - and include graphic design elements. Mock the design up to demonstrate its potential usefulness for some commercial purpose (i.e. a movie poster, a brochure, a web page, etc.)

Here's a great example of one working professional's blog posts that is very close to what I'm looking for from you:

 Chris Whetzel's blog

* Remember that each week's topic must be posted by 10 a.m. the following Tuesday - 1 hour before our class - after 10 a.m. that image will automatically be marked zero.

International Women's Day, 2012 Poster Assignment

Before we begin, READ THIS FIRST

You'll need to have a good understanding of my philosophy about our role as graphic artists and my expectations for for you in this class.

After your finished reading, we'll discuss the article before moving on to our assignment.

Our First Major Assignment of Semester 4 - Part 1: Conceptulaization

We will be designing posters to help Mohawk College celebrate International Womens Day.

A good place to begin your research is at the IWD official website.

Once you've begun to grasp the scope of our topic, sit down with your sketchbook and begin thumbnailing concepts. At this beginning stage, anything goes. You're not designing so much as "brain-dumping."

* Please note that you are expected to hand in your thumbnailing/conceptual work in your sketchbook.     Loose paper may be taped, stapled or glued in - but only sketchbooks will be accepted for marking.

To assist and inspire you in the visualization process, visit my Al Parker Flickr set. We'll be studying Parker's work and his prominence as an "illustrative designer" and using his design philosophy as a springboard for our project. The final art for your concept will be rendered as an acrylic painting on masonite.

Here are your resources:


Mike Vosburg's Overview of Al Parker's Career

My Al Parker Flickr set.

Barbara Bradley's analysis of several works by Al Parker:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Al Parker describes his workflow in 20 steps:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Another Al Parker Step-by-Step: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,

Al Parker quotes

Mohawk Community Builders Logo Concepts

Earlier this semester Mohawk College Director of Communications, Jay Robb, alerted us to an interesting initiative being undertaken by the Skilled Trades school. "It turns out one of our skilled trades profs has been doing community projects for the past 3 years," wrote Jay. "Would your students be able to design a logo for them?"



Jay wasn't sure on the name – "Mohawk Community Builders is a possibility," he wrote, and emphasized, "It would need to highlight the skilled trades component." He explained that the logo would be used for community and college fundraisers, for the nonprofit open house after the renos, and for sponsorship packages, media relations and a website.

"This is a project that combines Mohawk's renovation program and our events planning program," concluded Jay. "It's about doing a reno and building community capacity."


Our students love to be challenged and this seemed like another great opportunity to do what we as graphic designers do best: visual problem solving that effectively and dynamically meets the needs of our clients, promotes their products and services and reinforces their mission statements and philosophy. We showed some rough concepts sketches and got an enthusiastic response -- now here's a look at the finished logo designs some of our 4th semester Creative Studio students came up with:

Designer: Vy Pham


Designer: Tom Aceti



Designer: Courtney Pascoe



Designer: Shea Easterbrook



Designer: Amber Matheson



Designer: Nick Sterling



Designer: Christie Hoeksema



Designer: Samille Elliston



Designer: Ange Blomberg



Designer: Sophia Palermo



Designer: Tom Pepper



The students also designed posters that could serve a variety of promotional purposes for the Mohawk Community Builders initiative.



Keep scrolling down to see each of these designs in a larger format.

Mohawk Community Builders Poster Concepts

Inspired by Banksy

This assignment was inspired by the work of the notorious, mysterious (and brilliant) Banksy: