Class Info

  • Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2024
  • Meeting Info: 6pm – 9:20pm, Room P-121

Homework Due This Class

  • Artboard size: 8.5×11, portrait or landscape.
  • Create a logo or icon that represents you, your personality, etc.
  • Use the techniques of working with simple shapes, fills and strokes that we covered in class.
  • Think shapes—rectangles, squares, circles, triangles, etc. Use basic shapes like these to create your logo/icon. The logo or icon that you create doesn’t need to be complex. It should be simple.
  • Use the YouTube video below to learn how to use the shape builder tool.
  • Start by sketching the shapes on a sketch pad to help you work out your design.
  • Do not include type.
  • Save the file in the Illustrator format as 02_LastName FirstInitial_Logo.ai
  • Upload the file in the appropriate Google Drive folder.

Topic

Creating and Aligning Shapes

Today, we will continue our exploration of the shape tools Illustrator has to offer.

Various Shapes can be aligned to finish an Illustration

Objectives

What you can expect to learn

Some of these we have already covered
  • Artwork Basics
    • Paths and Appearance
    • Selection and Direct Selection Tools
    • Drawing basic shapes
    • Drawing with Line Tool
    • Stacking order and Isolation Mode
    • Grouping and Ungrouping items
  • Working with Fills and Strokes
    • solid, gradient and pattern fills
    • strokes – endpoints, dashed lines, and variable-width strokes
  • Transforming Shapes
    • Editing paths and shapes
    • Combining shapes
    • Using the width tool
  • Aligning Objects
    • To each other
    • To a Key Object
    • Distributing Objects
    • To Artboard and Selection

A few things to know:

  • Shapes are created with paths that are connected with anchor points.
  • A shape = closed path because the ends of the path are connected.
  • A line = open path. An open path has endpoints at each end.
  • Both open and closed paths can be filled with color, gradients or patterns.
  • All of the shape tools, except for the Star tool and Flare tool, create Live Shapes. Live Shapes have attributes such as width, height, rotation, and corner radius that are editable without switching from the drawing tool you are using.

Lab

Today the work is done as a demo. We will build a poster together.

Critique

Each week we will review homework assignments from the previous class. Students will participate reviewing material and offering suggestions for improvement for their cohort. This week we will discuss the the logos/icons. Students will be asked to explain their ideas and techniques and get help or suggestions for things that were challenges. Workflow will be discussed.

Discussion

Each week you will need to respond to two questions posted. This is a requirement for participation part of your grade.

Homework Due Next Class

TBD

Vocabulary

  • swatches (global and regular)
  • Scissors tool
  • joining paths
  • Knife tool
  • Eraser tool
  • compound path
  • outlining strokes
  • Width tool
  • Shape Builder tool
  • Pathfinder
  • Intertwine
  • open path
  • closed path

Resources

Here are some videos that you should watch to help with some of the topic areas we covered today.

How to Align and Distribute Objects

How to use the Appearance Panel

How to Create and Combine Shapes