Each week you will need to respond to two questions posted. Your response should be a minimum of 150 words for both questions. You should also include at least one response to your fellow students. The responses are a requirement for participation part of your grade.
Question 01 –
Describe three items you have learned doing the Midterm Project.
Question 02 –
How will you remember what you have learned?
Question 01 –
Describe three items you have learned doing the midterm project.
The three items I have learned doing the midterm project is organization in every project; the most important thing when starting a project is organization during the process of completing a project. I think this is one of the important things I learned during the process; it made my project easier to find each element of the drawing I was doing. Even though I didn’t completely separate the whole piece drawing into different sections, I decided to group them, but still, I maintained the organization of the layers. The benefit of maintaining the organization is also that when you finalize the project and if there is a mistake, you can easily go to the layer and change it rather than trying to find one thing in a whole bunch of pieces in one layer. The second thing I learned is that when tracing objects, knowing how to use the pen tool correctly can make such a difference; when not knowing how to use it correctly, the work and the paths traced would look a bit off because it uses more points, so simplifying the path and the points would make each design look better than using too many points. The last thing I learned was to use the color picker tool and try to match it with the actual color of the reference so that the drawings would have the same look but also use different color tones so that the drawing could have dimensionality and wouldn’t look plain.
Question 02 –
How will you remember what you have learned?
I will remember what I learned by applying it to other projects. I believe that consistency is key to developing a skill; you need to practice regularly to improve in specific areas. I realized this when we practiced using the pen tool. Although I had learned about it before, I noticed that I hadn’t learned it correctly. With each day and every opportunity to learn, you can discover something new; learning is a lifelong process. Therefore, prioritizing an organized workflow is an important habit to maintain, as it helps you become more organized and makes tasks easier to manage.
Describe three items you have learned doing the Midterm Project?
I learned to follow the steps in the assignments. This assignment also taught me how to organize layers using names to specify their content, such as names with references. I also got used to using the Pen Tool to create shapes by joining vectors.
How will you remember what you have learned?
It’s good to have an original sketch of the product, as well as include a reference sketch as an idea for the final product. Also, consider the color scheme for greater precision when designing. Explore the various types of typography and fonts.
Question 01 –
Describe three items you have learned doing the Midterm Project.
The midterm project allowed me better learn how to use the patterns available via the appearance tool. Pre made patterns can be overlaid over your objects by creating a second fill in the appearance window, browsing the swatches library and finding a pattern to lay on top of your first fill layer. I used this technique to create more interesting textures/ patterns in my design so my fills were not so flat. I also learned how to better use the blend modes so I could change the appearance of the patterns that I used in my fills as well as the recolor artwork tool to change the pattern colors as well.
One important practice I learned was properly organizing and labeling my layers which I haven’t been very good about during past projects. This project forced me to get into the habit of properly labeling and categorizing all layers and it was very helpful.
Question 02 –
How will you remember what you have learned?
The only way I will remember all of these skills is by using them in other projects which I will end up doing. Sometimes when I forget how to use or find a specific tool because I haven’t used it in awhile I use the “Help” tab at the top of the program which is designed to help you find tools or guides on how to use them. Sometimes I cannot remember where something is located in the program but I can remember part of the name and by typing it into the Help search I can get directions on where to find what I’m looking for.
Question 01 –
Describe three items you have learned doing the Midterm Project.
The 3 very important things I learned doing the midterm project in adobe illustrator would be how to download a new font in the midterm project . I download the disney font by looking up the font i want to download, secondly i downloaded the file for the font, and thirdly i opened it up in my applications, then i doubled tapped on it, and then press install then i have the font i want for the midterm, secondly i learned how to eyedropper tool for the midterm project, i would find this tool really helpful of finding the colors for the bubbles to be more accurate, to find the eyedropper tool, it’s on the Left side of the toolbar on the far bottom and then to use you would see a color you like and then the eye picker tool matches the color you selected. The third thing I learned is how to open up the rulers in this midterm project. I didn’t learn this before but after this midterm project I learned how to open up a ruler. To open up rulers you would have to go to view and press rulers and then show rulers.
Question 02 –
How will you remember what you have learned?
I will remember the things I learned from this midterm project and will apply it to every future project now going forward And to never stop using adobe illustrator ever in the future. Regardless if i dont use Adobe Illustrator in the future I feel like in my personal opinion these tricks and skills I will never forget. And the way this professor teaches us, i feel like i want to do more and learn more, and i like how this professor teaches us life skills that we will carry on. And we can remember the things that we learn to be consistent with the tools or skills that we learn in our daily lives. Or you can practice the skills you learned from these midterm projects to in class assignments as well. Another way to remember the things you have learned would be to ask a friend or a peer for help and guidance, that would be also very useful.
Question 01 –
Describe three items you have learned doing the Midterm Project.
I recently learned how to add grain-textured gradients to specific objects or elements in my work. To start, select an element—let’s say a circle with no stroke and a purple fill color—and copy and paste it in front (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+F) so that it remains on a separate layer. On this new layer, select the shape and open the Transparency panel, located under the Window tab in the upper menu bar. In the Transparency panel, you’ll find options to change the blending mode and opacity, as well as two boxes: the left one displaying the pasted shape, and the right one showing a cancel symbol (a circle with a slash through it). Click the “Make Mask” button next to these boxes, and the right box will turn black, with a chain link icon appearing between the two boxes. The button will change to “Release,” and two checkboxes labeled “Clip” and “Invert Mask” will appear below it; check both boxes. Then, click the black box on the right to select it—it will have a light blue outline when selected—and paste the object in front again (Ctrl+F). Your shape will now appear in the right box. To create a gradient, open the Gradient panel under the Window tab in the upper menu bar or press the period key (.), and set the gradient to black and white, adjusting it as needed, with the black areas representing the textured regions. Next, navigate to the Effects tab in the upper menu bar, select Texture, and then choose Grain. Adjust the Grain settings to your preference and click “OK” to preview the gradient’s appearance. Finally, select the box on the left (your original shape), adjust its blending mode to options like “Multiply” or “Color Burn” to let the texture shine through, and tweak the opacity as needed. To edit the gradient later, simply click the box on the right again, open the Gradient panel, and select “Edit Gradient.”
Besides learning how to create textured gradients, I discovered the importance of naming layers, especially when working with hundreds of them. While designing an Inside Out 2 poster, I needed separate layers for each character and each of their features, like their eyes, hair, and clothing. If I hadn’t named every layer, I would have been hopelessly lost—selecting the wrong elements, moving objects unintentionally, or even deleting things by mistake. Naming layers helped me stay organized and efficient, and prevented unnecessary stress during the creative process.
I also learned the importance of saving my work directly to my laptop or computer, in addition to the cloud. During my midterm project, Illustrator crashed three times, likely due to the hundreds of layers I had created. I had recently upgraded to a laptop with more RAM, which was a big improvement compared to my older one that would crash ten or more times under similar circumstances. At first, I relied solely on cloud saves, believing they were sufficient. However, after spending hours on detailed work for the characters, I realized I hadn’t saved my progress in a while and decided to save both to the cloud and my laptop. Shortly after, my program crashed when I tried to open the layer for the character Sadness—it froze, displayed the infamous “Not Responding” message, and closed abruptly. When I reopened Illustrator, my file was missing from the cloud save, even though I had saved before the crash. Thankfully, I had saved the file to my laptop, which preserved the three hours of progress I had made. That experience taught me to always save critical files locally and frequently.
Question 02 –
How will you remember what you have learned?
The only way for me to remember the skills I’ve learned is through consistent practice. Before this course, I had never even opened Adobe Illustrator, and my only prior Adobe experience was using Photoshop once back in sixth grade. However, as the weeks progressed, I found Illustrator to be both fun and surprisingly easy to use once I got the hang of it. When my professor introduces a new shortcut, command, or process, we spend the rest of the class applying it through activities, with homework assignments reinforcing those techniques. Over time, these commands naturally become part of my workflow, making projects easier to create and eventually embedding themselves into muscle memory. I’ve even started applying these skills to other assignments. Another critical factor in my learning has been having a great teacher. Professor Neuringer makes activities engaging and genuinely seems happy to teach, always balancing assignments to be both challenging and entertaining. Her support, enthusiasm, and willingness to help when students struggle inspire me to learn more, work harder, and retain what I’ve been taught.
Three items I have learned well doing the midterm project are creating gradients. Before this class I could never fully figure out how gradients work. After you showing me how to directly drop the color onto the gradient slider it helped me out with this overall project and getting the colors right but still making it my own. The eye dropper tool was something I never knew how easy it was to use. When trying to get lighting mcqueens and tow maters colors correct the eye dropper tool was extremely helpful and I never knew how easy it was to use and apply. For my last thing was the curving of the pen tool and not just using a bunch of points. When trying to outline things and make them smooth this really came in handy. I never knew you are supposed to hold the mouse down well selecting the pen tool to get this effect. Overall enjoyed this project and had fun designing it.
How I will remember what I have learned is moving forward in school and in this class and my overall skills when it comes to these programs. I think that what I have taken away from this project I will keep with me. Even though the things I learned from this aren’t necessarily the ” hardest ” things they are important moving forward. They are all pretty basic things however can make things A-lot easier when trying to design something for school, homework or for a job. Prior to this, the last time I was using these programs was in 2021-2022 and took a different route for a second but at the end I can back. Having ” some knowledge ” of these programs has definitely helped me however since I have been in this class/major I’ve actually learned things from it and enjoy doing so.
Question 1
The three items I learned during this midterm project was using the line tool, using gradient and using the curvature tool. When using the line tool I learned I could also change how the line looks. For example I could change the line to look like zigzags and it also has the option to have smooth or curved edges. I didn’t know this information until my professor told me about it, and it helped me a lot on using that tool on Merida’s hair (BRAVE movie poster). I learned how to properly control the gradient to how I want. I was playing with the gradients and how to angle them as well as adding colors to them. The curvature tool is the tool that helped make my lines look more smooth. It was very helpful when making the fingers and hand. There were plenty other tools I learned but didn’t use, since I didn’t think it would be helpful in my poster.
Question 2
I will remember what I learned since I used videos to better understand the tools, those videos I saved to a playlist on YouTube. So whenever I need to re-remember a tool I can just go to my YouTube playlist. I know I’m forgetful but with all these assignments that our professor gives us to practice the tools, it helps to better remember what we learned for the day. The files that our professor sends us, I have them saved to my computer which I can check the history of the document to see how I used the tool. Overall with the way my professor teaches I don’t think I’ll forget what she has taught us. It is safe to say that this class has helped me improve on remembering what each tool can be used for.
I feel the same way about what getting taught stays with me I don’t think i’ll forget either . A youtube playlist sounds like a good idea I have also used that before definitely might start a playlist for it , good idea
I agree that our professor teaches in an unforgettable way and has made learning fun. However, I just wanted to say that I found your method of remembering tools quite funny—not because there’s anything wrong with making playlists (in fact, I think it’s a smart idea, and I’m making one right now). It’s just that when I wrote my own responses, I approached them in a more metaphorical and theoretical way, whereas your method was—how should I say—literal? I love how our answers share the same sentiment while juxtaposing one another at the same time!
i agree how the professor is very passionate the work she does, and like to teach us very useful information to us that we will use in our daily lives, overall Esteicy did a fantastic job with the project and in the discussion questions, overall Good job Esteicy! keep up the great work!
I completely agree that going youtube can help us to remember some of the things we learn and to refresh our memories also a playlist is an amazing idea to make the organization more clear
Question 01 –
Describe three items you have learned doing the Midterm Project.
Their so many things that i’ve learned but the one thing that I learned was that when it comes to the pen tool you have to be very detail when it comes to making the shape. For example, you will have to close the shape when you are using the pen tool because if you don’t then it will look weird when you are filling in the color from the shape you made from the pen tool. Another thing that I learned was that you need to have lots and lots of patience when it comes to making a design because it depends on how detail you would like to express it in the design which takes a lot of practice. Lastly, I learned that the pen tool is becoming my favorite tool to use because know I kinda have an idea of how to used it and you can literally make anything with the pen tool
Question 02 –
How will you remember what you have learned?
I would remember by looking back of the designs that I have done and then I would have idea of the things I learned. I would most likely will research some things that I have learned if I forget but I hopefully don’t because their so much things that I learned that I would like to make more designs for my portfolio. In addition, I would try to practice s bit more so I can get some better practice which will probably will help me remember in some of the basics. I would also remember by asking someone for help and then my muscle memory will kick in which will immediately will make me remember some of the fundamentals of designing. All in all I will remember some of the things that I have learned which I won’t b to worry about it but like I mentioned before I would research some of the things that I have learned or finding new ways to learn different methods when it comes to designing
I agree that this midterm project really tested our patience. As well as working with the pen tool which can also turn into a curve tool that helps smooth your pen tool. I think practicing using these tools is a good way to not forget how to use them.