Screenshot Self_Portrait

In order to learn your name, I need your help.  Please print these and bring them to class.

Please create an 8.5x11 word document/"self portrait" with your name, an image of yourself, and answer a few of the questions below.  

You can use photobooth to take the photo, or use one from your phone, Facebook, Instagram, or wherever.   I will use these to learn your names and what it is you are hoping to learn from this class.

NAME:

Do you have a nickname or Alias that you would prefer I call you by?

­­­

Where you are from:  

What you are majoring in:

What you hope to learn from this class:


PLEASE PRINT AND BRING THIS TO CLASS!!!!

Week_2_Work Day

Today we are working on our second project.   I will come around and help you work out design and finalize your designs for you projects.    I am also happy to help out with any other issues you might like assistance with.  If you are just joining us.  Please see project guidelines and lecture materials by clicking on this link:  http://lwtechdesign.blogspot.com/2017/04/week-2.html

You are selecting ONE of the following Gestalt Principles:

1. Continuity
2. Similarity
3. Proximity
4. Closure

Here is a refresher of the laws we reviewed in Tuesday's class. 

The Gestalt Principles

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SIMILARITY / CONTINUATION / CLOSURE / PROXIMITY / FIGURE & GROUND

Gestalt is a psychology term which means "unified whole". It refers to theories of visual perception developed by German psychologists in the 1920s. These theories attempt to describe how people tend to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes when certain principles are applied. These principles are:

Similarity

Similarity occurs when objects look similar to one another. People often perceive them as a group or pattern.


The example above (containing 11 distinct objects) appears as as single unit because all of the shapes have similarity.
Unity occurs because the triangular shapes at the bottom of the eagle symbol look similar to the shapes that form the sunburst.

When similarity occurs, an object can be emphasised if it is dissimilar to the others. This is called anomally.


The figure on the far right becomes a focal point because it is dissimilar to the other shapes.

SIMILARITY / CONTINUATION / CLOSURE / PROXIMITY / FIGURE & GROUND / TOP

Continuation
Continuation occurs when the eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another object.


Continuation occurs in the example above, because the viewer's eye will naturally follow a line or curve. The smooth flowing crossbar of the "H" leads the eye directly to the maple leaf.

SIMILARITY / CONTINUATION / CLOSURE / PROXIMITY / FIGURE & GROUND / TOP

Closure
Closure occurs when an object is incomplete or a space is not completely enclosed. If enough of the shape is indicated, people percieve the whole by filling in the missing infomation.



Although the panda above is not complete, enough is present for the eye to complete the shape. When the viewer's perception completes a shape, closure occurs.
Examples


SIMILARITY / CONTINUATION / CLOSURE / PROXIMITY / FIGURE & GROUND / TOP

Proximity
Proximity occurs when elements are placed close together. They tend to be perceived as a group.



The nine squares above are placed without proximity. They are perceived as separate shapes.





When the squares are given close proximity, unity occurs. While they continue to be separate shapes, they are now perceived as one group.



The fifteen figures above form a unified whole (the shape of a tree) because of their proximity.

SIMILARITY / CONTINUATION / CLOSURE / PROXIMITY / FIGURE & GROUND / TOP

Figure and Ground
The eye differentiates an object form its surrounding area. a form, silhouette, or shape is naturrally perceived as figure (object), while the surrounding area is perceived as ground (background).
Balancing figure and ground can make the perceived image more clear. Using unusual figure/ground relationships can add interest and sublety to an image.


Figure
The word above is clearly perceived as figure with the surrounding white space ground.



In this image, the figure and ground relationships changeas the eye perceives the the form of a shade or the silhouette of a face.




This image uses complex figure/ground relationships which change upon perceiving leaves, water and tree trunk.

GESTALT PDF EXERCISE SHEET


IDEAS:

In the image above we are seeing several phenomena.   The law of closure around the figure, the law of similarity in our mind's need to separate the figures into light blue and dark blue, and finally, the law of proximity allows us to see two groups (or figures) based on how close they are to each other.

 Above we see the edges of the words create "CLOSURE" which signifies to us, the viewer, the shape of the light bulb.

 Above, we are also seeing the law of "Closure" happening.

 We can see the law of continuity applied in the image above.  Because of the placement of the squares in a spiraling pattern, we visualize linear spirals towards the center of the composition.

 In the image above, we are seeing the effects of two phenomena again. because of the direction of the lines, we are seeing continuity create a shape, or closure of the box shape in the center.

 The Above image illustrates the gestalt principle of closure.   The edges of the horizontal lines create the shape of a fish.

 In the above image, we are seeing several phenomena occur.  The PROXIMITY of the shapes force the viewer to group the sets of shapes.   SIMILARITY also helps that process.   We perceive the shapes as a tree with a grouping of leaves at the top of the image.

What principles are you seeing in the above image?

Day 2__Project_001 The Bauhaus and Art Deco

Bauhaus and Art Deco are two movements that happened in the earlier part of the twentieth century. A lot was going on in this time period.  The Industrial Revolution had swept across the country causing the uprise of city centers, manufacturing, factories, steel productions, and railroads (which shipped everything everywhere creating nationwide commerce).   Art had shifted too.   Have a look


Art Deco or Deco, is an influential visual arts design style that first appeared in France just before World War I and began flourishing internationally in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s before its popularity waned after World War II.

Deco is a very dramatic style that emphasizes geometric forms: spheres, polygons, rectangles, trapezoids, zigzags, chevrons, and sunburst motifs. Elements are often arranged in symmetrical patterns. Modern materials, such as aluminum, stainless steel, Bakelite, chrome, and plastics, are frequently used. Stained glass, inlays, and lacquer are also common. Colors tend to be vivid and high contrast





BAUHAUS
The second of these two movements centered around an actual school called the Bauhaus.  The Bauhaus, similar in aesthetic to the Art Deco movement is also characterized by a simplistic, modern, and slightly industrial feel.    It's impact on architecture, typography, graphic design, and furniture design are still highly relevant, even today... almost 100 years later.  It could be said that the mid-century modern building that we are sitting in was in many ways influence by bauhaus as well. 

DUE DATES, REMINDERS, AND THINGS TO DO.

Tuesday March 5

DUE DATES, REMINDERS, AND THINGS TO DO.

Tue March 5-Bio due . (please complete this asap TODAY if you haven't already and we can upload and discuss) 

March 14 and 19  Presentations will be given to the class on the work you have done in class,  if you need help or have questions about photographing your work, please let me know.  I will bring my camera back to class on Tuesday March 12 to help you take photos if necessary. 

March 14  Sketchbooks are due.  I cannot take sketchbooks on the last day of class, so you cannot turn these in late and there are NO EXCEPTIONS, NO EXCEPTIONS, NO EXCEPTIONS.   Please work on these to get these fleshed out and filled with everything from this class (see post regarding "notes on sketchbooks" if you have questions about what goes in the sketchbook and how I grade them.

March 19  Final critique (project 7: texture) and you will turn in a digital folder with images of the work you have done in this class.   Your images should be high quality, cropped and edited as I showed in class and should be clearly labeled as follows...

Folder should be named as:  Last name_First Name (ex: Green_Thomas)

images inside folder should be labeled 
Green_p_01
Green_p_02
Green_p_03
..... and so on.

Your images should be in .JPEG or .JPG format and should be 300 dpi and about 8x10".    You should bring these on your thumbdrive and put them on my computer by the end of class.   YOU SHOULD NOT TRY AND TAKE PHOTOS OF ALL YOUR WORK THE LAST DAY OF CLASS!!!! :)   

LATE WORK!

I will not be taking any late work after Thursday, November 29.   So, if you have any work that you didn't quite complete, or works laying around the house that you have forgotten to turn it, or whatever the case may be.   PLEASE, bring your late projects in so I can assess a grade and give you credit.  I am very lenient about taking late work because I realize things happen.  But, because of the amount of grading that goes into the last week of school,  It is too much work for me to accept late work the last two days of the quarter.  So, please get it finished and bring it to me If you would like me to give you some points!  

Final Grades

Final Grades

For your Final, you will be turning in a folder on the server, which will include

1. scans, or photographs of all your finished projects,
2. your artist research papers (if you have questions about how many you need to do, NOW is the time to ask).   
3. You will label your folder with “lastname_firstname_final” and place it in our classroom folder. There will be a folder to place it in that is marked "Final".  
4. You will also place a copy of this folder in the dropbox on the folder.
5. You will also be handing in your sketchbooks  so I can see the progress you have made on your in class assignments.  I will be giving you a grade for your sketchbook assignments that is equivalent to roughly 200 points

Sketchbooks will be graded for overall content (sketches, notes, assignment sheets, research, images, etc) and also for organization and construction.

To begin: 

1. You will need to Photograph or scan your images using one of the many scanners that are available to you in the mac-labs and in the library.  If you prefer to photograph your works, that is fine too.

2. You will edit and adjust the images to make sure they look professional using Photoshop of the photo editing software of your choosing. Your images should be 300 dpi and sized about 8x10.  You will need one image per weekly assignment.Each image should be named “Lastname_Assignment title.” 

3. Create a folder (on your desktop or somewhere handy).  Drop your four word.doc artist research papers in the folder, then your edited images in the folder as well.  If you didn't complete your four artist research at midterm, you will need to submit up to 8 artist research papers to get credit for the entire assignment. You should have images for the following.

THIS IS ALL DUE BY $ p.m.  Monday May 2.  If you think this is unreasonable, or have reasons why you cannot complete this task, please email me or contact me via phone, Facebook, etc etc so we can figure out what to do to accommodate. 

Week_9

P_009 Graffiti Monster
Observation/Composition/Balance/Color Application

Goal: Choose one interesting composition from the graffiti on the work tables in Studios one, two or three (ONLY) and make that into a piece made up totally of cut paper.

Use a viewfinder and your camera to record the original. You will need a copy of this for your critique. (Take a picture of the graffiti you have chosen as subject matter with your viewfinder in place.  Using one of the “fiery” printers, print it and bring to crit.) Failure to present the original image in photographic print form WITH viewfinder in place will result in 1/3 deduction from your grade. No details may be added or subtracted. Graffiti from other places will NOT be accepted.

Procedure: Make yourself a viewfinder from a sheet of regular copy paper. It should be a 4 1/2 x 6". This is directly proportional to what will be your finished size of 18x24".

Color: You will also interpret this composition in color. All colors are open, but your choice in colors must support the imagery you chose to work on. How do your color choices help? The colors may be exaggerated or otherworldly if the composition calls for it. It is completely your decision.

Your own graffiti is not allowed. This would be considered as cheating.

No white paper may show through from picture plane. (white paper may be added)

May be presented either horizontal or vertical

Picture plane: 18x24" Bristol
Ground sheet 22x30" Bristol

Research one of the following street Artists:
Banksy
Shepard Fairy
Stinkfish
Swoon
Other
Liqun

C215

ALSO:  FOR YOUR FINAL... PLEASE START COLLATING MATERIALS THAT HAVE SOME SORT OF TEXTURE!  (ie. sandpaper, bubble wrap, velvet, scrap pieces of materials, fur, etc) 

P_006 Midterm Assignment

Your homework for Wednesday is: 

1. sketchbook

2. images on the server

3. artist research on the server

4. make a viewfinder... INSTRUCTIONS BELOW... leave your collage here so I can grade it. 

Self-Promotion Poster Design (part 2.)

Collage: Value into Shape – Isolated Composition – Simplified Imagery

Objective: Create a composition based on one section of your previous collage using only cut paper. Represent value, shape and all design aspects represented therein.

Procedure:

- Using a 4.5 x 6” window (view-finder) cut out of the center of an 8.5 x 11” sheet of white paper, find the most interesting composition within your collage.

- Tape this window into place and create a new image based on the contents inside that window. Keep it in place for final crit.

- The new image will transform the contents inside the view-finder into a new, flat, larger version of it’s previous design using only cut paper shapes.

- You may use as many colors as you want but stay true to the color scheme inside the window. Think about your palette! You may edit colors down.

- Simplification of the image is fine. But don’t over simplify. Maintain the qualities/details that make the design interesting. 

- White paper and black paper should be used in addition to show tonal range.

- No groundsheet should show through.

- The new image should be blown up to 18x24” and stay the same in proportion as the chosen composition inside that window.

- Mount to 22x30” Bristol ground sheet.

Materials needed:

- Bristol ground sheet (one extra or similar sheet for the paste-up/picture plane)

- X-Acto Knife

- Ruler

- Color-line paper or equivalent

- Black paper and white paper