Featured by Prof. Miller

Studio Calendar

Friday, Feb. 3: Studio Day + Introduce Project 2

Friday, Feb. 10: Critique on Artist Book

Friday, Feb. 17: Work on Project 2 at home

Friday, Feb. 24: Project 2 Critique

Friday, March 3: Project 3: Color Theory Presentation + Project 4 Photoshop Collage

March 10: NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK

January 28, 2023January 20, 2023 by Prof. Miller

Friday, Feb 3: How to Document your Artist Book

Hello students!

Hope your artist book is coming along nicely!

Today we will have some binding demos as well as speak about how to document work and just a general last studio class before your project is due next week!

Documenting your book. Turn in all photos and short video in Canvas Class Assignment.

Images: Total: 3-5 photos + one short video (under 1 min)

One overall of the book – if you made an accordion book, you can photograph it in such a way that we can see the entire book. If you did more of a pamphlet or stab stitch, or anything else, one image of the front/spine of the book is just fine.
(3-5) close-up images of your favorite pages
1 short (under 1 min) video of your book showcasing how it looks as you turn the pages.
Click on these examples of a short video showcasing an artist book – a video gives us extra information and really highlights the physicality of the book, the object. This can be done simply on your phone- no need for editing, sound, etc – unless you feel into that!
https://vimeo.com/194634296
https://vimeo.com/194632997
https://vimeo.com/194634049

Can’t wait to see what you produced for this first project!

January 20, 2023January 19, 2023 by Prof. Miller

Friday, Jan 27 – Work on your Artist Book

Hello wonderful artists!

Studio day to work on your artist book that showcases the Principles of Design. I hope you are off to a good start, have spent the week gathering your design concept and materials and are ready to start creating! Remember, any and all materials are acceptable – get messy! (Here is a fun mixed media piece I created with the same title)

I also did a separate post on being able to see the Principles of Design in Graphic Design.

We will talk about binding next week

Need some inspiration? Go back to the original post, check out Pinterest – or see additional inspiration here:

Carole Penin

Popular Kinetics Artist Book Exhibit

Local Resource: IS Projects

January 13, 2023January 20, 2023 by Prof. Miller

Friday, Jan. 20: Principles of Design + Artist Book

Image reference and additional reading

Unity and Variety

Repetition and Rhythm

Scale and Proportion

Contrast

Balance

Emphasis

Directional Forces

Assignment:

Produce an artist book (hand-bound) of pages illustrating each principles of design on one page or one 2-page spread each.

Powerpoint Download

Your book should have be anywhere from 5×7″ to 8.5×11″. The cover should be designed as well with a thicker sheet of paper.

Using a theme of your choice, produce pages that illustrating each of the principles of design. You may use any/all mediums you would like.. be as messy as possible!

Inspiration:

Louise Bourgeoise’s fabric book is a great example of simple Principles of Design

Material ideas:

charcoal

sharpie

pastel

paint

collage

photography (printed out)

found objects

Simple Bookbinding resources:

pamphlet stitch: Tutorial on 3 hole and 5 hole pamphlet stitch

stab stitch

accordion book

Be inspired! Excellent student examples from previous Design Fundamentals classes:

Video examples of student work can be seen on the Google Drive titled “Artist Book Videos”

Due date: Feb. 10- in person critique.

Photographs and video submitted to Canvas by end of day, Friday, Feb. 10

January 13, 2023January 12, 2023 by Prof. Miller

HOMEWORK: Mark Making: The Value of Value

This project accomplishes the following Course Learning Outcomes:

Demonstrate technical skill to produce a multi-step value scale and a balanced multi-step color wheel in paint, pencil, or digital.
Demonstrate technical skill to produce a variety of tactile and visual textures in various mediums including digital.
Demonstrate technical skill to produce clean transitions of color in pencil, charcoal, ink and paint, and digital design.

3 Value Scale Warm up Exercises:

With a pen or pencil, produce a traditional value scale using: you may chose color or b/w.

2. With a piece of charcoal or pastel, produce a value scale using: hatching/crosshatching or stipling/scribbling.

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3. Experiment with other, patterned lines that help you explore line, shape, texture and value. 10 different experimented small squares.

DUE DATE – 3 .jpg / .png files (one value scale in b/w, one value scale in color and one set of 10 experiments) and submitted to Canvas Assignment “Value Scale”: Friday, Jan. 20 by 8 a.m. Click on “Assignments” and you will see “Value Scale Assignment” at the top.

January 4, 2023January 9, 2023 by Prof. Miller

Friday, Jan. 13: Welcome Spring 2023!

Hello students! I’m excited to explore the Principles of Design and Visual Elements through the use of hands-on art projects and Photoshop and Illustrator. We will meet at 8 a.m. IN PERSON in room HU207 to go over everything.

Please click here for our syllabus and always refer to this blog for our assignments, video tutorial requirements and due dates.

Things to go over today:

here for our syllabus
Schedule (see below)
Introductions + special interests + access to Creative Suite?
Adobe Tutorials
Homework: Explore www.professormiller.art , simple Value Scale Assignment and start thinking of Artist Book
Check out our HU Gallery

This is our tentative schedule – but again, absolute deadlines + assignments are always going to be posted here. So check back regularly for updates.

WEEK ONE: Syllabus, introductions, value scale experiments, homework.

WEEK 2, 3, 4: Design Project 1: Principles of Design studio project: Artist Book. Unity and Variety, Repetition and Rhythm, Scale and Proportion, Emphasis, Balance, Contrast

WEEK 5, 6: Visual Elements + Design Project 2: Word Play studio project: Line, Shape, Color, Form, Texture, Space, Pattern, Composition

WEEK 7, 8: Color Theory + Research Artist: Curated Color + : Complimentary, Analogous, Color Psychology, etc.

WEEK 9, 10, 11: Design Project 3: Juxtaposition Collage: Photoshop – digital collage

WEEK 12, 13, 14: Design Project 5: Self Portraiture through Typography: Illustrator – digital

December 1, 2022 by Prof. Miller

Installing typefaces

Hello students! With this Illustrator typography project, you might want to consider downloading custom typefaces! Here is a great website that has thousands of options – DaFont

How to install:

1.Sift through to find a typeface you like

2. Press the “download” button

3. Find the file in your “downloads” – double click the .otf or .ttf file to instal in your FontBook.

4. Once installed in your FontBook – you can use the font on any platform on your computer!

November 18, 2022November 15, 2022 by Prof. Miller

Typographic Self Portrait – Illustrator

Our next project will challenge the following skills:

Learning basic skills in Illustrator (pen tool, drawing on a path, installing a typeface)
Creative expression through Self Portraiture

Two things you need:

A photo of your face
Text – could be a series of words, song lyrics, a poem, a combination of all

Student examples:

Online examples:

Once you gather your photo and the text you will be using, we will go over basic Illustrator pen tool skills.

The PEN tool – the pen tool is one of the most important tools to master in Illustrator. Throughout the semester you will get better at the pen tool, but only with lots of practice!

Setting up new document

Selection vs. Direct Selection

Pen tool basics: add, subtract, convert, handlebars, curves, pencil

Good link on drawing basics

Fun interlude: Play this game for a few minutes to practice the pen tool 😉

More pen tool resources:

Pen tool tips

Other general Adobe Illustrator tutorials

Really good Type on a Path tutorial video

October 28, 2022October 26, 2022 by Prof. Miller

File formats

Hello students!

I’m looking forward to seeing how you translate your aesthetic to your 2 Photoshop Collages.

Just a quick note about file formats. You should always have at least 2 files of the same project – one working file, one smaller version.

Photoshop:

Your “working file” with layers, etc should be saved as a .psd
Your compressed, smaller file (for email, uploading to web, etc) should be saved as a .jpg

Illustrator

Your “working file” with layers, etc should be saved as a .ai
Your compressed, smaller file (for email, uploading to web, etc) should be saved as a .pdf. A PDF is especially important when you are dealing with typefaces, as it embeds them into the document.

October 21, 2022October 17, 2022 by Prof. Miller

Creative Collage – Photoshop

Mastery of Photoshop selection tools including: Quick Selection Tool, Magic Wand, Healing Brush and Spot Healing Brush, Layers.

Assignment : Digital Collages:

Using Photoshop selection tools and the magic wand tool,

make TWO : 8” x 10”collages using sections and pieces of your own original photographs. The two collages can be in the same style/narrative or they can be completely different aesthetics.

Use at least 3-4 different images in each collage – think about how to compose an interesting design with the images that you have. Remember to assess the formal Principles of Design – Balance, Repetition and Rhythm, Scale and Proportion, Contrast and Directional Forces. Be sure to save two versions – a .psd and a .jpg

I’d like your collages to be 75% images taken by YOU. If you need 1-2 stock images – please use pexels.com or unsplash.com for high quality, free images.

Think of a way to create a collage with any of the following themes: 1. Memory 2. Documentation 3. Texture (see above links for free texture images) 4. Fantastical Landscape 5. Self Portrait See Maggie Taylor’s work or Jerry Uelsmann’s b/w photo work for inspiration on fantastical digital collages.

Great example of masking

Bird Ladies! 😉

General collage links

Technical help with selection tools and masking:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/how-to/selection-tools-basics.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/making-quick-selections.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/select-mask.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/create-temporary-quick-mask.html

Requirements: (2) – 8″x10″ .jpgs

DEADLINES:

Due submitted to Canvas by Friday, Nov. 18 at 8 a.m.

October 14, 2022October 5, 2022 by Prof. Miller

Curated Color +

Steps:

Visually research a contemporary artist on https://www.thisiscolossal.com/ or Art21. Your selected artist/s MUST be on one of these sites. or included in the contemporary artist list below.
Curate a Virtual Exhibit of 8-10 images focusing on 2-5 artists working with color as a character.
To curate your exhibit – research 2-5 artists that you respond to, download and compile 8-10 high quality images, create a title for your exhibit, write an intro paragraph about your “curatorial vision” (this is a short mission of the exhibit) be sure to site your images with artist name, title, medium and year.
Create a powerpoint, save to pdf and upload pdf presentation to the Canvas

Final Result:

The goals of this project are to be introduced to a contemporary artist as well as major artists from art history, learn different color schemes and address and experiment with color theory.