So these Illustrator tutorials are realtively easy and quick. Get them all done so that you get these basic ideas and tricks for using illustrator to get some basic art done. We’re movin on soon. I do expect everyone to have all 3 tutorials done and their own projects using these skills/tools.

I’m out today for 6th hour to talk to the county people on some technical stuff for the district, but you guys know what to do. Knock out these Illy tutorials- they need to all be done by friday.

2/10- So I’m hearing that they take longer to do and you won’t be done by friday. I find that hard to believe- and a lot of you waste time. Friday is still the deadline for these 3 projects. If you’re working all period, you’ve had over 10 hours to do what I created, recorded, and edited in 4.

It’s easy- do the projects. If you’re done, or have an idea of something you really want to do, then do that as well. As long as you’re working hard at being creative, I don’t care. I’m going to be watching closely for people off task. I have no problem slamming you for being off task because it’s so EASY to be on task in here… You can essentially do whatever you want. So what’s the deal?

I think that the problem is that I’ve just been too laid back, trying to get you to love your art- to find something to care about… And many of you simply haven’t found it. And that’s OK. But until you do find something, I’m going to have to start getting you down the road with a little more hand holding. More imposed deadlines, more directing you where to go. The projects will still be fun, but you’ll have to adhere to a more strict deadline. And of course, you can always go back and improve work you’ve worked on in the past for an improved grade. (Remember, this doesn’t always happen in the real world, so this is a gift in here!)

I’m also working on a whole scope and sequence re-write, and I’ll be talking to all of you this week about ideas for the lab and how things work. Remember, we’re all in this together…

2/3- New Illustrator tutorials to experiment with in the CTNAS until I can get them up online (Can’t FTP from school). I’ll assign a different one to each cluster.

2/4- Ok, Running into problems with Kuler in the lab… and I have a fix- Follow these instructions perfectly and Kuler will work:

• Open Internet Explorer and go to the Tools menu
• Go down to Internet Options
• Click Connections, then Lan Settings on that page.
• Click the “advanced” tab
• In the little box at the bottom for Proxy exceptions, add ;76.74.170.30 to the list (include the semicolon.)

2/4- Hey gang… at the dentist today… keep working on your illustrator tutorials. When you finish, if you were working on 2 or 3, do 4… if you did 4, do 3 today. Check out the new tutorials link in the top menubar! Nice quick link to the tutorials. I’ll add all the older ones up there soon, but for now, all the Illustrator tutorials that are in the CTNAS are there. (we’ll keep the CTNAS for backup, though!)

FORBES- I need a pic of you with the why 21 logo in it… maybe take a shot and make it look like you’re holding it up?? They need it for a magazine article.

MASTERS- work on that logo for ROTC- it’s on my desk

Things are changing. I made a lot of huge changes this year and it’s hard to adjust myself to many of them. You need to know that from here on out, now that Photoshop ACA testing is out of the way (those of you that haven’t passed need to work on it on your own time now), we are starting the truly new creative efforts. So you have much freedom, and wiht that comes much responsibility. You must document your time in here. Daily document in your journal what you’re doing and what you’re learning. The journal will be key to your success in here.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the elements and principles and the Synectic Triggers. These really are the secrets. The E&P will help you figure out what’s ugly in your work when it doesn’t look right. The Synectic triggers will help you think of different approaches and ideas for your project.

CT1 and CT2 students are both starting a logo design project this week. Use the triggers. Pay attention to the principles. Look at examples for inspiration.  Go to your student pages and get to work. I expect some amazing and creative work!!!

12/1- CT2′s have new projects up with deadlines. Real contests with cash prizes. Don’t forget to use the synectic triggers if you’re stuck! They are the secret!

CLICK TO VIEW THE GALLERY HERE.

These can be done using Photoshop or Illustrator, just remember the limitations of Photoshop on a project like this. To REALLY amaze me- I want to see some Illustrator jobs in here!!!