Brushes

It is good to be snobby about some things; because no one else knows enough to care. An Illustrator needs to be snobby about brushes. The best brush is a male Siberian Kolinsky Sable harvested in the winter. I guess a summer-time female is not as desirable. No, a sable is not a tiger as in Sable Tooth tiger, a sable is like a mink, a furry little varmint. A regular Red Sable would also be a good choice. Next down the list would be a Kazan Squirrel or a Black Squirrel. Can you make a brush from road-kill squirrel? As far as I know brush making involves careful alignment of the hairs so that the curve inward and make a nice point. Once you move out of natural hair brushes and into synthetics there is a huge drop in quality (and price). A good full-bellied round number 6 sable brush costs around $40. You only need one good brush. If you buy cheap brushes you have to buy a bunch of sizes to get a range of line work done. Here is a picture where you can see the kind of line that a good brush makes.

It goes smoothly from very thin to full and thick. It can do that because a good brush makes a sharp point when it is wet. Don't be deceived by all those sharp looking cheap brushes in the store. They look that way because they have the equivalent of a stiff hair gel/insecticide in them. Here you can see a dry sable brush next to the same brush when wet. A cheap brush will never form that sharp point again after you wash it the first time.

Semiotics - Required Post

To be smart when you are talking about Visual Communication it helps if you know some basic ideas in Semiotics. Semiotics is the study of how things mean something and the signs that make that possible. Some examples of types of signs are: symbols (that we learn as denoting the subject), icons (that resemble the subject), and indexes (that are related to the subject). A sign has parts that we can analyze and see if it is working the way we want it to. An obvious part of a sign is its visual nature. That is the part that we as Designers and Illustrators are good at making look excellent. Another part of how a sign means something is how people read it, what they think it means; this is the connotation of the sign, the final message. A third part is our intent, what we were trying to show in hopes of communicating something specific; this is the denotation. When we look at our designs from the perspective of how other people might understand them or what variety of things it could possibly mean we are better able to refine it to an effective and specific communication with all of the nuances of communication that we could hope for.

Picture Day

You can't say I didn't warn you.

I intend to take a group snapshot tomorrow to help me remember your names.

Also please remember to bring your paper and drawing tools.

Required - Blog Entry #2 (Courses)

This is for your own good.

Make a post that shows which classes you intend to take and which semesters you will take them. It will help if you have a copy of the Department of Art & Design Survival Guide available here. It also helps me to know who you are and where you are in your program. Also tell us your major and any other relevant info, like if you are a transfer student.

Section 2 blog urls

Please add your blog URL to the comments on this post for section 2.

Class Blog URLs

Please add your blog URL to the comments on this post.

Day 1

Introduction to Graphic Design and Illustration
ART 2610 - Fall 09 - Babcock

Day 1

Blog
Create a Blogger Blog to record course progress, lectures, comments, research, and works.
Enter this link in your browser (no spaces or breaks) for screenshots of this process:
http://picasaweb.google.com/profbabcock/BlogStartProcess81809420PM?authkey=Gv1sRgCIG6po-Gqr_IkQE&feat=directlink

Email
First commit to an email with a good username. “YourNameDesign” if possible. Be consistent with the email, account name, and passwords across all of these processes. Have a strong password that doesn’t include the word “password” or your account name, has numbers and letters and at least 8 characters.
You might consider signing up for a new email from gmail to make this all work well.
http://www.google.com click on MAIL

Blog Set-up
http://www.blogger.com
Send me your URL to you’re done.

Delicious social bookmarking
delicious.com. Copy the tagroll code into a blogger html gadget on your blog.

Picasa web album
Will use your same google account as the gmail and blogger. Images posted on your blog will automatically load into an album here. Load images directly here and use link to image codes.

More Blog stuff
Title blog with your Full Name and Graphic Design and Illustration in the Site Description.
Settings - Public, No word verification required, google account signature.
Gadget 1 - Delicious HTML code
Gadget 2 - Blog Roll - add http://www.profbabcock.blogspot.com/ to your blog roll.
Delete the followers gadget.
Fill out the profile gadget.

Blog entry 1 - Test Post
Title, text, and test image.

Blog entry 2 - Course Work
State your major. List courses you plan on taking and which semester you will take them.

Assignment and Lecture Posts
You will be making posts that work like class notes. If there is a lecture blog a summary. Post progress on projects. For many things you can mirror the content of my posts for class.

Quoting and Linking
In your blog entries, if getting content from others: summarize in your own words or use a citation for words quoted. Include URLs for call content that is not your own.

Images
Create all files at 300 dpi for print, 180 dpi for Picasa and 72 dpi for Blog

Online Participation
Follow my blog for assignments and lectures.
Follow Blackboard page for announcements, recorded lectures, grades, course documents.

Blog Days
There are days throughout the semester when for a variety of reasons assembling for class is not going to happen. These days may be designated as “Blog Days”. This means that you are responsible for posting specific content to your blog as an indication of your labor in the course for that day. Attendance credit for that day will be given based on your post. Posts should be complete before the next scheduled meeting date.

Commenting
Post comments using your GoogleID. You will be required to comment at various times. Do it spontaneously. Remember good etiquette.