We are going to use Adobe spark to journal my progress and work exploring Digital Illustration Fundamentals. We are going to cover the following areas below with a series of lectures and tutorials. Below is a plan of areas we are going to cover in class for the next six weeks.

Please free to look at my blog and Pinterest accounts for extra resources.

Create accounts to Behance and Dribbble.

Learning outcomes

1. Develop an understanding of the fundamental principles of composition, perspective, form, light, colour and depth within practical illustration projects

Read and make notes using visual examples to show your understanding of composition.

The 7 Elements of Art

A similar activity happens when the elements of art are combined. Instead of elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, in art you have these building blocks:

Line

Shape

Form

Space

Texture

Value

Colour

Artists manipulate these seven elements, mix them in with principles of design, and compose a piece of art. Not every work of art contains every one of these elements, but at least two are always present.

2. Apply the fundamentals theories of composition, perspective, form, light, colour and depth to practical digital illustration projects.

3. Apply practical digital painting techniques to illustrate basic forms, environments, objects and subjects with clarity and attention to detail.

4. Clearly demonstrate work within a digital portfolio for both screen and print based dissemination

Introduction to Digital illustration: History, contemporary practice.

What is Digital Illustration?

Look at the work of David Hockney, Andy Warhol pioneer artists using and combining technology in their work . Digital illustration a new art medium.

Technology and artistry converge in Digital Illustration, a medium that encourages creativity. Digital tools help skilled artists to realize their most ambitious concepts, from the photorealistic to the whimsical—from believable architecture to fantastic creatures and imaginary worlds.

Although some computer-generated art is produced using mathematical models, Digital Illustration is the direct creation of the artist. Using a mouse or a pressure sensitive pen, digital illustrators create an image on a computer screen or tablet and then manipulate it using digital software.

Current software gives artists tools capable of mimicking almost any medium. With practice, charcoal, oil, airbrush, acrylic, and collage can be replicated. Time-consuming traditional techniques, such as the creation of multiple layers of transparent glazes, can now be accomplished in minutes with no anxiety, no mess and no harmful solvent fumes. This flexible toolbox gives artists the time and the freedom to create unique work for print, games, television, Internet outlets, and feature films.

The affordability of graphic-arts software is one of its greatest virtues, but the digital medium also boasts convenience and practicality. A corner desk can serve as a complete studio, and a computer can substitute for an entire art supply store. Gone are the days of rushing out to buy a tube of cerulean blue. The digital illustrator's color palette is unlimited, his brush collection infinite, and it's all completely portable.

As technological tools continue to become more intuitive and less expensive, the field of Digital Illustration will be open to any artist with ability and initiative. The result will be new ideas, new energy, and a more diverse artistic community to entertain, amaze, and inspire an increasingly global audience.

Advancing art through digital technology

The Digital Art medium uses computer technology in its creation. Digital Art has revolutionized more traditional art forms like painting, sculpture and cinema. Artists have always encountered technological barriers in their work. Digital is simply the newest medium artists have discovered in their quest to tell their stories constrained only by the limits of their imagination.

What is Digital Art?

The digital medium uses technology in its creation. Digital Art has revolutionized more traditional art forms like painting, sculpture and cinema, and it is even finding its way into craft design and architecture. All art is technology; it is what makes art human. From the first cave dweller who realized he could tell a better story using color in his drawings, artists have always encountered technological barriers. Digital is simply the newest medium artists have discovered in their quest to tell their stories.

The importance of Steve Jobs to the evolution of digital illustration.

Pixar were the leading company pushing digital illustration to a new level of sophistication.

https://www.pixar.com/our-story-1

The Road to Point Reyes 1983

Digital Art is distinct from computer art, but the early history of both can be traced back to the same origins. The 1960s were a particularly important decade in the history of Digital Art, as artists started experimenting with computers. John Whitney’s work using mathematical functions to transform visuals was among the world’s first computer-generated art, and he is considered one of the “fathers of computer graphics.”

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, artists increasingly experimented with computer imaging techniques to tap into the unlocked potential of the digital medium. But the true technological revolution in Digital Art genuinely took hold and flourished at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), a visual effects company in San Francisco. The small team of scientists, artists and engineers at the Computer Division was an instrumental part of an entire generation of artists who “cracked the code” of digital media, manipulating video, audio and graphics in unprecedented ways, and producing spellbinding photorealistic digital images that were never before possible.

Coupled with the proliferation of increasingly affordable and portable computers, digital technology developments have enabled today’s artists. The ability to grab a tablet and draw or paint a picture or create a film—this is thanks to the technology that resulted from the radical digital revolution initiated by early pioneers of Digital Art. The digital medium is used in all forms of art today, from Photography and Illustration to Sculpture and Fine Art.

Museum of Middle Eastern Art, Dubai, U.A.E.

The Museum’s collection, launched with inspired objects from George Lucas’s personal holdings, is growing to encompass an unparalleled presentation of narrative art forms. Gifts from George Lucas, his family and trust will help the collection grow to show a breadth of narrative art forms, ranging from classic illustrations by Norman Rockwell to cutting-edge digital works of the 21st century, as well as a range of painting, children’s art, comic art and photography from many periods and cultures. Some of the featured artwork is not a part of the Lucas seed collection and is here to illustrate the role digital art plays in narrative art.

Familiarity with the digital painting interface, graphics tablets, scanners and printers.

Tutorial 1 Typography Task Jessica Walsh, exploring a range of tools and techniques in illustrator.

• Gradient tool:
• Swatches:
• Pathfinder tools:
• Line:
• Shape:
• Effects menu:

Create your own typography style to write the word PORTFOLIO, using only lines, shapes, point and gradients.

Research into the work of Jessica Walsh and her graphics practice.

https://sagmeisterwalsh.com/

Look at the work from Ben the illustrator

https://dribbble.com/BenTheIllustrator

Interview with Ben the illustrator about his current practice

https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/interview-with-ben-the-illustrator--vector-3293

Tutorial 2 Mastering the Bezier curves using the pen tool, art brush, width tool and swatches

Tutorial 3 Shape based illustration exercise

Derek Lea tutorial looking at symbols and smart objects.

https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/adobe-illustrator/bring-3d-creature-life/

https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/creative-professional/whats-difference-photoshop-illustrator

Practice these exercises in both programs see the differences in the illustration work. Why and how do we need to learn both illustrator and photoshop.

The cube, sphere, cone and cylinder. Drawing and painting

Tutorial 4: Practice creating these three Dimensional Shapes in Illustrator and Photoshop.

Digital painting in Illustrator

Have a look at the drawings below, have a go at rendering the drawing using only paint brush tools in illustrator, keep it grey scale.