The Dieline

One of my favorite sites: The Dieline.

Go there. Be inspired. Don't be lame.

Illustrator Problems?

Hey y'alls. Some of you have written me about problems with your Illustrator files—not being able to fill in your shapes. Hope this helps...

Your shapes probably aren't actually shapes. They're just lines. Remember, a shape won't be whole until you complete it, like a circle or blob or something. This means that you have to end your shape on the same point that you started it on.

To illustrate my point, draw a new shape. Make a circular blob. Make sure your last pen point is exactly on your first pen point. When you hover over the first point, you'll notice a small circle icon pop up next to your pen. This icon means that you will close/finish your shape when you click. This is what you want. Now you can change the fill color.

If you don't close your shapes, they're just lines, and when you try to color them, or fill them, the shapes go wonky because they want to connect the first and last points.

See the Illustrator file on the server labeled shapes_test.ai. It's saved as CS, so you should be able to open it.

Hope this makes sense.

Inspiration

Since you guys completely suck at posting stuff to this blog, here's something I found that you might like. I try to keep a good stack of bookmarks of great design studios out there.

Here's one. Chen design.

They do great work, although the site could use some improvement.

Holler back with some of the great design you're coming across.

Studio Tour at LithoFlexo

Got this from Dan Evans:

////

Studio Tour at Litho-Flexo Grafics…

The U of U AIGA Student Group would like to extend an invitation to ALL students in the graphic design program to attend our first studio tour. We have arranged a tour of the LithoFlexo Grafics printing facility on Tuesday September 28th at 1:30pm. Space is limited, so please reserve your place ASAP!

Call or email Ryan Francis: jibbn@yahoo.com, 801-230-8585

LithoFlexo Grafics is one of Salt Lake's largest and most advanced large format commercial printers. Their services range from fine printing to labeling to packaging. The tour will start in their prepress department and continue through the entire production process explaining both lithography and flexography printing.

////

AIGA National offering discounted student membership for limited time!…

AIGA is committed to increasing student involvement in the design community. To make membership even more accessible to students, for six weeks only, full-time students can join or renew online for just $50. This is the same discounted rate that most of our current student members paid last year. Now, you have another chance to get that VERY low rate.

This national student membership drive will occur from mid-September thru October 31. Simply go to my.aiga.org to sign up and save!

Once you sign up and you have received confirmation and your member number, please let Dan Evans know, so he can add you to the official student group roster.

Homework

Hey, I just had a question about the homework. We're supposed to bring in a catalog, right? And are we supposed to do something to it before, or is that during class? Thanks

Hey guys,

I haven't been able to come to class because I've been sick and then got my wisdom teeth pulled. So I need a little help getting caught up. Can anybody just give me kind of a basic outline of the steps that they used? I know that we are supposed to start with tracing our image, can anyone kind of explain how to do that to me?

Thanks so much!

Back in Action

Hey guys, sorry I've been out of touch over the last few days. I'm on my way back from the Tetons. Summited The Grand. See you in class tomorrow night with your illustrations ready to show and work on.

Illustrator Examples

Hey guys.

Here are a few samples that I found on http://vector.tutsplus.com.

Not all of these are necessarily created the way you'll be doing yours, however, they are good examples of the final illustration. Skim through the tutorials and you'll find some nice nuggets.

Also, help out the ones who missed class last Wed.

Holla back.

How to Draw A Realistic Vector Light Bulb From Scratch | Vectortuts+

How to Create a Lustrous Electric Guitar | Vectortuts+

How To Create a Sleek DVD Player with Adobe Illustrator | Vectortuts+

How To Create a Steel Wristwatch in Corel Draw | Vectortuts+

Tracing a Vector Face From a Reference Photo | Vectortuts+

Illustrator Project

Hello Everyone,

I had to change my picture for the Illustrator project, I was looking for some info on this picture for the project. What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Daisy

Web Inspirations

Just a couple of websites I usually find a lot of inspiration:

http://imprint.printmag.com/

Here, there are a lot of sub-categories- everything from photography to typography.

http://www.woostercollective.com/

I am sure most of you know about this site, but still... It's awesome.

http://dailyartmuse.com/

This is a blog, focused mainly on arts and crafts (but the textures, shapes and materials could give you ideas for projects etc.)

Good ol' days

Ever since I started our first Photoshop assignment (I chose to use old playing cards as inspiration) I have been enchanted by "old-style" art. Here is a website I found that features a small collection of other sites that use this style. There's even the beginnings of a collection of old-style type. Enjoy!

http://www.allthingsoldtimey.com/

-Jonathan Gracey

Just a Tool

Below is an excerpt I recently read in a book called Graphic Design—The New Basics. It's very appropriate as you begin your graphic design career.

...

Before the Macintosh, solving graphic design problems meant outsourcing at nearly every stage of the way: manuscripts were sent to a typesetter; photographs—selected from contact sheets—were printed at a lab and corrected by a retoucher; and finished artwork was the job of a paste-up artist, who sliced and cemented type and images onto boards. This protocol slowed down the work process and required designers to plan each step methodically.

By contrast, powerful, off-the-shelf software now allows designers and users of all ilks to endlessly edit their work in the comfort of a personal or professional workspace.

Yet, as these digital technologies afford greater freedom and convenience, they also require ongoing education and upkeep. This recurring learning curve, added to already overloaded schedules, often cuts short the creative window for concept development and formal experimentation.

In the college context, students arrive ever more digitally facile. Acculturated by iPods, Playstations, and PowerBooks, design student command the technical savvy that used to take years to build. Being plugged in, however, has not always profited creative thinking.

Too often, the temptation to turn directly to the computer precludes deeper levels of research and ideation—the distillation zone that unfolds beyond the average appetite for testing the waters and exploring alternatives. People, places, thoughts, and things become familiar through repeated exposure. It stands to reason, then, that initial ideas and, typically, the top tiers of aGoogle search turn up only cursory results that are often tired and trite.

Getting to more interesting territory requires the perseverance to sift, sort, and assimilate subjects and solutions until a fresh spark emerges and takes hold.

...