This Fall I will begin my first year teaching high school Art. My schedule will consist of classes in Graphic Design, Digital Design, and Arts & Humanities. The Graphic Design and Digital Design classes will naturally make extensive use of software. Throughout the trimester my students will become proficient in the use of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator in creating works of art. In this blog I will discuss the use of Illustrator, the standards it meets, and the challenges I expect to face.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Adobe Illustrator, it is a software program used to create distinctive vector graphics with precise and sophisticated drawing tools, and expressive brushes. The graphics created with Illustrator can be applied to print, web design, video or virtually any other media. Today, Illustrator is the preferred vector graphics software program among professional graphic artists.
Illustrator will be used primarily by my Graphic Design students. We will begin by learning how to use some of the shape drawing tools and memorizing some of the basic commands, which may be common throughout a variety of programs (cut, paste, copy, save, etc.). (NETS*S 6) Subsequent lessons will be designed with technical mastery and artistic applications in mind. Lessons in the elements of art (line, shape, form, color, texture) will coincide with the necessary technical training to complete the specific objective of the day. For example in a lesson on color, the use of Illustrator’s palette and color mixer will be practiced as well. After finishing the elements of art unit, students will have gained artistic and technical knowledge.
Further lessons, in logo design, identity systems, and typography will function similarly to the opening elementary unit, but will incorporate the application of art concepts (rhythm, space, perspective, repetition, etc.) alongside new technical knowledge of the program. For example, when creating a poster students will study space and rhythm as they train in object resizing and rotation. By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of Graphic Design as an art form and a deep understanding of how to use technology as an art production tool. (NETS*S 1)
Challenges will arise over the course of the trimester. Especially in the beginning of the course, students may find Illustrator difficult to use. It is not like drawing in a traditional sense. Drawing in Illustrator is more like connecting the dots. There may even be some students who are inexperienced in using a computer at all, which could slow things down a bit. As the course continues, if these problems persist they can cause significant lagging in artistic development. It must not be forgotten that graphic design is an art, not a computer program. It can be done without a computer. Therefore, the computer cannot be allowed to dominate class time. Students must not be allowed to be overly concerned with advanced techniques or gimmicks when using Illustrator. As a teacher it is my responsibility to keep students focused on art techniques and concepts.
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