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Art131, Design I, syllabus. Instructor: Giulio Porta. Liberal Arts Division, NVCC, Annandale Campus. 2 hours lecture 4 hours lab per week, course duration 16 weeks. |
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course is intended for future professional artist, designers, fine arts
teachers, and art historians. The first semester of the first year of
design is intended to introduce the student/artist to two dimensional and
three dimensional communication in black and white media. MAJOR TOPICS TO BE INCLUDED: The elements of design. The student will present visual two dimensional and partial three dimensional solutions to a series of problems dealing with basic design elements: Composition and Organization, Repetition, Rhythm, Variety, Contrast, Value, Movement, Balance, Proportion, Shape, Spatial Relationships, Form, Function, Texture. The definitions of the basic design elements used in teaching this course and appearing in this syllabus, are taken from the Art Lex web dictionary, it is your obligation to further your understanding of art theories, styles, their historical context, and definition by visiting, the Art Lex site. http://www.artlex.com |
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| Materials and supplies: pencils, ball point pens, ink pens, straight edge (ruler), inexpensive compass (the kind that can be used with a pencil on its drawing end), 1/4" water color soft bristles flat brush, one tube or jar of Titanium White Acrylic, one tube or jar of Mars Black Acrylic. 14" x 17" Bristol board paper pad, Vellum or Smooth. 2 sheets of white foam core board, roll of art tape. | |
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Lectures Concepts upon which projects are based |
Practicum Actual projects |
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Composition and
Organization:
The
plan,
placement
or
arrangement of the
elements of art
in a work. It is often useful to discuss these in reference to the
principles of
design, as well as to the relative
weight of
the composition's parts. Composition can also refer to the area of a sheet in which the design appears in a drawing or print. When a composition is limited to a distinct area of a plate or a sheet of paper, it is good practice to note the composition's measurements, as well as the measurements of the plate and of the overall sheet. Examples of compositions are: Sequential, Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, Golden Mean, Field, Quadrant
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Creating and using a custom made grid. Organize a series of outlines into
the design of a maze, ad the third dimension to give the maze a 3D
appearance. Project contents: Cartesian coordinate system, measuring systems and units, modular systems, and personal modules. Grids, scale grids, variable grids, 2D and 3D grids, preset grids, custom grids, hand drawn grids. Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black acrylic. |
| Repetition: Closely related to harmony, a principle of design, this term refers to a way of combining elements of art so that the same elements are used over and over again. Thus, a certain color or shape might be used several times in the same picture. Repetition also can contribute to movement and rhythm in a work of art. | Within a custom made grid draw a
series of individual, grouped, or linked repetitive shapes. Give these
repetitive shapes a structure inspired by an abstract idea. Project contents: Numerical repetitions, geometrical repetitions, group repetition, stencils, stamps, copy and paste. Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black acrylic. |
| Rhythm:
A visual tempo or beat. The
principle of
design that refers to a regular repetition of
elements of art
to produce the look and feel of
movement. It is
often achieved through the careful placement of repeated components which
invite the viewer's eye to jump rapidly or glide smoothly from one to the
next. In any artwork, it is possible to distinguish between rhythm of color, line, and form. In the continuity of the three comes the whole rhythm of that work. Rhythm is more evident in the applied arts than in the fine arts. In the former, it is often the foremost means of aesthetic expression. Rhythm's importance can be demonstrated by noting how many important rhythmic cycles we observe in nature -- consider the alternating tension and relaxation in the heart's beating or in the ocean's waves, the revolutions of the earth around the sun, or the comings and goings of generations. Each of us has personal rhythms to our days, weeks, and years. Life, indeed, would be chaotic without rhythm. Participating in the tempo of this flow gives us each amounts of excitement and calm, yearning and contentment, yin and yang. It is natural that we would employ rhythms to organize and unify our works, much as they do the rest of our experience. . |
Using a natural random occurrence
as inspiration, or a musical rhytm, create an abstract composition using black white and
grays. Project contents: Refrains, accidental or natural occurrences, irregular geometric repetitions, regular repetitions of variable intensity. Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic |
| Variety: A
principle of
design that refers to a way of combining
elements of art
in involved ways to achieve intricate and complex relationships. Variety
is often obtained through the use of diversity and
change by
artists who wish to increase the visual interest of their work. An artwork
which makes use of many different
hues,
values,
lines,
textures,
and shapes
would reflect the artist's desire for variety.
Unity is
the principle which is its variety's opposite; but when there is too
little variety, the result is
monotony.
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Create a back and white composition, using a
natural occurrence, that you have observed and /or understand, involving
the concept of variety as its theme. Project contents: Random, fractal, unique within the same specie, diversity, parametric. Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic. |
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Contrast: A large
difference between two things; such as
light and shadow. Closely related to
emphasis,
a principle
of design, this term refers to a way of combining
elements of art
to stress the differences between those elements. Thus, a painting might
have bright color
which contrast with dull colors, or angular
shapes
which contrast with rounded shapes. Used in this way, contrast can excite,
emphasize and direct attention to points of interest
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Create a composition using contrasting shapes, light against dark, chiaro-scuro,
black and white, one shape that stands out against another. Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic. |
| Value:
An
element of art
that refers to the lightness or
darkness
of a color
or a gray scale. Value
is an especially important element in works of
art when
color is absent. This is particularly likely with
drawings,
woodcuts,
lithographs,
and photographs.
It is also true with most
sculpture and
architecture.
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Create a composition using 10
preset gray values between and including black and white. Project contents: Scale or ramp of values, gradations, transition between black and white, gray scale, intermediate steps between black and white. Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic. |
| Movement:
When there is no actual motion, this
refers to an implied motion -- the
arrangement
of the parts of an
image to
create a sense of motion by using
lines,
shapes,
forms, and
textures
that cause the eye to move over the work. A
principle of
design, it can be a way of combining
elements of art
to produce the look of action. Shapes and lines implying movement, such, a frozen moment in time, spirals, geometric construction of spirals, kinetic art. |
Create a composition using
elements possessing potential for kinetic actions.
Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic. |
| Midterm presentation You must be aware of the requirements and guidelines for your presentation. The midterm presentation will take place duding the week preceding Spring break. | |
| Balance: A principle of design, it refers to the way the elements of art are arranged to create a feeling of stability in a work; a pleasing or harmonious arrangement or proportion of parts or areas in a design or composition. Portions of a composition can be described as taking on a measureable weight or dominance, and can then be arranged in such a way that they appear to be either in or out of balance, or to have one kind of balance or another. Balance can be symmetrical, or formal; or it can be asymmetrical, or informal. It can also be radial. | Create a composition
dealing with the concept of balance in black
white and grays
Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic. |
| Proportion:
A
principle of design, proportion refers to the
comparative, proper, or harmonious relationship of one part to another or
to the whole with respect to
size,
quantity, or degree; a
ratio.
Often proportion is allied with another principle of art,
emphasis.
For example, if there is a greater number of
intense
hues than
dull hues in a work, emphasis is suggested. For another example, if one
figure
is made to look larger compared to other figures in a
composition, it is said to be out of proportion and is given greater
importance. |
Create a composition
dealing with the concept of proportions using lines as well as shaded
areas.
Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic. |
| Shape: An element of art, it is an enclosed space defined and determined by other art elements such as line, color, value, and texture. In painting and drawing, shapes may take on the appearance of solid three-dimensional object even though they are limited to two dimensions -- length and width. This two-dimensional character of shape distinguishes it from form, which has depth as well as length and width. Examples of shapes include: circle, oval; polygons such as triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezium, trapezoid, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, nonagon, decagon, undecagon, dodecagon, etc.; and such other kinds of shapes as amorphous, biomorphous, and concretion. Also see angle, curve, edge, flat, fold, French curve, manipulate, memory, obverse and reverse, positive and negative space, radial, straight, structure, surface, and vertex. | By using a compass and
a ruler, construct from a circle six regular polygons, ranging from a triangle to an octagon.
Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic. |
| Spatial Relationship: An element of art that refers to the distance or area between, around, above, below, or within things. It can be described as two-dimensional or three-dimensional; as flat, shallow, or deep; as open or closed; as positive or negative; and as actual, ambiguous, or illusory. |
Create a composition dealing with the illusion of solid and void,
or positive and negative space. Tools: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, 1/4 flat brush, black and white acrylic. |
| Form: In its widest sense, total structure; a synthesis of all the visible aspects of that structure and of the manner in which they are united to create its distinctive character. The form of a work is what enables us to apprehend it. Form also refers to an element of art that is three-dimensional (height, width, and depth) and encloses volume. For example, a triangle, which is two-dimensional, is a shape, but a pyramid, which is three-dimensional, is a form. Cubes, spheres, pyramids, cone, and cylinders are examples of various forms. Also, all of the elements of a work of art independent of their meaning. Formal elements are primary features which are not a matter of semantic significance -- including color, dimensions, line, mass, medium, scale, shape, space, texture, value; and the principles of design under which they are placed -- including balance, contrast, dominance, harmony, movement, proportion, proximity, rhythm, similarity, unity, and variety. |
Create the 2 dimensional development of a 3D object. Project contents: Mapping and designing real 3D volumes on paper, the illusion of 3D forms, 2 dimensional developments of 3D forms, foldouts, folding a foldout into its 3D counterpart. Tools and materials: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, foam core board, exacto knife with a # 24 blade. |
| Function:
Refers to the intended use or
purpose of an
object. The term is often applied to manufactured products,
particularly crafts,
and when discussing
designs for
architecture. Though sometimes said to be non-functional,
art is
expected to function in various ways, including: to
beautify, to adorn, to
express,
to illustrate,
to mediate, to persuade, to record, to redefine reality, to redefine art,
to provide therapy, to give unselfconscious experience, to provide
paradigms
of order
and/or chaos,
and to train
perception of reality. Anything that is not functional is called
nonfunctional Functional geometric shapes, aerodynamic shapes, shapes designed to support other or be supported by others, form follows function. |
Design a functional 2D
development of a faceted sphere that can be folded into the 3D shape of
the sphere itself. Project contents: Mapping and designing real 3D volumes on paper, the illusion of 3D forms, 2 dimensional developments of 3D forms, foldouts, folding a foldout into its 3D counterpart. Tools and materials: Compass, straight edge ruler, pencils, foam core board, exacto knife with a # 24 blade. |
| Texture: An element of art which refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object, its smoothness, roughness, softness, etc. Textures may be actual or simulated. Actual textures can be felt with the fingers, while simulated textures are suggested by an artist in the painting of different areas of a picture -- often in representing drapery, metal, rocks, hair, etc. Words describing textures include: flat, smooth row, shiny, glossy, glittery, velvety, feathery, soft, wet, gooey, furry, sandy, leathery crackled, prickly, abrasive, rough furry, bumpy, corrugated puffy rusty and slimy. | Imitate a real texture in black
white and grays, place the two (the real texture and your imitation) side
by side or in any other context in a single composition. Project content: Real 3D textures, the illusion of texture, photographical textures, hand drawn or painted textures, faux textures, texture layers, texture depth.
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| After the completion of the texture project, the classroom will relocate in the CG computer lab. The series of project will restart from the beginning with Composition and Organization, and continue with 6 more of the following projects. The software used will be Adobe Illustrator. | |
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Final presentation and grading rationale You must be aware of the requirements and guidelines that I have laid out for your midterm and presentations, here is the link to Presentation . Also be aware how I grade: Grading Criteria For the date of your final exams please refer to the official schedule of final exams available from my web site main page www.nvcc.edu/home/nvportg this schedule is also available from any Division office.
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