Basic Design

Orientation

This class is your first stop on the way to becoming an artist. It covers, in simple and accessible ways, the basic elements of two-dimensional artwork (such as drawings and paintings), some ways of making these artworks, and examples created by various artists.

More importantly, this class will try to help you create personal and fulfilling images that reflect your own unique talents.

Textbook

• Keys to drawing with imagination
  by Bert Dodson
  published by North Light Books in 2007
  ISBN: 978-1-58180-757-8

  The book will be available for purchase at the Fullerton College bookstore.

• The textbook contains a wide range of intriguing exercises that will spark your imagination and help you refine your artistic vision.

Projects

• Chess board (tessellation)
  • Create a repeating pattern complementing your chess design, using the tessellation technique seen in the work of M. C. Escher (p. 138 of textbook). This will become the playing board to go with your chess set.
  • Start with a square. Alter the top edge of the square, then make the exact same alteration to the bottom edge. Alter the left edge of the square, then make the exact same alteration to the right edge. If a recognizable figure matching the theme of your chess set emerges, fill in internal detail. If not, try the process again with different alterations.
  • Once you have a satisfactory design, use it to create the chess board by repeating it across and down.
  • See detailed directions and an animation of this process at the EscherMath site. The "Pegasus" tessellation used as an example in the directions could, for instance, be used for a chess set based on a hierarchy of flying creatures.

Topics

1. Introduction to Basic Design Elements and Principle
   1. Line
      1. Contour
      2. Wandering
      3. Straight
      4. Curved line
      5. Broken line
      6. Variegated line
   2. Shape
      1. Geometric
      2. Organic
      3. Positive and negative
   3. Value
      1. Light and dark
      2. Value as compositional emphasis
   4. Color
      1. Hue
      2. Value
      3. Intensity
      4. Color schemes
   5. Texture
      1. Tactile
      2. Visual
      3. Trompe l'oeil
   6. Pattern
   7. Volume
   8. Mass
   9. Composition
      1. Symmetrical
      2. Asymmetrical
      3. Radial
      4. Balance
      5. Contrast
      6. Unity
      7. Rhythm
      8. Repetition
      9. Proportion
      10. Scale
      11. Focal point
2. Art Movements and Cultures
3. Techniques
4. Professional practices

Grading and attendance policies

• This is a 3-units course. The grade is based on class participation and satisfactory completion of the work assigned.
• If your work is a correct repetition of the instructor's demonstration, you will receive the middle grade of 'C'. If the work shows creativity, imagination, and interpretation beyond the instructor's demonstration, you may be assigned an 'A' or 'B' grade.
• Attendance is mandatory.
  • A sign-in sheet will be provided by the instructor every time the class meets. Make sure to sign in, since attendance records are entirely based on this sign-up sheet.

Contact

To get in touch with the instructor, Sandro Corsi:

• Office: rm. 1254-06
• Art Computer Graphics Lab: (714) 992-7000, then dial ext. 24299
• Art Department Office: (714) 992-7116

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Created: 2008-12-14. Last Updated: 2010-04-11. This document originally at <http://www.sanedraw.com/LEARN/ACG/ART_120.HTM> Copyright 2010 by Sandro Corsi