Illustration ART 322A - Illustration 1
Instructor: Erik Mark Sandberg
Office hours: M 5-7pm W 5-6pm Office: ADC 507
Classroom: ADC 505 M/W 2-4:45
Email: erik.sandberg@csun.edu / happy@eriksandberg.net
Catalog Description
Basic principles and practices of publication and advertising illustration. Projects emphasize
conceptual problem-solving, composition, and the development of personal style. Projects are
designed for inclusion in a professional portfolio. 6 hours lab.
Course Description
Image making is used in many markets including: publishing, advertising, entertainment industry,
corporations, merchandising and electronic media. Images are used for many products including:
books, magazines, greeting cards, calendars, clothing, house wares, posters, annual reports, CDs,
packaging, limited edition prints, etc. Professional illustrators have technical expertise,
personal style, problem-solving ability and conceptual creativity. This course is an introduction
to illustration as an art form and profession. This is a lab class that meets for six hours a
week.
The Goals of the Art Department are establishing and developing for students an inclusive and
balanced program in visual art, which encompass four areas of study: Art Education, Art History,
Studio Art, and Visual Communications.
Art Department Program Goals Addressed In This Course
Basic Skills: Developing a foundation of art knowledge, theories, skills, craftsmanship and
technologies, where ideas and concepts are communicated in writing, speaking and art making.
Art Knowledge: Broadening art and design knowledge through contemporary examples and to develop an
understanding of art within theoretical, cultural, and historical contexts.
Critical Thinking: Analyzing, interpreting, and questioning traditional methodologies and preconceived notions of art and art making through the process of generating and solving problems.
Interdisciplinary Connections: Exploring and engaging in interdisciplinary forms of art making.
Global Perspectives: Promoting an appreciation and tolerance of diverse perspectives dealing with
art, culture, teaching and learning.
Collaboration: Encouraging
faculty, and community.
both
individual
and
collaborative
art
experiences
among
students,
Professional Preparation: Developing career paths for various art professions and an understanding
of the demands and expectations of those areas.
Student Learning Outcomes
-To discover and apply various two-dimensional art media and techniques.
-To enable you to utilize and control the Elements and Principles of two-dimensional design.
-Students will acquire conceptual knowledge of art, accurately define and utilize the formal
vocabulary of the visual arts (Elements and Principles of design) to analyze works of art.
-Explore and utilize methods for visual problem-solving, acquire and demonstrate conceptual
knowledge of a diversity of 2-D forms, purposes, media, and functions of art as they respond to,
analyze, interpret and critique their own and others’ artworks.
-Students will acquire and demonstrate conceptual knowledge of 2-Dart in cultural context,
including the visual nature of contemporary culture, fine art and design, world arts, the history
and diversity of art in societies past and present.
-Students will be introduced to connections and relationships between visual and other arts, and
those between visual art and other discipline areas.
Course Objectives
Encourage conceptual thinking and ability to communicate to specific audiences. Develop students
personal voice, creativity, and artistic vision. Promote strong skills in design, research, and
new media techniques for execution. Study image making in terms of professional issues, markets,
exhibitions, and various commercial practices. Familiarize student with contemporary illustration,
Fine Art, and Printmaking.
Course Methods
Instruction will be achieved through slide presentations, media demonstrations, lectures,
individual and group critiques. All students are required to participate in group critiques.
Attendance Policy
Attendance is required. The following will be applied in determining the final grade in the
course. Two absences are allowed without penalty. If a family or work emergency occurs, that will
count as an absence. If you are sick, that counts as an absence. If your car breaks down and you
miss class, that counts as one absence. If you decide the beach is more important than class, that
counts as one absence. There is no such thing as an excused absence. If you have used up your two
absences, and you get sick and miss a third day, your final letter grade for the course gets
dropped by one-third, and so on for each additional absence. If illness requires more than four
absences, a medical withdrawal from the course is recommended. Late arrivals and early departures
of 20 minutes or more are considered absences Roll will be taken at the beginning of every class.
Three tardies count as 1 absence.
Texting or talking on the phone in class will be considered an absence.
Missed Critiques will result in an automatic grade reduction for that project.
Missed Class Policy
Lectures and demonstrations will not be repeated. Get the names and email of other students in the
class to contact them for missed information.
Name________________________________________ email_______________________________________
Name________________________________________ email_______________________________________
Grading Project Rubric: will be given on a standard 100 point scale.
You will be graded on the following:
Image Making: Use of images & understanding of image implementation in work.
Ideation & Iteration: Evaluation of process and artists work from start to finish.
Visual Literacy & Critical Analysis: How you relate to your work, how you understand your
development formally & critically & place this in a larger theoretical / social / educational
context.
Media Exploration: Not like craft, artist’s use of & experimental materials & making
methodologies.
Craft: How does the work look physically & in documentation.
A grading rubric sheet with will be given out after each project is completed. Your final grade
will be based on the numerical average of the 4 project grading sheets.
Grading is in accordance with university policy: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, and F
A= outstanding, B= good, C= average, D= unsatisfactory, F= failure
Assignments
Assignment I - Fortune Cookie
Assignment II Assignment III - Book or CD Covers
Experimental Sketch Book (graded in 2 parts)
GRADE EARNED
______________________25%
______________________25%
______________________25%
______________________25%
Supplies
The supplies you need will depend upon the techniques you decide to use for your assignments. This
can be completely open from everything from found material ex.(old books, road signs, oil paint,
oil bars, watercolor, gouache, resin, inks, mylar, canvas, synskin, plaster, silk-screen, etching,
block printing, Polaroid’s, digital prints, markers, graphite, acrylic paint, cloth, hair, food
coloring, plastic, wood, foam, wax, auto paint, bark, fur, fabric, felt, clay, wire, over sized
Xerox, cardboard, rope, twine, house paint, spray paint, glitter, video, video projection etc. or
any combination of these. Medium is open for all projects.
Please consult with me about the appropriate materials for execution of final art.
How to Present Your Work
All work presented for a grade should be clean and camera ready. This means it should be free of
fingerprints, dirt, tape, and anything else you would not want reproduced. Treat your final work
like you are a paper conservator for a museum with respect and utmost care. Cover your work with
glycine, tissue, ph neutral paper, or tracing paper if needed. Carry fragile works in a hard
folder, or 2 sheets of foam core two prevent damage.
Please use a large envelope or ring binder to house all preparatory drawings, process sketches,
reference, and inspirational material.
Preliminary Work
All students are required to use professional preparatory working methods in the development of
their illustrations, unless otherwise directed under project outline. Written work, concept lists,
and all other reference material.
Thumbnails – small drawings to work out some basic conceptual ideas and compositional elements,
these loose drawings are for you to get started forming the design of the visual image. These
drawings are for you to get started and not for sketch critique.
Comps – 1 drawing per 8 ½” X 11” inch paper with border reference drawn to give format indication.
Comp drawings should be clear enough for an art director… all elements, conceptual and visual must
resolved and communicate clearly in the sketch. - 4 required for each assignment you will be
hanging these on the wall for sketch critiques. You may write notes on the outside of the sketch
to clarify some color or material ideas.
Tight line drawing – final size and materials worked out with all resolved details and execution
plans, based on your continued research and original comp refinement.
Color study - (if needed)– can be done digitally, or with acrylic, oil, mixed media, colored
pencil, etc over light copy of your sketch. This step is a good idea when working out a multiple
colored image.
Final Art – Completed final piece camera ready and for final critique. Final art can be a digital
print or file.
Assignments
1)
EXPERIMENTAL SKETCHBOOK - This will be an semester long project and will be formally presented
near the end of the semester and reviewed by your peers.
2)
Fortune Cookie
Medium: open
Format: Open, Must have minimum of 2 works in the series
Subject: Depends on chance
Medium: open
Format/Size: open
Subject: Illustrate the fortune you randomly picked. Your solution can be dimensional, drawing
based, digital based, photographic based, figurative, non-figurative, or any combination of these.
Your given fortune will be what you have to illustrate. Most fortunes are laced in metaphors and
witty one liners. This makes great copy to do and an evocative conceptually based illustration.
Please avoid all cliché’s and obvious visual solutions when illustrating your fortune.
Objective: This assignment develops conceptual problem solving skills and the use of visual images
to communicate ideas and develop your personal voice.
Brainstorm 2 to 4 pages of random words and ideas that come to mind. This will help you gather the
appropriate visual elements to form the appropriate concept for the image or images.
What’s due?:
- A list of 10 printed concept sentences along with your fortune typed at the top. “A Man standing
with a dog.” is not a concept sentence.
- Choose 3 different conceptual directions from your list to due 6 comps from keeping in mind that
this project requires 2 works in series. The comps should be clear enough for an art director.
Please avoid all cliché’s and obvious
commenting on how the subjects can be
contemporary image making. The images
narrative based, representational, or
importantly say something interesting
references you understand.
visual solutions for your images. Work on visually
related to the “now”, your personal experiences, ideas, and
can be fun, serious, satirical with a social message,
abstract etc. Art is a language nothing more, most
and new. It sometimes helps to stick to metaphors and
Books to look at:
Vitamin D, Drawing Now Between the lines of Contemporary Art, American Illustration.
3)
BOOK COVER (front and back) or CD Cover Art (front and back, and inside)
Medium: ANY
Format: 1 cover illustration and 1 back cover piece of art for book, or 1 piece of art for cover
and backside art for CD, square format, additional images for inside welcome to complete the
package.
Subject: I will hand out 5 choices of books and CD titles to choose from prior to assignment.
Procedure for Cover Art
Create 2 pieces of art for an existing book or CD package. For class purposes, we are going to
give you 5 choices of each to choose from. Within the copy and music choices there will be a broad
range of demographics to think about, please choice one that will complete your portfolio tone.
The best covers tend to be metaphorical, visually interesting, clever, and sophisticated. Please
avoid all cliché images and metaphors for this assignment, UNLESS it is intentional.
What’s Due? Three cover comps, 3 back cover comps, one piece of finished cover art, one piece of
finished back cover art.
4)
FINAL PROJECT
Project 4 will be a collaborative small group project. Project description and creative brief will
be given out later in the semester.
Mon, Aug 24
Wed, Aug 26
Mon, Aug 31
Wed Sept 2
Mon, Sept 7
Wed, Sept 9
Mon, Sept 14
Wed, Sept 16
Mon, Sept 21
Wed, Sept 23
Mon, Sept 28
Wed, Sept 30
Mon, Oct 5
Wed, Oct 7
Mon, Oct 12
Wed, Oct 14
Mon, Oct 19
Wed, Oct 21
Mon, Oct 26
Wed, Oct 28
Mon, Nov 2
Wed, Nov 4
Mon, Nov 9
Wed, Nov 11
Mon, Nov 16
Wed, Nov 18
Mon, Nov 23
Wed, Nov 25
Mon, Nov 30
Wed, Dec 2
Mon, Dec 7
Finals Week
Class Introduction. Slide Show Lecture, Recycle book project given
Slide Show Lecture/ Project 1 given / concept development list exercise.
COMPS DUE FOR Fortune Cookie Project - GROUP CLASS CRITIQUE
Material and technique demos for possible use in sketchbooks and projects.
No Class Labor Day.
1 on 1 meeting to look over revised project 1 comps.
In class work on first assignment.
In class work on first assignment.
In class work on first assignment
Fortune Cookie Project Due - GROUP CLASS CRITIQUE.
Book Cover/CD project given SLIDE LECTURE
Material and technique demos, work on Book Cover/CD comps.
COMPS DUE FOR Book Cover/CD Project - GROUP CLASS CRITIQUE.
In class work on project & experimental sketchbook
In class work on project & experimental sketchbook
In class work on project & experimental sketchbook
In class work on project & experimental sketchbook
Mid Way Alternative Sketchbook Graded Review
Book Cover/CD PROJECT DUE - GROUP CLASS CRITIQUE
Slide Lecture - final project given.
FILM SCREENING
In class work on comps foe final project & alternative sketchbooks
COMPS DUE FOR FINAL PROJECT CLASS CRITIQUE
No class due to holiday
Illustration Market lecture and technique demo
In class work on final project & experimental sketchbook
In class work on final project & experimental sketchbook
In class work on final project & experimental sketchbook
EXPERIMENTAL SKETCHBOOK DUE - PEER GRADING SESSION
In class work on final project.
FINAL PROJECT DUE - GROUP CLASS CRITIQUE
TBA
All revisions for change of grade are due in the drop box by end of finals week.
Handing in work:
We will be using a drop box account for handing in all projects and comps. During final in class
critiques you will be hanging original works. Please photograph or scan them to be handed in on
drop box (72 dpi jpeg files.) I will be reviewing these files when filling out the grading sheets.
322B > find the folder labeled with your name.
Dropbox.com
Username: info@eriksandberg.net
Password: accd1488!