Gary Poulton said:

Check out Computer Arts @http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials

Some great Photoshop, Illustrator etc tutorials (with an illustration focus) that will put some punch into any programs / courses you design around them.

Be prepared to spend some time looking....there's a lot to look through.

So glad I followed this discussion. Thanks Gary. Computer Arts is fantastic. The time to check it out is well worth it!!!!!!!!

Those are great posts from Erik and Gary.

To bring more drawing to my curriculum I'm going to use some of Erik's approach but as we do no pencil and paper work I'll need to adapt for a strictly digital environment. I've got 40 kids and computers and space is at a premium. Still, I think adapting the ideas will help. I'd not considered the "fan art" element. I've noted it's really important to align with interests of the students anywhere possible to create more meaning for them. I think this "fan art" is a great idea. I'll have to look into more about that, perhaps Erik has some links that can better define that for me.

Gary has given us a look at our future. The drawings that were linked represent some unique potential for interpretation by the viewer. Also they are images that are not readily identifiable as being created with a familiar software technique. I teach digital photography as well as graphics. Students now have phones that are close to the quality of many "point & shoot" cameras. The graphic capabilities of pads & phones are going to democratize graphics in a sense. Up 'til now we've had to have expensive computers and software to create digital graphics. Inexpensive apps and comparatively inexpensive pads open up a new avenue for digital creativity. This includes video and audio as well as drawing and design.

I don't want to get too far off the thread here as we started with a discussion of drawing and illustration. I'll offer a link to a poorly maintained web 1.0 site I use with my classes.

http://thscg.ttsd.k12.or.us/

My goal here is to create more focus on drawing in my student projects and tapping more individual creativity.

In my lab I have one Cintiq that I was able to order before the budget crunch in Pennsylvania, and three Intuios medium tablets I ordered 22 bamboo tablets but won't know if they were actually ordered until Thursday. Each year I get one or two talented "drawers" who take to the Cintiq like fish to water. They love love love it. But at $1000, I only have the one. It makes a huge difference in their interest in drawing, because they are actually drawing instead of importing an image or clipart from the web and tracing it.

Check out these proceedural drawing tools for drawing with iPad or online

http://garypoulton.com/ipad-apps/harmony-drawing/

http://garypoulton.com/ipad-apps/sketch-club-2/

http://garypoulton.com/ipad-apps/live-sketch-hd/ (have not yet posred samples for this. Apologies)

Thanks, Chuck.

I start off showing bits of artwork to wet their appetites to create amazing work. For teens to college students I would show video game fan art, or "fan art" in general. You might get a mix of stuff but the concept of 'fan art' is that it's created by the same age group as our students. With the wacom you can create awesome illustrations for a childrens book (that's a project idea), or a painterly peice using an analogous color set.

Also, I looked at my course and it's a mess, and I realized I don't even have documentation on step by step procedures on how I get to the end result... I'll have to start recording my demos... promise. :)

In the order of things, this is how it goes:

1. Basics of Drawing, Drawing what you see, not what you 'think' you see (pencil and paper)
2. Drawing simple objects (pencil and paper)
3. Drawing the human form (pencil and paper)
4. Think of a spirit animal that represents you, draw 5-10 thumbnail ideas (ideas range in different styles: logo, realistic, silouhette, illustrated)
5. Going digital - Start with Illustrator
6. Setting up brushes in Illustrator, we set up the same brush sizes as the ink pens I require them to buy: 1pt, 3pt, 5pt, & 8pt - round tip with pressure sensitivity.
7. We practice line drawings, importing in photos on one layer, creating a new one, and drawing on top with different sized brushes... at this point i talk to them about "line weight" how a line with thicks and thins are more interesting to the eye and dynamic (comic book illustrators use this alot).
8. So then we create a nice looking piece in Illustrator incorporating their original drawing of their spirit animal (pencil sketch), and they draw ontop as if they were "inking" it, then they color it.
9. We then move onto Photoshop, same procedure - we go over Brushes first... size, pressure, how to make them... this gets pretty in-depth, I show them how to take a grayscale image of anything and create a brush from it, then by having the brush panel open we go over all the cool tweaks you can do with the custom brush: pressure on the size, make it rotate with the direction of the pen, opacity variable on pressure, color mix on pressure... lots...
10. So by picking one of the generic brushes that photoshop gives you... like the square or triangle - you can adjust scatter, size random, and create a simple art peice using one brush... once they see that, they start to understand the power of the brush panel.
11. I end the semester class by having them do some remarkable peices to put in their portfolio... a very interesting line drawing in illustrator, and a piece in Photoshop.

It is heartening to me that schools in Taiwan value drawing. Building confidence in drawing should come much younger in a students schooling than it does here in the U.S.

The approach I am currently considering would involve building a vocabulary of shape development that would allow students to create recognizeable forms and build upon that to create realism.

I'm hoping to uncover advantages for students learning to draw on the computer without significant prior drawing experience. I always encourage my students to take drawing and painting classes along with our digital arts classes but with budget restrictions limiting options not every student can or will do this.

I am teaching High School in Taiwan. My students come to me extremely proficient drawers, which is something new for me having taught in the US for many years.

I welcome any ideas that anyone can give to me! Wow, everyone has great input.

I had to look up "lodites", didn't get a satisfactory definition but I think I get your drift. Kids in high school seem to arrive having made decisions about their ability to draw. The majority of my students are curious about the tablet and will use it. Of those the majority that try will stick with it where it is appropriate to the task. Part of the challenge is that some students come to the computer thinking that the software will create graphics for them. That is, the task will be easier on the computer than with paper.

As I start the school year here I can pass along a couple ideas for you. It would be helpful to know, which software are you using with students?

I'd like to know if this material is designed for high school or college. Granted, I teach at a tiny, rural high school tech center but I've had real issues finding kids who like to draw. The drawing unit we have going is barely tolerated by most and in rare incidences where I do have 2 or 3 into drawing and illustration, they (so far) have turned out to be dedicated lodites. This kills me because I was a medical illustrator in my past life and drawing on the computer was how I got my pay check.

Also, they have a tough time with the Wacom tablet. I hide the mice on them until second semester thinking that they will eventually prefer the pen, but that has not been the case. Does anyone have any activities that can change their attitude about it?

It's not dead! We're doing it, too!

I don't know if I'll get struck down by Adobe for saying this, but we introduce our kids to Toon Boom Animate Pro and 3DS Studio Max to get them into digital illustration. It's also alive and well in game design, where character development is crucial. I wish I could convince someone at Wacom that I really *need* a classroom of Cintiqs, but we "suffer thrugh" with a couple of Bamboos. I always laugh at the kids the first time they try them... Chuck is right; the disconnect from hand to screen is hysterical. BUT: it immediately gives my kids some perspective on design.

"Ms. Mac, this is HARD."

I know, baby. I know. Now keep trying.

I think that sounds like an awesome class, though. You could fill an entire year with that subject alone. Unfortunately, I only have 20 days to contribute to it, and that hardly scratches the surface.

@Chuck, I'll have to clean up some documents, but I will get them on here and I'll post here when I do.

If Erik has posted a syllabus or examples of his approach I'd appreciate a look.

Mentioning the tablets is crucial here. My classes have been using them for sometime but there is a learning curve. Many students are intimidated, they expected the computer to do more of the work for them. For those with more skill they are usually coming from working on paper. They find it odd to be drawing one place and viewing the results in another.

Illustrator has come a long way with regard to the tablets. The "blob brush" has a lot of possibilities.

I think the digital enviorment could be a great place to teach isometric perspective too.

I teach this exact same class "Graphic Illustration" - when I first started teaching I asked many students about the tablets... "no, I don't know how to use that"... so I turned it into a class. We start with the basics of drawing, then start learning how to use the tablet... we cover drawing in both photoshop and illustrator, how to make custom brushes, and apply it to illustration.

Awesome posts, keep 'em coming.

Thank you, Gary. I will check it out.

Cheers

Judy

Check out Computer Arts @http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials

Some great Photoshop, Illustrator etc tutorials (with an illustration focus) that will put some punch into any programs / courses you design around them.

Be prepared to spend some time looking....there's a lot to look through.

I assume you are working in Higher Ed. That seems to be the only way a student would have had time to acquire those prerequisite skills.

I think structuring assignments that could apply to a variety of skill levels would be beneficial. I do like the idea of a focus on illustration as opposed to design in general. I think students should understand the differences there.