October 8, 2014

What’s due for this class?

1. DUE: Final inked version of your Pattern Mashup on a piece of 9″x12″ bristol board, based on your finalized preparatory compositions. Come prepared to present your work!
2. Post to the blog.
   • Create a new blog post called Sound Visualizations: Phase 2.
   • Take photos of your finished Inked Pattern Mashup and add them to the post (make sure it is well-lit and in focus.)
   • Include the hours that you worked on this part of the project.
   • Don’t forget to comment on at least 3 other student’s posts.
3. Materials needed: Flash/jump drive.

Critique

Present your finished inked mashups to the class.

Discussion

• Sampling
• Fair Use
• Copyright

Examples:

• Stayin’ Alive In The Wall (Pink Floyd vs Bee Gees Mashup) by Wax Audio
• “Hahahrawrrahaha” Someone made a song using Jeff Goldblum’s weird laugh from Jurassic Park
• Brian Williams Raps “Rapper’s Delight“
• ‘The Great Gatsby’ Mash-Up Turns Leonardo DiCaprio Into a ‘My Little Pony‘
• A Designer’s Midcentury-Mod Music-Graphics Mashups
• Esoteric mash up
• The Magic of Mashups – Corporate Logos
• 7 Mashups That Will Change The Way You Look At Music Forever

Lab 1 : Scanning and preparing digital files

SCAN:

• Create a folder on your drive called FirstInitalLastNameMashup
• Scan your finished inked Pattern Mashup (300dpi, grayscale, jpg).
• Save this hi-res file as FirstInitalLastNameMashupHIRES.jpg to the folder you just created.
• Open your file in Photoshop, rename it FirstInitalLastNameAnimatedMashup.jpg and save it to the same folder. Make the following adjustments:
  • Image size: 72 dpi, constrain proportions
  • Color Mode: RGB
• SAVE AGAIN.

PREP in Photoshop:

• Using the slice tool, slice up each pattern square for use in your animation.
• We will do this together in class.
• Save your files to your FirstInitalLastNameMashup folder.

LAB 2: Animating your mashup

You will create an animation using the sample files provided (here) and then repeat the process with your own images once your inked mashup has been scanned.

1. Visit animatron.com
2. Watch the starter tutorial.
3. Create an account or login via social media.
4. From the Animatron icon in the upper left corner, choose Project > New Project.
5. Name the project: FirstInitalLastNameAnimatedMashup
6. From the Animatron icon in the upper left corner, choose Import: Image, SVG, Audio, Font 
7. Navigate to the sample images or your own sliced images and import.
8. Click on the Project Library button, you should see all the images.
9. Set the size of the project to: 864 high x 648 wide
10. Move the Time Duration Flag to 2 seconds.
11. Now you are ready to begin!

Guidelines:

• Create a minimum 2 second animation using slices from your scanned inked Pattern Mashup.
• Start with a blank screen (at 0 seconds) and animate the sliced images onto the screen to assemble the mashup using translate, rotate, scale and opacity tweens (at 1 second).
• Then copy and paste the starting keyframes (at 0 seconds) to the 2 second marker. This will allow the animation to loop (blank screen > assembled mashup > blank screen).
• Adjust the keyframes so that there is a pause/hold around the 1 second marker. We want to be able to see the assembled mashup for a brief time before it breaks apart again.
• If you’d like to increase your animation to longer than 2 seconds that’s fine too.

Tutorials:

What is a TWEEN?

The four types of tweens in Animatron are:

1. Translate – changes in an object’s position on the canvas.
2. Rotate – changes in an object’s angle.
3. Scale – changes in an object’s size. (IMPORTANT!! don’t increase a bitmap object’s size)
4. Opacity – changes in an object’s transparency.

Use these four types of tweens to animate your mashup from a blank screen (0 second marker) to assembled mashup (1 second marker) using keyframes.  Return to a blank screen again (2 seconds marker) by copying the starting keyframes and pasting them at the end.

Troubleshooting:

• Check out the knowledge base page and tutorials page for answers.
• Contact me with questions.

Exporting the animation:

There are two ways to export or publish the animation once competed. Do both.

• HTML5: this will create a link to page that will play the animation
• GIF: this will give allow you to save the animated gif, but at a lower frame rate (10 fps)

Homework

1. Complete Staccato / Legato Animated Mashup.
   • Bring the HTML5 link and the animated gif to class.
   • Find your hi-res and sliced images for animation in this Dropbox folder.
   • NOTE: If you didn’t finish your inked mashup, please scan and slice using the guidelines above.
2. All parts of Project #2 will be due on Wed. 10/14, but we will add audio to your mashup in class and finish it together.
   • Bring two audio files (mp3, wave, aiff, m4a, ogg) to work with: one staccato rhythm and one legato rhythm.
   • You may also use the sample audio files provided.
3. Materials Needed for next project:
   • white and black gouache paints
   • sable-type watercolor brushes (do not buy brushes for acrylic or oil)
     • FLAT:  1/2″ angle, #4
     • ROUND: #1, #5
   • two water containers (yogurt cups, soda bottles with tops cut off, soup cans)
   • palette (round 10-well)
   • cotton rags (old white t-shirts or scraps)

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September 30, 2015

Materials Need for This Class:

• Sketchbook
• Pencils (wide range from 4h to 4B)
• A song or piece of music that you like

Discussion (15 min)

The Elements: basic components used as part of any composition, independent of the medium.

1. Line: An series of points, which has length and direction. It can be the connection between two points, the space between shapes, or the path of a moving point. A closed line creates a shape.

The Principles: basic assumptions that guide the design practice.

1. Rhythm: Is a repeated pattern, such as what we hear in music. In different art forms, it can be a very complex interrelationship or a regular, steady beat.
   1. Repetition: Repeating a sequence; occurring more than a few times. In design, repetition can create visual consistency and a sense of unity.
   2. Pattern: Unbroken repetition, the repeating of an line, object or symbol.
   3. Variety: Visual rhythm is often punctuated with variations or changes in color, texture, or form. Creating variety is easy. Too much variety can lead to chaos and confusion for the viewer. A designer must effectively use pace and spacing to create rhythm and achieve unity in a composition.
   4. Monotony: Without variety or change, excessive repetition can lead to boredom and uninteresting compositions.

References:

• Pattern and Rhythm in Nature
• Pattern and Rhythm in Art and Design:

Lab 1: Project #2 | Sound Visualizations

Line Networks : Monotony and Variety

Create two types of pencil drawings in your sketchbook.

The first drawing will demonstrate a lack of variety or monotony by visualizing a piece of music with very little variety and contrast. The second drawing will visualize a song or series of songs that have variety and obvious changes in meter, pitch, and volume. Both drawings will use a network of repeated horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines to demonstrate visual pattern, repetition and rhythm. If the music ends before your drawing is finished — REPEAT.

Monotony Line Network (LISTEN MP3): 

• To begin this drawing, simply create a freehand line from top edge of the page to bottom or in whatever direction you “hear”.
• Continue creating the “vibrations” of this line until the entire page is filled with lines eminating off of this original line. Once you get to the edge of the paper, turn the paper 90 degrees and create a grid– drawing intersecting lines across the same page.
• Working slowly, with intention, try to keep your lines consistent, close together, and evenly spaced (this is hard– nearly impossible, actually). Create several versions of this drawing in your sketchbook, using one type of pencil for the whole drawing- perhaps a soft pencil (2B or 4B).
• Your final drawing should look like a grid, woven fabric, or network of lines.

Variety Line Network (LISTEN MP3): 

• As soon as you hear the music, consider the sound you hear and visualize it as a line.
• Choose a pencil (hard or soft) and start drawing lines– don’t draw anything recognizable.
• Let your pencil move in one direction, until you hear the sound change. At that moment, change the direction/angle/length/weight of your line.
• Notice how easy it is to create variety and how quickly your drawing become cluttered, chaotic, and confused. Let this happen.
• Create several versions of this drawing in your sketchbook, using a variety of line weights and styles (thick, thin, medium, short, long, broken). Choose to make a mark based what you “hear”.  For example, if you hear a low tone, perhaps your marks should become thicker, denser or darker.
• In some parts of your drawing you may make lines so dense that groups of lines become solid shapes. In other areas, your lines may be light, thin, and sparse.
• Take the entire page into consideration– observing figure/ground, unity, and economy, even if these principles are lacking.

In your sketchbook you should complete at least:

• 2 Monotony Line Networks
• 2 Variety Line Networks

Lab 2

Staccato / Legato Pattern Mashup PREP

• Take out a soft pencil #3B and your sketchbook.
• Rhythmic Line Test 1: Listen to this song: Another One Bites the Dust and draw a line representing its rhythm across your first sheet of paper. Repeat and refine until you get a variety of interesting lines. How would you describe these lines?
• Rhythmic Line Test 2: Listen to this song: Summertime and draw a line representing its rhythm across your second sheet paper.Repeat and refine until you get a variety of interesting lines. How would you describe these lines?
• Patterns: Now create at least 12 thumbnails: 6 for Staccato and 6 for Legato. Using your rhythmic line tests as a guide, create 6 patterns that represents STACCATO and 6 patterns that represents LEGATO.  Continue to refine these patterns. Try varying the line weight (thick and thin) and the spacing (tight and wide) between the lines. Let the rhythm of the music dictate the look and feel of your patterns.

Homework

1. Post your Phase 1 of Project #2 writing to the class blog, describing the pattern, repetition, line, shapes you “hear” in your favorite song. Comment on at least 3 other students posts.
2. Complete Staccato / Legato Pattern Mashup PREP (See Lab 1 above).
3. Post an image or image gallery of your Humument pages.
   • Post title: Humument #1
   • Category: Humument
   • Tags (some or all, depending on your compositions): Organic Shape, Geometric Shape, Frame, Figure-Ground, Obvious, Ambiguous, Positive Space, Negative Space, Unity, Economy
4. Materials Needed: Sketchbook with and variety of pencils — plus inking pens, 9×12″ bristol.

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September 21, 2015

Class Prep

1. ALL PARTS OF Project #1 are DUE.
   • Bring all work to class for critique.
   • Label your inked thumbnails and cut paper compositions ON THE BACK with your full name and the project number (ie: Project #1)
   • Protect your work with tracing paper and transport in a portfolio (refer to recent demo).
2. Materials needed THIS class:
   • Sketchbook
   • Pencils (wide range from 4h to 4B)
   • Inking pens (range from thick to thin)
   • HUMUMENT BOOK!!! If you don’t have your book, points will be deducted from your grade.

Critique

• Present your Project 1 work to the class.
• State your full name and your understanding of the project goals (ie: what is the point?)
• Discuss and analyze your finished work in terms of concept, craft, and the design process.
• Cleary describe what works and what doesn’t work using the project vocabulary:
  • Shape (Organic, Geometric)
  • Frame
  • Figure-Ground (Obvious, Ambiguous, positive space, negative space)
  • Unity
  • Economy
• Your peers and professors will provide constructive feedback.
• Take a photo of your work as it is presented in the critique to use on your final Phase 4: Delivery post.

Discussion / Lab

Using Tom Phillips’ original Humument project as a guide, create a series of pages in your chosen book that demonstrate the concepts we’ve covered in class so far.

Each page should clearly visually communicate these concepts to your reader/viewer:

• Shape (Organic, Geometric)
• Frame
• Figure-Ground (Obvious, Ambiguous, positive space, negative space)
• Unity
• Economy

Experiment with blocking out and/or revealing certain areas of text or individual words to communicate your concepts.

Use pencils, inking pens and black paper (collage) to create your pages.

These should be beautiful objects when complete.

Homework

1. Finish Humument work and come prepared to present to the class.
2. Complete your final post (Phase 4: Deliver) for this project:
   • Create a new blog post called Urban Artifact: Phase 4.
   • In the post, document your thoughts about this project. Think about what you learned, what you could have done better (planning, material use, craft), and how you will apply what you learned to your next project. Consider and respond to the comments made in class during the critique.
   • Include the photo of the work as it is presented during the critique (ie: hanging on the wall).
   • Don’t forget to comment on at least 3 other student’s posts.

Materials needed for next class:

• Sketchbook
• Pencils (wide range from 4h to 4B)
• Inking pens (range from thick to thin)

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