Weekly Sketching Exercises
To augment the work you will be doing in Visual Communications 1, we will be devoting the first 30 minutes of each studio class to sketching.
Process:
Most weeks there will be an online tutorial/demo that is relevant to the sketches for the week. You need to watch BEFORE class.
Begin each sketching session with the warm up exercises shown in the first video demos (point-to-point line making and ellipse practice). This should only take a few minutes. Then, work on the current week’s subject until instructed otherwise.
Use a new sheet of paper for each session, and add additional sheets as necessary. Use loose paper that you keep in a separate binder/folder etc. Don’t use a bound sketchbook for these exercises. We will pin up your “best” sketch from the previous week each Monday, and sketchbooks are not suited to this purpose.
Save all of your sketches (even the bad ones!). We will compile them into a sketching portfolio at the end of the semester
Deliverables:
The number of required sketches will vary with the assignments, but you will PRESENT at least one sketch each week.
Due Dates
Work should be pinned up at the beginning of class on the due date. The tentative schedule is as follows:
Week 1 - Warmups and Boxes
Mon. Week 2 - Milk Carton
Wed. Week 3 - Funnel and Aluminum Can
Mon. Week 4 - Toothpaste Tube
Mon. Week 5 - Abstract Forms
Mon. Week 6 - Toaster
Mon. Week 7 - Stapler
Mon. Week 8 - Tape Measure
Mon. Week 9 - Salt and Pepper Grinders
Fri. Week 10 - Long Lighter
Wed. Week 11 - Bluetooth Speaker
Mon. Week 12 - Martini Glass and Shaker
Mon. Week 13 - Wagon
Fri. Week 13 - Open Sketch
Week 14 - Thanksgiving
Fri. Week 15 - Electric Kettle
Week 16 - Sketching Portfolio (during final critique)
Mon. Week 2 - Milk Carton
Wed. Week 3 - Funnel and Aluminum Can
Mon. Week 4 - Toothpaste Tube
Mon. Week 5 - Abstract Forms
Mon. Week 6 - Toaster
Mon. Week 7 - Stapler
Mon. Week 8 - Tape Measure
Mon. Week 9 - Salt and Pepper Grinders
Fri. Week 10 - Long Lighter
Wed. Week 11 - Bluetooth Speaker
Mon. Week 12 - Martini Glass and Shaker
Mon. Week 13 - Wagon
Fri. Week 13 - Open Sketch
Week 14 - Thanksgiving
Fri. Week 15 - Electric Kettle
Week 16 - Sketching Portfolio (during final critique)
Evaluation Criteria
Due to the progressive nature of sketching skills, sketches must be completed in sequence. Late work will receive credit, but subsequent sketches will not be accepted until all previous sketches have been completed. For example, you must complete exercise 5 before you begin or receive credit for exercise 6. Sketches will be evaluated based on the criteria below, but they are essentially pass/fail. Points will be earned at three levels: exceptional (100%), acceptable (90%), and missing (0%).
1. Perspective Accuracy (as evidenced by construction lines)
2. Line Quality (clean and confident)
3. Rendering/Shading Quality
4. Readability (multiple line weights, broad value range, etc)
5. Level of detail (features, surface textures, etc)
2. Line Quality (clean and confident)
3. Rendering/Shading Quality
4. Readability (multiple line weights, broad value range, etc)
5. Level of detail (features, surface textures, etc)
Tools and Materials
You will be purchasing a set of tools that are specified for your Visual Communications 1 class, and many of these tools will be used for both courses. If your VC1 instructor requires something similar to the items below, you don't have to purchase two sets. These recommendations are simply an attempt to make the most of your money. If you have different brand preferences, you may use the tools that you prefer. However... you will need to be able to produce marker sketches with both fine lines and gray fields on individual sheets of paper very early in the semester, so show up to the second class ready to sketch.
Black Fine Liner Inking Pens of various weights: Copic, Micron, Pilot, PaperMate, Sharpie, Pentel are all good choices
Gray Copic Multiliner Inking Pens: the 0.3 is the most useful, but you can get a set with multiple weights. You will use these fairly often so get the set or get more than one of your favorite.
Copic Gray Classic (or Sketch) Markers: You can buy a matched set of grays or just get 0, 1, 2, 4, 7. You will likely need refills of 0, 1, 2, and 4 fairly early in the semester.
Copic Color Marker(s): Markers are expensive. You will only need a few colors. Don’t buy a full set...
White Pen: Pitt Pen or Uniball Signo are good choices
Range of Graphite Pencils: whatever you have from last year should be fine. We will be mostly working ink, but some of you may prefer to use pencil for ideation
Range of Colored Pencils: Again, whatever you have from last year should be fine. However, a white pencil is particularly useful. Get one if you don't have one already.
9”x12” Marker Paper: Bienfang 360 and Canson XL are both easy to find. Transotype is the best (according to Spencer) but harder to find.
Copy Paper: Copy paper is fine for sketching, but it soaks up more ink and bleeds more. Still... some designers prefer it to marker paper. It's your choice.
Laptop/desktop: as specified by the college/department. Personally, I recommend a laptop rather than a desktop computer.
iPad: as issued by the college. You will be using this more in the spring semester than the fall. We will be mostly working with analog materials (pens, markers, and paper) this semester.
Required Software: Adobe CC on laptop or desktop computer including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fresco. You will probably also be using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Powerpoint)
Gray Copic Multiliner Inking Pens: the 0.3 is the most useful, but you can get a set with multiple weights. You will use these fairly often so get the set or get more than one of your favorite.
Copic Gray Classic (or Sketch) Markers: You can buy a matched set of grays or just get 0, 1, 2, 4, 7. You will likely need refills of 0, 1, 2, and 4 fairly early in the semester.
Copic Color Marker(s): Markers are expensive. You will only need a few colors. Don’t buy a full set...
White Pen: Pitt Pen or Uniball Signo are good choices
Range of Graphite Pencils: whatever you have from last year should be fine. We will be mostly working ink, but some of you may prefer to use pencil for ideation
Range of Colored Pencils: Again, whatever you have from last year should be fine. However, a white pencil is particularly useful. Get one if you don't have one already.
9”x12” Marker Paper: Bienfang 360 and Canson XL are both easy to find. Transotype is the best (according to Spencer) but harder to find.
Copy Paper: Copy paper is fine for sketching, but it soaks up more ink and bleeds more. Still... some designers prefer it to marker paper. It's your choice.
Laptop/desktop: as specified by the college/department. Personally, I recommend a laptop rather than a desktop computer.
iPad: as issued by the college. You will be using this more in the spring semester than the fall. We will be mostly working with analog materials (pens, markers, and paper) this semester.
Required Software: Adobe CC on laptop or desktop computer including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fresco. You will probably also be using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Powerpoint)