Week 1: Introductions & General Editing Techniques

Mac basics

Intro to Desktop Publishing

• Essential Concepts
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Shared concepts and shortcuts
• Create and arrange shapes
• Working with colour

Intro to Illustrator

 

Exercise: Create vector tile

Type

• Point type vs area type
• Type on a path, type in a shape
• Creating outlines

Exercise: Create type tile

Week 2: The Pen Tool

Intro to the Pen Tool

• Straight Edge shapes, constrained lines, curves, cornered curves, open shapes
• Editing paths with direct selection tool
• Converting Anchor Points
• Adding Artboards
• Grouping
• Isolation Mode

Exercise: Draw your name (first name straight. Surname curved)

Exercise: Pen tracing

Exercise: Pen Patterns

Exercise: Dino City Illustration

Week 3:  Further Drawing Techniques

• Drawing with Shapes
• The Pathfinder
• The Eyedropper
• Transform Again

 

Exercise: Classic Logos to Trace

 

Introduction to Client Brief

Exercise: Create Quintessential logo

• Trace Yoga Woman
• Create pattern repeats

 

 

Week 4: Vector Design

• Compound Paths
• Layers
• Select Spot colours
• Look at Kuler.Adobe.com
• Gradients
• Type on a path
• Installing Fonts
• Save for web

 

Exercise: Create a series of quintessential business card design variations

• Create alternate vector tracing
• Prepare for presentation to client. Save for Web

 

Week 5: Illustrator Extras

• Layer Styles
• Appearance
• Live Trace
• Transparency
• Clipping Masks
• Setting Bleed
• Save as PDF
• Overview of key techniques and concepts

 

Exercise: Colour Wheels

 

Exercise: Quintessential Stationary Package

• Prepare for client presentation
• Prepare Business Card for Print
• Document Setup
• Master Text Frame
• Place Text
• Text Wrap
• Working with Images
• Threading Text
• Hidden Characters
• Find / Replace
• Styles (Paragraph, Character, Object)
• Typographic formatting
• Indents and Spacing
• Overrides
• Bullets

  Week 6:  INTRO to InDesign. Layout

Week 7: Working with Type

 

Week 8: InDesign Page Design

• Tabs
• Text Frame Options
• Columns
• Object Styles
• Break out boxes
• Tables
• Master Pages
• Page Numbers
• Links panel
• Packaging for sharing
• Backwards compatibility

Week 9: InDesign  cont

 

Exercise: Quintessential Newsletter

Week 10: InDesign Wrap Up

• Working to a template
• Page numbers linked to table contents
• Load Colour Swatches
• Imposition
• Prepare for Print: Package, PDF

 

Exercise: Quintessential Spa Menu

 

Week 11: Intro to Photoshop

• Non Destructive Editing
• Understanding Resolution
• Image Sizing & File Types
• Cropping
• Perspective Crop

 

Exercise: Resolution & Image Quality

1      5CM sq

2      5, 10, 20, 50, 72, 100, 150, 200, 300

3      Low, Medium, High, Maximum

4      Upsizing 72 – 300, 5mm – 300mm

5      Resize Web Images for Print

6      Place into workbook and caption

 

Exercise: Pixel Art

10 CM

brushes, selections, gradients

 

Week 12:  Image Adjustment

• Adjustment Layers
• Levels
• Tonal Adjustment
• Colour Correction
• Hue Saturation
• Selection Tools
• Local Adjustments (masking)
• Editing Masks

 

Exercise: 3 Colour Tomatoes

Week 13: Photographic Montaging

• Placing images
• Smart Objects
• Making Selections
• Layer Masks
• Removing Backgrounds
• Layer Effects
• Blending Modes
• Combining Images
• Adjusting Canvass Size
• Clipping Adjustment Layers

 

Exercise: Surprise Party Poster

A4 150 PPI

 

Week 14:  Photographic Retouching

• Retouching tools (Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, Spot Healing Brush)
• Liquify
• Local tonal & Colour Adjustments
• Quick Selection
• Replacing Backgrounds
• Select by Colour Range
• Simulate Lighting Techniques

Exercise: Retouch Portrait

 

Week 15:  Putting it all together

• Overview of key techniques and concept
• Overview of web design in desktop publishing
• Ben’s top 5’s

 

Exercise: Finish Workbook

 

 

• Requests
• Photoshop: Converting a colour photo to black and white. I’ve experimented with a couple of different ways, but it would be great to learn how to do this properly.
• Cross Program Stuff
• Table of Contents