Design Technology Project 3: New Faces in Strange Places
Summary:
For my Design Technology course, Spring 2024, our third project was based in Adobe Illustrator. We drew topics, and the goal was to create an illustration depicting that idea. Over the course of a couple weeks, I designed an illustration of an alien painting a cityscape of their home city.
Ideation:
To begin this project, I first drew my subjects out of a cup. I received "a painter on another planet." With this information, I began creating a word list, in which I wrote down every related word I could think of. This word list inspired my first sketch, which ended up being my final idea.
My character is an alien on a thriving non-earth planet. They are on the hillside a distance away from the main bustling cityscape. The background sky has no light other than the stars as they have no sun in their galaxy. The character feels content being away from the “buzz” and painting the cityscape peacefully.
Goals:
For this project, my goals were to further my skills in Adobe Illustrator. More specifically, I aimed to become more comfortable using the pen tool fluidly, to learn and use the shortcuts available, and to become fully comfortable using the shape tools. I also hoped to understand and make use of the masks and layers. Lastly, I wanted to learn and practice the use of colors to create depth in my illustrations.
Work in Progress:
Throughout the project, I took screenshots so that I could show my progress from start to finish. The first thing I did was create my background. Then, I added more layers, such as "sky" and "buildings." I created the planet and the stars using the shape tool and the gradient tool, and also added a glow effect. I then started with my first layer of buildings in the back, by placing shapes in varying colors. I added the details of the windows and shading, and then repeated this process for the other two rows of buildings. I added the UFOs placed behind varying layers to help create dimension and the idea of distance. I also added a glow effect to the lights coming from these. Next, I added the small details of the silhouettes in the windows of the buildings. I then took the entire top half of the image and copied it in a smaller scale, at an angle to create the easel for the painting. I then made the easel and the alien painter, once again using the shape tool, but also using the pen tool for many of the more freeform shapes. Lastly, I gave the alien features such as eyes and clothing.
Final Work:
My final artwork is an accurate execution of my original sketched idea. There is a dark night sky, with illuminated stars and a planet. Rows of buildings form a glowing and colorful cityscape full of life. In front of the rolling purple hills, an alien stands, capturing the whole scene with a brush and a canvas.
Knowledge Gained:
From this project, I have gained so much knowledge in many varying forms. I completed my goals of fluid use of the pen tool, shortcuts, and shape tools, and a significantly better understanding of layers and color usage. I have also learned more skills outside of Adobe Illustrator, such as ideating and developing my personal style. Overall, I am extremely proud of this work and feel that it has contributed heavily to my development as an artist.
