ANM 324 Project 1

For most of you this first project is an adventure and a significant challenge because you are using a totally new piece of software with drawing tools that don’t feel very natural.  I appreciate those challenges and try to push you a bit in how you look at these everyday objects.  You’ll be seeing your skill with Illustrator grow enormously over the course of the first two projects.  Keep up the good work!

Here’s my general grading criteria for this project:

Note: 5pts deducted for missing group critique 10pts for missing submission deadline. You can view your grade and additional comments regarding late submissions or missing comments in the gradebook.

95-100-drawing is accurate, demonstrates good control of tools and includes accurate lighting effects (your subject had a high level of difficulty)

90-95-drawing is accurate, shows adequate control of tools lighting and fills considered but not complete or accurate (subject not as challenging)

85-90-drawing is accurate, fills not complete, lighting not adequately considered

80-85-drawing and use of tools lacks control, lighting not adequately considered

70-80-drawing not controlled, lighting not considered

70-below very late work

Anita Kunz Group

Emily Allred
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It’s clear that the controller you’ve drawn is a computer mouse. OK…the line segments that add detail are a little rough. This is largely due to the limited capability of the pencil tool which depends on a smooth control of the drawing device be it a mouse or track-pad. We will learn that the preferred tool is the pen. A good technique to consider is to draw on arc (such as the side detail) as good as you are able to draw it and then copy and paste multiple versions this will result in a very consistent series of arcs. I do like the gradient you’ve applied to the large oval shape. It implies a strong light from the left. The shadow under reinforces the light source and does add some depth. The shadows will look more realistic if the stroke is removed.

Yauheni Shubin-Wow your phone looks like it belongs in a Samsung advertisement. The detail is wonderful and highlights and shadows have been applied to give the phone a very realistic form. I’m especially impressed with the slightly off-center perspective that makes the illustration much more challenging.

You’ve applied gradients very effectively so that subtle edge lighting is very precise. The only finishing touch that would be nice is a cast shadow to place the phone standing or on a surface…I know, I’m being picky. Excellent work!

Elizabeth Harper-I really like the techniques you’ve used to render the phone. It is quite basic but you’ve use layers of rounded corner rectangles effectively and added a gradient to the red layer, which implies light coming from the left. The gradient looks a little dark as it blends to black. One thing you can try is to make the right stop of the gradient the same color as the left. Then double click to bring the color mixer up. From this menu you can make the red (cyan) darker without adding black (k). It’s a very subtle point but I think would make the lighting effect a bit more realistic. The cast shadow grounds the phone and helps us understand that is has depth too. The type adds detail and realism….overall a good controlled effort. More detail would be nice…for example, is the black center part decorative? Would it have a gradient too?

Rosenwald Group

Baotran Bui-I recognize the Wii controller since we have a couple of this hanging around our TV.

The shapes you’ve used are very well drawn and organized to illustrate the controller very effectively. I especially like the slight gradient on the right that shows the effect of light. This same light would also cast some very subtle shadows off the raised buttons…I’m thinking the top cross which is raised. You would have to define the buttons as raised, recessed or flat and add effects as needed. I think this would take the controller to the next level of detail. I would also like to see a cast shadow that shows us that the controller is either lying on a surface or standing. You have excellent control of the tools and the layout of buttons is very precise!

Igor Gaburic-Your head-on view of the phone makes it a little less challenging than an off-angle perspective. You have used the shape tools very effectively to show the details on the phone. I do like the cast shadow. The same light that’s casting a shadow would also have some effect on the surface areas of the phone. I’d like to see you show the screen and its shiny surface….a gradient would be very effective in doing this.
The added detail in the icons at the bottom is a nice touch. Would the controlling button at the bottom be recessed or raised? In either case an inner or outer shadow would give us better insight into its form.

Jerome Havens-Wow---your controller is very realistic. I especially like the depth you’ve created with the cast shadows on both the controller and some of the buttons. Your shapes are very precise and layered effectively.

Although it’s tempting to leave the outer strokes on the shapes they aren’t necessary or realistic. When you remove the stroke you do have to define shapes, such as the thumb controls, by changing their color or giving them a gradient fill. Overall I see excellent skill and lots of potential for you to explore in the next project!

Shamus Sullivan-The perspective you chose for your controller is extremely challenging. To effectively render this view you almost have to become and architect and visualize the vanishing points in the scene. You’ve done an excellent job on this. I would like to see more contrast in the illustration..it’s there but the tonal range of the fills is so close that it’s hard to make out the detail.
I think if you applied gradients (gray-black) you’d see much more form in the illustration. I’d also like to see a cast shadow. Excellent drawing skills! I’m already looking forward to your interior variations project where you can really put perspective an detailed drawing to work!

Kroencke Group

Van Do
-I’m impressed with the type and symbol details on your phone..they look very realistic. I can also see the soft gradient around the right and bottom edge which are very precise and clearly show the direction of light as well as the smooth surface of the phone. The perspective is a bit off…this is the tricky part. because we can see the front edges, the far left corner should recede or taper. I say this is tricky because the best way to make this adjustment is to edit the anchors that make up the shapes in that corner. We’ll be very involved with this in the next project. I think it would be a nice touch if you added a gradient to the screen to also show its smooth surface and grounded the device on a surface with a subtle cast shadow.

Olga Gaburici
- I’m not familiar with type of controller but it looks like it’s for movie playback. You’ve incorporated good basic shapes in your illustration. The left side corners are smoother than the right…maybe this is part of the design. The buttons on the perimeter are placed accurately and the text fits. The control at the center is not as precise as it could be. I know when drawing these individually it’s difficult to be accurate..that’s when you can take advantage of copy and paste. Just draw one good one and then copy and paste it for the opposite site. There is a very powerful alignment palette that will also align elements very accurately. I see you’ve taken lighting effects into consideration with the cast shadow…it would be a good technique to show this lighting consistently across the top by added shadows to the raised or recessed buttons to add form. I would recommend not using the stroke on shadows…they are more believable without the outline.

Jana Heidenreich-
I’m very impressed with the perspective you’ve incorporated into your phone..this is one of the most challenging aspects of drawing with illustrator. The detail in front edge is excellent and the gradients help the viewer understand the texture and shape of the surface. It looks like you accurately placed the image on phone screen. I think the overall appearance would have been better if the gradient across the screen was more transparent on the right side. Lighting effects and cast shadow are very well done! Nice work.

Robin Reeder
- It’s clear that you’ve drawn is one of the game controllers. OK…the line segments that add detail are a little rough. This is largely due to the limited capability of the pencil or brush tool, which depends on very precise control of the mouse or track-pad. We will learn that the preferred tool is the pen. The path around the main shape looks incomplete…this results in an open shape that won’t fill accurately with color. You probably ran into this problem. Open shapes fill based on the starting and end point of the path. You will have much better success by thinking of the parts of an illustration as closed shapes. The shadow under the controller reinforces the light source and does add some depth. The shadows will look more realistic if the stroke is removed and if you use a couple different grey shades so that there will be contrast between the darker side of the body and the cast shadow.

Olesya Sytnyk-Incredible detail! I really like the precision in your illustration. It’s quite challenging to draw the irregular shapes of the buttons as well as align them and add lettering. I especially like the way you’ve treated the screen with the gradient. It give us the impression of a smooth shiny surface. I’m not quite sure if the dark shape on the right is showing us the side of the phone or intended to be a cast shadow. If it’s the side of the phone then there is a slight ambiguity in the perspective. If I look at it as a shadow, then I think it would be better if it were not as symmetrical…if you based the shadow on the direction of the gradient light source it would be more realistic. This is a minor point..you’ve put a lot of effort into the illustration and it looks great!

Frazier Group-As a group, you’ve all done very good work with your illustrations!

Kristina Farrell-The attention to detail on your controller is outstanding. It looks very realistic and I especially like the gradient applied to the screen. You made the right side of the controller quite dark so it’s hard to see the buttons and the lighting effects applied to them. I do see the arrows on the left and the highlights and shadows give them depth and dimension…very nice!
The loop and the bottom left is a little rough…future mastery of the pen tool will make drawing this detail a breeze. The cast shadow effectively grounds the device on a surface and gives the viewer a clear sense of its volume and form.

Jasson Gist-I’m not familiar with this control box..maybe a bit old school? It’s a cool looking device and I’m particularly impressed with the perspective in your illustration. I know it’s quite challenging
to modify shapes align consistently with the vanishing points. The detail looks good and I can see a very faint shadow cast by the joystick. I would like to see more…perhaps make the surface color lighter to increase contrast with the shadow. With that strong shadow off the stick, I would also expect to see a similar and consistent shadow off the buttons. Good job grounding the device..I’d move it to hide the edge on the left or make that shadow edge goes along the whole left side.

Susan Jackson-Your illustration has great form! The overall lighting effects are very consistent. The gradient implies a slightly curved surface and the shadow on the speaker and screen reinforce the direction of light. I think it would be a plus if you showed some effect of light on the buttons, especially the numbers which appear to be flat. They are likely raised so a gradient on each might be a possible solution. Alignment looks very good and I especially like the icons you’ve drawn. The soft cast shadow completes the picture. Sweet!

Tiffany Ross-Wow…what can I say? The detail on your controller is impressive. I hope you used copy/paste to generate all the different shapes and maybe found the align tool to precisely arrange.
The type on the buttons looks great too. My only suggestion is to somehow add some highlight or shadow to those buttons. You have a very strong cast shadow so that light would also affect the buttons. There are a couple of approaches..you could add a very subtle gradient to the button that just gives a hint of dark on the right side of the button surface. Alternatively you could select each button and effect>stylize>drop shadow to create a small shadow to the right. This might require a slightly lighter background to enhance visibility. You’ve really done a nice job on this illustration and demonstrated excellent skill with the tools.

Devin Wren-Your Sony controller has very good detail..you clearly have good control of the shape tools and the ability to modify the shapes to create the handholds. Symbols and type are very precise. It doesn’t look like lighting effects were considered. At a minimum, a cast shadow would help ground the device and give us a better sense of the overall form. The next step would be to apply highlights and shadows to the buttons to show relief and depth. You’ll be able to use all these skills in the next project.