Day 2

Objectives

General objectives

  • Students will be able to keep their artwork organized
  • Students will be able to combine shapes

Specific learning outcomes

  • Organize Objects
    • Students will understand alignment and grouping of objects
    • Students will be able to work with the layers panel (if you didn’t get to it on day 1)
    • Students will be able to create groups
  • Combine and organize shapes
    • Students will be able to transform objects (rotate, reflect, etc.)
    • Students will be able to copy and paste objects in a variety of ways
    • Students will be able to create a complex shape by combining simple ones

Practice files: https://files.learnsoftware.org/illustrator/

Outline

Intro/Hook [Icons.ai or Logos.ai, preferably one that is at least partially completed by you]

Organize shapes

  • Alignment
    • Options in properties panel or object menu
    • Example Question: (using Icons.ai file) How can we get these shapes aligned to make this icon?
  • Groups
    • (cmnd/ctrl + g)
    • Example Question: Why might it be useful to put your shapes into groups?
  • Isolation mode
    • Double click to enter isolation mode
    • Can edit single parts of a group

Combine and organize shapes

  • Transformations (rotate and reflect)
    • In properties panel, by right-clicking on object, or object menu
  • Copy/paste
    • (cmnd/ctrl + c -> cmnd/ctrl + v) copy and paste
    • (cmnd/ctrl + c -> cmnd/ctrl + f) copy and paste in front
    • (cmnd/ctrl + c -> cmnd/ctrl + b) copy and paste in back
    • (alt/option + drag)
    • Example Question: What’s the benefit of copying and pasting in front or back?
  • Shape builder tool (shift + m)
    • select shapes first, click and drag to combine
    • (alt/option) to subtract
    • Example Questions: (while using Icons.ai and Logos.ai files to demonstrate) What parts of these shapes should we keep or remove? What shapes or parts of shapes do you see in this logo?
  • Intertwine Tool
    • Object > Intertwine > Make
    • Circle parts of objects that you want to intertwine
    • Works great for the Olympics Logo
  • Example Questions: (using Logos.ai file) How could you use the tools we’ve talked about today (including shapes, transformations, and the shape builder or pathfinder tools) to create this complex logo? What problems are arising as you are creating these logos?

Conclusion

  • Recap
    • Organizing and combining shapes
  • Next time
    • Color
  • Badges

Example Activities

Icons.ai

Students use the copying/pasting, alignment, and groups to organize basic shapes, then combine those shapes using the shape builder tool to create icons.

  • Remind the students that some of the icons can’t be aligned simply. You’ll need to group, align, and ungroup sets of shapes, or sometimes rotate them to get everything right.
  • Once you have gotten the alignment right (or just using the provided aligned shapes), use the shape builder tool to turn those simple shapes into the icons.

Logos.ai

Students build famous logos from basic shapes using shape tools, transformations, and the shape builder.

  • Practice a few logos together, then let students build some on their own
  • Target and Mickey Mouse are the simplest examples. Start with them (especially Mickey Mouse) to demonstrate shapes and the shape builder
  • Use transformations when possible, for practice and to achieve precise results
    • Copy and paste (using Alt + Drag or Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V/F/B) to exactly copies of shapes
    • Use reshaping transformations to create skewed shapes (such as the squished triangles on the Infiniti or Delta logos)
    • Use the rotate tool to get perfect 30, 45, or 60 degree angles (in the Mitsubishi, Etrade, or Adidas logos, for example)
    • Use reflections to create symmetry (in the Batman, or Chanel logos, for example)
  • Use alignment
  • Keep an open mind, think creatively, and encourage students to do the same. Many logos can be built using a number of different shape combinations, and it can be helpful to think of the shapes present in negative space as well as positive space. For example, the Mitsubishi logo can easily be built with three long rectangles rotated around the central point, or it can be built with one large triangle, and three triangles cutting into it. Similarly, the Chrysler logo can be built from five oddly shaped triangles, but it’s much simpler to use a pentagon and star.