Graphic Skills

Typography Poster

Contents

 

Project #3: Poster

Research

Start with Process Book and develop ideas. Always include the following:

  • 3 very rough sketches (you may work at half size, 5 x 7″)
  • Type Studies
  • Color Studies
  • 3 High-end Digital Drafts
  • Analysis
  • Final

Criteria

Final execution will be in InDesign. All graphics and imagery will be created in Photoshop.

You will produce a poster for a Design Exhibition called: “Century: 100 Years of Type Design”

You must be able to combine imagery with type to clearly communicate both the subject and the information details to a wide-ranging audience.

  • Size 10″ x 14,” Portrait (vertical)
  • Resolution is 300 ppi
  • Color Mode: Full color, CMYK (choose colors that are going to best represent your poster)
  • Consider all the design principles you have learned: Emphasis, contrast and flow…etc.
  • Use all the text below (you will decide what the best order should be and which text should stand out)
  • Use or combine at least two high quality images that will grab attention
    • DO NOT download random images from the web (No JPEGS, GIFS, or PNGS… TIFFS only)
    • Copyright-free imagery is okay (you may take your own photos)
    • Use only two typefaces (this includes all weights, italics, upper and lower case, etc.)

Poster Text:

You must use all of this copy!

Century: 100 Years of Type Design

May 1 — July 31, 2015
At the GOODY National Design Center

500 Fifth Avenue, New York City
200-807-1876

www.goodyndc.org

Gallery hours:
Monday through Thursday: 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Friday: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The exhibition is free and open to the public.

GOODY (NOTE: use “GOODY” as the word-mark logo. You decide the typeface, style and size)

Print the poster and mount it on a 12” x 16” black board
Project Dimensions

Critique

Produce and submit three rough ideas for the critique discussion.

Final

Add flap. You must have at least three drafts included with your final project.

Century: 100 Years of Type Design

Research:

My research began, naturally, with an investigation into the event itself which was hosted by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). Other areas of interest revolved around the actual history of typography.

Some initial ideas included images of vehicles from the early 1900’s to present, sleek designs that would indicate not only progress but movement and transportation of communication. An outline of a classic typewriter was explored to literally reference typography and offer opportunities to illustrate the early days of movable type into current type designs. Images of women, or at least their silhouette’s, were considered to simply display a century of change in style and progress while utilizing type itself as the form structure.

Thumbnails:

My original sketches were done in graphite but then overlaid each with black marker to accentuate the designs most prominent features. Most of the subtext is simply in placeholder position. No design definiteness exists in anything but the event title.

Sketch-1Sketch-2Sketch-3
Marker-Sketch-1 Marker-Sketch-2 Marker-Sketch-3

Type Studies:

The first typeface that interested me was Century. Its classic style and clean lines lent itself perfectly to the event in question; however, in the interest of thoroughness, I explored several additional fonts, one of which I hoped would serve as my secondary type.

Type Studies

After experimenting with several, I chose Gill Sans MT as my supporting typeface.

Color Studies:

I wanted to keep my color palette simple and by using black type, a white background and red accents, I was able to create eye catching compositions without complicating the design or distracting from the intended message.

Red-Sketch-1 Red-Sketch-2 Red-Sketch-3

Black: #000000
Black

White: #FFFFFF
White

Red: #ED1F24
Red

Roughs:

Each design went through several experimental phases and then I added the supporting information one section at a time.

On the typewriter design, I moved my background images around and rearranged the main graphic position along with the poster title which began with a large, red “C”. Next, the dates and location of the event were given a secondary station in the hierarchy of font size and positioning atop a lightened version of the typewriter keyboard. The gallery name was uniquely stylized to indicate a proprietary typeface. The description tag-line separated the top third of the composition from the middle and bottom while continuing the flow of eye movement. The bottom third of the poster contained the address and hours of operation, the former in white space and the latter on top of another copy of the typewriter, this time, the top half which paper appeared to contain the events name, accented in red. The website was positioned below the main graphic in red, as well. The hours were cluttered with distracting white space in the graphic, so I chose to fill that image with red to create a smooth background for the text. Lastly, a light gray typewriter was added to the top of the design to balance the black and red images and include enhance repetition.

Rough-A1 Rough-A2 Rough-A3
Rough-A4 Rough-A5 Rough-A6
Rough-A7 Rough-A8

My second design, based on a silhouette of a woman in a 1914 outfit and a modern, high-heeled sexy silhouette was designed primarily for its eye-catching images filled with text. One version displayed free-floating red text on a white background, a second included an outline and a third experimented with red fonts with a black stroke. I finally settled on a black graphic with overlaid red text. I accented the composition with a red tag-line description under the event title of which the main name “Century” was positioned vertically on the left. The dates and gallery name were located in the upper right-hand corner with the branded text in red. The hours the event would be open, along with the address and phone number, were centered between the images and functioned as funnel movement back to the bottom of the design. The website was added, at a ninety degree angle, in the upper left-hand corner, subtlety aligned with the text on the right. One last version was attempted, with the event title enlarged, lightened and slanted across the background.

Rough-B1 Rough-B2 Rough-B3
Rough-B4 Rough-B5 Rough-B6
Rough-B7 Rough-B8 Rough-B9

My last design would work better in a landscape format, but due to the requirements of the project I wanted to attempt a portrait version.

The title was sandwiched between the rear end of an old classic car and a front end new, sleek sports car. The dates and gallery were positioned in the top left-hand corner and the address and phone number were placed on a lightened graphic of the modern car. The website was colored red and attached to the roof of the classic car in the lower right-hand corner and the gallery hours were placed on the side of the image. The description of the event was centered across the bottom of the poster.

In a second version, the dates were changed from black to red along with the “Century” between the car images. A watermark of the front of the classic car was placed in the upper right-hand corner of the composition and a similar graphic was placed in the lower left-hand corner of the modern car. The word “free” was also colored red.

In the third version, the title and subtitle of the event were added as a watermark with “Century” in black and “100 Years of Type Design” in red.

Rough-C1 Rough-C2 Rough-C3

Rough-C4One more version was attempted, this time with the classic car at the top of the design combined with the title, gallery hours, address and phone number. At the bottom of the composition, the subtitle and sport’s car silhouette were features with the dates of the event. Between the two elements resided the full title, subtitle and gallery name followed by the website’s URL.

Analysis:

After evaluating each design with a panel of my peers, the typewriter composition was chosen as the poster I would develop further.

The first change was to include a modern image to balance the old fashioned typewriter. Where my antiquated machine represented the early days of typography, a modern laptop was exhibited to signify current type design.

Final-A1The small gray typewriter was removed from the upper right-had corner and an additional element was introduced by way of including another color, thus, increasing interest and contrast.

Blue: #333399
Blue

This new color was first utilized in the large laptop containing the subtitle of the event and reduced to 75% opacity.

Next, I experimented with background patterns and settled on a lightened stone image. The first version was still too dark; so, I increased the transparency of the background for each subsequent composition. I also edited the dates of the event to the new royal blue hue to add repetition which prompted me to slide the keyboard from the left to the right. At the bottom of the poster, I included a smaller version of the laptop to frame the address and phone number of the affair. By experimenting with the text color of the supporting information, I was able to visualize both black and white copy and measure its effect.

Final-A2 Final-A3 Final-A4

I decided the background was too busy, so I removed it from the design and focused on the positive elements, starting with changing the gallery hour’s text back to black.

I then moved the keyboard back to the left side of the poster and changed the gallery name to blue. I also added the small, light-gray typewriter image back to the upper right-hand corner of the design.

In an attempt to envision color variations, I changed the keyboard to a transparent blue and the color of the small typewriter to a transparent red. This alteration compelled me to change the small typewriter to red for balance and experiment with its size and position.

Continuing to primarily work in the top half of the composition, I experimented with the color of the gallery’s name by changing it to red; consequently, increasing contrast and prominently displaying important information. During this change, I altered the small typewriter back to gray.

Final-A5 Final-A6 Final-A7
Final-A8 Final-A9

Final-A10In another version, I returned the left keyboard to its original red while adjusting the size, scale and baseline of the date’s font. I reduced the small typewriter so the entire image fit within the margins of the composition. Moving to the bottom of the poster, I adjusted the leading and horizontal scale of the address and phone number, as well as the positioning of the text and small laptop image.

My last variation was to include a background color: #E0E0E0 – otherwise known as Gray88.

Final:

To prepare for my final execution, I documented my font details and removed the supporting text from my images.

Dates:  Gill Sans MT, Bold, 25 pt, Smooth, #000000, 50 pt leading, 200% vertical scale, 120% horizontal scale, 12 pt baseline shift
@: Gill Sans MT, Regular, 23 pt, Smooth, #000000, 50 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale
the: Gill Sans MT, Regular, 30 pt, Smooth, #000000, 50 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, left aligned
Gallery: Trashed, Regular, 30 pt, Smooth, #ff3333, 50 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, left aligned
~sub-font: Gill Sans MT, Regular, 30 pt, Smooth, #ff3333, 50 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, left aligned
Tag-line: Gill Sans MT, Regular, 20 pt, Smooth, #000000, 50 pt leading, 175% horizontal scale, centered
FREE: Gill Sans MT, Bold, 20 pt, Smooth, #000000, 50 pt leading, 175% horizontal scale, left aligned
Century: Century, Regular, 100 pt, Smooth, #000000, 50 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, left aligned (“C” = #ff3333)
100 Years: Century, Regular, 50 pt, Smooth, #000000, 50 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, centered
of Type: Century, Regular, 50 pt, Smooth, #000000, 50 pt leading, 160% horizontal scale, centered (“Type” = #ff3333)
Design: Century, Regular, 70 pt, Smooth, #ff3333, 70 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, centered
URL: Gill Sans MT, Regular, 20 pt, Smooth, #ff3333, 30 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, left aligned
Street: Gill Sans MT, Regular, 25 pt, Sharp, #000000, 30 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, centered
City: Gill Sans MT, Regular, 25 pt, Sharp, #000000, 30 pt leading, 132% horizontal scale, centered
Telephone: Gill Sans MT, Regular, 20 pt, Sharp, #000000, 30 pt leading, 148% horizontal scale, centered
Hours: Gill Sans MT, Bold, 30 pt, Smooth, #000000, 30 pt leading, 120% horizontal scale, centered
~details: Gill Sans MT, Bold, 25 pt, Smooth, #000000, 30 pt leading, 111% horizontal scale, centered

Removed Text

Last minute editsSome last minute edits included lightening the two laptop images from 50% transparency to 75% and changing the text of the gallery hours, address and phone number to white again. A final TIF was exported to allow the poster to be completed with InDesign. Adding the address and phone number with a different application required some adjustments to the characters and paragraphs: obviously, the font color was adjusted to #ffffff and the entire textbox was justified, to mimic its original configuration with the exception of the phone number. “New York City” was given a 2 point baseline shift to properly position the line of text within the font space.

Presentation BoardOnce the poster was ready to be printed on a large sheet of paper, the black presentation board was trimmed to 12” x 16” and the excess paper was removed from the poster so the final dimensions measured 10” x 14”.

Supplies and full print Poster trimmed to size

Secured with Rubber CementI utilized rubber cement to secure my print on its backboard and smoothed the design by placing a protective piece of paper over the poster and rubbing a drafting triangle across its surface, starting from the center and systematically moving to the edges.

The last feature to include was the protective flap of tracing paper, attached from the back of the presentation board by tape and trimmed at the edges on a 45 degree angle.

Flapped Project Clean Backing Project Mounted

Final Poster

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State Stamp

Contents

Project #2: State Stamp

Research

Start with Process Book and develop ideas. Always include the following:

  • Find examples of at least 20 stamps
  • Create at least 15 sketches
  • Color Studies (Explore color for tone, mood and focal point creation)
  • Create 2 high-end drafts of three most promising sketches
  • Refine best stamp idea for final
  • Analysis
  • Final

Save as a Portable Document File (PDF) and submit with final project.

Criteria

The project will be executed in Adobe Illustrator

  • Instructor will assign you a state
  • Required Elements:
    • Numerals “49” or the word “Forever” and “USA”
    • Title (optional)
    • Year
  • Color mode – CMYK for Print
  • SIZE: 6.5″ X 4” (horizontal only)
  • Copy the stamp, reduce to 1.625″ x 1,” then make 2 more copies
  • When designing consider:
    • Composition
    • Typography
    • Color
    • Visual Image & Slogan
  • Develop the sketches into vector images with color
  • Finalize your most promising idea
  • Both large and reduced stamp will be mounted on 10 x 12” black board with tracing paper flap

Project Dimensions

Critique

Produce and submit two rough ideas for the critique discussion.

Final

The final design will be mounted black board with tracing paper flap sheet. You must have at least three drafts included with your final project.

North Carolina Stamp

Research:

First in FlightMy investigation into the Tar Heel State, or Old North State, began with some generalizations and stereotypes of the state. It’s official motto is “Esse quam videri: “To be, rather than to seem” but most know North Carolina as the “First in Flight” state, thanks to the Wright brothers famous first powered flight at Kitty Hawk.

CardinalThe state bird of North Carolina is the cardinal, which it shares with Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia; similarly, the state flower -the American Dogwood- is shared with Virginia. The state wildflower, however, is the Carolina lily.

American DogwoodThe North Carolina flag is red, white and blue with gilt (yellow) letters and banners. The official salute to the flag reads: “I salute the flag of North Carolina and pledge to the Old North State love, loyalty, and faith.”

State Flag

 

My next research step included collecting samples of previous stamps featuring North Carolina along with an example of the state seal.

Sample 1 Sample 2
Sample 3 Sample 4 State Seal

Included in my research were some stamps from other states and even other countries.

More Samples

Thumbnails:

My initial thumbnails focused on the Wright brothers’ first aircraft designs that actually flew. The state bird and flower were scattered across some of these designs to add variety and balance. Alternative designs included varying depictions of lighthouses, the state flag, the Smoky Mountains, the North Carolina Tar Heels logo and even an outline of the states’ borders. Examples of a stamp with only the dogwood flowers and only a cardinal in flight were also included as possibilities.

Sketches

Type Studies:

My typeface research started with a couple common fonts such as Garamond and Times New Roman. I also decided to experiment with some special fonts such as Viper Nora, Sidewalk and Trashed. I examined each font in a large sample and one-quarter the test size to mimic actual stamp proportions.

Type Studies

Color Studies:

The colors I experimented with varied between each rough draft based on the subject matter of the images incorporated.

Roughs:

My first rough draft originated from the Smoky Mountains sketch. Beginning from the farthest element, the sky, my color palette ranged from a light yellow and pink to a multitude of grays.

  • #F9F9DF – Sky
  • #E6D2D3 – Clouds
  • #F3F3F4 – Mountain One
  • #E7E8E9 – Mountain Two
  • #BDBEC0 – Mountain Three
  • #939598 – Mountains Four & Five
  • #6D6E71 – Mountain Six
  • #3A3A3C – Mountain Seven

The font type utilized for this first sample was Viper Nora by pOPdOG fONTS . The title, stamp value, state abbreviation and USA were sized to 36 points while the year was reduced to 14 points. The title was rendered as light gray (#E6E7E8) and the year slightly darker (#A7A9AC). The rest of the text on the stamp was a very dark gray (#231F20), almost black.

Rough 1

My second version of the Smoky Mountains used more colors from my inspirational image.

  • #F8F5AB – Sky
  • #FCC597 – Cloud One
  • #C99A95 – Cloud Two
  • #FCC695 – Cloud Three
  • #F6B097 – Cloud Four
  • #A59096 – Mountain One
  • #65637B – Mountain Two
  • #494A67 – Mountain Three
  • #5B5B76 – Mountains Four & Five
  • #1F283F – Mountain Six
  • #09090A – Mountain Seven

The font type utilized for this sample was Trashed by Gyom Seguin. The title, stamp value, state abbreviation and USA were still sized to 36 points and the year was again reduced to 14 points. All of the text in this version was black (#000000) and white (#FFFFFF).

Rough 2

My second rough draft consisted of a combination of two previous sketches. It included an outline of the state’s borders with a background of the state flag general design. Beginning with pastel versions of the flag’s red and blue, I offset the white with pure black text.

  • #DC8E7F – Powder Red
  • #7E7C9E – Powder Blue
  • #FFFFFF – White
  • #000000 – Black

The font type utilized for this example was Sidewalk by Segments Design. The state name was sized to 24 points and the class, value and USA were sized to 12 points. Finally, the year was reduced to 8 points and rotated 90 degrees.

Rough 3

My second version of the flag utilized a bold red and blue as well as the gilt, or yellow, which is also present in the state flag.

  • #C02033 – Bold Red
  • #202F64 – Bold Blue
  • #FFF200 – Gilt Yellow
  • #FFFFFF – White
  • #000000 – Black

Rough 4

The font size and style remained the same as the first version – Sidewalk by Segments Design – but this time the state name was white with black accents; the class and USA were red with a white border and the stamp value was blue with a white border. The year remained unchanged.

My third rough draft was another combination of previous sketches. This time I incorporated a lighthouse scene with a beach foot-bridge with North Carolina’s state flower: the dogwood. This model encompassed many more colors and effects than the previous two attempts including a flare of light.

  • #FBB040 – Sky Gradient Right
  • #FCF9D2 – Sky Gradient Center
  • #FFDE17 – Sky Gradient Left
  • #27AAE1 – Water Gradient Right
  • #2E3192 – Water Gradient Left
  • #FAE5B2 – Beach
  • #F7ECD9 – Bridge One
  • #E5D5BE – Bridge Two
  • #D6C2AD – Bridge Three
  • #C7B29D – Bridge Four
  • #B29C88 – Bridge Five
  • #937962 – Bridge Six
  • #000000 – Bridge Seven
  • #9B9057 – Flower One
  • #737145 – Flower Two
  • #847722 – Flower Three
  • #746F44 – Flower Four
  • #CAAD68 – Flower Five
  • #BCA465 – Flower Six
  • #C8B56F – Flower Seven
  • #996632 – Flower Eight
  • #A0A1A3 – Flower Nine
  • #FFFFFF – Flower Ten

The font type chosen for this specimen was Garamond Bold in pure black (#000000). The class and value of the stamp were sized to 36 points with a white (#FFFFFF) border while the USA and year were reduced to 20 points with no border with the year rotated 90 degrees.

Rough 5

My second version of the lighthouse stamp simply changed the font from Garamond to Times New Roman and darkened all the hues of the design.

Rough 6

Analysis:

I needed to narrow my design choices down to a final draft, so I chose to investigate a couple strong designs further.

My first choice was to utilize the second version of the second design: the bold flag composition with the state outline. I needed to choose an alternative font, however, since the first experiments were illegible after being reduced to the size of a postage stamp.

I started with changing the Sidewalk font to a more traditional Times New Roman, as this was the font I liked most on my lighthouse design. For the value and class of the stamp, I adjusted the size to 26 points, bold, with a yellow fill and a half point stroke and centered the line of text across the top of the image. USA was also yellow with a black border, but at a bold 16 points. The year was a solid black, bold, 12 point font and the state name was a mixture of 48 point first letters and 24 point text in a bold, black font.

Final 1

Just to be thorough, I wanted to experiment with Garamond, as well. For the value and class of the stamp, I adjusted the size to 28 points, bold, and kept the yellow fill and half point stroke. The line of text remained centered across the top of the image. USA stayed yellow with a black border, but at a bold 18 points. The year stayed a solid bold, black, 12 point font and the state name was still a mixture of 48 points for the first letters and 24 point text in a bold, black font.

Final 2

Interestingly enough, I ended up liking the Garamond version better than the Times New Roman.

One last experiment was due: a lighthouse version that focused solely on the lighthouse. Not only did I enlarge and add details to the lighthouse itself, I removed and rearranged other elements such as the dogwood flowers and foot-bridge. The skyline banner was enlarged along with the abstract beach and the water was extended completely off the edges of the image and manipulated to flow organically within the piece.

The lighthouse was changed from a generic, small, unrecognizable object in the background to the main focus of the composition based on Cape Hatteras Light: a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina which is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The font family remained Times New, bold and in pure black (#000000) with a thin white (#FFFFFF) stroke. The class and value of the stamp were sized to 26 points in white and moved to the bottom, left-hand corner. The USA and year were reduced to a bold 12 points. The stamp title was added to the top, right-hand corner in a bold 48 point black font with a 1 point white stroke. The light flare was also repositioned and enlarged.

Final 3

Final:

Final DraftBased on the lighthouse version I redesigned as a final draft, I tweaked the image a little more before printing a master copy. I enlarged the year and USA to 18 points, removed the stroke from the title and added “NC” to the title, along with a comma. The comma, however, was reduced to 26 points to eliminate the distracting qualities it comprised when it was at a full 48 point font.

I printed the final composition on glossy premium inkjet photo paper and trimmed them with extra border for mounting. The large image included a quarter-inch border and the small images incorporated an eighth of an inch border. My black presentation board was carefully cut to 10” x 12” with a utility knife in a three-stroke process against a metal ruler.

Printed and Trimmed Mounted

Once mounted with rubber cement, a rubber cement eraser was used to clean up the edges of the images and a white Mars Plastic eraser was utilized to clean smudges from the glossy paper. The flap was attached a half of an inch to the back of the presentation board and measured to reach the bottom of the composition, neat and square.

Flap Attachment Flapped

Final

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Animal Icon Set

Contents

Project #1: Animal Icon Set

Research

Start with Process Book and develop ideas. Always include the following:

  • Find examples of simple icons
  • Complete at least 6 thumbnail sketches of each icon for a total of 36 sketches
  • Refinement of icons
  • Multiple design studies using positive and negative space
  • 3 Digital Drafts of each icon
  • Analysis and Refinements
  • Final

Save as a Portable Document File (PDF) and submit with final project.

Criteria

The project will be executed in Adobe Illustrator

  1. Create 6 icons which represent different animals
  2. Use just one color
  3. Each icon needs to use both negative and positive space effectively
  4. Keep the designs simple, stylized and refine your sketches into a polished vector file
  5. Each icon should be housed in a square, circle, or other shape with approximate proportions
  6. Use good craftsmanship in the presentation of your work
  7. The icons should be arranged on 8″x 10″ document with trim marks added
  8. Each final icon should be 2” x 2” with .25” space between each
  9. The document should printed on 8.5″x 11 paper and trimmed to 8” x 10”
  10. The page should be mounted centered on a 10” x 12” black board

Project Dimensions

Critique

Produce and submit three rough ideas for the critique discussion.

Final

Add a flap to the black board. You must have at least three drafts included with your final project.

Mythical Icons

Research:

I began my research based on the broad category of mythical and fantasy creatures and created a simple list of possible subjects:

  • Unicorn
  • Cyclops
  • Centaur
  • Pegasus
  • Dragon
  • Hydra
  • Phoenix
  • Loch Ness Monster
  • Griffin
  • Minotaur

The Cyclops and centaur seemed too human and not enough animal, so they were removed from further investigation. I then found classic images of the remaining selections that depicted typical characteristics of each creature.

UnicornDragonPegasus
HydraPhoenix
Loch Ness MonsterGriffinMinatour

Thumbnails:

Each thumbnail sketch needed to be comprised of the most recognizable characteristics of each animal; so, I listed each feature that would allow the creature in question to be instantly identifiable.

  • Unicorn: Horse with horn
  • Dragon: Lizard with wings
  • Pegasus: Horse with wings
  • Hydra: Multi-headed lizard
  • Phoenix: Bird on fire
  • Loch Ness Monster: Sea-serpent
  • Griffin: Head of an eagle, body of a lion, wings
  • Minotaur: Humanoid with head of a bull

Once again, I decided to eliminate the creature that seemed a little too human-like: the Minotaur. I still had more than the 6 required animals but I wanted to sketch each of the remaining 7 creatures to get an idea of which 6 would lend themselves best to my final icon sets.

Unicorn SketchesDragon Sketches
Phoenix SketchesLoch Ness SketchesPegasus Sketches
Hydra SketchesGriffin Sketches

Next, I sketched each creature with the intent of simplifying the designs into logo-like compositions. Some symbols resembled the earlier sketches and some were new variations.

Unicorn Logos     Dragon Logos
Phoenix Logos     Loch Ness Logos     Pegasus Logos
Hydra Logos     Griffin Logos

Roughs:

Before creating digital rough drafts, I dropped one last subject: the griffin. Then I took each of my remaining creatures and picked two or three to digitize. On my last set, I chose to depict both a dark version and a light version.

Unicorn 1 Dragon 1 Pegasus 1 Hydra 1
Phoenix 1 Loch Ness 1 Unicorn 2 Dragon 2
Pegasus 2 Hydra 2 Phoenix 2 Loch Ness 2
Unicorn 3 Dragon 3 Pegasus 3 Hydra 3
Phoenix 3 Loch Ness 3 Unicorn 4 Dragon 4
Pegasus 4 Hydra 4 Phoenix 4 Loch Ness 4

Since the final would be complied in two inch squares, I designed the template and utilized it for each draft by adding one version of each animal to each grid.

Rough Group 1       Rough Group 2
Rough Group 3       Rough Group 4

Analysis:

As the final piece was to be comprised of one version of each creature, not only would the best design of each be chosen but each icon would need to contribute to the overall gestalt of the composition. To that end I started by choosing my favorite symbols and arranged them accordingly.

Final 1       Final 2
Final 3       Final 4

In the first set, the symbol was not obvious enough to represent the Pegasus and in the second set the mix between dark and light icons was unbalanced. The third set attempted to utilize all dark, bold symbols but lacked variety and the fourth set included images that didn’t live up to the professionalism of their counterparts.

Final SetFinally, I settled on lighter icons that would complement each other in the completed project. By rearranging the phoenix and hydra’s positions, a unity was developed between the center images within the grid. Similarly, by reflecting the dragon, Pegasus, hydra and Loch Ness icons, harmony was created and the composition created movement between each animal. Lastly, the hydra was lightened from its original dark icon.

Final:

To complete my project, I printed my final composition on 8.5”x11” glossy premium inkjet photo paper and then trimmed it down to 8”x10” with an X-acto knife. I cut a 10”x12” piece of black presentation board with a utility knife and fastened the photo paper to the presentation board with rubber cement.

Project SuppliesProject MountedOnce dry, I cleaned the edges of the piece with a rubber cement eraser. A flap of tracing paper was attached behind the board with a half-inch, tapered overlap along the top edge of the project to protect and display the final work.Project Flap

Mythical Icons

Mythical Icons

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