Illustrator basics

 Illustrator is another Adobe product we use a lot in class. It is a super-paint program. I am not very well versed in Adobe....but...it really isn't a complex program to begin. Of course, as you get better at basic skills, you will want to enhance your work. There are people around you in class that are far better at this program than me. Ask around - Anna H, Isabella D, Arushi S, and Azul L, among others, are all very capable in Adobe products and Illustrator.

The good news is that if you have any training in Adobe products in other classes or areas of campus, there is a TON of cross-over between the programs. 

I am going to show you a few things today, and then I would like you to play around in Illustrator for a few minutes. To help you, once I am done talking, here are some videos that might help you get further. They are fast, so you will want to listen, pause the video, practice, and then move on to the next part in the video. They use command-functions, so learning those will help. They are also cross-program in the Adobe platform, so learning them for Illustrator, will probably help you in InDesign and Photoshop.

Here are a few video options. Please use headphones if you can. I have lots of extras in the back, if you need some.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GzumUieDPY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AinkCNooh2A

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/tutorials.html

I do have three Wacom Pen Tablets that we can set up to use at your computer if you would like to go more advanced. We need lots of artists, so if this is something you are interested in, please speak to me or the leadership team. We need your help in this area.

Final thoughts - we ALWAYS need people to make art, especially POLITICAL CARTOONS. I would also love to publish a true comic strip, like a 3-4 panel ongoing strip that would tell a complete story over a period of time - maybe 40-50 panels total. We would likely publish that online but if we could get a good 24-panel strip, that we could publish every print edition - I am on board.

Here are some basics to Political Cartooning:

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Political-Cartoon

https://www.toonsmag.com/how-to-draw-political-cartoons-quick-guide/