FLoating ISland
Project Brief
Using the drawing tablet and pen, design a floating island that illustrates you / your personality by drawing/tracing things such as your favorite (car, house, building, animal, etc.), dream world, etc.
Wacom Tablet Set up
If you have not already set up the Wacom tablet, make sure to follow the steps from Drawing Tablet Intro.
Copy Illustrator Template
Go to the Floating Island Illustrator Template
If you aren't already signed in to Adobe, click "Sign in" in the top right corner.
Click "Copy to Files"
Open the Creative Cloud desktop app.
Rename: Right-click on the file and click "Rename" to add your last name to the start:
"Last Name, Floating Island"
Open: Right-click and click "Open"
Workspace: Adjust your workspace (go to "Window" > "Workspace" > "Essentials Classic")
Choose an island
To choose a floating island to start:
Choose one on the left and click and drag it over to the artboard
Find a different drawing online (needs to have highlights and shadows and be similar complexity) that will be your floating "island" (see the last slide in the examples Google Slides above for inspiration)
Free hand draw a floating island
In the "Layers" panel, lock the "Choose an Island" layer.
Find Reference Photos
Think of 3+ things you would want on your floating island. This can be anything school appropriate.
There are example photos in the Illustrator file. You may use them if you don't have any ideas for what else you'd want.
When you find a photo online, right-click and click "Copy Image"
Then in Illustrator, in your "Layers" panel click on the "References" layer and then click "Edit" > "Paste"
Once you have your 3+ images, arrange them on your island as you wish.
In your "Layers" panel, with your "Reference" layer selected, click the three bars in the top right then click "Template" - this will lock it and reduce the opacity.
Paintbrush Tool Setup
Paintbrush Tool: Click the "Paintbrush Tool" icon on the left toolbar or click "B" on your keyboard.
No Fill: Make sure the "Fill" color is set to "None"
Stroke Color: Double click the stroke/outline box and choose a color.
Brush: In your "Brushes" panel (click the icon in the right toolbar), make sure the first brush is selected (" 2 pt pressure")
Using the Tablet Pen
Hold the tablet pen how you hold a pencil.
When you press the tablet pen tip down on the tablet within the lit-up corners, you should see your paintbrush move on the screen.
The harder you press the pen onto the tablet, the thicker the line gets and the lighter you press, the thinner the line will be. This is because the brush is set up to be pressure sensitive for the size.
Trace Your References
In the "Layers" panel, click on the "Drawings" layer.
Using the "Paintbrush Tool" and your tablet pen, trace the things in your reference photos.
Make sure to also trace the shadows so your things appear 3D.
Hide Reference Layer
Hide "Template": In your "Layers" panel, click the rectangle next to the "Template" layer to hide it.
Adjust and Draw Extras
Draw additional little things to connect your 3+ things and make them all seem like a cohesive island drawing.
You can also want to adjust the scale of some objects once you see it all together.
You can also add more shadows or fill in areas to create contrast.
Save as .AIC and .PDF
Go to "File" > "Save" to make sure to save your .aic file (if it is grayed out then it is already saved).
Go to "File" > "Save As..."
Choose "On your computer"
Click "Creative Cloud Files" folder on the left menu
Name: "Last Name, Floating Island"
Click "Save"
Click "Save PDF"
Once you save as a .pdf, exit out of Illustrator. If you need to edit again and resave, make sure to edit your .aic file and re-save as a .pdf.
Turn in to Canvas
Turn in your .pdf file on Canvas in the "Floating Island" assignment.
"I'm Done"
If you have more time in class, check out the "I'm Done" page.