CalArts: Funds. of Graphic Design-W1: 1.4 Techniques of Imagemaking 1

One of the things that I really like about graphic design, and especially image making, is that there are a number of techniques for you to investigate.

It’s almost limitless, and it can be really exciting, as a designer, to be able to experiment and come up with new ways of working, and new ways of making images. 

There are literally hundreds of ways to make an image, and these range from ways that are very time consuming and very meticulous, to ways that are very fast and easy, and experimental. 

I’m really interested in the idea of creative, inventive, making.

Right now there’s a million images online. Pretty much anything that you want is out there, and a pretty good image of almost anything. that you can imagine.

So what’s gonna make your images different? 
What’s gonna make them compelling?

You could spend a lot of time meticulously making an image.

Or you could create a process that’s much more inventive, one that’s gonna generate images that perhaps aren’t already out there, that nobody’s seen before.

I would encourage you to try making it a lot of different ways. Try different techniques and different processes. Whether that’s things that are digital and on the computer, or that’s things that are done by hand, or a mix of the two of them.

Eventually it’ll be really useful to spend some time refining some of these images, and really mastering a technique.

But for now, it’s much more about generation and about iteration. Trying to make a lot of things, have fun, and get some kind of energy and enthusiasm going in your image making.

So with most of these image making techniques we’re going to look at, we’re really interested in your process, rather than creating a perfect image at the end of the day.

So how do you get started?
 I would say, just dive in, just start making images with any materials that you have at hand. 

Don’t worry about your images being good or bad or very finished or not, just make something. 
The worst that’s gonna happen is, you make an image and then you can refine it or react to it. But at least you’ll be making.

A good idea is to start out simple, just basic shapes, easy line drawings, simple materials in simple form.

Not everybody can make an image that’s as complex or maybe takes as much formal skill as this.

But anybody with even basic drawing skills can make an image that works like this one. And anyone with even rudimentary computer skills can make an image that looks like this one.

Think how you can be clever and inventive and interesting as an image maker, rather than just being polished and refined.

And the easiest way to get started is just to start simple.

Draw the image in the simplest way you possibly can with the simplest tools.

So here you can see the image of the apple is reduced to a single circular form with a stork and a leaf, and the color plays a very important signifying role for us to recognize it as an apple.