Emoji Design Day 4: Breaking our Emojis into Simple Shapes

Today’s essential question: How can I break each emoji into simpler shapes to make it easier to trace?

The key to efficiently vectoring our emojis in Illustrator is to break each emoji into simple shapes, trace each shape separately, and combine these shapes to create the emoji. I have illustrated a few examples below:

Strawberry Concept Sketch

Image Credit: Joniah

How to Vectorize the Strawberry in Illustrator

Pirate Concept Sketch

Image Credit: Brian

How to Vectorize the Pirate in Illustrator

Do these examples make you feel more or less prepared to vectorize your emojis? Why?

Note: After today, we will have 3 classes left to finish our emoji project. Please plan your time accordingly.

Today we will:

• Continue tracing over our emoji sketches in Adobe Illustrator
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • a PDF of our progress so far
  • a few sentences describing what has been easy and what has been challenging about this project

Emoji Design Day 3: Creating our Vector Emojis in Illustrator

Today’s essential question: How can I use Adobe Illustrator to turn my emoji sketches into vector graphics?

Today we will begin tracing over our emoji sketches in Adobe Illustrator.
We will view a demo at the Smart Board and then follow the steps below:

Part 1: Saving Each Emoji Sketch as an Individual Adobe Photoshop

1. Open Adobe Photoshop
2. Open the picture of your sketches
   
3. Select the Crop Tool from the toolbar on the left side of the screen. 
4. Set the size on the at the top of the screen to the following:
   
5. Drag the crop tool around your first emoji:
   
6. Press enter.
7. Save your first emoji by naming it file -> save as ->
   
8. Open the history palette. Window -> history
9. Click on the very first line that says “Open.” This will take you back in time to when you have all the emojis visible.
   
10. Select the Crop Tool from the toolbar on the left side of the screen. 
11. Set the size on the at the top of the screen to the following:
    
12. Drag the crop tool around your second emoji:
    
13. Press enter.
14. Save your second emoji by naming it file -> save as ->
15. Repeat until you have saved all emojis as separate files.

Part 2: Tracing over our designs in Adobe Illustrator

1. Open Adobe Illustrator.
2. Select “New Print Document” from the pop up screen.
3. Create a new file in Adobe Illustrator with the following guidelines:
   
4. Place your first emoji photo. (File -> place)
5. Create a new layer by clicking on the “new layer” button at the bottom of the layers palette on the right side of the screen.
6. Select the pen tool.
   Trace over your first shape. (You may need to decrease the opacity of this layer so you can see what you are tracing. You can do this by clicking on the transparency icon on the right side of the screen and decreasing the opacity so it is below 100. )
7. Bring the opacity back 100% and adjust the color if necessary.
8. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you are happy with your vector illustration.
9. Save your file as both a PDF and PNG, and post both to your blog.
10. Repeat steps 3-9 for your other emojis.

Bonus Skill: Using the Shape Tool in Illustrator

There is a built in shape tool that will draw perfect circles for you. To use this tool, click and hold on the rectangle on the toolbar on the left side of your screen until a drop down menu appears. Select the Ellipse Tool.

You can use this tool to draw any type of oval. If you would like to draw a perfect circle, hold down the shift key while clicking and dragging.

Bonus Skill: Creating Lines in Illustrator

Your emoji design probably has lines in it. You can create lines by drawing very thin shapes like this. This allows you to vary the line weight and add visual interest as shown in the second example. Why is the second example more interesting?

Today we will:

• Use Adobe Photoshop to save each emoji sketch as an individual image
• Begin tracing over our emoji sketches in Adobe Illustrator
• Create a new blog post with both a PDF and PNG of our progress so far

New Project: Vector Emojis

Today’s essential question: How can I create a unified set of four emojis?

For our next project, we will create a set of 4 emojis in Adobe Illustrator.
Your emojis will show unity both in style and theme.

Example Emoji Sets

Here are some sets of emojis that would fulfill the project requirements.
How has the artist created unity with each emoji set?

Project Requirements:

• Unified set of four emojis created in Adobe Illustrator
• Set of final four images fill a 8.5 x 11″ page
• High-quality craftsmanship
• Original artwork

We will spend the next two classes sketching out ideas and formulating our project concept for our emoji set. Even though you will have two classes to create the project concept, you must create a different blog post for each day in order to receive participation points. Your finished project planning post counts as a 10-point homework grade and must fulfill the requirements listed below. (If you don’t finish everything today, you can copy and paste today’s blog post into next class’s blog post and then add anything you need to finish it.) Here are examples of thing you might post at the end of today’s class in order to receive credit:

My emoji theme will be cats. I will tie the set together by drawing all the cats in a similar cartoon style, and using flat, but realistic colors for the cats. Also, the fact that all the emojis are cat faces will help create unity throughout my set. I don’t think I will use the first face because it doesn’t match the others now that I see them all together.

Will finish coloring next class. It is hard previewing colors because the Sharpies aren’t the colors I want to use.

If you have not yet finished your low-poly portrait, you may also work on that.

Make sure that regardless of you work on today, you publish a NEW blog post in order to receive participation points for today’s class.

Today We Will:

• Introduce the Emoji Design Project
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • Sketches of our planned emojis (these should eventually be colored in with Sharpie. If you do not finish your sketch, post a photo of your progress to receive credit.) You’ll have the best results if you draw these large – one sketch per piece of paper.
    • You will be using the pen tool to create the project, so remember to:
      • Keep your sketches simple enough that you feel confident in your ability to trace over them with the pen tool
      • Color your sketches with flat color (no shading). This is why we are using Sharpie.
      • Create at least 6 sample emojis. Ms. Lawson and your classmates will help you select the 4 strongest ones to turn into vector graphics.
  • A paragraph describing your concept
    • What will the theme of your emoji set be?
    • What visual elements will you use tie you set of emojis together?

 

 

Please Please PLEASE Finish These Projects

We have two classes left this marking period. You must complete your self-portrait in order to pass the marking period. If you are nowhere near done, please arrange a time to catch up during Advisement or lunch.

Reasons to finish your project:

1. So Ms. Thompson has work to put in the RIT Art Show and can graduate
2. So Ms. Lawson can stop stressing and be happy again
3. So you can pass the marking period
4. So we can all move on with our lives

The following people are all caught up and may brainstorm ideas for their emoji project: Shanijah, Shaborn, Eh Tha, Hsa

Today we will:

• Continue working on our low-poly self-portraits
• Create a new blog post with the following:
  • PDF of our project
  • PNG of our project
  • artist statement about the project (if you finish the project today)