Make a "Zeen" - A Magazine Cover Project in Illustrator

Make a Zeen! A Magazine Cover Project in Illustrator ~

Project Summary:

You are the designer of a new Decorating, Lifestyle, décor, Landscape, Architectural, Outdoor, Travel or Home, etc. magazine cover.

Base your design on an existing magazine for inspiration if you wish, but you must create a NEW magazine that does NOT yet exist, a unique marketing approach all your own.

Using a your sketch and other copied images as a foundation, trace everything with the Pen Tool.

Then colorize using your unique color schemes you mix on the color palettes.

Learn These Tools & Concepts:

• Pen Tool

• Mesh Tool

• Text Tool

• Shadows and Color Blending

Other People's Work:

Here are examples of work inspired by this tutorial.

example example example example example example interior example example example example example example

The Project Happens in Three Parts:

Part #1: Sketch Your Layout ~

Design Always Begins with Paper and Pencil

• Grab a pencil and do some basic sketches of your layout concepts, design ideas and rough draft.

• You don't have to be Rembrandt - just to do a good job.

• Include in your sketch a logo, slogan, a "call to action; make room for all that stuff.

• Also include your shapes, colors and everything you've learned about design.

• Your drawings are graded using this rubric.

• Xtra Credit - Draw two views; for example, one from the top looking down and one from an eye-level view, any direction that gives the "Zeen" good shadows and perspectives.

Part #2: Move to the Computer ~

• Scan your sketch into Photoshop or Illustrator.

• Then, find images, backgrounds, and any other objects you need that match your drawing as close as you can, to use as templates.

• Look for interesting scenes from magazines or websites, anything that resembles your sketch: Architecture, interior design, Landscape, Outdoor Sunset and many other magazines have these types of scenes.

• Copy the image and paste it on top of your scan in Photoshop, just to use as a template to copy.

• Draw over your images with the Pen Tool using all the skill and detail you can muster to demonstrate your prowess with the tools.

• Consider perspective, light and shadows as you work.

Part #3: Color Theory ~

• Teaching Color Theory can be tough, especially in the Digital Classroom, where pigments are messy and the additive colors computers use are confusing.

• However, the effects of color can be understood directly using advertising as a tool.

• For instance, nowhere are color choices more crucial than when designing a car ad: Warm colors for hot rods, cool colors for environmentally friendly electric vehicles.

• This project introduces students to Color Theory by limiting them to only 5 colors in their ad and requiring them to use one of these color schemes to create them:

Analogous – Complimentary – Monochromatic – Triadic

• That's right! You can only use 5 colors!

Last Step: The Final Product ~

• Your final Computer-generated image must be created from scratch or pieced together from many different image sources. You may use images found online as long a they are blended together to make a cohesive and convincing scene changed by 90%.

• All content you use on your subject must be 90% your own, modified into an original composition, including all text and imagery.

• Your final background should be pieced together, not a single scene from a single source image.

• ALWAYS save your projects using the following naming convention:
LASTNAME-FIRSTNAME-PROJECTNAME

• DO NOT name your project any other way - Improperly named projects will not receive credit and you will be sad.

• NEVER leave your work on the desktop or depend on a flash drive - instead, save your work in a folder you can find later - preferably on a virtual drive where it can be backed up.

Day 1: Make a "Zeen" Project ~

New Project Begins Today - Make a Magazine Cover ~

Introduce this PBL project by reading the Entry Document with the Class.

Reflection Journal - Attach your previous project to your portfolio and reflect upon what you have learned thus far …

Assignment #1 - Begin Sketching your Layout on the Graphic Organizer.

Tutorial #1 - Find an Interior on the Internet, Copy it and File > Place it into Illustrator - Attach by the end of Class.

• Review Font Powerpoint. How many different fonts can you have on your Zeen?

Template - You can open a template by clicking here.

Rubric • kuler.com • Example • ppt

Day 2: Make a "Zeen" Project ~

Day 2 - Make a "Zeen" - Magazine Cover Project

Journal - Serif vs. Sans Serif - You have only 10 minutes to complete this task.

Finish this Tutorial from Yesterday - Find a Scene on the Internet, Copy it and go to: File > Place it into Illustrator - Attach by the end of Class.

Tutorial #1 - Clipping Mask in Illustrator - Attach by the end of Class.

Continue Sketching your Layout - Remember: by sketching AND doing the computer at the same time it will hopefully produce a final product that will be better than either one either one would be separately.

• Workshop - Review the Entry Doc requirements including your sketched layout …

Rubric • kuler.com • Example • ppt