Students are working with layer masks in Photoshop to conceal areas of an image and create subtle effects - like reflections and trailing shadows.

This project started with collecting this stunning piece of plastic dress-up jewelry from an instructor’s child, then shooting a couple quick photos in the studio with the students.

After downloading the images, the students worked as a group, with the instructor, to remove the background and create the reflection. Most of the work was accomplished with simple layer masks. Plastic jewelry has never looked so good.

With the right Photoshop techniques, this 25-cent ring looks like it could easily be worth a dollar.

Freshmen in the Digital Illustration class took the leap from pencil and pen on paper or illustration board to using the mouse to create work digitally.

The Graphic Design and Communications program, formerly known as Commercial Art, once focused heavily on hand-rendered artwork. As times and technology changed, the methods of the program did too. Today many assignments utilize both hand-drawn and digital elements to create the desired effect.

Friday, the freshmen had quizzes in two of the three Graphic Design and Communications classes.

To lighten the mood and help students learn about each other, Sean Thorenson introduced a simple creative exercise.

Each of the three panels on the sheet in the picture is filled in by separate people - one draws the head, another the torso and someone else the legs and feet. The catch is that the paper is folded so each artist is drawing without the knowledge of what is on the rest of the sheet.

At the end of a long week it gave everyone a chance for a laugh and to work as a group.

One of the drawings created by the BSC Graphic Design and Communications Freshmen.

This exercise proves that there is more than one way to draw ANYthing.

The designer’s ability to work creatively with style can greatly change the personality and message of a piece. In this illustration project students selected an object and drew it in nine different ways while varying their style each time. The end product, if done correctly, looks like the work of nine individual designers.

A collection of drawing quartets shows the importance of contrast and bold lines in graphic illustration.

Freshmen students in Digital Illustration went old school with this assignment. The goal was to illustrate a quartet of images using the creative process and traditional means. Students learned the importance of establishing an accurate and technical grid using tools of the designosaur… T-squares and triangles. The quality time with the ruler will benefit them later when they translate these same illustrations to the vector environment of Illustrator.

The National Weather Service provides excellent forecast and weather information. Their biggest asset is also a bit of a hinderance as well - too much information cluttering the NWS Web site.
To test Photoshop as a design tool, the sophomore Graphic Design and Communications students created designs of how they thought the site should look. This was a totally independent project, no tie to the National Weather Service. Some designs are very clean and could be put into production, others would need more polishing. The assignment included improving the design and simplifying the look of the site. Nearly every design provides an interesting and new idea.