This is the last assignment (yahoo). The students are to create a album/CD cover using any combination of techniques and media covered this semester. For example, I created this quick high contrast (assignment 1; faces) picture of Prince added some typographic elements (assignment 3; pen and ink) and rendered it in purple gouache (assignment 1; faces). I’ve included my visual class notes (albumsmall.pdf) here as well and started an introduction of how this high contrast piece of art can also be used as a mask in Photoshop and how that can be utilized to push the envelope a little giving us powerful digital design options on top of our relevant illustration skills.

The final part of project number 4 is to create a political or editorial cartoon using the students newly developed caricature skills. Of course there is more to it than just drawing. It is an amalgam and distillation of complex issues into a single and hopefully clearly communicated opinion. These opinions can be focused on political figures, public individuals, or issues surrounding one or the other of these people. By the use of cartoon and caricature we can create a scripted stage that exists outside of reality, that is possibly humorous, probably satirical and can be manipulated to communicate a unique perspective. Here are a few cartoons I have created over the years.

The first part of the caricature assignment was to create a caricature based on a photograph or series of photographs. The second part of the assignment is to take it one step further and morph the caricature into an animal (or object.) The trick of course is to keep asking yourself if you can stretch or distort it more and still look like the person on whom it is based.

This particular version of Mahmoud I think goes in the right direction, although … possibly more mouse-like and cute then sinister and rat-ish.

caricature-demo.pdf These are the visual class notes from my caricature lecture. It is a pdf file.

I am about to start a section on editorial cartooning in the illustration class I teach at North Idaho College. Last year I created an image of Tony Blair, which was good, but somewhat non-distinct. This year’s example of caricature was a lot easier. It always helps if the subject is a walking muppet to begin with. The winner of poke your political pundit for 2007 is: (In my best Jay Leno voice), “Mahmoud Ahmannutjob.”

Created in Sketchbook Pro, using a Wacom tablet.