Line

Lines used to communicate an idea or feeling.

Lines used to emphasize and direct your attention to what's important.

Line

Lines can be used in graphic design in a variety of ways. They can be used as borders around elements, content separators or dividers, contours or patterns, and as decoration. More importantly, lines can exist without the other design elements and can be made into an effective design.

For this assignment you will be practicing with the pen and tablet in Photoshop, and using lines to convey a certain message or feeling. Follow the steps below to setup your document in Photoshop.

STEP 1

Create a New Document in Photoshop with these settings:

width = 8.5"
height = 11"
resolution = 72
color = RGB

Set the background color to a dark gray.

STEP 2

Create a New Layer (F7 will open the Layer menu if you don't see it.)

STEP 3

Turn on the Rulers if they're not on. (see picture) Right-click a ruler and select inches from the options.

STEP 4

Double-click the rulers and select Guides Grid & Slices. Set your gridline settings to a gridline every 1 inch with 4 subdivisions. Click OK when done.

STEP 5

Use the Rectangular Marquee to draw 9 squares that measure 2"x2" like the picture below. Don't forget to hold Shift to add to your selection.



STEP 6

Make sure you're on Layer 1 and use the paint bucket to fill the squares in with white. You should have 9 white squares on a dark gray background. Press Ctrl-D to deselect the squares.

STEP 7

Make a New Layer.

Right-click your Layer 2 and select Create Clipping Mask from the menu.

Your Layers should look like the image on the left. A background layer, a Layer 1 with the white squares, and a layer 2 with the clipping mask applied.

STEP 8

Now that your squares are setup you can begin the final part of the assignment. For each word below, draw lines that "feel" like the word. Then, label the square with a font that also "feels' like the word. 

enraged

calm

anxious

excited

serious

confused

depressed

joyous

strong

Brushes!

You'll need to use the paint brush tool to draw your lines. It's the tool that looks like a brush!

If you right-click on your canvas it will open the brush menu you see below. Use this to change the brush, the size, etc. Experiment to find different brushes.

However, avoid brushes that create shapes, overly complex lines, etc. The goal is to use line direction, shape, size, etc. to create your lines.

When finished save a JPEG and upload it to your folder on the Google Drive.