Adobe Illustrator CS5/6 For Digital Fabrication and Prototyping has been designed for new and inexperienced users who wish to become familiar with the basics of vector creation, editing and application. We will cover everything from file formats that illustrator uses, to typography and graphic design, to its applications in the printing and manufacturing industries. The user will be guided from a novice through to an Illustrator master in an easy-going, relaxed environment. This programme will assist new learners on the basics of Adobe Illustrator CS5 or CS6, and will offer a full overview of the application interface, each tool, menu, and panel.
The cost of the full course is 40 euros for students and 80 euros for adults. Capaticy of this course is 12 people and classes will be on four consecutive mondays from 19:00-22:00 starting Monday 29th September.
Week 1 (29 Sep)
There will be an introduction to digital prototyping its possibilities, and what will be covered in this course. We will give a run-through of the basics of Laser-cutting, fabricating examples to see the process involved. During the course, each learner will have the chance to draw their own designs and print them out, so students should bring along an idea of something they would like to fabricate, even a sketch or an image- for example we will be making art-work, signage; 3D puzzles, board games, fabric printing and toys. Each design will be individually customisable and then cut with the Laser-cutter.
Week 2 & 3 (6 Oct & 13 Oct)
we will learn how to use Illustrator to prepare more complex drawings, and understand how to use illustrator for Laser cutting, CNC cutting or other industrial applications. We will go from measured drawings to unique organic creations. Each student will be able to create precise scaled drawings, trace bitmap/jpeg images, draw freehand and with the pen tool; use Compound paths, Clipping Masks and the Pathfinder panel to manipulate artwork you’ve created. Set up files and templates, be able to use Patterns, Brushstrokes and Symbols; Prepare typography in Illustrator; set Stroke, Fill, and Appearance settings.
Week 4 (20 Oct)
By week four each participant will have a solid understanding of the features, menus, tools, and panels of the Adobe Illustrator interface. Every learner will be given the chance to take all the skills they have learned throughout the course and use them to create an individual project. The projects can contain a combination of laser-cutting and CNC routing. Material will be provided by Fab Lab Limerick and each learner will be able to take home their individual projects.