ART 220 · Charleston Southern University · Fall 2026
Digital Illustration
This course is about illustration as a means of communicating ideas. Concepts and sketches come first, on paper. The computer, industry standard software on the lab machines, is the tool that finishes the piece, not the place the idea starts.
The term covers three toolsets in order: vector, raster, and motion. Four projects put them to work: a set of editorial spots, a drawn illustration finished digitally, a packaging illustration, and an animated loop.
Class time splits between taught workshops and worked studio time, and every project ends in a critique. Every project is marked on the same four things: participation and process, concept, formal resolution, and craft.
-
Part I · Editorial
- August 2 sessions
-
Course Introduction
Introductions, a walk through the syllabus, and an overview of the toolsets the course covers. Project 1 is assigned.
-
Assignments
Project
- Project 1. Editorial Spots (3 weeks) A publication has assigned you three spot illustrations for one feature article. The article runs on the web, in the newsletter, and as a card in a feed, and your spots run with it. Read the article, then design three small illustrations that respond to what it argues, work together as a set, and read at every size they appear, from article width down to a thumbnail. Hand in production-ready vector files. You will learn the pen tool and curve construction, shape building and boolean operations, color as a reusable system, and how design principles work at editorial scale. Due Sep 17
Readings for Thu Aug 27
- Ways of Seeing chapter 1 Penguin, 1972 Read now ↗
- Ways of Seeing episode 1, watch from 26:05 to the end BBC, 1972 Watch now ↗
-
Reading an Editorial Brief
Where editorial illustration runs now: article pages, newsletters, apps, social cards. Developing a concept from a piece of writing, and making an image that reads at every size it will run. Thumbnailing on paper, in class. Also covered: using AI for research and concepting, and how to cite it.
-
Assignments
Project
- Concepts and thumbnails Bring the article you chose and at least twelve thumbnails across three different concepts. We will pin them up and go through them as a group. Due Sep 3
- September 9 sessions
-
The Pen Tool
Anchor points, handles, and building a curve with as few points as possible. Exercise in class.
-
Thumbnail Review
Thumbnails pinned up and read as a group. We are looking for three different concepts, not three versions of one, and for whether an idea still reads at stamp size. Leave with one direction chosen.
Due in class- Concepts and thumbnails Bring the article you chose and at least twelve thumbnails across three different concepts. We will pin them up and go through them as a group.
-
Assignments
Project
- Vector drafts All three spots roughed in Illustrator, in one file, with a working color palette. Due Sep 10
-
Shape Building and Pathfinder
Building forms from primitives, and boolean operations. Work session.
-
Color Systems
Global swatches, and building a palette you can reuse across a set. Work session.
Due in class- Vector drafts All three spots roughed in Illustrator, in one file, with a working color palette.
-
Type and Image
Placing type with an illustration: lockups, clearance, and what to hand off to a designer. Work session.
-
Project 1 Critique
Full critique. Present your set at final size and at thumbnail size. Project 2 is assigned.
Due in class- Project 1. Editorial Spots (3 weeks) A publication has assigned you three spot illustrations for one feature article. The article runs on the web, in the newsletter, and as a card in a feed, and your spots run with it. Read the article, then design three small illustrations that respond to what it argues, work together as a set, and read at every size they appear, from article width down to a thumbnail. Hand in production-ready vector files. You will learn the pen tool and curve construction, shape building and boolean operations, color as a reusable system, and how design principles work at editorial scale.
-
Assignments
Project
- Project 2. Drawn Editorial Illustration (3 weeks) The same publication wants one large illustration for a different feature. It runs full width at the top of the article and it is also the share card, so it has to work as a hero and survive as a thumbnail. This one is drawn by hand: you will draw on paper, scan or photograph the drawing, and finish it digitally. You will learn mark-making that survives capture, scanning and image clean-up, digital color under a drawn line, and how to move a piece between paper and screen without losing it. Due Oct 8
-
Capturing a Drawing
Paper stops being the sketch and becomes the artwork. Turning a finished drawing into a working digital file: scanning, photographing, and levels.
-
Assignments
Project
- Drawn originals, captured Your drawing scanned or photographed, cleaned up, with the line separated from the background in a working file. Due Sep 29
-
Drawing for Reproduction
Line weight, contrast and texture that survive capture. Drawing session on paper.
-
Scan Clean-Up
Cleaning a scan, separating line from background, and setting up a working file. Work session.
Due in class- Drawn originals, captured Your drawing scanned or photographed, cleaned up, with the line separated from the background in a working file.
- October 8 sessions
-
Color Under Line
Flatting and multiply. Building color beneath a drawn line, with and without a tablet. Work session.
-
Texture and Finish
Grain, halftone, and edge treatment over flat color: texture that reads as drawn rather than applied. Work session, with desk critiques. The last one before the critique.
-
Project 2 Critique
Full critique before Fall Break. Project 3 is assigned: pick your product and think about its structure over the break. Production starts when we return.
Due in class- Project 2. Drawn Editorial Illustration (3 weeks) The same publication wants one large illustration for a different feature. It runs full width at the top of the article and it is also the share card, so it has to work as a hero and survive as a thumbnail. This one is drawn by hand: you will draw on paper, scan or photograph the drawing, and finish it digitally. You will learn mark-making that survives capture, scanning and image clean-up, digital color under a drawn line, and how to move a piece between paper and screen without losing it.
-
Assignments
Project
- Project 3. Packaging Illustration (4 weeks) A small food or beverage company needs packaging for a new product. The logo already exists; you are given a simple wordmark to place. You will design the package and the illustration system that covers it. The artwork has to work on a dieline, survive a fold, and hold up on a shelf. Hand in production files and a photographed mockup. You will learn dielines and package structure, how an illustration behaves on a surface that wraps, pattern and repeat, and print production basics: bleed and color separation. Due Nov 5
-
No class
Fall Break. The university is closed; the ledger skips the day.
-
Part II · Surface and Motion
-
Package Structure
Dielines, folds, and how an illustration behaves on a surface that wraps. Bring the product you chose over break.
-
Assignments
Project
- Structure and dieline The product, the package structure, and a dieline you can build on. Bring two structural directions mocked up in paper. Due Oct 22
-
Illustration on a Dieline
Getting artwork to behave across panels and folds, and testing it at shelf distance. Work session.
-
Structure Review
Two structures read as objects rather than as flats. How a panel meets a fold, what the shelf sees first, and which direction can carry an illustration system across a range. Leave with one structure and a dieline.
Due in class- Structure and dieline The product, the package structure, and a dieline you can build on. Bring two structural directions mocked up in paper.
-
Assignments
Project
- Illustration system The illustration system that runs across the package: the artwork on the main panel, how it continues around the folds, and how it holds up at shelf distance. Due Oct 29
-
Pattern and Repeat
Building an illustration system that covers a range of products. Work session.
-
Mockups
Getting artwork onto a form and photographing it. Work session.
Due in class- Illustration system The illustration system that runs across the package: the artwork on the main panel, how it continues around the folds, and how it holds up at shelf distance.
- November 7 sessions
-
Print Production
Bleed, trapping, and spot versus process color. Preparing files for a printer. Work session.
-
Project 3 Critique
Full critique. Present the package on the form. The final project is assigned.
Due in class- Project 3. Packaging Illustration (4 weeks) A small food or beverage company needs packaging for a new product. The logo already exists; you are given a simple wordmark to place. You will design the package and the illustration system that covers it. The artwork has to work on a dieline, survive a fold, and hold up on a shelf. Hand in production files and a photographed mockup. You will learn dielines and package structure, how an illustration behaves on a surface that wraps, pattern and repeat, and print production basics: bleed and color separation.
-
Assignments
Project
- Final Project. Animated Illustration (4 weeks) You choose the subject and the venue. Design an illustration that moves and deliver it as a seamless loop along with the still image it came from. You will learn to prepare artwork for animation, timing and easing, and loop construction and export, using every tool the term has covered. Due Dec 3
-
Illustration in Motion
How illustration is used in motion. Loops, easing, and the toolchain we will use.
-
Assignments
Project
- Motion study One short study: a single element moving, eased, looping cleanly. This confirms your tools and your export work before the project depends on them. Due Nov 17
-
Preparing Artwork to Move
Layer structure and anchor points. Setting up a file before animating. Work session.
-
Timing and Easing
Easing, holds, and the difference between a loop that reads and one that stutters. Studies played at the desk. A study that exports cleanly here is proof the file will hold for the whole piece.
Due in class- Motion study One short study: a single element moving, eased, looping cleanly. This confirms your tools and your export work before the project depends on them.
-
Assignments
Project
- Rough loop The whole piece moving, rough. Timing should be readable; the artwork does not have to be finished. Due Nov 24
-
Loops and Export
Building a seamless loop. File formats, sizes, and what to deliver. Work session.
-
Rough Loop Review
The whole piece moving, played as a group. Timing is the subject and unfinished artwork is expected. Leave knowing what to fix over the break.
Due in class- Rough loop The whole piece moving, rough. Timing should be readable; the artwork does not have to be finished.
-
No class
Thanksgiving. The university is closed; the ledger skips the day.
- December 2 sessions
-
Final Work Session
Last work session. Desk critiques on the piece as it stands, then export checks: format, size, and whether the loop still holds on the second pass.
-
Final Critique
Full critique on the final project, and a review of the term's work.
Due in class- Final Project. Animated Illustration (4 weeks) You choose the subject and the venue. Design an illustration that moves and deliver it as a seamless loop along with the still image it came from. You will learn to prepare artwork for animation, timing and easing, and loop construction and export, using every tool the term has covered.
-
Final critique
The final loops screened and defended, in the exam slot the registrar assigns. You talk about what the image is for, what you tried, and what you would do next.
Assignments
| Assignment | Due | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Exercises Short technique assignments completed in class and handed in the same day: pen tool and curve work, shape building, color systems, scanning and clean-up, flatting, rigging and easing. An exercise scores 2 for correct completion, 1 if it has errors or is submitted incorrectly, and 3 at the instructor's discretion for work that substantially exceeds the requirements. An average of 2 is full credit. Late exercises are never accepted, but your lowest score is dropped. | Exam week | 15% |
| Project 1. Editorial Spots (3 weeks) A publication has assigned you three spot illustrations for one feature article. The article runs on the web, in the newsletter, and as a card in a feed, and your spots run with it. Read the article, then design three small illustrations that respond to what it argues, work together as a set, and read at every size they appear, from article width down to a thumbnail. Hand in production-ready vector files. You will learn the pen tool and curve construction, shape building and boolean operations, color as a reusable system, and how design principles work at editorial scale. | Sep 17 | 15% |
| Project 2. Drawn Editorial Illustration (3 weeks) The same publication wants one large illustration for a different feature. It runs full width at the top of the article and it is also the share card, so it has to work as a hero and survive as a thumbnail. This one is drawn by hand: you will draw on paper, scan or photograph the drawing, and finish it digitally. You will learn mark-making that survives capture, scanning and image clean-up, digital color under a drawn line, and how to move a piece between paper and screen without losing it. | Oct 8 | 15% |
| Project 3. Packaging Illustration (4 weeks) A small food or beverage company needs packaging for a new product. The logo already exists; you are given a simple wordmark to place. You will design the package and the illustration system that covers it. The artwork has to work on a dieline, survive a fold, and hold up on a shelf. Hand in production files and a photographed mockup. You will learn dielines and package structure, how an illustration behaves on a surface that wraps, pattern and repeat, and print production basics: bleed and color separation. | Nov 5 | 20% |
| Final Project. Animated Illustration (4 weeks) You choose the subject and the venue. Design an illustration that moves and deliver it as a seamless loop along with the still image it came from. You will learn to prepare artwork for animation, timing and easing, and loop construction and export, using every tool the term has covered. | Dec 3 | 25% |
| Professionalism Come to class prepared with your supplies, files and sketches. Take part in critique and be ready to comment on other students' work. Attendance at critiques is mandatory, and you may be marked absent if you do not have the required work to present. | Exam week | 10% |
| Final critique The final loops screened and defended, in the exam slot the registrar assigns. You talk about what the image is for, what you tried, and what you would do next. | Dec 8 to Dec 14 | |
| Total | 100% |
How work is marked
Every piece of work is marked on four counts, evenly weighted.
- Participation/Process · 25%
- Contributing to class discussions and critiques; improving work as a result of research and iteration.
- Concept · 25%
- Responding to the problem statement innovatively; thinking critically about work based on critiques, readings and discussions.
- Formal Resolution · 25%
- Making work that is aesthetically sophisticated, effective and appropriate given concept and context.
- Craft · 25%
- Taking care in manufacture of work; showing technical ability.
The rules
- Format
- The semester consists of workshops, exercises, projects and critiques. Workshops are in-class lessons on a specific technique or process. Exercises are short assignments you complete and hand in the same day. Projects happen largely outside of class and are investigations based on a given problem statement. Critiques are scheduled class sessions where work is presented and discussed as a group, and attendance at them is mandatory.
- Attendance
- CSU's FA policy is enforced. Seven absences results in a grade of FA, failure for absences. Students arriving thirty minutes late or more will be marked absent, and students who leave before class is dismissed will be marked absent. If you miss a class you are responsible for catching up; ask a classmate for notes. Emails asking for the lecture material or the assignment will not be answered.
- Late work
- Projects are due at the beginning of class without exception. Have your files ready before class starts and come to class on time. Five points are deducted if work is not in at the due time, fifteen if it is not in before that class ends, and twenty if it comes in the following day. Work is not accepted after that. You need to be in class and present your project on the due date; otherwise it is counted late even if you submitted it. All work is submitted through Blackboard.
- AI use
- The Art and Graphic Design department uses a Level 2 AI policy. Every assignment is designated Open Use or Closed Use in its brief, and permitted use has to be disclosed and cited. In this course, ideation is Open and output is Closed. You may use generative AI for research, reference, moodboards and concept development. Cite it in the department's format: name the tool, name the provider, and say what you used it for. The finished artwork has to be made by you. If an assignment opens the output as well, the brief will say so. Undisclosed use is plagiarism under policy R-58.
- Materials
- Bring a sketchbook, a drawing tool, and a flash drive or external drive to every class. Project 2 is drawn on paper before it is finished digitally, and thumbnail reviews are done on paper in class. A drawing tablet, iPad or Wacom, is useful but not required. Every technique in this course can be completed without one.
- Software and accounts
- The machines in LB 103 and LB 104 run Adobe Creative Cloud. You need your own Adobe ID to use them. Log in when you sit down and log out when you leave; if you stay logged in, anything done on your account is your responsibility. Do not plan on working out of Adobe's cloud storage. There is not enough bandwidth for a full class to upload or download large files at the same time.
- Backups
- Keep your work in at least two places outside this classroom. Lab machines crash, files get deleted by accident, and drives are lost. Work lost for any reason is still work not handed in, and it will not be shown leniency.
- Critique
- Work is presented and discussed as a group. You are expected to comment on other students' work as well as present your own. Phones and watches are silent and out of sight on critique days. Students arriving late on final critique day lose five points from the final grade; thirty minutes or more is fifteen points.
- Academic integrity
- Academic dishonesty results in a grade of FD, failure due to academic dishonesty, and may carry further discipline. See the Student Handbook for the definition and the appeal process. Plagiarism checkers are used. Do not use images, text or code from online without attribution. You may not submit a project made for another class, including one adjusted for this one.
- Accessibility
- If you need accommodations based on a disability, contact the Office of Accessibility Services in The Hub, on the second floor of the library, at 843-863-7159 or awatson@csuniv.edu. Once your accommodations are approved, contact me so we can arrange them. Accommodations are not retroactive, so do this early rather than at the first deadline it affects.
- Nondiscrimination
- Charleston Southern University does not illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, age, religion, genetic information, veteran or military status, or any other basis. Inquiries go to the Title IX Coordinator at 843-863-7374. The Student Handbook carries your rights and remedies in full.
- Title IX
- The university prohibits sex and gender-based discrimination and harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking, and it prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or recovery from either. Pregnant and parenting students can arrange accommodations through the Title IX Coordinator. Faculty are responsible employees, which means anything disclosed to me on these matters goes to the Title IX Coordinator, who provides support and keeps it private. That is Shannon Morrison, with Justin Brown as deputy, at titleix@csuniv.edu.
- Grades of record
- A is 90 and above. B+ is 88 to 89. B is 80 to 87. C+ is 78 to 79. C is 70 to 77. D is 60 to 69. F is 59 and below. An I is given only when circumstances beyond your control prevent you from completing a segment of the course. Graphic Design majors need a C or better for a major course to count toward the degree.
Books
Read in selections, never whole. Each session lists what to read before that class.
- Recommended
- Adobe Illustrator Classroom in a Book: 2025 Release. Brian Wood, Adobe Press, 2024. ISBN 9780135376843.
Time each week
- A meeting
- 170 minutes, 160 of them usable.
- Reading
- Up to minutes a week, and each week's readings are counted against that.
- Presenting
- The section is 20 and the room is 160 usable minutes, so 4 minutes is the unit for anything the whole room presents. The detail lives on the page, the board or the document; the 4 minutes carry the argument.
Grades of record live in Blackboard. This is the reading and the schedule.