Mac Mini 2018 in Fusion 360

This month cruised by fast. I have been spending the bulk of my time in Fusion 360, both for class projects, as well as personal exploration of the software. Here are some recent renderings:

Apple updated the Mac Mini last month, adding an optional 6-core Intel Coffee Lake (Core i7 8700B) processor configuration, Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type C interface), and a “Space Gray” makeover. using photos from Apple’s product page, I reconstructed the IO layout and customized material and appearance settings. You can download my model here.

Opposite angle, to show off that sweet white LED!

For anyone getting into CAD, I also recommend GrabCAD.com, where you can download (and contribute) 3D models for free! I was able to accelerate my workflow by downloading prebuilt models of the ethernet, USB, and HDMI ports.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR READING RESPONSE – ART 119

Over the weekend I had a chance to sit down and read over the first two chapters of Adobe Illustrator guide. I think I may have just confused myself. One of the key challenges is the fact that I have very little experience with Adobe’s Creative Suite. It’s like a whole new language. Furthermore, I do not have this software at home, and thus cannot easily relate to these new sets of terms. It is hard to apply knowledge when everything about it is purely theoretical. Last but not least: this was just a ton of new information.

At least there were pictures.

Clear as mud, but at least you can see it. Page 33 (Artboard printing)

llustrator is a massive heap of skeuomorphisms, and this only makes sense for those who began their careers in print making prior to the advent of computers in Graphics Design. This can be a huge challenge for newcomers, but this challenge is hardly unique to Illustrator. True story: a seventeen-year-old in one of my freshmen courses once described the save button in MS Word as a “purple truck”.

Beep! Beep! I’m a truck!

See, the thing was, she’d never even seen a floppy disk before. This graphic held no contextual meaning for her. She never experienced the joy of inserting a 3.5-inch piece of plastic into a clunky (yet essential) device to save her document. By the time she was old enough for K-12, the iMac was standard, and those computers (controversially) never shipped with a floppy drive.

“No floppy, no problem! You’ve got the World-Wide Web, son!” source:betanews.com

she accepted the function (saving her document was important, after all), but couldn’t make the connection between function and form. I’m not telling this story because it is funny (I still laugh when I think about her), but because I can now relate to her better after reading about Adobe Illustrator’s Tool Bar and Control Panel. Some of the symbols are easy to recognize, despite the fact that I’ve never actually used them in real life:

Page 3 – The tearoff toolbar

I’ve never used a fountain pen. I’ve had a classmate spatter ink on me accidentally with one, but that’s really about it. Generally speaking, I “get” pens. I’m fond of needlepoint over ballpoint, but that’s not the graphic here. What if I’d never seen a fountain pen before? How’d I ever hope to recognize the function?

I’m sure I’ll catch up, and with enough practice become proficient with this tool set. I just wonder how many “purple truck” moments I’ll have along the way.

INTRO TO ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR

Week 1 – Day 2

Introduction to Adobe Illustrator and Vector Graphics

Illustrator is part of Adobe’s Creative software suite (now “Creative Cloud”). The primary focus of Illustrator is the use of and creation of vector graphics. Most graphics are rasterized (a grid of pixels with assigned values); vectors are “drawn” by software (or hardware, if supported) and are not limited by resolution. At our university’s Mac lab, we have preloaded versions of Illustrator, here’s a quick run-through:

There are lots of ways to launch the program. My preferred method is to use Spotlight search.

Command+[Spacebar]

This will open a search box (this is like Google for your computer), just start typing “illustrator” and you’ll get an auto-complete before you finish typing it. Just hit Enter when it fills in the remaining characters. BAM! You’re in.

Next, we need to create a new project:

File -> New ->

Name: Lastname-Intro [Geiger-Intro ART119]

Profile: Web

Size: 960 x 560

Units: Pixels

Orientation: Landscape

After creating this new document, save it.

File -> Save ->

Save as: Lastname-Intro.ai [Geiger-Intro-ART119.ai]

Default settings -> OK

Terms:

Artboard

Working area

Shape Tool

Used to create a vector object

Vector object

            Vector Objects are defined with Paths and Points

Stroke

            Defines the thickness of lines (vectors)

Fill

            Defines the “filling” of an object (like Twinkies)

Arrange

            Illustrator “stacks” objects in the order they were created. To change this order, go to the top menu:

Object -> Arrange -> Send to…(back/front) Bring to (back/front)

Align

            Like with a text editor, aligns an object to different orientations (objects, Artboard, etc.)

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Option+LeftClick(on object)+drag

            Drag to new area to create a duplicate

LeftClick+drag(over objects)

            Bounding box selects multiple items

Command+S

            Save current progress

In-class exercise: practice drawing your name. I wrote mine in cyrillic:

The letter “а” is tricky, and I didn’t quite get it right on the first try (“Матвей Гайгер” The first “a” looks like an “o”). This was all done with the pen tool, but switching back and forth between the curve and straight pen.

Project 1: Typographic Portraits

Timeline:

Mar 30: Project Intro, sketch ideas for next class (blog)

Apr 05: Work time in class following demonstrations

Apr 07: Work Time in class, following demonstrations

Apr 11: Review Typographic Portraits

Example: “Eruption” “Tilt-A-Whirl” “Balloon Darts” “Roller Bowler” “Cock Clock” “Exit” “Copernicus”.

Choose 3 of 6 provided character prompts. Use your name, first and/or last or nickname. Along with typographic and design…

“Hello my name is______ and I’m…”

Due Monday:

Sketches and ideas for project

Reflection on Open House (Blog)

Reflection on reading (Adobe Illustrator (Blog))