Checklist:

Project 1 (Week 1)

– Blog Setup – Teams and Onedrive Setup

Project 2 (Week 1 & 2)

– Artist Research Vakseen -Artist Research Worksheet – Elements of Art – Abstract collage inspired by Vakseen – Abstract collage inspired by Vakseen Evaluation

Project 3

– Difference between street art and vandalism quiz. ) – Digital drawings street art typography – Digital drawings street art typography Evaluation

Project 4

– Artist Research – Asher Jay – Asher Jay – 2 Typographic illustration/Calligrams – Asher Jay – Typographic illustration/Calligrams – Evaluation – Asher Jay – 3 silhouette Experiments – Photos – Asher Jay – 3 silhouette Experiments – Outcome – Asher Jay – 3 silhouette Experiments – Evaluation

Week 1 – Project 1

Welcome to your course! This week, we will focus on some essential digital skills that are integral to your academic journey. Our goal is to ensure that you are comfortable and proficient in navigating the digital tools and platforms that will be your companions throughout this course and beyond. We will also create a blog to use as your portifolio and learn how to use it.

Tasks

Blog SetUp

Your digital portfolio is where you will present ALL of your coursework for the academic year. If you produce large-scale work, sketchbook work, or 3D work you must photograph this evidence and present it on your blog as well.
Your blog will be regularly assessed by your project lecturers, your SLA, and your WEX employer link. Therefore, you are required to maintain your blog weekly.
Additionally, it should be free of spelling or grammatical errors. The presentation style and format must be appropriate to allow your visual and written work to be properly assessed.
Your blog will be sent to UAL Awarding Body at the end of the FMP for final assessment. UAL will assess your blog and award your final grade for the year. If UAL is not able to access your blog or assess your work for the whole year, it may affect your grading or achievement. Therefore, do not ever delete work from
your blog and do not take your blog offline.
Your blog must not contain sensitive, inappropriate, or explicit visual material or language. Please speak to your course leader if you feel that you need to post something that could be considered sensitive (for instance, life drawing materials) so that we can help you protect yourself and your site.

Week 2 – Project 2

This week, we will have fun trying to make a digital collage in Vakseen’s style. Use lots of colours and try putting different things together in a cool way, like Vakseen does. Play with your digital tools and put your ideas together.

Artist reference

Lesson Tasks

Artist Research – Vakseen

Who is the artist?
Write the artist’s name (Vakseen), what type of artist they are (for example: digital illustrator), and where you can find their work (Instagram, website, etc.).

What does their artwork look like?
Describe the artist’s style. Talk about the colours, shapes, characters or faces you can see. Use visual words like bright, dark, surreal, simple, detailed.

What mood or feeling does the artwork give?
Explain how the artwork makes you feel and why. For example: calm, strange, happy, uncomfortable, dreamy. Link your answer to colour, facial expressions or composition.

How do you think the artwork was made?
Explain what materials or software the artist might have used (for example: digital drawing, Photoshop, Procreate). Mention any tools, brushes or techniques you notice.

How can this artist inspire your own work?
Explain what you would like to take from this artist (colour palette, style, theme, mood) and how you could use it in your own artwork without copying.

Artist Research Worksheet – Elements of Art

Abstract Collage Inspired by Vakseen

Task Instructions

After completing your artist research, collect images of women’s faces and texture images that reflect Vakseen’s style.

Using Photoshop, you will:

• Use the Lasso Tool to cut organic, irregular shapes
• Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to cut geometric shapes
• Copy and paste these shapes onto your canvas
• Layer shapes on top of each other to build a collage
• Use Free Transform to resize, rotate and adjust shapes
• Place everything on a solid colour background

Your final outcome should be an abstract digital collage inspired by Vakseen’s use of layering, shape and composition, not a copy of an existing artwork.

Focus on:

• Strong composition and colour choices
• Overlapping shapes
• Clear use of organic and geometric forms

Evaluation Writing frame

Week 3 and 4 – Project 3

This week, we will learn about street art and vandalism. We’ll look at their history and cultural importance. We’ll also talk about what’s right and wrong when it comes to street art, and how it affects public spaces and the rights of artists and property owners. We’ll see if street artists have a responsibility to the community and how their art can be good or maybe cause problems. To finish, each of you will make three Typography drawings inspired by street art styles.

Tasks

Street art Task

Distinctions between street art and vandalism quiz:

Digital drawings inspired by street art typography:

1. Typography in Street Art: Go on Google and search “typography street art”. So you can get inspired to create your own art in Photoshop on an A4 Document – Landscape.
2. Digital Drawing Guidelines: Create three digital drawings inspired by street art typography. Ensure each drawing reflects a different style or theme. Use Photoshop to create those and make sure you create the fill, outlines, shadows and highlights in different layers. Use the brush tool.
3. Reflection: Add to each drawing your reflection paragraph. Discuss the artistic choices you made, like colour, line, shapes and style.

Examples:

Instructions

Click on file > new and select A4 on the print tab, then select landscape.

Week 5 and 6 – Project 4

This week, we’ll create silhouette art inspired by nature and Asher Jay’s work. We’ll pick an image, outline it in Photoshop, and turn it into a silhouette in Illustrator. We’ll adjust its colour and shape to make our art piece. Our goal is to make art that shares a message about nature. We’ll finish by thinking about what our art shows and how we made it.

Tasks Guidelines:

Artist Research – Asher Jay

Research: Begin by researching Asher Jay, a notable figure in the realm of digital art, especially known for her commitment to environmental conservation and activism through her artwork.

Sources: Cite all the sources where you found information and images.

Collect Artworks: Find and download at least six images of Asher Jay’s digital artwork. Make sure to choose works that span different periods of her career or focus on various themes to get a comprehensive view of her portfolio.

Write an Analysis: Based on your research and the artworks you’ve collected, write a detailed analysis covering the following points:

Biography: Who is Asher Jay? Include her background, education, and what led her to focus on environmental issues through art.

Artistic Style: Describe her artistic style. What digital techniques does she use? Discuss her use of colour, form, and any recurring motifs or themes in her work.

Themes and Messages: What are the primary themes and messages conveyed through her art? How does she use digital art to address environmental concerns?

Personal Reflection: What do you personally like or dislike about her work? This could be related to her style, themes, or the impact of her art on society.

Relevance: Discuss the relevance of Asher Jay’s work in today’s context. How does her work inspire conversations or actions towards environmental conservation?

Typographic illustration/Calligrams on Adobe Illustrator

Instructions:

🧠 What you are creating:

You will design a visual image made entirely from text.
From far away, your work should clearly look like an animal or natural form.
Up close, the viewer should be able to read meaningful sentences about your theme.

Think of it as:

• A drawing made with words
• A message that becomes an image

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Requirements

Your final outcome must:

• Clearly show a recognisable shape
• Be fully filled with text (no big empty gaps)
• Include at least 30 sentences

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Stretch & Challenge (for higher grades)

• Use different font sizes to create detail and depth
• Write sentences that feel onnection between message and image
• Highlight key words by increasing size
• Use text density to create shading (more text = darker areas)
• Create a focal point (e.g. eye of the animal)

Text Collage in Illustrator – Step by Step

Step 1: Create your document

• Open Adobe Illustrator
• Click New File
• Choose A4 or A3
• Select Landscape or Portrait
• Name your file (e.g. Text Collage)
• Click Create

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Step 2: Set up your workspace

• Go to Window → Workspace → Essentials Classic
• Click Reset Essentials Classic
• Make sure you can see:
  • Toolbar
  • Properties
  • Layers (Window → Layers if missing)

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Step 3: Add a silhouette (optional but recommended)

• Find a simple silhouette (e.g. whale, bird, tree)
• Place it into Illustrator
• Resize it to fit your page
• Lower the Opacity (around 5–10%)
• Lock the image

This will act as your guide.

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Step 4: Select the Pencil Tool

• Click and hold the tool under the Shaper Tool
• Select Pencil Tool (N)

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Step 5: Draw your paths

• Draw lines following the shape (outline and inside details)
• These lines are called paths (they guide your text)

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Step 6: Remove colour from the path

• Select the path
• Set Fill = None
• Set Stroke = None

The path becomes invisible but still usable.

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Step 7: Add text to the path

• Select the Type Tool
• Click on the path
• Type or paste your sentence

Your text will follow the line.

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Step 8: Adjust your text

• Change font, size, and colour
• Use:
  • larger text for key words
  • smaller text for detail

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Step 9: Repeat and build the shape

• Keep creating paths and adding text
• Fill the entire shape
• Avoid empty spaces

Silhouette Vector Artwork

Objective: This task is designed to develop your skills in creating vector silhouettes using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, inspired by the themes and subjects common in Asher Jay’s environmental artworks. By transforming images into silhouettes, you’ll practice simplifying complex subjects into powerful, visual statements.

Instructions:

🎯 What you are creating

You will create a bold vector silhouette artwork that celebrates nature or wildlife, inspired by Asher Jay.
Your final piece should use simple shapes, strong colours, and clear composition.

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Step 1: Take your photos

Take your own photos using your phone.

You can photograph:

• Your hands (gestures like peace, open hands, reaching, etc.)
• Plants, leaves, flowers
• Objects from nature

Tips:

• Use a plain background (wall, table, sky)
• Make sure the subject is clear and in focus
• Take at least 3–5 photos

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Step 2: Choose your best image

Pick 1 strong image that clearly shows your subject.

Ask yourself:

• Is the shape clear?
• Is it easy to recognise?
• Does it connect to “celebration” (e.g. life, growth, connection, nature)?

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Step 3: Open in Photoshop and select subject

1. Open your image in Photoshop
2. Go to Select → Subject
3. Click Select and Mask (optional for refinement)
4. Clean up the selection if needed
5. Press Ctrl/Cmd + C to copy

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Step 4: Paste into Illustrator

1. Open Adobe Illustrator
2. Create a new A4 or A3 document
3. Paste your image (Ctrl/Cmd + V)

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Step 5: Create your silhouette

1. Select the image
2. Go to Image Trace
3. Choose:
   • Black and White Logo (recommended)
4. Adjust threshold if needed
5. Click Expand

Now your image is a vector.

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Step 6: Clean your shape

• Use the Direct Selection Tool (A)
• Delete unwanted background shapes
• Keep only your main silhouette

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Step 7: Apply colour

• Select your shape
• Choose a bold, flat colour

Recommended palette (Asher Jay inspired):

• Earth tones
• Greens / blues (nature)
• Warm tones (celebration, energy)

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Step 8: Create your composition

Now build your artwork.

Try:

• Duplicate your shape (Ctrl/Cmd + C, Ctrl/Cmd + F)
• Resize, rotate, or flip (Right click → Transform)
• Use different colours
• Overlap shapes to create depth

Ideas:

• Multiple hands reaching (connection)
• Layers of leaves (growth)
• Repetition to show movement or energy

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Step 9: Arrange your final design

Think about:

• Balance (not too empty, not too crowded)
• Clear focal point
• Strong contrast between shapes and background

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Step 10: Final check

Ask yourself:

• Is my shape clear?
• Does it feel bold and simple?
• Does it connect to celebration?
• Do the colours work well together?

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Step 11: Save your work

Export as PNG

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Evaluation and Reflection Writing frame