Some basics. . .

I'm sure all of you have used a computer before, but perhaps you've not had much experience using a Mac before. Today you'll go over some basic exercises that will show you some slight differences between a Mac and a PC.

Not only will you see a little bit of the Mac OS, but you're also going to start working with Adobe Illustrator as well. Illustrator is a fantastic program that will allow you to create resolution-independent files. Don't worry, you'll learn what that means in this first assignment.

Tonight, you'll begin working in your online textbook. Remember, you have a link at the upper right-hand-corner of this blog (look up there now and make sure you see it.) Go ahead and click the link for the Digital Foundations website and it should open in a new window. If it doesn't, click the "back" button on your browser and come back to this page. Then "right-click" the link and select "open link in new window." Once you have the Digital Foundations website open, click the link for Chapter 1 on the left-hand side.

Exercise 1: Read through chapter one entirely. When you're done reading it, I want you to go back to exercise 1 and follow the directions. Miss Chipps needs to see that all of you are able to create a new folder, rename that folder and delete that folder before you go on to exercise 2. Pay special attention when reading the vector vs. bitmap section in exercise one! (hint, hint!)

Exercise 2: Once you've shown her that you can make/rename/delete a folder, then open up Adobe Illustrator. You can find the Illustrator icon in your dock (located at the bottom of the desktop.) It should be located in the folder titled applications. Click on the Adobe Illustrator icon to open the program.

Exercise 3: Create your composition using Adobe Illustrator.

Exercise 4: Save your document. If you need to re-read exercise 4, now is the time to do so. Pay special attention to the blue box that talks about the different document types you may use. (hint, hint!) Please save your file from exercise 3 as an Adobe PDF. Use the naming structure: lastname_ch1.pdf

Once your document is saved as an Adobe PDF, please email it to me. Be sure to put your first & last name as well as ART 180 in the subject line of the email!

After you have emailed your PDF to me, make a comment on this post. State your name and tell me one thing you learned about Adobe Illustrator during this exercise that you found interesting or fun. The comment on this post is a part of your assignment! Don't forget to do it!

If you didn't understand something, ask Miss Chipps about it and re-read the chapter. You need to know this chapter very well for the next class!! (HINT, HINT!!!! <-- that generally means a quiz is coming!)

BOTH your emailed PDF and your comment are due in no later than midnight, Friday, September 7th!