The Coloring Book

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Q. What got you started in art?I’ve created art work since before I can

remember. I’ve always had this innate need to create and build. whether it was legos and play dough or a pain brush and canvas, I was always experimenting and tinkering. Only when I entered high school and college did I realize and try to understand this weird and challenging passion I had. Q. What inspires you as an artist to be creative?

As cliche as it is, you can find inspiration virtually anywhere. I am inspired by other people’s passion, live music, beautiful and captivating art work or a compelling and thought provoking movie, eating a kick ass burrito; anything that gets your blood pumping. Recently, I’ve used creating art work as a means of exploration more than a means of creation or expression. Taking a question as vague as what is graphic design? Or what is a gift? And letting the exploration and process dictate the art work and medium rather than just creating art for arts sake.Q. What are some of your achieve-ments?

I honestly am unsure of what my achievements are in terms of being an artist. I suppose to make a living would be nice. My ambitions at the moment are simple. Q. How long have you been doing your art work?

I’ve been doodling since I was six but I only really consider the work I’ve done recently to have been decent hah.Q. Where do you see your self going in five years?

I have no idea where im going to be on

wednesday let a lone in five years and that doesn’t really bother me. Anywhere but retail.Q. Something you’ve always wanted to do, but have yet to?

Show a piece in a major gallery or create the set/backdrop for a touring band.Q. Favorite quote or quotes?

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.”

- Dr. SeussQ. The moment you realized you were an ‘artist’?

When I had to decide on whether I had to spend the last of my money on food for that day or to buy plates to finish a print. I chose the plates.

u t r o n eAdam

An interview with graphic designer and social philospher Adam Cutrone reveals his love for art beyond all else.

“As cliche as it is, you can find inspiration virtually anywhere.”

Q. What got you started in art?I’ve created art work since before I can

remember. I’ve always had this innate need to create and build. whether it was legos and play dough or a pain brush and canvas, I was always experimenting and tinkering. Only when I entered high school and college did I realize and try to understand this weird and challenging passion I had. Q. What inspires you as an artist to be creative?

As cliche as it is, you can find inspiration virtually anywhere. I am inspired by other people’s passion, live music, beautiful and captivating art work or a compelling and thought provoking movie, eating a kick ass burrito; anything that gets your blood pumping. Recently, I’ve used creating art work as a means of exploration more than a means of creation or expression. Taking a question as vague as what is graphic design? Or what is a gift? And letting the exploration and process dictate the art work and medium rather than just creating art for arts sake.Q. What are some of your achieve-ments?

I honestly am unsure of what my achievements are in terms of being an artist. I suppose to make a living would be nice. My ambitions at the moment are simple. Q. How long have you been doing your art work?

I’ve been doodling since I was six but I only really consider the work I’ve done recently to have been decent hah.Q. Where do you see your self going in five years?

I have no idea where im going to be on

wednesday let a lone in five years and that doesn’t really bother me. Anywhere but retail.Q. Something you’ve always wanted to do, but have yet to?

Show a piece in a major gallery or create the set/backdrop for a touring band.Q. Favorite quote or quotes?

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.”

- Dr. SeussQ. The moment you realized you were an ‘artist’?

When I had to decide on whether I had to spend the last of my money on food for that day or to buy plates to finish a print. I chose the plates.

u t r o n eAdam

An interview with graphic designer and social philospher Adam Cutrone reveals his love for art beyond all else.

“As cliche as it is, you can find inspiration virtually anywhere.”

The Design LanguageThe elements of design give us an objective

way to analyze and critique design. They make up a language for us to communicate what is working and what is not in a piece.

How confusing would it be to try to talk about some-thing without this language, and especially without being able to point to it, and have the other person understand? “Oh, this little thing here needs to be, um, fatter, but thinner sometimes, too, and make it stand out more… somehow.” Much simpler and clearer to say, “This line should to vary in weight and it needs more space around it.”

This language also helps us describe the affect of dif-ferent aspects of the design on our audience. Last time, one of the things we looked at was how line can create a mood or a feeling. Just from a simple line, one of the elements of design, you can cause a viewer to feel angst and tension.Using the Elements

Design by definition is planned. Design is created to be useful. How do we know what will be useful? By thinking about the elements of design and how each element contributes to the delivery of the message.

The elements give us as designers guidelines when creating our work. They can remind us what’s missing or how we can use something more effectively and they give us a way to talk about our work with others.

ColorColor has the great ability to influence our

impressions of a design and this is probably the way color is used most often. If it is mostly composed of cool colors—green, blue and purple—we can feel calm or depressed, depend-ing on how they are used. Warm colors—red, orange and yellow—make us feel strong, pas-sionate emotions like anger or desire.

What is texture?Texture is the surface quality of a form or shape. It is

a good way to add details to your design. Notice I didn’t say an easy way! Texture can be a complicated element to use effectively, and it exists in many forms, from stripes to rust to typography.

What is a Shape?Shapes convey meaning, aid in creating direction and

can be used quite effectively for drawing attention to a particular section of the design. There are three basic categories to put shapes into: geometric, natural and abstract.

Geometric shapes are what you probably thought of when you read “Shape:” circles, rectangles, octagons, etc. Geometric shapes are also considered pure form, the absolute basic underlying visual representation of an object.Natural shapes are organic shapes, which are often ir-regular, as opposed to shapes that are more mechanical in nature, like geometric shapes. These are things that can be found in nature, like a blade of grass, or they can be man-made, like a dab of paint.

What is Size?Other ways to say size are scale and proportion. It is

the relative largeness or smallness of an object in the context of composition.

What is Space?In its most general definition,

space is mass; it is height and width. Space also indicates depth and the location of objects; it creates the illusion of dimension.

What is Value?Value is the relative lightness or darkness of an object. It is the

difference between shadow and highlight, and all the midtones in between. Value is not the same as color, though value can be used to “color” an image. Black and white photography is a perfect example. It’s not any less appealing because there is no color!

What is a Line?A line connects two points.

Lines come in every shape and size. They are one way to define space and shape, and they can give the illusion of dimension.

Elements of Design

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The Design LanguageThe elements of design give us an objective

way to analyze and critique design. They make up a language for us to communicate what is working and what is not in a piece.

How confusing would it be to try to talk about some-thing without this language, and especially without being able to point to it, and have the other person understand? “Oh, this little thing here needs to be, um, fatter, but thinner sometimes, too, and make it stand out more… somehow.” Much simpler and clearer to say, “This line should to vary in weight and it needs more space around it.”

This language also helps us describe the affect of dif-ferent aspects of the design on our audience. Last time, one of the things we looked at was how line can create a mood or a feeling. Just from a simple line, one of the elements of design, you can cause a viewer to feel angst and tension.Using the Elements

Design by definition is planned. Design is created to be useful. How do we know what will be useful? By thinking about the elements of design and how each element contributes to the delivery of the message.

The elements give us as designers guidelines when creating our work. They can remind us what’s missing or how we can use something more effectively and they give us a way to talk about our work with others.

ColorColor has the great ability to influence our

impressions of a design and this is probably the way color is used most often. If it is mostly composed of cool colors—green, blue and purple—we can feel calm or depressed, depend-ing on how they are used. Warm colors—red, orange and yellow—make us feel strong, pas-sionate emotions like anger or desire.

What is texture?Texture is the surface quality of a form or shape. It is

a good way to add details to your design. Notice I didn’t say an easy way! Texture can be a complicated element to use effectively, and it exists in many forms, from stripes to rust to typography.

What is a Shape?Shapes convey meaning, aid in creating direction and

can be used quite effectively for drawing attention to a particular section of the design. There are three basic categories to put shapes into: geometric, natural and abstract.

Geometric shapes are what you probably thought of when you read “Shape:” circles, rectangles, octagons, etc. Geometric shapes are also considered pure form, the absolute basic underlying visual representation of an object.Natural shapes are organic shapes, which are often ir-regular, as opposed to shapes that are more mechanical in nature, like geometric shapes. These are things that can be found in nature, like a blade of grass, or they can be man-made, like a dab of paint.

What is Size?Other ways to say size are scale and proportion. It is

the relative largeness or smallness of an object in the context of composition.

What is Space?In its most general definition,

space is mass; it is height and width. Space also indicates depth and the location of objects; it creates the illusion of dimension.

What is Value?Value is the relative lightness or darkness of an object. It is the

difference between shadow and highlight, and all the midtones in between. Value is not the same as color, though value can be used to “color” an image. Black and white photography is a perfect example. It’s not any less appealing because there is no color!

What is a Line?A line connects two points.

Lines come in every shape and size. They are one way to define space and shape, and they can give the illusion of dimension.

Elements of Design

R R

RR

RR

The