ART 220 · Charleston Southern University · Fall 2026

Assignments

11 due dates · 6 marked pieces · 100% of the grade

Everything the term collects, in the order it comes due. Each row links back to the class that takes it, where the brief and the rest of the day are. Grades of record live with the institution; this is the schedule of the work.

Due dates

  • September4 due
  • Concepts and thumbnailsCheckpoint for Project 1. Editorial Illustration (3 weeks)Bring the article you chose and at least twelve thumbnails across three different concepts, with the hero frame marked in each. We will pin them up and go through them as a group.Due Thu Sep 3
  • Vector draftsCheckpoint for Project 1. Editorial Illustration (3 weeks)The hero and both spots roughed in Illustrator, in one file, with a working color palette.Due Thu Sep 10
  • Project 1. Editorial Illustration (3 weeks)15% of the courseA publication has assigned you the art for one feature article: a featured illustration that runs as the hero at the top of the story, and two spot illustrations that run through it. The article runs on the web, in the newsletter, and as a card in a feed. Read the article, then design a hero that carries what it argues and two spots that belong to the same family: one palette, one drawing logic, one voice. 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 Thu Sep 17
  • Drawn originals, capturedCheckpoint for Project 2. Drawn Editorial Illustration (3 weeks)Your drawing scanned or photographed, cleaned up, with the line separated from the background in a working file.Due Tue Sep 29
  • October3 due
  • Project 2. Drawn Editorial Illustration (3 weeks)15% of the courseThe 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 Thu Oct 8
  • Structure and dielineCheckpoint for Project 3. Packaging Illustration (4 weeks)The product, the package structure, and a dieline you can build on. Bring two structural directions mocked up in paper.Due Thu Oct 22
  • Illustration systemCheckpoint for Project 3. Packaging Illustration (4 weeks)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 Thu Oct 29
  • November3 due
  • Project 3. Packaging Illustration (4 weeks)20% of the courseA 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 Thu Nov 5
  • Motion studyCheckpoint for Final Project. Animated Illustration (4 weeks)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 Tue Nov 17
  • Rough loopCheckpoint for Final Project. Animated Illustration (4 weeks)The whole piece moving, rough. Timing should be readable; the artwork does not have to be finished.Due Tue Nov 24
  • December1 due
  • Final Project. Animated Illustration (4 weeks)25% of the courseYou 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 Thu Dec 3

What each piece is worth

  • ExercisesShort 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.15%
  • Project 1. Editorial Illustration (3 weeks)A publication has assigned you the art for one feature article: a featured illustration that runs as the hero at the top of the story, and two spot illustrations that run through it. The article runs on the web, in the newsletter, and as a card in a feed. Read the article, then design a hero that carries what it argues and two spots that belong to the same family: one palette, one drawing logic, one voice. 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.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.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.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.25%
  • ProfessionalismCome 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.10%
0:00–0:00