Illustration Department Advisors - Rhode Island School of Design

detailed course listing 

rhode island school of design 

illustration department 

2012 - 2013

This catalog is a comprehensive listing of courses offered in RISD’s Illustration 

Department for fall, wintersession and spring, 2012-13. There may be a couple 

of new courses added in the coming year, but for the most part the pages which 

follow offer detailed, illustrated descriptions of all classes as of spring 2012. 

Illustration Department Curriculum Committee: 

Robert Brinkerhoff, Chair 

Jean Blackburn 

Susan Doyle 

Fritz Drury 

Nick Jainschigg 

Fred Lynch 

David Porter 

cover illustration by JooHee Yoon, IL 2011 

Each entry includes a narrative description of an Illustration Department class, a 

few samples of work associated with the class activity, and a list of details which 

are designed to better inform your course selection. Classes are listed by course 

number, in numerical order, in the same way they appear in the RISD Course Announcement. 

Also included among the listings are courses under the Interdisciplinary 

and Liberal Arts categories (idisc and lael). 

This book is the result of significant effort on the part of Illustration faculty, so 

we want you to use it and enjoy it. We think that you’ll benefit from the expanded 

descriptions and illustrated class profiles when planning your studies for 2012- 

13. Meanwhile, consult your advisor (listed herein), stay on top of your degree 

requirements for graduation and enjoy the coming year at RISD.

Degree Requirements† 

BFA in Illustration 

Rhode Island School of Design 

• Foundation Studies Studio Credits (Drawing, 2D Design, Spatial Dynamics 

• Liberal Arts Credits (including foundation year English and Art History) 

• Non-Major Studio Electives (any studio classes taken outside the department) 

18 credits 

42 credits 

12 credits 

• Illustration Requirements 

Sophomore Year Illus. Concepts 1 3 Illus. Concepts 2 3 

Drawing 1 3 Drawing 2 3 

Painting 1 3 Painting 2 3 

54 credits 

Junior and Senior Year Illustration Concepts Elective 3 * 

Computer Literacy Requirement 3 * 

Illustration Open Electives 30 

126 credits 

† Note: Any substitutions or exceptions to the degree requirements must be approved in consultation with 

the Illustration Department Head. Under no circumstances does an advisor or individual instructor of a 

course have the authority to assign credits toward degree matriculation. 

* Please consult the list of acceptable courses which fulfill the Illustration Concepts Elective requirement. These 

courses are listed in the introduction to the Illustration Department chapter of the RISD Course Announcement. 

** Please consult the list of acceptable courses which fulfill the Computer Literacy requirement. These courses 

are listed in the introduction to the Illustration Department chapter of the RISD Course Announcement. 

Students are advised to pay close attention to program evaluations, which are peridocially provided by the Registrar, 

combined with regular consultation with their advisor and (in special cases) with the Department Head 

to track fulfillment of the BFA requirements. The Registrar’s program evaluations are considered the definiitive 

record of matriculation progress, and students bear primary responsibility for acting on advice based on information 

provided by the Registrar.

Illustration Department Advisors 

All Illustration majors are assigned an academic advisor, whose name appears on student transcripts, available on webadvisor 

(http.//wa.risd.edu). Students and advisors are equally responsible for establishing contact, but students are ultimately accountable 

for completion of degree requiresments toward graduation. Listed below are full-time faculty who serve as advisors to Illustration 

majors, along with their duties in the area of advising, as well as specific areas of expertise. Our primary purpose as faculty 

is to serve RISD’s students, so take advantage of the counsel provided by us. We welcome the chance to get to know you as students 

and future artists and designers. If you are unable to reach your advisor, please contact Marjorie Flynn in the Illustration office 

at 454-6240 or mflynn@risd.edu. Students whose advisors are on leave from teaching should contact Robert Brinkerhoff as a 

temporary advisor. 

For more information about individual instructors, including both full and part-time faculty, visit this link: 

Robert Brinkerhoff 

Professor & Department Head 

ISB Main Office 454-6241 and 481-4874 

rbrinker@risd.edu 


Professor 

ISB 301 454-6246 

jblackbu@risd.edu 

Trent Burleson 


ISB 201 454-6252 

tburleso@risd.edu 

Susan Doyle 

Assistant Professor 

ISB 201 + 107 454-6244 

sdoyle@risd.edu 

general advising; exceptions to degree requirements/distribution of credits; academic standing/disciplinary questions; approval 

of independent study, interdiscplinary study and double major forms; Brown-RISD Dual Degree advising; approval 

of internships; grade disputes and grievances; international exchange applications; academic petitions; building concerns; 

approval of crit applications for on site installations; questions for non-majors; expertise in editorial illustration, corporate 

and institutional illustration 

general advising; expertise in drawing, painting, studio practice and gallery/museum representation, sculpture, installation, 

3D illustration, museum/gallery internships and assistantships; artist residencies 

general advising; expertise in drawing, painting, studio practice and gallery/museum representation 

(On leave 2012-13). general advising; expertise in painting, studio practice and gallery/museum representation, printmaking, 

graphic deign, history of illustration, student competitions, community service and sponsored studios/partnered 

research

Illustration Department Advisors 

Bill Drew 


ISB 300 454-6254 & 454-6240 

wdrew@risd.edu, ruth1davis@gmail.com 

Fritz Drury 


ISB 200 454-6243 

fdrury@risd.edu 

Judy Sue Goodwin-Sturges 


ISB 401 454-6257 

jsturges@risd.edu 


Associate Professor 

ISB 301 454-6248 

njainsch@risd.edu 

Nick Palermo 


ISB 403 454-6250 

npalermo@risd.edu 

David Porter 

Assistant Professor 

ISB 201 454-6245 

dporter@risd.edu 


general advising; Yale-Norfolk Summer Program; expertise in publishing, book illustration, drawing, painting, studio 

practice and gallery/museum representation 

general advising; expertise in children’s book illustration and publishing 

general advising; expertise in science fiction and fantasy illustration, scientific illustration, publishing 


general advising; additional advice about graduation requirements; expertise in editorial illustration, book ilustration, 

illustration concepts

c o u r s e d e s c r i p t i o n 

g a l l e r y 

NEW E-BOOK COURSE 

IDISC 1520 

The Bay In Flux 

Rafael Attias, Eli Kintisch & Mikhail Mansion 

Writers and visual creatives are redefining the book using tablets and new forms of 

storytelling, interactivity, and visual display of concepts and data. The goal of this sixcredit, 

one term studio course is to create a web-based eBook for tablets that explores 

how the ecology of the Narragansett Bay is changing as the oceans warm and sour 

steadily. 

Students will engage with the relevant scientific information through close analysis of 

appropriate technical literature, interviews with working scientists or scientific presentations, 

and visits to research sites and laboratories. The collaborative process of 

building the ebook will involve: sketching a multi-faceted story arc using non-linear 

navigation methods; storyboarding visual concepts and user experience; illustration, 

typography, and graphic design; and creating multi-media content. The goal is a cohesive 

work, that enlivens, explores and contextualizes how Rhode Island’s gateway to 

the sea is changing. 

The students will come away with both a creative and technical understanding of 

how digital experiences are built for the iPad. Through a combination of research, 

fieldwork, and guest speakers, they will also gain the ability to synthesize and visually 

interpret scientific content. The class will storyboard the initial draft of the eBook, 

outlining its scope and determining its navigation paradigm. Students will then work 

in teams to research, design, and produce a section of the eBook. The project goal 

is to create a visually compelling, scientifically accurate, and educationally engaging 

experience for the end user. 

Course Level: Junior, Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate; Elective 

(FALL) 6 credits 

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professional practice 

prerequisites 

related studies 

professional affinities 

media affinities 

contact information 

instructor website 

d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2; Painting 1 & 2 

Art of Communicating Science; Editorial Illustration; 

Scientific Illustration; Artistic Anatomy; 

Electric Book; 3-D Kinetic Anatomy 

scientific illustration; corporate/institutional illustration; 

conceptual/problem solving; studio practice 

digital 2D/3D; animation; photography; film; video 

CIT : 169 Weybosset St 401-454-6139 rattias@risd.edu 

http://www.rafaliscious.com


g a l l e r y 

IDISC 1513 

The Art of Communicating Science 

Nick Jainschigg & Lucy Spelman 

This 6-credit course invites undergraduate and graduate students to improve their 

skills in communicating and illustrating science. The general topic is changing biodiversity—how 

humans impact plants, animals, and their environment. Examples will 

be presented from around the world, as well as from Rhode Island. Through a series 

of exercises, students will practice analyzing and interpreting scientific information in 

order to both understand and present it. 

The science content will be delivered through lectures, visits to research labs, and to 

a nearby nature sanctuary. The course is designed to introduce students to relevant 

scientific concepts and challenge them to use their art to make these ideas more concrete 

and meaningful. In some cases, the goal may be to educate; in others, it may 

be to raise awareness, stimulate debate, or entertain. Students will explore the use of 

different media, including 2-D, 3-D animated, and interactive modes. They will also 

target different audiences and venues, including: general interest or editorial publications, 

art for public spaces including galleries, educational and peer- to-peer science 

materials. Class work includes assigned reading, several minor projects, an exam, and 

a comprehensive final project. Students will choose a recent research study on the 

topic of human impacts on biodiversity for the subject of their final project, which is 

a written paper combined with original artwork designed for a public space or public 

interaction. 

The Departments of Illustration and History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences will 

teach the course collaboratively. Students must register for both LAEL 1513 and 

IDISC 1513. 

Course Level: Junior, Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate; Elective 


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prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2; Painting 1 & 2; 

Students taking this class must also register for LAEL-1513 

Editorial Illustration; Scientific Illustration; 

Artistic Anatomy; Painting the Human Figure; 

3-D Kinetic Anatomy 

scientific illustration; corporate/institutional illustration; 


open media: pen & ink/scratchboard; mixed 

media/collage; drawing/painting; digital 2D/3D; 

printmaking; animation; photography; film; video; 

ISB 301 401-454-6248 njainsch@risd.edu 

http://www.nickjainschigg.org


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5101 

Comics: Grammar of the Graphic Novel 

R. Kikuo Johnson 

Students will investigate the mechanics of comics storytelling through a series of exercises 

designed to deconstruct the comics language. Clarity is key to engaging the reader, and this 

course emphasizes communication regardless of style. Discussion will include a concise history 

of the medium and the rise of manga and the graphic novel. This course is structured 

around a series of cumulative exercises introducing a new element of the comics language 

each week, designed to equip the student for further work in this important art form. 

Some have called the last few years, “comics’ “second golden age.” After decades of genre 

myopia in this country, an explosion of variety has recently swept the field. Today, politics, 

religion, art, existentialism, and Batman are all fair game as a growing number of American 

readers become accustomed to the medium’s versatility. Comics has come a long way since 

the 1950s when comic books were stigmatized as a crude and harmful obstacle to literacy 

in America and were burned in public demonstrations. 

prerequisites 

d e t a i l s 

None 

This class deconstructs the comics language and explores the tools you will use to build 

your own stories. Clarity is key to engaging the reader, and this course emphasizes communication 

regardless of style and genre. Starting with the most basic elements of narrative 

imagery, assignments will add new components each week, quickly building in complexity 

of expression. Discussion will include a history of the medium and the rise of manga and 

the graphic novel. 

Course Level: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate; Elective 

(WINTERSESSION) 3 credits 

thinking 

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Comic Book Narrative, Comic Book Storytelling, Character 

Creation, Illustating Dante’s Comedy, Animation 

Introduction for Illustrators, Cinematic Storytelling 

comic book illustration; editorial illustration; 

storyboarding: conceptual/problem solving 

open media: graphite, pen & ink, 

drawing/painting/ digital 2d 

isb main office 401-454-6240 rjohnson01@risd.edu 

http://www.seabread.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5102 

Creature Lab 

Lars Grant-West 

This class is designed to train students in the art of creature creation/design. We will be 

studying animal anatomy and physiology with a focus on adaptions to meet specific environments. 

We’ll follow a structured process to design beasts for a variety of genres. We’ll 

also discuss the psychological implications of different aesthetic choices using existing creatures 

from film and literature as case studies. Each assignment will deliver a specific set of 

parameters within which students must generate multiple sketches, then, through class 

critique. Students will each be responsible for their own creations, but are likely to need to 

make edits that come up in class critique. Some of these edits will be “suggestions”, as they 

generally tend to be in class critiques. Some might be mandatory (I will be acting as playing 

the role as art director/employer in crit situations). We will primarily be exploring the 

genres of fantasy, science fiction and horror. 

(FALL) 

From ancient mythology and folklore to today’s high-powered movie and video game industry 

the creation of fantastic creatures is a well-established and revered craft. This class 

builds on that long legacy. You’ll dredge the depths of your imagination to shape your creations, 

flesh them out using the rich palette of real-world animal adaptations, then breathe 

life into them with your own personal style. Class discussion of the natural world will kick 

start your out-of-class research as your beasties are captured in realistic renderings using 

media of your choice. You’ll design inhabitants for specific fantastic environments or 

genres, illustrate creatures from literature and folklore, re-envision classic critters, and create 

plenty of your own from scratch. Whether your interest is in concept art, sculpting in clay 

or pixels, or finished illustration, come ready to create! 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2, Drawing 1 & 2, Painting 1 & 2 

Comic Book Narrative, Comic Book Storytelling, Character 


Creation, Illustating Dante’s Comedy, Animation 

Introduction for Illustrators, Cinematic Storytelling 




Course Level: Junior, Senior; Elective 


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open media, but with a high level of proficiency required: 

graphite, pen & ink, drawing/painting/digital 2d 

isb main office 401-454-6240 

http://www.larsgrantwest.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5103 

Introduction to Oil Painting 

Jason Brockert 

Oil painting is one of the richest, most powerfully expressive mediums that exist. It offers a 

vast diversity of approaches and provides the most flexibility of all the painting materials. To 

take advantage of that variety, certain technical knowledge is essential. This class is geared 

as a thorough introduction to the newer oil painter. Our early class focus will be on understanding 

materials through a variety of life study exercises. Focus on color and composition 

will promote effectively orchestrated images. Our ultimate goal will be to make powerful 

images that marry the variety of oil with our own personal vision. The class will balance 

the technical mastery of our materials with the clarity of effective visual communication. 

We will communicate ideas of light and space as a means to explore effective design and 

color. A major focus will be how to interpret the complexity of our world into luminous 

and vibrant color and especially the exploration of “warm” versus “cool” color relationships. 

Powerpoint and the RISD Museum will open our eyes to masters of oil paint both old and 

new and they will help serve as our guides. No painting experience is required. 

Course Level: Freshman, Junior, Senior; Elective 


prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

none 

Drawing 1 & 2, Painting 1 & 2, Master Painting Techniques, 

Color for Portrait and Figure, Landscape Painting, Artistic 

Anatomy, Color Works, Watercolor and Gouache, 

Painting the Human Figure , Watercolor: 

An Introduction to the Medium, 

painting & drawing as illustration and fine art, 

color design, portraiture, studio practice 

thinking 

making 

doing 

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oil painting 

ISB 403 401-454-6250 jbrockert@risd.edu 

http://www.jasonbrockert.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5200 

Drawing 1 

Staff 

Visual articulation of ideas is the most important ability an illustrator has; drawing 

is fundamental to such articulation. This course is designed to develop the student’s 

descriptive and communicative skills through weekly exercises in drawing from direct 

observation. Fall semester focuses primarily on organizing pictorial space and defining 

a composition in relation to a unified viewpoint. 

Understanding how point of view can influence an image, both physically and conceptually, 

gives the student tools to construct more complex themes.and to work more 

more confidently from imagination. Frequent slide lectures will expose students to 

spatial and compositional approaches from art history. 

Course Level: Sophomore; Required 


prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 

Foundation Studies 

Drawing 2; Painting 1 & 2; Master Painting Techniques; 

Advanced Drawing; Artistic Anatomy; 

Between Painting & Drawing; Means and An End; 

Painting the Human Figure; Scientific Illustration 



portraiture, studio practice 

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charcoal, conte, graphite and other drawing media 


see listings for individual instructors


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5201 

Painting I 

Staff 

An oil painting/color course in which, by working from life, lessons on the use of color to 

establish spatial relationships, light, shadow and expressive inflection are drawn from and 

related to visual fact. 

This course introduces the use of color in image-making, developing understanding from 

the experience of light in direct observation of still-life, landscape and figure. The unifying 

effects of light source are described as the basis for color harmony, complimented by 

the abstract principles of color design and the organization of the color wheel. The course 

will review strategies for organizing and linking colors on the palette, concepts of complimentary 

and simultaneous contrast, properties of hue, saturation and value and the 

creation of harmonies through linked mixture. The manipulation of spatial effect and 

color issues in building narrative associations are explored while reinforcing drawing skills 

necessary to build effective representational images. The methods and mechanics of oil 

painting are covered in depth, and the history of painting in fine art and illustration is 

explored through slides and demonstrations. 


(FALL) 3 Credits 

prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 


Drawing 1 & 2; Introduction to Oil Painting; 

Master Painting Techniques; Color Works; 

Color for Portrait and Figure; Landscape Painting; 

Watercolor : An Introduction to the Medium 


color design, portratiture, studio practice 

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making 

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oil painting 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5202 

Intro to Animation Techniques for Illustrators 

Agnieszka Woznicka 

This course provides students with practical, hands-on creative experience in animation 

production. The course is primarily designed to introduce students to the fundamental 

principles of animation: timing, movement, staging, design and editing. Class exercises 

explore a variety of traditional and experimental techniques and processes including: 

drawn animation, direct-to-film, cutouts, modified base and pixilation. This class is more 

concerned with process than finished product. Personal expression and experimentation are 

emphasized. 

A wide range of independent animated films is screened and discussed to provide creative 

stimulus and demonstrate a variety of aesthetic and technical approaches. 

The course is reserved for sophomore illustration majors, and is a prerequisite for all other 

animation classes in the Film/Animation/Video department. 


Fee: $150.00 Estimated Cost of Materials: $40.00 

(FALL/SPRING) 3 Credits 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

None 

Game Assets; Photography I, Photography for Ilustrators 

3-D Illustration; Comics: Grammar/The Graphic Novel; 


Cinematic Storytelling; The Comic Book Storytelling; 

Character Creation; The Comic Book Narrative; 

animation, storyboarding 


pictorial narrative, comic books 

thinking 

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open media: drawing and painting, collage, 

3D media, film, sound, photography 

MKT 108d 401-277-4910 awoznick@risd.edu 

http://vimeo.com/user6623222


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5204 

Pen, Ink and Scratchboard 


This course is an introduction to the surprising and challenging medium of pen and ink. 

Among the simplest of mediums to use, it is also quite difficult to master. It can be as 

expressive as handwriting and as precise and elegant as engraving. It is also intimately 

bound up with the history of illustration and of printed images: it was the first medium to 

be successfully reproduced and remains as contemporary as the latest comic or magazine 

illustration. 

The structure of the course leads students quickly through the very few tools needed (pen, 

nib, ink, paper) so that a major portion of the time can be spent on the truly important 

and challenging aspect of the medium--understanding the way pen and ink affects the 

viewer, and learning how its special qualities can be used to articulate eloquent images. 

Scratchboard will be introduced at mid-semester, both as an adjunct to pen and ink 

work and as a medium in its own right. Scratchboard has close ties to woodcut and wood 

engraving: two mediums with a close relationship with illustration, across many times and 

cultures. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2 

or permission of instructor 

Mixed Media; Advanced Drawing; 

Printmaking Techniques for Illustrators; 

Serial Imagery in Printmaking; The Two-Legged Print 

graphic design; printmaking; book illustration; 


thinking 

making 

doing 

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pen & ink/scratchboard 


www.nickjainschigg.org


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5205 

Illustrator As Designer 

Rafael Attias 

This course explores the role of illustrator as graphic designer, with a focus on the fundamentals 

of designing with imagery, the relationship between verbal and visual communication, 

and the complementary partnership between graphic design and illustration. 

Students are encouraged to have some fundamental experience with computers before 

enrolling in this course. 

How does design differ from art? In many ways, design is distinct from art. Design, in the 

purest sense, is a definable aspect of art: a set of visual forces which contribute to the effect 

of two and three-dimensional visual experiences. On another level, design often refers to 

utility or function, and can be described as an act of “creating with purpose.” Design in 

the functional sense takes many forms, is made of many different parts and media, and 

exists for different reasons. An industrial designer may design useful things, an architect 

may design useful spaces, and a graphic designer may design useful messages. This class is 

about making images for graphic design and designing with imagery. As illustrators, you 

are uniquely sensitive to the way images communicate. This class is about understanding 

the role of design in image-making and designing contexts for images. Almost every assignment 

will involve the synthesis of picture and word so by the time the semester is over 

you should feel fairly confident in orchestrating words and pictures. 


(SPRING) 3 Credits 

prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2 or permission of instructor 

Typography for Illustrators; Type in Motion; 

Web Design; Words, Images, Ideas; 

The Two-Legged Print; Cover to Cover 

graphic design; book illustration; 


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CIT : 169 weybosset st 401-454-6139 rattias@risd.edu 

http://www.rafalicious.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5209 

Photography I 

Henry Horenstein 

Photography is an indispensable resource for the illustrator. Whether your aim is to access 

the unique expressive properties of the photographic medium for illustration, to produce 

effective visual reference for work in other media, or to explore compositional possibilities 

in relation to design or narrative, this course will provide the technical underpinnings for 

a knowledgeable involvement with camera, subject, darkroom and presentation. 

Students learn to use the camera, process film, and make prints, as well as to make decisions 

about cropping, contrast adjustment and printing techniques. No prior experience 

in photography is required, but students must have their own 35mm camera with manual 

aperture and shutter-speed controls. 

Course Level: Freshman; Sophomore; Junior; Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate; Elective 

Fee: $100.00 Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00; Refundable Deposit of $100 

(WINTERSESSION) 3 Credits 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

None 

Photography for Illustrators; The Collaged Image 

Printmaking Techniques for Illustrators; The Two-Legged 


Print; Serial Imagery in Printmaking; 

Illustrator as Designer 

advertising, editorial illustration, portraiture, 


photography as fine art studio practice 

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doing 

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practice 




photography, printmaking, digital imaging, film/video 

DC 411 401-454-6366 henry@horenstein.com 

http://www.horenstein.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5210 

Editorial Illustration 

Chris Buzelli 

Magazines, newspapers and other publications rely heavily on pictures to illuminate 

messages initiated by writers, and more than any other genre of illustration, the editorial 

field gives voice to the artist. In this alternately reactive and expressive line of work, the 

illustrator engages in a powerful partnership with the written word, effectively becoming 

an author of opinions and ideas. This class will approach several editorial assignments, all 

of which involve an illustrated response to written text. 

What makes a reader stop and read an article? The right picture draws the reader into the 

story. This class responds to modern editorial assignments from social, environmental and 

political issues. It also deals with the business side of being a professional illustrator: “How 

do you get freelance illustration jobs?”; “Can you make a living as a freelancer?”; and 

“How/where do I start?” The final project is a real life editorial job that will be published 

in a magazine. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 


Contemporary Illustration;; New York New Yorker; Words, 

Images Ideas; Illustrating Dante’s Inferno; 

XX/XY; Propaganda; Cover to Cover; 

The Shape of Content Illustration as a Social Practice 

magazine and book illustration; graphic design; 



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ISB 400 401-454-6254 buzstudio@earthlink.net 

http://www.drawger.com/buzelli


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5211 

Artistic Anatomy 

Fritz Drury 

Students in this course will investigate the specific physical structure of the human body, 

with the aim of producing drawings of greater structural and visual integrity and more 

fluid descriptions of movement and weight in the figure. We will proceed through the 

skeletal and muscular systems at a brisk but reasonable pace, learning names, points of 

articulation and the dynamic functions of each component of the body. Each weekly 

assignment will consist of a careful, descriptive drawing of an element of the skeletal or 

muscular system, and a “dynamic” drawing in which that same element is shown in action 

in the living figure. 

We will also review the work of artists, both contemporary and historical, who have made 

vital artistic use of the elements of anatomical study. The course includes an optional field 

trip to the Brown University Evolutionary Biology Lab to draw from cadavers. There will 

be at least one written test on anatomical facts and terminology. The course culminates 

in a final project on the theme of “A Human Ideal’, exploring past concepts of idealized 

form in the figure in relation to anatomical reality and contemporary cultural perspectives. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Drawing 1 & 2 or permission of instructor 

Color for Portrait & Figure; Advanced Drawing; 

Character Creation; Creature Lab; 

3D Kinetic Anatomy; Scientific Illustration 

figurative painting, portraiture, animation, 

concept art, sci-fi/fantasy illustration 

thinking 

making 

doing 

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practice 




open media: all drawing media, painting 

ISB 200 401-454-6243 fdrury@risd.edu 

http://www.fritzdrury.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5213 

Watercolor: An Introduction to the Medium 

Joe McKendry 

This course attempts to present the transparent watercolor medium in a manner both 

logical and painless. Students will explore wet into wet, dry-brush, masking, and other 

techniques through exercises designed to create an understanding of the vastly different 

ways watercolor can be used. These methods and approaches will be studied through slide 

presentations and then applied in the creation of landscapes, still lives, and figure paintings. 

Technical aspects of brushes, paper, and paint quality will be discussed. Museum 

visits, guest critics and demonstrations will augment class discussion. 

The facility of watercolor in developing luminous atmospheric harmonies, abrupt notes 

of contrast and saturated color effect will be discussed. Techniques for assuring the clarity 

and precision of mixture on the palette as well as the properties of diffusion and blending 

unique to this medium will also be considered. The crucial role of paper selection and 

preparation will be covered in full. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Painting 1 & 2, Drawing 1 & 2 or permission of instructor 

The Collaged Image; Watercolor & Gouache; 

Color for Portrait and Figure; Mixed Media; 

Colorworks; Landscape Painting 


color composition, portraiture, studio practice 

thinking 

making 

doing 

[ 




practice 




watercolor 

ISB 403 401-454-6250 jmckendr@risd.edu 

http://www.joemckendry.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5215 

Landscape Painting 


Throughout history, the natural environment has been a subject of charm and awe for the 

artist, from the delicately painted frescoes in ancient Roman homes to the 16th century, 

when the landscape transcended the role of “background,” and gained momentum as a 

sublime subject in its own right. This is a course on the history of techniques, concepts, 

possibilities, and purposes in landscape painting. The class will encourage exploration of 

landscape as sublime subject, as metaphor for human experience or as the battleground 

for politically charged debate of environmental issues, among other possible approaches. 

Students will work on location and in studio, learning approaches to plein air painting as 

well as incorporation of references in the construction of natural environments. 

We begin in the balmy days of September so students can study directly from nature and 

work on-site in the open air. When cold weather closes in we rely on a mix of resource 

materials (photographs, sketches) in the warmth of the studio. During this last part of 

the semester we review each student’s work and progress in weekly group critiques. Major 

emphasis is placed on developing a personal vision of nature and an individual approach 

to transforming landscape into art. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 


Drawing/Painting 1 & 2; Master Painting Techniques; 

Color for Portrait and Figure; Painting the Visible World; 

Color Works; Watercolor : An Intro. to the Medium 

painting & drawing as illustration and fine art; 

color design; portraiture; studio practice 

thinking 

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practice 




oil painting 

ISB 300 401-454-6252 tburleso@risd.edu 

http://www.burlesonart.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5217 

Color for Portrait and Figure 

Tony Janello 

Portraiture in oils doesn’t simply begin and end with a likeness. In this class we will 

explore ideas and techniques employed by great painters since the Renaissance to create 

truly lifelike representations. We will begin with limited color underpaintings and thereby 

establish the basic image which frees us up to explore color through glazing. As the 

semester progresses we will move on to opaque painting techniques and finally to thickly 

applied paint using the palette knife. Emphasis is placed on color mixing and the use of a 

limited palette. We will examine how color can convey life and how this can be achieved 

through the use of subtle warm and cool color relationships. The mastery of color is essential 

for the artist who wishes to create portraits and figures that seem alive to the viewer. 

Initially, life painting in the classroom creates a bridge between tonal painting and color. 

The use of glazes versus opaque oil color, once explained and demonstrated, are then 

applied by the student and thereby understood. By employing a simple palette of three 

primaries, the student learns to mix all the colors he/she needs. Palette knife is used later 

in the semester to create very accurate warm-cool color effects that are difficult to achieve 

with brush alone. Along with gaining a mastery of color, the student is exposed to a 

variety of techniques aimed at improving one’s ability to capture a faithful likeness. The 

study of portrait painters of the past and present from Velazquez and Rembrandt to Lucian 

Freud and Jenny Saville is an integral part of this course. Students are encouraged to 

design homework assignments, which are tailored to their specific needs. 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Drawing 1 & 2; Painting 1 & 2 or permission of instructor 

Artistic Anatomy; Senior Painting Seminar; Watercolor: An 

Introduction to the Medium; Master Painting Techniques; 


Advanced Painting; Color Works; Drawing With Color; 

Between Painting and Drawing; Watercolor & Gouache 






[ 

thinking 


making 


doing 





oil painting 

ISB 401 401-454-6257 anthonyjanello@verizon.net 

http://www.slowart.com/articles/janello.htm


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5219 

Printmaking Techniques for Illustrators 

Randy Willier 

This course surveys a range of low-tech printmaking processes with the aim of broadening 

the student’s range of markmaking skills and experimenting with new visual effects with 

which to create engaging images. The course is fast-paced- giving the students exposure to 

methods such as monotype, relief printing and drypoint. 

Rather than emphasizing disciplined editioning, assignments will utilize print-making 

processes for producing multiples that explore variations in color, compositional emphasis 

and tonal adjustment. We are looking for exciting, image-making means that communicate 

outside of what the hand can directly draw. 


Fee: $150.00 


d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Drawing 1 & 2, Painting 1 & 2, or permission of instructor 

Serial Imagery in Printmaking; The Collaged Image; 

Illustrator as Designer; The Two Legged Print; 


Traditions, Trappings, Culture, Kitsch; 

Picture and Word; The Artist’s Book 

drawing & printmaking as illustration and fine art, 


color design, poster and book design, 

editorial and book illustration 

thinking 

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practice 




printmaking, collage, installation, artist’s books 

ISB 201 and 107 401-454-6244 sdoyle@risd.edu 

http://www.doyle-art.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5223 

Master Painting Techniques 


How did Caravaggio finesse such powerful chiaroscuro in his masterpiece, The Conversion 

of Saul? What’s beneath the surface of a Titian? Why are the details in Rembrandt 

portraits so alluring? And how did Vermeer so perfectly capture the north light in his tranquil 

domestic scenes? Knowledge of painting technique is vital but often neglected. This 

course presents the techniques of four great Late Renaissance and Baroque artists: Titian, 

Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Vermeer. Students paint from life in the studio, deciphering 

the techniques of these artists in painting from observation while guided through demonstrations 

and discussions of visual examples by these artists. Four figurative compositions 

inspired by the masters are completed during the semester, exploring materials and methods 

such as colored grounds, underpainting, glazing and scumbling to better understand 

and build upon the unique contributions of each of these artists. 

prerequisites 

d e t a i l s 


This course seeks not just to expose students to the great and time-tested painting 

techniques of the masters but also to expand their own personal painting vocabulary and 

to get beyond old habits and limitations. 

Course Level: Junior, Senior, Elective 




Color for Portrait & Figure; Painting the Human Figure; 

Reniassance Painting in Florence; Landscape Painting; 

Between Painting & Drawing 




multiple painting techniques 

thinking 

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doing 

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practice 



ISB 300 401-454-6252 tburleso@risd.edu 

http://www.burlesonart.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5223 

Mixed Media 

Lenny Long 

This course focuses on the exploration of combining a variety of media with the expectation 

of discovering a new, personal approach to creating images. Students are taught 

initially the specific properties and use of watercolor, gouache and acrylic and then explore 

combinations of these media with pastel, colored pencil, inks, collage material, charcoal, 

and found objects. 

There will be discussion and experimentation with various techniques, materials, and 

finishes. Students will work in class from set ups, photo references and the model , and 

will develop weekly homework assignments using the techniques and media combinations 

explored in class. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Drawing 1 & 2, Painting 1 & 2, or permission of instructor 

Pastel & Gouache; The Collaged Image; 

3D Illustration; 2D or Not 2D ; 

Watercolor: An Introduction to the Medium; 

Between Painting & Drawing; Pen, Ink & Scratchboard; 




multiple media and techniques 

thinking 

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practice 



ISB 300 401-454-6254 llong@risd.edu 

none


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5225 

Digital Illustration 

Richard Gann, Nick Jainschigg, Paul Olson, Eric Telfort 

The purpose of of this course is to introduce students to the ways of working with 

digital imaging in such a manner as to maximize creativity and enjoyment and minimize 

intimidation and confusion. The students are not presumed to have previous experience 

with computers or digital imaging programs. They will leave the class with proficiency in 

Photoshop, Illustrator, and Painter. 

The benefits of digital fluency are many, and not merely to produce purely digital art. It 

can be extremely helpful in the preparation of promotional materials, the gathering of 

references, or in experimentation and sketching prior to final execution in traditional media. 

The goal will be to introduce the students to the basic concepts of working digitally, 

to demonstrate the flexible and forgiving nature of the tools as a means to encouraging 

experimentation. 

prerequisites 

d e t a i l s 

None 

Rather than treating digital imaging as a phenomenon without precedents, this class will 

concentrate on the tools of digital imaging as part of a continuum of media, ranging from 

pencil through photography. As such, as in any choice of medium, a consideration of the 

strengths and weaknesses of the tools will be central. The assignments are designed to play 

to the strengths of digital tools, but the final quality of the illustrations produced will, as 

always, be dependent on the creativity of the artist. 



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instructor websites 

3D Graphics for Illustrators; Game Assets; 

Typography for Illustrators; Illustrator as Designer; 

Type in Motion; Web Design 

game design, animation concept art; book/CD covers; 

graphic design, editorial/book/scientific illustration 

collage; drawing/painting; digital 2D/3D; 

printmaking; animation; photography; video 

for general inquiries: ISB 301 401-454-6248 

njainsch@risd.edu 

check listings for individual instructors


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5227 

Illustration Concepts 1 

Staff 

Illustration is the visual communication of ideas and feelings. The fine arts, in contrast, 

merely require expression. But in illustration, where communication is paramount, lucid 

articulation is essential. An illustration that is not understood by its audience is a failure. 

In this context, “art” is not an end but a means: it is a delivery system for the perceptions 

of the mind and the heart. Mastery of the means of expression is admirable, but the underlying 

concept is fundamental. “How?” is subservient to “Why?” 

Illustration Concepts 1 is the first of two sequential required courses that acknowledge 

and embrace the primacy of concept, of idea, of perception in the creation of an illustrative 

statement. While the individual sections of each course may vary in method and 

emphasis, they share a single goal: to develop and deepen each student’s conceptual reach 

and grasp, and to enlist his or her unique imagination as the driving force in the solution 

to a broad spectrum of illustrative problems. They incorporate the premise that it matters 

little how well you speak if you have nothing to say. 



thinking 

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practice 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 


Illustration Concepts 2; Propaganda; What’s Your Story?; 

XX/XY; Style & Substance; Traditions, Trappings, Culture 


& Kitsch; Contemporary Illustration; Editorial Illustration; 

New York, New Yorker; Illustrating Dante’s Comedy 

conceptual/problem solving; graphic design; 


editorial illustration; corporate & institutional illustration; 

book and poster illustration/design 

open media: pen & ink/scratchboard; mixed media/ 


collage; drawing/painting; digital 2D/3D; printmaking; 

animation; photography; video 






g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5228 

Advanced Painting 

Fritz Drury 

This course will build on the skills established in Sophomore Painting, while broadening 

the students’ understanding of options available to the painter. The primary work of the 

semester will be on individually directed projects, worked on both in and out of class. 

Overall, a goal of establishing a personal visual vocabulary of facture and image will be 

emphasized. Students will be encouraged to particularize their use of the painting medium 

and their approach to subject and statement through color, painterly touch, format, use of 

materials, drawing and compositional decisions, stylistic reference and implied narrative. 

The core medium of the class will be oil paint, but this may be augmented or extended by 

other media. The course will include group exercises designed to solidify a basic understanding 

of drawing, the use of the medium and the principles of color. Periodic outside 

assignments will extend this practice while emphasizing personal choice and expressive 

adjustment based on individual priorities. 

A flexible format for in-class work on personal projects will allow group interaction to coexist 

with individually directed work. The semester’s goal for each student will be to define 

a direction for future work in painting through a connected artistic investigation 

completed during the course. 



thinking 

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practice 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Painting 1 & 2 

Advanced Drawing; Master Painting Techniques; 

Color for Portrait and Figure; Study of the Human Figure; 


Between Painting & Drawing; Landscape Painting; 

Senior Painting Seminar 

painting & drawing as fine art and illustration, 


studio practice 

open media: painting and drawing; 


mixed media/collage 






g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5230 

Putting It All Together 

Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges 

This course is an opportunity for seniors to follow their own passions by developing a 

series of original projects. Students are encouraged to work in the media and technique 

of their choice—painting, illustration, 3-D, etc.—and will present weekly progress for 

discussion and critique while formulating a body of work for professional presentation 

and portfolio. Assignments are self-directed; the class is a collective independent study. 

Professor and student will work closely to focus the development of the student’s desired 

project, whose ultimate goal might be creating material for graduate school applications, 

a cohesive and well-directed portfolio, or simply artwork that is reflective of their RISD 

career. The semester’s work culminates in a presentation to an objective group of outside 

professionals who will critique the merits of the final body of work and offer suggestions 

for future exploration and development. 

Course Level: Senior; Elective 


prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Ilustration Concepts 1 & 2; senior level status 

The Portfolio; Professional Practice; Picture and Word; 

The Entrepreneur; Editorial Illustration; What’s Your 

Story?; New York, New Yorker; Contemporary Illustration 

illustration; corporate & institutional illustration; studio 

practice; book and poster illustration/design 

thinking 

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doing 

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practice 




open media: all illustration and drawing media, painting 

ISB 401 401-454-6257 jsturges@risd.edu 

http://www.studiogoodwinsturges.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5232 

Illustration Concepts 2 

Staff 

Illustration Concepts 2 is the second required course in a two-semester sequence. Like 

its antecedent it embraces the primacy of concept, of idea, of perception in the creation 

of an illustrative statement. While the sections of the course may vary in method 

and emphasis (due to the proclivities of individual faculty), they share a single goal: to 

develop and deepen the student’s conceptual reach and grasp, and to enlist his or her 

unique imagination as the driving force in the solution to a broad spectrum of illustrative 

problems. They incorporate the premise that it matters little how well you speak if 

you have nothing to say. 



fee: $52 (covers field trip transportation and museum entry fees) 

prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 


Illustration Concepts 1; Propaganda; What’s Your Story?; 








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practice 










g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5233 

XX/XY 

Melissa Ferreira 

We are not governed by our genitals. While our behaviors are fractionally determined by 

our physical sex (and the underlying genetics), we are also shaped by cultural traditions 

and expectations that influence us profoundly. Welcome to the world of gender studies. 

You may endorse or oppose our society’s definition of masculine and feminine and 

its sexual practices and pressures; this semester will give you an opportunity to closely 

consider what you do (or don’t) and why (or why not). This course, however, is by no 

means a seminar in social psychology. Rather it examines gender issues that you’d find 

on the newsstands and Oprah: dating, marriage, parenting, fashion, body image, career 

choice and stereotypes. We’ll deal with safe sex campaigns and the treacherous terrain of 

grade school sex education, not to mention the hormonal vicissitudes of adolescence. 

We will consider the prurience of both pornography and political correctness. Weekly 

illustration assignments will proceed from assigned readings, documentaries, films, Podcasts. 

Whatever the topic, we follow important illustration protocol: identify- ing the 

target audience, clarifying and strengthening concepts, keeping to the deadline. 

Our goal is inventive communication and the artriculation of individual sensibility; 

virtually any media and method can be used as we explore what it is to be female, male 

or something in between. 


This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts requirement for Juniors. 


thinking 

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practice 

prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 


New York, New Yorker; Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; 

What’s Your Story?; Propaganda; Style & Substance; 

Traditions, Trappings, Culture & Kitsch; 

Contemporary Illustration; Editorial Illustration 








http://melissaferreira.net/blog/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5234 

Photography for Illustrators 

Henry Horenstein 

Photography is a core resource for the illustrator, but it can also function as a final medium, 

or as a component of an image in concert with painting, drawing or 3D materials. 

This course will strengthen the student’s understanding of the factors which combine to 

make a powerful photographic image, and adjustments which permit the fusion of multiple 

image sources and diverse media. 

Beyond technical considerations, we will explore the creation of a unique approach to 

engage the viewer’s attention and suggest narrative depth and expressive purpose, to penetrate 

the shell produced by the image glut in today’s society. Students will be encouraged 

to work within a theme in order to explore variations in composition and medium. 

The student must have access to a camera, preferably 35mm SLR, and a willingness to 

think outside of the box. 


Deposit: Refundable equipment deposit: $100.00 

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00 

Materials Fee: $100.00 


thinking 

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practice 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

None 

Photography 1; The Collaged Image; 

Serial Imagery in Printmaking; 



The Two-Legged Print; Illustrator as Designer 

advertising, editorial illustration, portraiture, 


fine art studio practice 

photography, printmaking, 


digital imaging, film/video 


DC 411 401-454-6366 henry@horenstein.com 


http://www.horenstein.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5237 

What’s Your Story? 

Mary Jane Begin 

In choosing a story to retell, invent or illustrate, the choice itself is revealing. Are 

you obsessed with wizards, dragons, minimalist plays, super heroes, British literature, 

nursery rhymes, myths, folktales or graphic novels? What motivates an artist to explore 

one particular theme or genre over another: Is it a personal obsession, a political/moral 

stance, or a “purely aesthetic” interest? This course requires students to search the deeper 

and/or darker recesses of their hearts and minds to unearth personal meaning in the narrative 

sources they choose for class projects, ultimately using these analytical conclusions 

to shape each project’s character. Assignments will include the creation of the following: 

an historical narrative image where student plays a role, a sequential series from a text 

of student’s choice, a comic panel and a toy or game. Discussions will include: characterization, 

setting, atmosphere, format, focus, movement/readability, editing, symbolism, 

storyboarding, typography, layout, and a study of style and its role in illuminating 

meaning. 

This course will involve in-class critique, a character workshop, a visit to Special Collections, 

a visit to the RISD Museum, a field trip, slide/power point lectures, and a weekly 

review of books, picture books, graphic novels, comics, games and toys. 




thinking 

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practice 

prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 


Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Picture & Word; 

The Comic Book Narrative; The Comic Book Storytelling; 

Electric Book; Comics: Grammar of the Graphic Novel; 

Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; Editorial Illustration 







ISB 200 401-454-6242 mbegin@risd.edu 

http://www.maryjanebegin.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5240 

Painting the Human Figure 

Nick Palermo 

This course is designed to enhance the students’ ability to depict the human form with an 

emphasis on qualities of movement and volume and light. Drawings and oil sketches of 

the human figure are made from direct observation and executed in the spirit of intense 

visual investigation. 

The greater part of each class period will be spent on work from the model, beginning 

with about 30 minutes of figure drawing in brief poses to emphasize fluidity and immediacy 

of response. Longer poses will follow this warm-up, with duration increasing as 

the semester proceeds, allowing for more finished paintings. Students will be encouraged 

to maximize visual contact with the figure, recording large dominant planes of the figure 

before specific details and developing all parts in concert through continuous cross-referencing. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 


Color for Portrait and Figure; Artistic Anatomy; 

Painting the Visible World,; 3D Kinetic Anatomy; 

Between Painting & Drawing; Means and an End; 

Creature Lab; Scientific Illustration 



thinking 

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practice 




drawing, painting in oil and acrylic 

ISB 403 401-454-6250 npalermo@risd.edu 

http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/Nicholas_Palermo/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5241 

Style & Substance 

Fred Lynch 

Illustration is an art of visual communication. Style is simply the illustrator’s vocabulary; 

substance is what the illustrator has chosen to express. The success of an illustration 

depends on the seamless connection of these two entities. In this course students 

encounter a wide variety of subject matter drawn from a variety of fields. They are asked 

to create illustrations with a particular emphasis on the development of a personal vision 

as well as the successful communication of wisely chosen ideas. Style, its strengths and 

limitations, is examined in the light of its importance in the marketplace. 

Course Level: Junior; Senior; Elective 

This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts requirement for Juniors 


prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 



Words, Images, Ideas; What’s Your Story?; Propaganda; 

Traditions, Trappings, Culture & Kitsch; 






thinking 

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practice 







ISB 201 401-454-6245 flynch@risd.edu 

http://www.fredlynch.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5243 

Premises and Projects 

David Porter 

A premise is an idea with consequences. Students in this course will conceive a premise 

for each of three distinct projects. The first is for children, the second for adults, the 

third at the student’s discretion. Each project will develop and test its premise: it will 

expose inspiration to proof. No project will be completed in this course. The object, 

rather, is to give in each instance sufficient visible evidence of your imagination’s potential; 

to demonstrate delight. Such promising projects may be continued and/or completed 

after the course itself is over. While the commercial potential for all projects 

will be considered and discussed, the primary emphasis will be on ways to generate, 

recognize and make manifest the student’s own best ideas. 

Classes will be of seminar size. They will consist of speculation, discussion, suggestion, 

and critique: skull sessions. Such dialogue is essential to the generation and development 

of both premise and projec!, and will comprise the vast majority of class time. 


This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts requirement for Juniors 


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practice 

prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 



Words, Images, Ideas; What’s Your Story?; Propaganda; 

Traditions, Trappings, Culture & Kitsch; Wit’s End; 








ISB 201 401-454-6245 flynch@risd.edu 

http://www.fredlynch.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5250 

Drawing 2 

Staff 

Building on skills developed in Drawing I during the Fall semester, this class will focus 

primarily on the human figure through weekly observational drawing. Basic anatomical 

considerations will be addressed in order to help the students better understand 

and depict the complexities of the human form. As the course progresses, students will 

integrate the figure into a spatial context, engaging issues of composition, figure and 

ground, and effective lighting. In increasingly challenging projects students will explore 

how viewpoint, both physical and conceptual, can effect the viewer’s experience 

of a drawing. Experimentation with materials, concepts and approaches is strongly 

encouraged. 

Course Level: Sophomore, Required 


prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 

Drawing 1 or permission of instructor 

Drawing 1; Painting 1 & 2; Master Painting Techniques; 

Advanced Drawing; Artistic Anatomy; 

Between Painting & Drawing; Means and An End; 

Painting the Human Figure; Scientific Illustration 




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charcoal, conte, graphite and other drawing media 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5251 

Painting 2 

Staff 

This course extends the lessons of Painting 1, reinforcing concepts of color organization 

and compositional construction. The influence of color choice on the emotional and associative 

expression of an image is explored. The course covers various strategies for engaging 

the viewer through color harmony and tension, spatial illusions, the tactile properties 

of the painted surface and depicted forms. 

Students are encouraged to develop personal approaches to color and paint application. 

While continuing work from direct observation, the course proceeds to explore strategies 

for building synthetic, layered compositions from a variety of visual sources while using 

color to unify an image, create emphasis and suggest narrative sequence. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Painting 1 or permission of instructor 

Advanced Painting; Master Painting Techniques; 

Color for Portrait and Figure; Study of the Human 

Figure,; Senior Painting Seminar; Landscape Painting; 

Master Painting Techniques; Acrylic Workshop 



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oil painting 

illustration office 401-454-6240 



g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5252 

Color Works 


For students, color is often one of the most intimidating elements of designing a piece, 

as the choices can seem endless and arbitrary. Anxiety and stress often result in hit or 

miss approaches, repetition of a particular palette or avoidance of color altogether. This 

class encourages awareness of color as one of the most dynamic components of an image 

and emphasizes the need for achieving a balance between acquired knowledge and 

instinct. Students will be required to investigate: value, harmony, limited palettes, color 

grounds, layering, mixing, opacity, transparency, temperature, mood, contrast, complimentary 

color, spatial relationships, vibration and reflection as part of their in-class and 

homework assignments. Students will work from models dressed in costume, with poses 

changing every three weeks, and will be given instruction in a combination of acrylics 

and watercolor in a variety of technical applications. The expectation is that individuals 

will gain a level of expertise in the designated media and then apply that knowledge to 

other media. 

This course will involve in-class critique, working from the model, and homework 

assignments that will include portrait, still life, color charts, a master copy, and a final 

series of illustrations/images of their choosing. The four week final project will be at the 

end of the semester allowing students to explore a style, material, media and subject 

matter of their choice that includes an investigation of color related issues. 



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prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2; 

Painting 1 & 2; or permission of instructor 

Renaissance Painting in Florence; 

Master Painting Techniques; Between Painting & Drawing; 

Color for Portrait and Figure; Advanced Painting; 

Drawing With Color; Watercolor & Guoache 



open media: acrylic painting, watercolor 

ISB 200 401-454-6246 mjbegin@cox.net 



g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5254 

The Portfolio 

Mary Jane Begin, Ellen Weinstein 

The term portfolio is used here to mean the entire delivery system that explains who an 

artist is to the professional world. That identity, or “brand” consists of a resume, website, 

printed samples, mailers, business cards, video clips and any other representation of the 

skills offered and the work created. This class prepares each artist properly for real world 

experiences in the disciplines and industries that fit the work developed. Portfolios serve 

as the gateway to job opportunities, freelance work, gallery exhibitions, artist residencies, 

internships and are a design project in their entirety. 

The primary focus of the portfolio is on four main areas of discussion: the creation of 

the artwork itself; the portfolio as a delivery system for the work; the charging of fees 

and the creation of contracts; and the connection to client, employer or art buyer. Each 

student will develop an individual program and portfolio, including a proposal for a 

body of work, a website, a business card, advertising materials, a resume and a client list 

with contact information. 

Class will meet each week and review in a group or individual critique format, augmented 

with guest lecturers, attendance at a portfolio and resume workshop as well as 

participation in a Portfolio Review Day sponsored by Career Services. 



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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2 and senior level status 

Professional Practice; Editorial Illustration; 


Picture and Word; Putting It All Together; 

The Entrepreneur; The Business of Art and Design; 

Contemporary Illustration; Advanced Projects 

conceptual/problem solving; editorial illustration; corpoprofessional 

affinities 

rate & institutional illustration; book illustration; graphic 

design; packaging and 3D illustration 




animation; photography; film; video 


ISB 200 401-454-6246 mjbegin@cox.net 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5259 

The Magic of Books 

Judy Sue Goodwin-Sturges 

How often do we stop to appreciate a beautiful book jacket or a well-designed book? 

What are the elements that go into their making? How do images and text relate to one 

another and produce an object that is somehow greater than the sum of their parts? 

This course examines books of all kinds for readers of all ages. We will study a wide variety 

of genres. from which selections will be discussed in class. Students will experiment to 

find the best imagery and style to complement the text. Composition, design, media, 

and color will all come into play. During each class session, we will discuss students’ prior 

week’s work. In the second half of the semester, students will use what they have learned 

to create a final project: a book that epitomizes the interaction of words and images. 

At the end of this course, students should have gained a heightened awareness of books 

and bookmaking, of the relationship of images to text, and of picture-making in general. 


(SPRING) 3 credits 

prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

None 

Putting it All Together, What’s Your Story, Cover to Cover, 

Merging Worlds, Editorial Illustration, Picture and Word 

The Collaged Image, Serial Imagery in Printmaking 

book/editorial illustration; graphic novel 

scfi/fantasy ilustration 

naarrative painting/drawing as illustration or fine art 

open media: drawing/painting; 

thinking 

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practice 




animation; pastel; gouache; acrylic 

collage. photography 

isb 401 401-454-6257 info@goodwinsturges.com 

www.studiogoodwinsturges.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5260 

Scientific Illustration 


For centuries science has posed widely divergent creative models for the physical world. 

From the Greek philosophers to String Theory, ways of visualizing the world have been 

in constant evolution. How we examine things and seek to understand them are among 

our first concerns in this class. What do an egg and an aqueduct, a bubble bath and 

a bee hive, or a tree branch and a highway system have in common? With millions of 

years for Research and Development, nature’s diversity of forms is an enormous library 

of inspiration for designers and artists. 

This class is meant as an introduction to the enormous field of Scientific Illustration. 

The scientific illustrator must organize scientific information so it is efficient, clear and 

visually compelling. It must satisfy the needs of the scientist, the format and the audience. 

Major areas of concern will be in developing professionalism, strong composition, 

craftsmanship and nuanced observational skills. The influence of belief systems 

on the depiction of “factual” information will be examined in historic scientific illustrations. 

Students will be expected to produce several portfolio quality pieces. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 



Drawing 1 & 2; Painting 1 & 2; Advanced Drawing; 

Creature Creation; Artistic Anatomy; 3D Kinetic Anatomy; 

Creature Lab; The Art of Communicating Science 

scientific and medical illustration; 

archaeological illustration; book illustration; 

painting & drawing as illustration and fine art 

thinking 

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doing 

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practice 




open media: drawing, painting, digital 

ISB 301 401-454-6246 jblackbu@risd.edu 

http://blackburnartspace.com/home.html


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5263 

Type In Motion 

Rafael Attias 

Learn basic typography, page layout and the many new and evolving applications of 

computer generated art. This class will introduce the basics of Flash, InDesign, Illustrator 

and Photoshop. We will explore type in motion and the marriage of visuals to music 

in time. 

This class explores the fundamentals of coordinating typography, imagery and motion 

graphics. Students work on several assignments throughout the semester utilizing InDesign, 

Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, and/or other programs which encourage the synthesis 

of type, image and sound over time and including movement, both real and implied. 

The projects will cover a wide range of topics, from poster design, books and packaging 

to more interactive applications, with the goal of learning how to combine these tools to 

realize successful visual communication in an electronic, time-based environment. 

prerequisites 

d e t a i l s 

none 

Course Level: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Fifth Year, Graduate; Elective 




Illustrator as Designer; Typography for Illustrators; 

Intro to Animation Techniques for Illustrators; 

Words, Images Ideas; Propaganda; 

Cover to Cover; Digital Illustration 

Illustrator as Designer; Wraparounds; 

Web Design; Cover to Cover; Propaganda; 

The Two-Legged Print; Digital Illustration 

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practice 




digital 2D/3D; animation; video 

CIT : 169 Weybosset St 401-454-6139 rattias@risd.edu 

http://www.rafalicious.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5264 

Cover to Cover 

Lars Grant-West 

The finest illustrated book covers - from graphic novels to literary classics - captivate the 

reader both emotionally and intellectually, reflecting the essence of narrative content 

through potent imagery. This course explores the generative process of making illustrations 

for book covers - from sketch to finish, from comprehensive image to final revisions. 

Student will be engaged in analysis of narrative content, preparatory drawings and 

finished work. Weekly demonstrations will provide an intensive look at how an illustrator 

approaches formal material and aesthetic decisions in support of content, helping 

students gain confidence in the use of processes and materials. 

The evolution of a book cover is informed by several considerations, among them genre, 

message and audience. This class takes a very practical approach to the development of 

cover illustration, with the type of book, its literary foundation and its readership as key 

issues of concern. A variety of assignments exploring several publishing genres will be introduced 

over the twelve-week period, all aimed at reflecting the essence of literary content 

through compelling imagery. Group critiques of both work in progress and finished 

illustrations guide students through each assignment, and discussion of all aspects of 

cover illustration will be germane to discourse. 

prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2; Painting 1 & 2; 


Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; New York, New Yorker; 

Illustrator as Designer; Editorial Illustration; 

Contemporary Illustration; Picture and Word 




book illustration; studio practice 

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practice 




open media: pen & ink/scratchboard; mixed media/collage; 

drawing/painting; digital 2D/3D; 

printmaking; photography 

illustration office 401-454-6240 

http://www.larsgrantwest.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5265 

Picture and Word 

Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges/Stacy Graham O’Connell 

This is a team-taught course which begins with an overview of the children’s book genre 

and will focus on the 32-page trade picture book. Using a reading list of recommended 

picture books, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with classic as well as 

current titles. 

The first half of the semester introduces the components of a picture book via in-class 

and at-home writing and illustrating projects, which are presented in class and critiqued 

by faculty and fellow students. The second half of the course is devoted to developing 

story ideas that will provide the basis for the final project: a complete original story, 

tight sketch dummy, and 2-4 finished illustrations. Each student is expected to keep an 

ongo- ing “writer’s notebook,” which is intended to help the student find his/her own 

storytelling voice and should provide the beginnings of story ideas to draw upon for 

the final project. In addition, students are encouraged to keep a sketchbook to develop 

their artistic style. Class discussion and individual critiques with the faculty will provide 

guidance in finalizing text and art. Students will present their final projects to a group of 

outside professionals during the last class. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2; 

students in this class must also register for: ENGL E508 

Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; Illustrator as Designer; 

What’s Your Story?; Artists Books; The Entrepreneur; The 

Portfolio; Professional Practice; Typography for Illustrators; 

Type in Motion; Cover to Cover; Putting It All Together; 

book design and illustration; studio practice 

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drawing/painting; digital 2D/3D; 

printmaking; photography 

ISB 401 401-454-6257 info@studiogoodwinsturges.com 



g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5267 

3D Graphics for Illustrators 


Within the last decade it has become possible for the average artist or designer to afford 

and understand sophisticated 3D digital tools. As the price of these tools decreases (some 

of the best are now literally free) and their ease-of-use increases, it is becoming more and 

more practical to incorporate them into a broad range of artistic work. 

This course will teach the basics of creating work in 3D, using ZBrush and Blender 

(www,blender.org). While 3D is commonly thought of in terms of creating realistic environments 

and characters, it has many more uses. It is frequently used in the production 

of both still and motion graphics, as well as in the preparation of reference work for more 

traditional media. This course will treat 3D as a medium with its own strengths and weaknesses, 

and as a tool in conjunction with traditional media. 

Blender, the popular and powerful open-source program, is rapidly gaining acceptance 

across a wide range of animation and design businesses. ZBrush has become an industry 

standard due to its ability to let artists use their sculpting skills directly in a 3D environment. 

Together, they provide the artist with powerful tools for creating detailed and 

complex 3D illustrations with great speed. No experience with 3D is required, but due to 

the complexity of the software and of the concepts covered, a familiarity with computers 

and with 2D computer graphics is recommended. 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Digital Illustration 

Creature Lab; Creature Creation; Digital Illustration; 


Web Design; 3D Kinetic Anatomy; 3D Illustration; 

Game Assets; Science Fiction & Fantasy Illustration 

game design, animation, concept art; book illustration; 


scientific visualization, scfi/fantasy illustration 



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drawing/painting; digital 2D 

animation; photography; video; 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5268 

Professional Practice 

Paul Olson 

In this course students will create a traditional and an online portfolio of their work, 

directed towards a specific illustration market. New pieces will be created to complement 

existing works and help focus the portfolio for the chosen market. Professionals in the 

field will visit to discuss their experiences in getting and keeping clients, or in hiring and 

working with illustrators. Students will design and produce a self promotional mailer, as 

well as a business documents such as business cards and invoices. This course will help 

students choose a focus for their professional aspirations, and begin making contacts in 

the real world. 

There will also be assignments from art directors in the field, who will discuss sketches and 

concepts for real jobs. Contacts made in the course will give many students insight to the 

professional world of Illustration. Every aspect of the course is meant to prepare students 

professionally, initially for the Illustration Portfolio Event hosted by Alumni & Career 

Services, and ultimately for the marketplace. Students will be evaluated on their professionalism 

and the strength of their work. 



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prerequisites 





d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2; Painting 

1 & 2; senior level status 

The Portfolio; The Entrepreneur; Editorial Illustration; 

Contemporary Illustration; Picture and Word; 

Putting It All Together; The Business of Art and Design 

conceptual/problem solving; editorial illustration; 

corporate & institutional illustration; book illustration; 

graphic design; packaging and 3D illustration 



animation; photography; film; video 

401-454-6254 polson@risd.edu 

instructor website http://lettersfromthetrenches.blogspot.com/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5274 

Advanced Drawing 


Drawing is one of the most immediate and powerful forms of expression in the visual 

arts. In the last decade there has been an explosion of innovative drawing exploration 

by younger artists. Because it is so adaptable, many have used drawing for their most 

dynamic explorations, from installation art to underground comic books. Yet with its 

enormous breadth and depth, the refinement of drawing technique and self-expression has 

challenged masters throughout the ages. Using both traditional and experimental drawing 

techniques, we will explore personal and contemporary drawing strategies. 

First and foremost we will seek to develop meaningful personal imagery, while refining 

drawing skills along the way. You will be asked to stretch yourself to define new ways of 

working and strong conceptual solutions. We will experiment with a wide range of media 

techniques and working methods including transfers, montages, collage, wash drawings 

and silverpoint. We will explore various ways of gathering and integrating research materials, 

including photography. Development of your own drawing series will be an intense 

culmination of the semester. We will look at how contemporary issues like digital technology, 

sampling, and photography have impacted how drawings are made, how they are 

used and how they are understood. We will examine how the interplay between Narrator/ 

Artist and viewer influences content. How can memory, dreams or discontinuities in time 

be conveyed visually? Additionally, we will take a trip to New York to see work in galleries 

and museums. 

This class is designed to be useful the illustrator, fine artist or designer. It has been carefully 

organized to build toward more experimentation, personal expression and freedom as 

it progresses. 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 


Advanced Painting; Senior Painting Seminar; 


Means and an End; Color Works; 

Color for Portrait and Figure; Drawing With Color 

drawing and painting as illustration and fine art; 


studio practice; concept/problem solving 


Fee: $30.00 

(FALL) 

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open media: painting and drawing; 

mixed media/collage 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5275 

3D Illustration 


Working in 3 dimensions promotes important new ways of solving visual and conceptual 

problems. We will bring dimensional drama to the art of illustration through a wide variety 

of materials and techniques. Whether using plaster, Sculpy, paper clay, wood, latex, 

clay, fabric, foam, paper or found objects, sculptural materials are enormously nuanced 

in what they can suggest. From the most subtle low relief to full sculpture in the round, 

we will examine how various sculptural strategies can be used to convey complex concepts 

and ideas pertinent to illustration. A survey of contemporary sculpture and 3D illustration 

will provide plenty of conceptual, process and material inspiration. 

Projects are structured to introduce you to a variety of materials and methods of working. 

Model construction, character design, casting, and manipulating found objects are some 

of the ways we will address illustrational projects. We will visit the Rapid Prototyping 

facility at RISD to see how digital files can be translated into 3-D objects. Additionally 

you will learn how to light and photograph three dimensional work for reproduction or 

portfolio. 

The class promotes exploration and personal expression while encouraging strong conceptual 

solutions, excellent craftsmanship and good design. This class will emphasize both 

material manipulation and strong conceptual thinking.. 


Fee: $50.00 (includes materials for some of the projects) 


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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 


Serial Imagery in Printmaking; Mixed Media; 3D Kinetic 


Anatomy; Artistic Anatomy; Illustrator as Designer; 

Introduction to Animation Techniques for Illustrators 

character design; 3D Illustration; editorial illustration; 


animation; sculpture; artists books; packaging 


multiple 3D media 






g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5277 

Serial Imagery in Printmaking 

Randy Willier 

In this course students will make series’ of prints using photo-plate lithography. These 

relatively simple to use plates can produce effects can combine hand-drawn, photographic 

or digitally generated imagery. Students will explore the enormous range of possibilities 

including combining mark-making styles such as crayon, wash, scratchboard, pen 

and nick; experiment with incorporating found textures or integrating digital images and 

typography or hand drawn text. Printing in stages also insures the flexibility to print in 

various colors to achieve the most successful iteration of the image. 

Students will engage in a series of drawing exercises designed to build confidence with 

newly acquired skills. The out-of-class assignments are structured around the creation of 

three “suites” of print variations where students are asked to investigate not only a topicbut 

essential elements of narrative sequence and presentation in creating a visually successful 

series. The course culminates in an exchange of prints among all the participants. 


Fee: $150.00 


prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 



Printmaking Techniques for Illustrators 

Illustrator as Designer, Photography for Illustators, 

Traditions, Trappings, Culture, Kitsch 

The Artist’s Book, Digital Illustration 

drawing & printmaking as illustration and fine art, 

editorial and book illustration, color design, book design 

thinking 

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practice 




printmaking, collage, installation, artist’s book 

401-454-6250 rwillier@risd.edu 

http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/Randy_Willier/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5279 

Comic Book Storytelling 

Shanth Suresh Enjeti 

The combination of drawings and words in a sequence transcends culture and 

language and communicates with people of all ages, literate or not, in a direct and 

powerful way. How does this happen? This course will examine the elements that 

make up a comic: pictures in sequence, captions, dialog, visual symbols, narrative 

technique, style. More importantly, it will investigate how these elements are combined 

in the mind of the reader to create the visual language of the comic. 

In Comic Book Storytelling students respond to assignments with the goal of investigating 

how sequential art can be used to communicate narrative, as well as the 

relevant skills used to create comic book, manga, and bande dessinée works. Attention 

to the orchestration of panel layout and composition within individual panels 

themselves will be taught in tandem with the use of value and color as storytelling 

tools. In addition to creating works of a personal nature, students will be given 

assignments that require them to work from a given concept to demonstrate their 

ability to present various technical and psychological elements in a compelling fashion. 

Students will also gain a knowledge of the practical and professional concerns of 

the form as well as an insight into the origins of various styles. 



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practice 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2 

Comics: Grammar of the Graphic Novel; 

The Comic Book Narrative; Advanced Drawing; 



Picture and Word; Illustrating Dante’s Comedy 

comics, storyboarding, graphic design; book illustration; 


pictorial narrative, animation 

open media: pen & ink; scratchboard; mixed 



printmaking; animation 


ISB 200 401-454-6242 senjeti@risd.edu 


http://tellforward.blogspot.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5280 

Propaganda 

David Porter 

Propaganda seeks to convince without persuasive argument: it appeals to the visceral rather 

than the cerebral. Its modes range from frontal assault to the subtlest manipulation; its 

methods manipulate the audience’s psychological vulnerabilities to fear, anger and desire. 

Students in this course will experiment with such manipulation by making forceful statements 

for and against individuals and issues of social concern: political figures; drugs, 

alcohol and smoking; ecology, abortion or globalization; race, religion or gender. The 

latter third of the course will incorporate designs for a memorial or consciousness-raising 

installation in a public space and, of course, advertising. Advertising is the ubiquitous 

(iniquitous?) manifestation of propaganda in the modern world. 

The object of the course will be to construct visual statements that are forceful and irresistible. 

These will not always be, alas, in the service of truth. 

NB: Illustration is inextricably linked to a text, a manuscript: language of some sort. 

PROPAGANDA will require its participants to invent captions for their images that 

focus, amplify or deepen the effect of the visual statement. 




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practice 

prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 


Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Words, Images Ideas; 










ISB 201 401-454-6245 dporter@risd.edu 

http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/David_Porter/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5281 

The Comic Book Narrative 

Paul Karasik 

The combination of drawings and words in a sequence transcends culture and language and 

communicates with people of all ages, literate or not, in a direct and powerful way. How 

does this happen? This course will examine the elements that make up a comic: pictures in 

sequence, captions, dialog, visual symbols, narrative technique, style. More importantly, it 

will investigate how these elements are combined in the mind of the reader to create the 

visual language of the comic. 

This class offers a look at how narrative structure is manifested in comics, from non-verbal, 

didactic narratives which intend to show and tell to wildly inventive interpretations of 

traditional stories and fables. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 



Comic Book Storytelling, Character Creation, 

Illustating Dante’s Comedy, Introduction to Animation for 

Illustrators; Picture & Word; Cinematic Storytelling 

comic book illustration; editorial illustration; storyboarding: 

conceptual/problem solving 

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practice 




open media: graphite, pen & ink, 

drawing/painting/ digital 2d 

isb main office 401-454-6240 pkarasik@risd.edu 

http://paulkarasik.blogspot.com/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5283 

The Entrepreneur 

Oren Sherman & William Foulkes 

This is a course in the business of art and design, with an emphasis on transforming 

creative impulse from the studio into marketable enterprise. This elective course, 

open to both Illustration and Graphic Design majors, is co-taught over one full day 

in a collaborative environment, combining the studio experience with business basics: 

marketing and branding as an essential part of the creative process. 

This class encourages students to think beyond the confines of traditional markets, 

working collaboratively toward the goal of employing inventive thinking in the workplace 

and eventually developing an independently owned and operated enterprise. 

A fundamental objective of this class is for students to understand a basic business 

vocabulary, to explore how design vocabulary and creative studio thinking overlap, 

complement and enhance business vocabulary, and to understand how creative 

skills can be used to identify and execute business opportunities. Students will be 

introduced to business concepts through lectures, case studies, assignments and class 

discussion. Homework assignments will work off the classroom pedagogy and topics 

covered will be business models, marketing, finance, and strategy as they relate to 

studio activity. 


Registration restricted to 15 Illustration majors and 8 Graphic Design majors. 


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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2 

Style and Substance, Professional Practice, The Portfolio, 


Advanced Projects, Contemporary Illustration 

industrial design, product design, packaging, 


entrepreneurship, graphic design, 

illustration, textile design, 

open media: graphite, pen & ink, drawing/painting/ 


digital 2d, 3d, packaging, product design 

contact information ISB 401 401-454-6257 orensherman@neaccess.net 


http://www.orensherman.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5284 

Drawing With Color 

Tony Janello 

Color is arguably the single most expressive and mysterious tool available to the artist. 

However, many artists who are skilled in black and white drawing have difficulty when 

they turn their hand to color. Crayon creates a bridge, which is at once less intimidating 

than more traditional media, while at the same time capable of producing highly sophisticated 

imagery. Through classroom exercises an awareness of the transformative power of 

color is awoken. Limited color underdrawings are further developed with multiple layers 

of color. The use of warm and cool color relationships as well as the exploration of polarities 

of color, in order to create rich, dramatic effects, is examined in depth. 

Class work gives the student the opportunity to work from the live model. For homework, 

the student is encouraged to engage in subject matter which has personal significance, 

perhaps something one had always wanted to create but hadn’t had the opportunity. 

Caran D’arche crayons are an overlooked medium that offers the student a unique bridge 

from drawing in black and white to working with confidence in full color. They provide 

an important alternative to oil painting for the nuanced investigation of color. Their waxy 

yet rich consistency makes for an ease of layering and modification that promotes experimentation 

and self-discovery. Rich modulation of color through optical color mixture, 

and a full range of approaches from detailed rendering to gestural mark-making can be 

achieved by the student. Subject matter, style and content are all the student’s choosing. 



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prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 


Watercolor: An Introduction to the Medium; 

Advanced Painting; Advanced Drawing; 

Color Works; Color for Portrait & Figure; 

Between Painting & Drawing; Watercolor & Gouache 



Caran D’arche crayons 

ISB 401 401-454-6257 anthonyjanello@verizon.net 

http://www.slowart.com/articles/janello.htm


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5289 

Words, Images & Ideas 

Instructor TBA 

In this course, students conceptualize, edit design and produce either a book or the first 

issue of an original publication. Possibilities include: artist’s book, magazine, comic book, 

zine, e-zine on the web, etc. Emphasis is on concept and design. We discuss editorial ideas 

and look at existing artists’ books and publications, especially alternative forms. Using 

computers, we work on typography, layout and design. Collaborations both within and 

outside of the class are encouraged. To take this course, you must have some rudimentary 

knowledge of the computer and some ideas for content. 


This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts requirement for juniors 


prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 


Typography for Illustrators; Type in Motion; 

Web Design; Illustrator as Designer; 

The Two-Legged Print; Cover to Cover 





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http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5293 

Advanced Projects 

Lenny Long 

The ability to bring a creative project to a full and successful level of finish is often 

neglected in the academic environment, but is an essential professional skill. This course 

requires students meet goals they set for themselves through individualized projects, but 

that they meet them fully with the highest degree of resolution and polish. In a written 

proposal, each student will present his or her project for the semester; a graphic novel; 

a series of paintings or drawings; a children’s book; a suite of prints or posters. Work 

may be in any medium, in any format and on any theme, but these parameters must be 

clearly set out. Work on the project will be conducted in the studio during class time and 

outside of class, and will be focused on full realization of a finished product that meets the 

specific standards set out in the original proposal. Consistency will mount will mount a 

professional level juried exhibition of the completed projects in the ISB gallery, with an 

emphasis on presentation, marketing and a public opening. 

Advanced Projects is a working studio focusing on the development a consistent body of 

work in style and finish. Students present a written proposal to the class on the project 

they are interested in doing, and then implement their plan, working both in the classroom 

and on their own time. The project must be fully completed within the semester; 

realistic planning and satisfactory fulfillment of stated goals is emphasized. The range of 

projects has included children’s books, editorial illustration, landscape painting, portraits, 

3-D pop-up books, drawings, wall reliefs, comic books, dressing screens, dioramas, CD 

covers, political imagery. Students will have individual crits weekly and group crits at midsemester 

and during studio review week. 



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prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Drawing 1 & 2; Painting & 2 or 

permission of instructor 

The Collaged Image; The Portfolio; Advanced Painting; 

Watercolor & Gouache, Advanced Drawing 

Senior Painting Seminar; Putting It All Together 

drawing, painting and 3DMedia 

as illustration and fine art 





http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/Leonard_Long/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5294 

Contemporary Illustration 

Chris Buzelli 

What is it like to make a living creating pictures for the numerous outlets of American 

culture in contemporary times? This course will emphasize problem-solving in a 

commercial situation while steadfastly holding on to your personal integrity. This class 

will be exposed to the numerous illustration based opportunities through participating in 

several online competitions and product contests. In addition to responding 

to non-editorial based assignments, the students will be exposed, through slide lectures to 

the work of visiting artists and illustrators who are burning a path right through the past 

and into the future of illustration 

While the core of illustration is communication, the style of the statement is what determines 

how effective that communication can be. Style, however, is more than something 

to be applied to an image after the fact. It incorporates the illustrator’s entire approach 

to problem-solving and creation. This course will emphasize the process of creating illustrations 

in the pressure of a commercial situation while steadfastly holding on to one’s 

personal integrity. Illustration is (once again) in the midst of a revolution. It is spreading 

beyond its traditional venues of paper and print into galleries, toy culture, music, movies, 

animation and the web and interactive world. 

The successful illustrator is one whose concepts and images can jump across media and 

communicate with audiences in a direct way. More and more, illustrators are sought out 

for their unique ideas and vision. This class places a large emphasis on the concept of each 

project, as it is revealed through the style of thinking and execution. The assignments are 

based on real projects and art competitions, with real constraints and deadlines. Students 

will also be exposed through slide lectures and web links to the work of artists and illustrators 

whose work exemplifies how illustration is changing for a new century. 



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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 


Cover to Cover; What’s Your Story; Style & Substance; 


Editorial Illustration; Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; 

Propaganda; New York, New Yorker 

graphic design; edidtorial/advertising/book illustration; 








ISB 400 401-454-6254 buzstudio@earthlink.net 


http://www.drawger.com/buzelli


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5295 

The Artist’s Book 

Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges 

At their very core, all books convey a sequence of ideas, but the execution varies widely 

from one volume to another. In this course, juniors and seniors strive to extend this concept 

outside of traditional book parameters to achieve their own creative interpretation. 

Working form their own themes, students mold an innovative presentation of images and 

concepts--in two dimensions or three, using concrete depictions or abstract forms--into 

the construction of their own unique artist’s book. Assignments include the study of 

different folds, narrative problems, poetic counting, lost and found, and a free project of 

the student’s choice. Students are encouraged to continue their own media that might 

include painting, construction, printmaking, etc. 

Each week, the class will discuss each student’s books-in-progress. At the end of the 

course, students will be asked to reconnect with one or several of the previous assignments 

to craft one book as a final project. Students are encouraged to write and to work 

in the media of choice that might include painting, printmaking, etc. This course allows 

students to display their knowledge of paper and folds, challenges them to convey an idea 

or theme across many changing pages, and provides considerable practice in bringing 

conceptual ideas to life. As- signments will include exploration of the following aspects 

and forms of artists books: paste papers, bookbindings, accordion folds, mazes, flag books, 

star books, combination books, and variations on the above. 

prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Ilustration Concepts 1 & 2 or instructor permission 

Cover to Cover; What’s Your Story?; 3D Illustration; 

Words, Images & Ideas; Serial Imagery In Printmaking; 

Type in Motion; Illustrator as Designer; 

The Collaged Image 

graphic design; editorial/advertising/book illustration; 

bookmaking; conceptual/problem solving; studio practice 



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drawing/painting; digital 2D/3D; printmaking 

ISB 401 401-454-6257 info@studiogoodwinsturges.com 



g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5296 

Web Design 

Richard Gann 

Once hailed as an emerging force in global communication, the World Wide Web is now 

part of mainstream media. Questions about what might be accomplished with this powerful 

vehicle for information, expression and communication have evolved into questions of 

how to better those accomplishments through thoughtful design, attention to interactivity 

and intelligent content. Good web design is vital to distinguishing the voice of the artist 

and illustrator from the cacophony of junk out there in cyberspace. 

This class is an orientation to web design with specific attention to designing for interactive 

visual communication. Students apply basic computer skills (Digital Illustration or 

equivalent) to problems in designing and illustrating for the Web. Coursework stresses the 

underlying structure of html in digital design. Students develop personal, interactive web 

pages and complete a finished portfolio site while exploring the expressive possibilities of 

interactivity. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Digital Illustration or permission of instructor 

Digital Illustration; Game Assets; Illustrator As Designer; 

Game Assets; Type in Motion; 3D Graphics for Illustrators; 

Words, Images & Ideas; Typography for Illustrators 

game design, animation; interactive design; 

graphic design, editorial/book illustration 

thinking 

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instructor websites 

digital 2D/3D; animation; video 

401-454-6247 rgann@risd.edu 

http://rbgann.com/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5299 

Senior Painting Seminar 

Fritz Drury 

This course will focus on extending issues of personal imagery, style and use of materials 

begun in Advanced Painting and other departmental electives. Studio work will be done 

outside of class time, which will be devoted to rotating group critiques, alternating with 

individual meetings with the instructor. In addition, there will be a weekly slide lecture, 

with related reading and writing assignments, to familiarize students with aspects of contemporary 

and modern art. The “movements” of the 20th Century, which dissected and 

reassembled the visual arts in radical ways, will be analyzed for useful insights into creative 

possibilities for the painter and illustrator. Discussion of problems and opportunities facing 

the contemporary artist will be augmented by a field trip to New York City. Students 

will ultimately be responsible for developing a strong direction in their independent work, 

based on a thorough investigation of concept and media, and will be responsible for preparing 

a written statement of artistic purpose over the course of the semester. 

prerequisites 

d e t a i l s 

Painting 1 & 2; senior level status 


Fee: $40 




Advanced Painting; Advanced Drawing; 

XX/XY; Propaganda; Serial Imagery in Printmaking 

painting & drawing as fine art, art criticism and theory 


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open media: painting and drawing; mixed media/collage; 

sculpture; printmaking; photography 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5304 

3D Kinetic Anatomy 

Christopher Oricchio 

This course will immerse students in the study of human anatomical structure, proportion 

and three-dimensional form in order to achieve a better understanding of how the major 

forms of the body move in relationship to each other and are configured in space. Working 

from the model, students will sculpt many small figures in clay, realizing specific figural 

actions. 

Each week the class will feature a lecture on a particular aspect of anatomical form and its 

relationship to movement, momentum and the force of gravity. Sequential actions, with 

application to both animation and static visualization, will be delineated with relation to 

skeleton and muscle. 

prerequisites 

d e t a i l s 



Estimated Cost of Materials: $50.00 



Artistic Anatomy; Study of the Human Figure; 

Means and an End; 3D Illustration; 2D or Not 2D; 

3D Graphics for Illustrators 


animation, character design, sci-fi/fantasy illustration 

sculpture as fine art and illustration 

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practice 




modeling in clay 

401-454-6176 coricchi@risd.edu 

http://www.decoratelierfineart.com/ 

http://www.chrisoricchio.com/home.html


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5305 

Watercolor & Gouache 

Lenny Long 

The remarkable brilliance of color found in watercolor and gouache make these media 

a perfect vehicle for the study of color mixing, both optical and mechanical, and the 

depiction of dazzling effects of light in finished artwork. Working from the figure and 

other motifs, this class will address the variety of manipulations possible in watercolor 

and gouache, singly and in combination, while focusing on principles of color structure. 

Outside assignments will be organized around thematic series. 

Watercolor and gouache are direct but rich media that are perfect for illustrative use in 

their simplicity and ease of employ, but subtle and dense enough for a wide range of realistic 

and expressive effects. Students will develop an understanding of the use of gouache 

and watercolor separately and as a combined medium. 



prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 

None 

Advanced Painting; Color Works: 

Color for Portrait and Figure: Drawing with Color: 

The Collaged Image, Mixed Media; 

Watercolor: An Introduction to the Medium 


drawing, painting as illustration and fine art 

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practice 




watercolor, gouache 


http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/Leonard_Long/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5306 

Wit’s End 

David Porter 

A smile is recognition. Laughter is conspiracy. To be tickled is to be vulnerable. 

This course will invite students to integrate language and image in the pursuit of visual 

wit. Not the comic, nor the comical. Not comics. Rather it will seek to provoke insights 

that are best expressed visually and verbally, as humor. Humor as the means, not the end, 

of the illustrative gesture. A funnybone to pick. Assignments will include inversions of expectation, 

the uses of the inappropriate, the various guises of the satirical, of parody, single 

frame cartoons, black comedy. Wit. (“Wit” is merely insight made delightful). These will 

seek to elicit from the student a series of illustrations that will be as selfdescriptive 

as any portfolio, as definitive as any “style”. Humor is intensely idiosyncratic, personal. 

But when it “works”, when it achieves its audience, it is a particularly intimate and effective 

means of communication. In other words, illustration. 

It is, whether it bites or delights, illustration. 




d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 




Style & Substance; Traditions, Trappings, Culture & Kitsch; 

Propaganda; XX/XY; Contemporary Illustration; 

Editorial Illustration; What’s Your Story? 





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printmaking; animation; photography; film; video 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5307 

New York, New Yorker 

David Porter 

The New Yorker is one of the most respected periodicals in America, if not the Englishspeaking 

world. Its commentary, analysis and contribution to the broadest spectrum of 

cultural concern are almost always articulate and influential. Its readership is probably the 

best-educated and most sophisticated of any general-circulation magazine. More importantly... 

its cover is invariably illustrated. It is seen by almost everyone of consequence in 

the world of visual communication. 

The cover of the New Yorker has, however, a much more limited view than do its contents. 

It is witty, it is light, it is playful, it is whimsical, it is wistful. While the cover’s reach 

and range have expanded notably over the past fifteen years, the world to which it alludes 

has no poverty, a white race only, no sex. Until the last decade it had no politics. The New 

Yorker cover invites perception and play, but not passion. 

Students in the course develop a portfolio of covers in response to areas of cultural interest 

(Books & Music, Film and Theatre, Fine Arts, Sports, Fashion, etc.), to the passing 

seasons in the City (New Year’s, April Fool’s, Summer heat, Halloween, etc. and to events 

of social concern (Politics, Money, Current Events). A light touch, a strong grasp and 

cultural reach are helpful. 




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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 




Style & Substance; Traditions, Trappings, Culture & Kitsch; 

Propaganda; XX/XY; Contemporary Illustration; 









printmaking; animation; photography; film; video 






g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5313 

Character Creation 

Shanth Enjeti 

Character design has always been an integral part of narrative illustration. Its application 

to diverse and emerging illustration markets such as digital game design, animation, 

comic books, film, merchandising and marketing have substantially expanded its relevance 

Character design is now an exciting career path in itself. 

In this class, students will push beyond stereotypical designs to develop characters and 

environments that are imaginative and culturally resonant. Particular emphasis will be 

placed on the expressive power of facial expression, body posture, color and costume. 

Exploring our own perceptions of good and evil, success and failure, beauty and ugliness, 

we will create characters that have never been seen before. The course will also stress the 

importance of visual research. Research into other cultures and their artifacts, as well as 

into such areas as biology, anatomy and engineering can provide the character designer 

with the inspiration necessary for originality and the knowledge to make the character 

thoroughly convincing. Presentation will be emphasized. Good drawing, color and 

composition are all essential if an idea is to be presented with clarity and expressiveness. 

Students may choose any medium provided that it allows for color. Examples of work 

from some of character design’s finest exponents, both contemporary and historical, will 

be shown and discussed. 



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prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 



Animation for Illustrators; 3D Graphics for Illustrators; 

Creature Lab; Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; Science Fiction 

& Fantasy Illustration; Artistic Anatomy; 3 

3D Kinetic Anatomy; 3D Illustration; Game Assets 

game design, animation concept art; book illustration; 

comics; scfi/fantasy ilustration ; studio practice 







g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5320 

Merging Worlds 

Joe McKendry 

It is rare that an artist has the entire scene before her exactly as she wishes to paint it. 

Changing light, incomplete or inexact costuming, conflicting schedules for models and 

far-flung or inaccessible locations are just a few of the many reasons artists choose to 

compose their images from sketches, photographs and notes. The ability to merge imagery 

from various sources is an essential skill for illustrators and fine artists alike. In a series of 

projects, students will gather diverse reference materials and combine them convincingly 

in pictorial space. We will discuss the importance of lighting, color, and value in creating 

a believable scene. We will explore the methods used by illustrators and painters such as 

tracing paper, perspective, grids, measuring dividers and optical systems. We will emphasize 

the ways in which style and execution can help to remove some of the visual disparities 

between source elements and create a unified composition. 

Class time will be divided between the computer lab where students will combine and 

manipulate their images digitally and the studio, where the illustrations will be completed 

using a variety of media. 



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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

None 

Digital Illustration; Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; 

Photography 1; Cover to Cover; Editorial Illustration; 


Photography for Illustrators; Scientific Ilustration; 

Contemporary Illustration; Sci Fi & Fantasy Illustration 

animation concept art; book/editorial illustration; 


scfi/fantasy ilustration 

naarrative painting/drawing as illustration or fine art 

open media: drawing/painting; 


animation; pastel; gouache; acrylic 

2D/3D digital. photography 


ISB 403 401-454-6240 jmckendr@risd.edu 


http://www.joemckendry.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5322 

Game Assets 


“Game assets” is the name given to the models, textures, environments and other elements 

that together form the reality of the 3D game world. As such, they are of great importance 

in determining the look of the game and how the player will relate to it. The design and 

creation of game assets requires both technical knowledge and artistic sensibility. The successful 

game artist combines the best aspects of the geek and the wild-eyed painter/visionary. 

This course will teach the techniques of designing, modeling, texturing and rigging (for 

animation) game assets for the 3D environment using Maya and ZBrush, and lighting, 

layout, particle and environment design with the Unreal Engine and UnrealEd. 

Although the class will have a substantial technical side, greater emphasis will be placed 

on the “why” of the technique: what does it mean to design an environment for a game? 

How does the environment relate to the player/viewer and her expectations? What elements 

go into a successful and visually harmonious environment and characters? The 

more important aspects of the course have much in common with set design, costume 

design and architecture rather than with programming. 

The final project of the semester will be a one-month collaborative creation of a complete 

game environment, with “natural” and constructed elements as well as characters. 

well as characters. 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2, Digital Illustration 

Digital Illustration; 3D Graphics for Illustrators; Creature 


Lab; Character Creation; SciFi Fantasy Illustration; 

Animation for Illustrators; Master Painting Techniques 



scfi/fantasy ilustration ; studio practice 


Fee: $50.00 


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open media: drawing/painting; digital 2D/3D; 

animation; photography; film; video; 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5323 

The Two-Legged Print 

Randy Willier 

This course explores the creation of communicative images within the format of the 

T-shirt. We will begin with an overview of the historical and contemporary use of the 

printed shirt as a vehicle for commercial and personal advertising, humor, advocacy and 

social protest and as a badge of personal identity: the phenomenon of using the body as a 

substrate for images aimed at passersby. Students will learn and practice the art of serigraphy—silkscreen 

printing—and will develop designs through a variety of techniques, from 

simple handmade stencils to the use of photo/computer technology. Assignments will 

progress through a series of developmental phases, and in-class critiques will play an important 

role in shaping concepts and designs. We will also investigate the business/commercial 

side of silk-screening, including the construction of a home studio, recordkeeping 

and marketing. 

Each student will begin by designing a visual “persona” which will then be implemented 

as a printed t-shirt design. For the rest of the term, students are given the freedom to 

explore and create their own individual concepts adjusting concept and approach in 

response to group critique, and building profi ciency in the technique. Th e lab fee provides 

for nearly all the materials necessary for production during the course; the only real 

out-of-pocket expenses come from the purchase of T-shirts or other printable materials. 


Fee: $150.00 


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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

None 

Editorial Illustration; Illustrator as Designer; 

Propaganda; Professional Practice; Wit’s End; 


Traditions, Trappings, Culture, & Kitsch; Printmaking 

Techniques for Illustrators; The Entrepreneur 

textiles/surface design; printmaking as illustration and 


fine art; editorial and advertising illustration; 

product design 


printmaking, graphic design; textiles 


ISB 300 401-454-6240 rwillier@risd.edu 


http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/Randy_Willier/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5330 

Artistic License 


We see imagery on products everyday, but never consider their source. And when 

we do, the possibilities for invention and story telling are endless. Artistic License 

is a class meant to challenge the perception of your work, casting it as a player in a 

new setting. Drawings, paintings, designs, characters, scenes and icons, take on a 

new light when you see them on a pair of shoes, splashed across a wall or gracefully 

adorning a body. This course is meant to redefine the context of what you create, and 

play with the notion of wearing, eating off of, or living in a space, where your artwork 

lives. 

As illustrators shift perceptions about opportunities for their work, the field of licensing 

and the opportunity for illustrators to develop imagery for that field is only a 

glimpse on the vast horizon. The tradition of decorating objects with art is an ancient 

one, but the application and development of an illustrative style a set of characters 

and brand identity associated with the work of a particular artist translated to goods 

and products is in its teen years at best. 

This course will require students to research, sketch, illustrate and create prototypes of 

their ideas for imagery applicable to licensing in a major project through the semester. 

They will be introduced through slide lectures and visiting guest lecturers to a variety 

of illustrators and artists who have licensed their work for multiple formats such as: 

sporting goods, apparel, giftware, infant goods, greeting cards, fabrics, puzzles and 

game, furniture etc. Also included will be discussions about contractual issues, current 

practices, associations, trade shows, - such as the current RISD collaboration with 

Surtex (Surface and Textile show in NYC this Spring). 

prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2, 

Co requisite: ILLUS 5283, The Entrepreneur 

Style and Substance, Professional Practice, The Portfolio, 

Advanced Projects, Contemporary Illustration 

industrial design, product design, packaging, 

entrepreneurship, graphic design, illustration, 

textile design, art branding, licensing 


(SPRING) 3 credits 

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open media: graphite, pen & ink, drawing/painting/ 

digital 2d, 3d, packaging, product design 




g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5332 

2D or Not 2D 

Melissa Ferreira 

Current illustration employs varied and resourceful modes of expression to communicate 

both forcefully and poetically. Illustration has historically tended to confine itself to two 

dimensions: art made flat, reproduced flat. But for some visual statements, the best articulation 

involves the third dimension. Eloquence occasionally requires that a line lift off the 

page, that color sculpt itself into shape, and that form not be wholly illusory. 

Proof of this assertion will be provided by students in this course. Weekly assignments will 

combine illustrative objectives with the playful spirit of exploring materials for their 

own sake. These might include plain paper and junk mail: cut, crimped, ripped, twisted, 

poked, prodded and glued. Layered cutouts from old publications will be added and subtracted. 

Quick assemblages will be the basis for compositions that animate shadow boxes 

and tell stories. 

Techniques using polymer and air-dried clays will be demonstrated. Scavenged objects to 

be disassembled and reconstructed in fresh configurations will offer new ways to make images. 

Whatever the initial steps, pieces will be finished incorporating mixed media, collage 

and other surface treatments that unify the whole. Idea and technique will come together 

in the completed pieces: illustrations that are anything but shallow. 

2D or not 2D? That is the question. Or it will be be after taking this class. 

Course Level: Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate; Elective 


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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 


Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; 3D Illustration; 3D Kinetic 


Anatomy; Traditions, Trappings, Culture & Kitsch; 

XX/XY; Mixed Media; Contemporary Illustration; 


conceptual/problem solving; sculpture; 


corporate & institutional illustration; 

editorial illustration 


mixed, open media: polymer and air dried clays 




http://melissaferreira.net/blog/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5334 

Typography for Illustrators 

TBA 

This typography course is specifically designed for Illustration majors. We will study the 

fundamentals of typography including its history and contemporary application in a 

series of lectures and class exercises that build in complexity beginning with the study of 

individual letterforms and the classification of typefaces, then progressing to the considered 

use of typography in single-page and multiple-page layouts. A significant part of the 

course will be dedicated to understanding the elements of page design including proportion, 

dynamics of form and white space, grid systems and the subjectivity of color. In the 

last part of the semester, assignments will explore the integration of very simple drawn 

imagery with a critical eye to the relationship of text and image in creating visual hierarchy 

and narrative interplay. 

Students will use Adobe InDesign and Illustrator throughout this course, so some basic 

computer experience will be helpful but not absolutely necessary. Students unfamiliar 

with the Adobe interface will be required to attend an introductory study session . 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 


Words, Images & Ideas; Type in Motion; 

Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; Illustrator as Designer; 

Web Design; The Two-Legged Print; Cover to Cover 




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http://www.risd.edu/illustration


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5335 

Cinematic Storytelling 

Shanth Suresh Enjeti 

This course will examine various storytelling techniques used in cinema that are essential 

in guiding the look and feel of a film. These will include storyboarding, color 

key creation, and production illustrations. Our goal is to build the essential skills 

needed to participate in the narrative process of filmmaking. You will work both individually 

and in groups on a series of assignments to create finished works that build 

your individual skills, and demonstrate your abilities to work on a story team in a 

cinematic production. We will examine camera placement and frame-to-frame clarity 

by creating storyboards for different scenarios. In addition, to explore the emotional 

beats of a narrative, you will create lighting and color keys. In the final weeks, we will 

create a finished production illustration for a narrative that will be either supplied or 

created by the student. 

In Cinematic Storytelling students respond to assignments with the goal of investigating 

how cinema’s specific needs of fixed aspect ratio, time, and movement 

can be used to communicate, as well as the relevant skills used to address them in 

storyboards, color keys, and production illustrations. Attention to the study of time, 

composition, and their affect on the viewers psychology will be taught in tandem 

with the study of how the masters of cinema and animation who used these elements 

to create indelible impressions with their work. In addition to creating works on 

their own, students will be given group assignments that will require them to work 

from a given concept to demonstrate their ability to work as a team. Students will 

also learn to be aware of the practical professional concerns of the industry. 

d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 


What’s Your Story?; Comics: Grammar of the Graphic 

Novel; Comic Book Storytelling, Character Creation; 


Illustating Dante’s Comedy; Introduction to Animation for 

Illustrators; Picture & Word; Comic Book Narrative 






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g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5340 

Making Play: Games 

Jason Beene 

One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the 

invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive 

selves. – Carl Jung 

The ability to play is a complex activity that is at the core of human learning. From 

“Monopoly” to poker, “Doom” to the baseball diamond, games allow us to explore 

social interactions, take risks, set goals, develop skills and expand our imaginations while 

entertaining us without serious consequences. What makes a game fun? Or memorable? 

In this class, we will explore the intersections of learning, experimentation, and 

play. In our constructed projects, we will search for innovative ways to expand or 

reinvent game traditions. Through individual and collaborative projects, we will examine 

how game mechanics (rules/systems) thoughtfully combined with game aesthetics 

(visuals/story) can be used to craft engaging, memorable and informative user/player 

experiences. Our goal is to develop primarily non-digital games that are conceptually 

innovative responses to various questions you pose related to play. Quality assurance 

and usability concerns will be explored through focus group play tests. 

Without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we 

owe to the play of imagination is incalculable. – Carl Jung 



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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 


Words, Images & Ideas; Illustrator as Designer; Web 


Design; Electric Book; 2D or Not 2D; The Entrepreneur; 

What’s Your Story?; Traditions, Trappings, Culture & 

Kitsch; 3D Illustration; Game Assets 


conceptual/problem solving; 

interactive design; graphic design; game design 






jbeene@risd.edu 


http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/Jason_Beene/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5341 

Voice + Vision 

Robert Brinkerhoff 

Writing and image-making are both important languages to process and communicate 

personal ideas and experiences with immediacy. How can they be used most fruitfully 

together? In this class, we will examine the relationship between the voice and vision 

of the artist-writer through a series of projects that intertwine written and visual communication. 

Projects may include image-making which is stimulated by writing (or 

vice-versa), blogging and visual journalism for the artist-writer, as well as creative writing 

projects which consider a significant visual element. We will look to artist’s books and 

notebooks, developments in literature, blogs, and on-line communications. Students 

will be encouraged to mine areas of personal interest in the development of a body of 

work. 

This class explores the intersection of two languages: verbal and visual. Our primary 

aim is to liberate your creative process with the use of these two languages in tandem, 

exploring how verbal language (whether something as simple as titling an image, or 

as complex as poetic verse or a story written by you) may play a significant role in not 

only what you create but how you create. You’ll be working with both verbal and visual 

vocabulary—sometimes together, sometimes apart from each other—with the goal of 

forging provocative, communicative art. 

Course Level: Freshman; Sophomore; Junior; Senior; Elective 

This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts requirement for juniors. 


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prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2 or permission of instructor; 

Students must also register for ENGL-E722 

What’s Your Story?; Picture & Word; The Comic Book 

Narrative; The Comic Book Storytelling; 


Editorial Illustration; Electric Book 



book illustration/design 




isb main office 401-454-6241 rbrinker@risd.edu 

http://www.robertbrinkerhoff.com


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 5344 


Bill Drew 

The Russian painter, Kandinsky, defined line as a point moving in space; the American 

abstract expressionist, Mark Tobey, looked to Oriental calligraphy as a way to consider the 

point at which line becomes form. When we look at contemporary paintings by Grace 

Hartigan and Julie Methieu, we might ask ourselves if these are more like drawings in oil 

paint and color. 

Between Painting and Drawing will explore the rich middle ground that exists between 

drawing and painting. There are numerous important artists in history whose work is 

characterized by a strong sense of drawing alive in their paintings, such as, Edward Degas, 

Berthe Morrisot, Chaim Soutine, Willem de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, etc. By examining 

the relationship of drawing to painting we will consider ideas such as line becoming 

form, impact of calligraphy on painting (such as Mark Tobey’s seminal series of paintings 

from the 1950’s), media that enhance the transition from painting into drawing (such as 

tempera and oil pastel). 

In keeping with these ideas, this class will explore materials appropriate to the stated 

outcomes, emphasize historical references through slide talks, museum visits, and be based 

both on direct observation and abstract invention. 



prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 


Advanced Drawing; Advanced Painting; Drawing With 

Color; Master Painting Techniques; 

Color for Portrait and Figure; Landscape Painting; 

Watercolor : An Introduction to the Medium 


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open media: painting and drawing 


http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/William_Drew/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS 8960 

Professional Internship 

Mary Jane Begin/Robert Brinkerhoff 

Three-credit internships are permitted in fall, spring, Wintersession, and summer. 

Undergraduates are eligible to take a fall, spring or Wintersession internship once 

they have successfully completed their freshman year and may take their first summer 

internship after their sophomore year. Undergraduates may take a maximum of 6 

internship credits toward their degree. Registration for an internship requires special 

forms and approvals. The forms are available in the Registrar’s Office or on the Registrar’s 

website. Internships taken over the Summer for 3 credits will be included in the 

cumulative credit count for the upcoming year. In the RISD Course Listing chapter 

entitled “Registration Policies, read the paragraph on extra credit charges under the 

heading “Tuition, Fees...” for more information. 

Studentss applying for internships should first submit all necessary forms (signed and fully 

completed by the student and the sponsoring organization) to Mary Jane Begin by the 

published deadlines. 


(FALL, WINTERSESSION, SPRING, SUMMER) 3 Credits 

prerequisites 



d e t a i l s 

Completion of sophomore year; junior status & above 

internship dependent 


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n/a


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS W527 

Science Fiction & Fantasy Illustration 


This course is an introduction to the visual depiction of imaginary worlds and beings, in 

particular those found in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. We will explore the 

expectations surrounding these genres and the ways in which artists have circumvented or 

subverted them. 

This course will also be an introduction to the history and methods of narrative illustration 

and representational painting. Sketching, reference gathering, composition, and the 

use of painting and drawing materials will be covered. Additionally, there will be discussion 

of such related areas as how to develop characters, environments and creatures, extracting 

information from the manuscript or brief, the use of the sketch as a research tool 

and as a presentation device, and several demonstrations of traditional media techniques 

as well as a visiting artist. 

This course is open to all skill-levels and disciplines. More time and emphasis will be 

placed on conceptual clarity and originality than fineness of execution. All assignments 

will be of one weeks’ duration. 

One afternoon per week will be devoted to science fiction and fantasy in the media- 

-primarily movies--and the influence these powerful images of imagination and possibility 

have had on the culture at large. Such classic films as Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”, Jean 

Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast”, and Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” will be 

screened and discussed with special attention to the grand visual sets and design. 

Course level: Freshman; Sophomore; Junior; Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate; Elective 


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d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

None 

Character Creation; What’s Your Story?; Merging Worlds,; 


Comic Book Narrative; Illustrating Dante’s Comedy; 

Game Assets; Cinematic Storytelling; 

Creature Lab; Comic Book Storytelling; 



comic book/graphic novel; SciFi fantasy Illustratoin 



media/collage; drawing/painting; 

printmaking; animation 




http://www.nickjainshigg.org


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS W539 

Means and an End 

Nick Palermo 

Basic to all visual expression is the ability to articulate what one sees; skill and sensitivity 

in drawing are the essence of such articulation. The primary objective of this course will 

be to increase the student’s perceptive powers through drawing from direct observation of 

the human figure. Drawing will be defined as an investigation of visual form, with marks 

on the page recording the process of analysis. Relationships of direction, proportion, 

volume and articulation will be thoroughly studied. The course is focused on enabling 

students to subjectively edit the wide range of data in observed reality according to his 

or her expressive priorities. A high level of skill in drawing is not a prerequisite for this 

course, but a strong commitment to creative engagement and growth is. 

Course Level: Freshman; Sophomore; Junior; Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate: Elective 


prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 

None 

Drawing 1 & 2; Artistic Anatomy 

3D Kinetic Anatomy; Advanced Drawing; 




animation, storyboarding, studio practice 

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drawing 

ISB 403 401-454-6250 npalermo@risd.edu 

http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/Nicholas_Palermo/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS W558 

Travel: Renaissance Painting in Florence 

Bill Drew 

The slow craftsmanship that imparts jewel-like clarity and color to paintings from the 

Middle Ages and Renaissance stands in contrast to our fast-paced society. This class 

will present their important traditional techniques in a mix of studio exploration and 

travel. The techniques will include gilding, pure egg-yolk tempera, combined methods 

of oil and tempera, and use of oil glazes. 

For the first three weeks of Wintersession,students will engage in intensive studio work 

in Providence, to be followed by a twelve-day trip to Florence, Italy. Students will be able 

to examine first-hand relevant art and consider art historical issues related to growth and 

development of these techniques. This trip will include three days in Rome and visits to 

Assisi and Siena. 


Fee: $35.00 

Estimated Travel Cost: $3460 


d e t a i l s 

prerequisites 

None 

Advanced Painting; Master Painting Techniques; 


Color for Portrait and Figure; Study of the Human Figure,; 

Landscape Painting; Master Painting Techniques 




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mulitiple methods and materials in painting 


http://www.risd.edu/Illustration/William_Drew/


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS W563 

The Collaged Image 

Jamie Murphy 

This course focuses on developing images through the practice of collage and mixed 

media. Students are given the opportunity to explore the expressive characteristics of 

materials both found and hand made. The “hands on” tactile characteristics of the method 

create the opportunity to quickly combine images to form surprising narratives for communicating 

ideas. 

Through both demonstration and in-class exercises, student will investigate a wide range 

of collage approaches and techniques. Issues related to context and integration will be 

explored as well as formal considerations such as design, composition, color etc. 

Slide presentations, reference materials and museum visits will familiarize students with 

the work of many contemporary illustrators and fine artists who use collage as a medium 

as well as the pioneers of fine arts and communicative collage in the 20th century. This 

exploration will help provide a frame of reference for students to develop their own individual 

approach to the medium. 

prerequisites 


d e t a i l s 

None 

Mixed Media; Printmaking Techniques for Illustrators; 

Watercolor & Gouache; 3D Illustration; 

Illustrator as Designer; Advanced Drawing 

Course Level: Freshman; Sophomore; Junior; Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate; Elective 



collage as illustration and fine art, 

studio practice 

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open media: collage, drawing, painting in oil and acrylic 

ISB 400 401-454-6255 

jamiepm@aol.com; jmurphy02@risd.edu 

http//2noons.com/links/port/Jamie.html


g a l l e r y 

ILLUS W571 

Introduction to Illustration 

Antoine Revoy 

Simply put, illustrators must be dedicated to two undertakings: communication of 

concepts put forth by the material they illustrate, and self-fulfillment in the enjoyment 

of their work. This course will be a survey regarding the concepts, techniques 

and methodology of illustration specifically designed for Freshman students who are 

considering illustration as a major. Students will examine illustration genres, including 

book, editorial and corporate illustration, while working with a variety of methods and 

materials. Complementing this basic orientation will be frequent demonstrations of 

materials and techniques commonly used by illustrators. By the end of the wintersession 

term, students will have gained an awareness of a few of the professional paths an 

illustrator may take, experimented with a limited range of materials and techniques, 

and developed a sense of how to balance practical image-making with creative fulfillment. 

Course Level: Freshman, Sophomore; Junior; Senior; Fifth Year; Graduate; Elective 


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prerequisites 






d e t a i l s 

None 

Illustration Concepts 1 & 2; Propaganda; What’s Your 

Story?; XX/XY; Style & Substance; Traditions, Trappings, 

Culture & Kitsch; Contemporary Illustration; Editorial 

Illustration; Illustrating Dante’s Comedy Illustration; 

New York, New Yorker; 







isb main office 401-454-6240 arevoy@risd.edu 

http://illustration.revoy.net/


g a l l e r y 

LAEL LE30 

History of Illustration 

Amanda Lahikainen 

This course surveys the history of western illustration from illuminated manuscripts 

through approximately 2000 AD. The work shown is culled from a vast cache of artistic 

production for its power to convey ideas and ideals, report and editorialize events 

or serve as an enhancement to literature. We consider how evolving technologies in 

printing and communication have influenced artistic processes, shaped aesthetics and 

facilitated the distribution of illustration. We study Illustration’s role in reflecting and 

influencing culture, and its variable relationship to fine art. Each session includes a 

lecture to which students respond with a critical brief to be handed in upon exiting 

the class. Additionally there are weekly readings, 2 tests, and one long and one short 

research paper. There is no textbook for this class. However, students will be able to 

access study images and readings through Artstor and on RISD Digication. 

prerequisites 

d e t a i l s 

None 

Course Level: Sophomore; Junior; Senior 



see additional liberal arts offerings; 

History of Illustration is of relevance to all 

illustration majors and coursework. 


none 

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none 

isb main office 401-454-6240 rbrinker@risd.edu 

http://www.risd.edu/illustration

Illustration Department Advisors - Rhode Island School of Design

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