Augmented Reality Assignment

Date: 1/30/22

Course/Subject: Digital Illustration 2

Instructor: Blake Ballard

Student Information

This lesson is for third- and fourth-year undergraduate students in an illustration or graphic design program. These students have a strong understanding of traditional and digital illustration techniques and have taken Digital Illustration 1 as a prerequisite. This lesson is for an asynchronous online course.

Objectives

1. Students demonstrate a strong use and proficiency in media skills and digital skills.

1A. Demonstrate understanding of a raster image edition application for professional set-up and completion of full-color digital paintings.

1B. Experiment with digital media to create unique visual solutions

2. Students demonstrate a strong use and proficiency in storytelling and communication.

2A. Apply advanced tools and techniques of digital media to various story-based projects.

At the end of this lesson, students will combine traditional art skills with digital painting techniques and augmented reality to create an interactive illustration.

Action Items

Materials and Equipment:

Student: Computer with Photoshop or another raster image editing program (Procreate, GIMP, etc.), drawing tablet, smartphone with Slide AR application, a deck of playing cards, LMS access, Google Drive

Optional: Pinterest, YouTube

Tasks:

Step 1: Students must sketch ideas for an interactive image using a standard playing card as the foundation. No minimum on the amount of sketches needed, but final illustration must have depth, interest, and be produced digitally. Sketches may also be done digitally or traditionally. Reference photos may be used and use of a visual search engine (i.e. Pinterest) is encouraged

Step 2: Once sketches are complete, students must finalize the illustration using their drawing software of choice (Photoshop, Procreate, GIMP). When creating the final illustration, be aware of background, midground, and foreground details. Each section of the illustration must be on a separate layer and the AR experience will work best with a minimum of 3 layers.

Foreground, Midground, and Background Video

Keyboard Shortcuts for the Layers Panel in Photoshop

Step 3: Once the final illustration is complete, students must save each layer as a separate image. It’s recommended to save the final image set in a unique Google Drive folder for easy access and transfer. Images should be saved as PNG or JPEG files.

How to save layers separately on Photoshop

How to export project in Procreate

Step 4: Creating the Slide AR project

Students will need to download the Slide AR application from the Google Play or Apple App Store on a smartphone or tablet and begin a new project.
Next, the saved images will need to be uploaded into the project. Open the appropriate Google Drive folder on the device with Slide AR, save the images to the built in photo app, and then upload the images onto the new project. For Slide AR, the top layer will be the image closest to the viewer and the bottom layer will be flush with the playing card.
The next step is to set the target. In Slide AR, the target is the physical object or image that will ‘trigger’ the AR. For this project, the target will be the chosen playing card.
After uploading the images, Slide AR will have an option to select the target and the student will take a picture of the chosen playing card.
Students will then be able to see their illustration in augmented reality. Students can experiment with the layer distance or orientation until they are satisfied. Use of the in-app tutorial or the tutorial video below is recommended for first-time users.

Slide AR step-by-step tutorial

Playing Card Illustration Example

Step 5: Students will need to record their final illustration and AR experience with Slide AR using the built in screen recording feature or download a separate app.

Take a screen recording with an Apple device

Take a screen recording with an Android device

Step 6: Upload final recording and finished illustration to the LMS.

Reflection

(Assessment for the lesson plan, feedback, and follow-up items)

Illustration and AR experience will be graded using the rubric below.

Final AR project will be included in the class folio and Junior/Senior portfolio review course.

Notes:

Lesson plan inspired by this video.

Apps used: Slide AR, Google Drive, Procreate/Photoshop, Pinterest, Youtube

Criteria	Excellent	Proficient	Fair	Needs Improvement
Composition	Exceptionally strong and robust technical illustration skills used. Clear differentiation of foreground, midground, and background using augmented reality.	Technical illustration skills were used well with a little room for improvement. Clear differentiation of foreground, midground, and background using augmented reality.	Technical skills were lacking, but the overall illustration was still effective. Some confusion about illustration foreground, midground, and background.	Illustration is not an example of strong technical skills and needs vast improvement. Layering was not used to showcase depth in augmented reality.
Creativity	Illustration uses the playing card foundation to create a unique and interesting story. AR experience enhances the illustration. The viewer wants to know more.	Illustration uses the playing card as the foundation to create a unique story. The illustration is not enhanced with AR.	Illustration and AR experience are lacking in creativity and originality. With feedback, the project could be enhanced.	Illustration and AR experience are not original and do not create a cohesive narrative.
Mechanics	Video of AR experience fully captures the use of the illustration in augmented reality. Could be an example for the class.	Video of AR experience captures the use of the illustration in augmented reality but could use tweaks to enhance the experience.	Slide AR is used to translate illustration to augmented reality, but is not adjusted to maximize the experience.	Illustration is either poorly translated or not translated to augmented reality using Slide AR.