This course introduces the student to the fundamental techniques of apparel design, ranging from flat-pattern drafting to draping. Guided by demonstrations, students develop basic garment silhouettes and learn about fit by analyzing muslin garments on dress forms. All garments are pinned together; there is no machine sewing. Design assignments require sketching ideas for different types of garments and creating a mood board. Selected from these and other semester assignments, a final project is developed from flat pattern to finished muslin.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This course explores methods of creating apparel design collections, with a focus on techniques for developing design ideas and communicating concepts through sketches and theme boards. The curriculum covers color, basic design elements, fabrication, shape and detailing. Skills are developed through various design and drawing assignments, including designing a collection and preparing a final presentation.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This course enables students to explore both the conceptual and practical realms of architecture in a series of lectures and studio projects. Students learn to establish criteria for architectural design by integrating the principles of three-dimensional form with site response and programmatic needs as well as structural and material requirements. Initially, students examine the urban context, but as the course progresses, they can expect to complete measured drawings and scaled models of a site-specific design project. Discussions focus on how experience, daily use, culture and aesthetics influence the field of architectural design, while studio projects highlight research, drawing and modelmaking. Individuals with or without design experience are welcome, as projects are tailored to each student's background.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Computer illustration skills are a requirement for designers, architects, illustrators and engineers in today's marketplace, and the industry-leading tool is AutoCAD, Autodesk's three-dimensional software package. Students in this course gain familiarity with AutoCAD, with an emphasis on generating both line drawings for hand rendering and image files for printing by outside vendors. Other topics addressed include technical illustration; architectural, interior and industrial design renderings; exploded drawings; color bitmaps; and more.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Working in clay involves an ongoing balance between exploring techniques and processes, and developing ideas and skills. This multilevel studio is open to beginners through advanced students, with instruction designed to meet both individual and group needs. Working at different levels on the same projects, participants in the course enjoy a unique opportunity to share ideas. Simultaneously, individualized assignments and instruction enable students to develop their own particular interests. Student exploration may include hand-building, wheel-throwing, simple mold making, tile making, finishing and/or glazing. Demonstrations, slide presentations and directed concept development supplement hands-on experience.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Graduate, Non-Credit

Working in clay involves an ongoing balance between exploring techniques and processes, and developing ideas and skills. This multilevel studio is open to beginners through advanced students, with instruction designed to meet both individual and group needs. Working at different levels on the same projects, participants in the course enjoy a unique opportunity to share ideas. Simultaneously, individualized assignments and instruction enable students to develop their own particular interests. Student exploration may include hand-building, wheel-throwing, simple mold making, tile making, finishing and/or glazing. Demonstrations, slide presentations and directed concept development supplement hands-on experience.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Graduate, Non-Credit

Explore the imagery behind the words in children's book art, from concept to character development, drawing to design, and media application to finished execution. Participants in this course develop drawing and design skills in order to interpret and communicate words and ideas through imagery. Characterization, pacing, text interpretation and format are all emphasized in assignments that include illustrating poetry, picture books, animal stories and folk tales. In the process, students work with a wide range of media, from watercolor, acrylic and gouache to collage and mixed media.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

As Degas observed, drawing is not simply about what one sees, but what one can make others see. This course begins with an exploration of descriptive drawing fundamentals, making the experience suitable for beginning as well as advanced students. After gaining a basic understanding of how to see and describe the figure in visual terms, students investigate expressive and experimental directions in their drawing. Supplementing these in-class assignments are critiques, discussions of concept and technique, and many opportunities for one-on-one instruction.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

The elements of drawing -- observation, recording and pictorial organization -- are fundamental to an artist's visual education. This course uses basic drawing tools and materials to introduce students to an intense visual investigation, which is not only a matter of technical proficiency but also demands a thorough understanding of the visual thought process. Line, shape, value, proportion and perspective are all explored in class through studies of landscape, still life and the human figure. In addition, individual guidance is provided to accommodate varying levels of student ability, from beginning to advanced.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Here is an opportunity to build three-dimensional computer animation sequences with the unmatched system speed and streamlined workflow of Autodesk's award-winning software package, Maya. While students learn the basics of the Maya interface and 3D modeling, they are also introduced to photorealistic methods of rendering. The scenes are then lighted and animated for output to video and digital media. Participants soon see how Maya's versatility facilitates meeting a variety of production requirements.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of furniture design and fabrication. Using wood as the primary material, students learn basic design and woodshop skills as they design and make a small table. Daily activities include design exercises, hand tool and machine demonstrations, critiques and self-directed studio work time. Class participants learn to develop their own design process as well as gain confidence and problem solving skills in the woodshop. Beginners and Intermediate level students are welcome. Projects are tailored to each student's skill level.

Note: Tool Kit Fee (listed below as "Other Fee") of $125 is required for this course ($100 is refundable upon return of undamaged tool kit).

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

The goal of this course is to introduce students to furniture design and the basic techniques of welding and metal fabrication. Students are exposed to oxyacetylene, arc and TIG welding, with the primary focus on TIG. Design issues are resolved through a series of drawings and models, and welding skills are honed through several preliminary projects. Students are responsible for finishing a piece of metal furniture.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Why limit furniture to the usual wood, plastic or metal components? This course concentrates on three-dimensional experimentation with unconventional materials as a means to create innovative furniture. Students first experiment with one material of their choice, working hands-on to gain an understanding of its tactile and structural qualities. They then utilize their experiments to design a small piece of furniture. The class format includes lectures, demonstrations, student presentations and critiques, in-depth research and prototype development. Sensitivity towards materials, understanding appropriate techniques, and developing good working habits are stressed. No power tools are used; rather, by employing basic hand tools, students find innovative solutions while experimenting with and constructing their prototypes.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This is a high-energy course with an emphasis on experimentation, personal exploration and making. The three disciplines of papermaking, letterpress printing and bookbinding unite in a self-driven project, which is open to individual interest. In the papermaking studio, students learn to use recycled materials, plant fibers, pre-processed sheets, natural dyes, pigments, and numerous techniques that open a world of possibilities for utilizing handmade paper. In the print studio, students learn the fundamentals of letterpress printing through quick exercises involving wood and lead type, followed by more in-depth exercises utilizing the computer, polymer and magnesium plates. Traditional binding structures and numerous variations encourage students to think beyond the expectations of what a book can be. In addition to practical exercises and technique-driven classes, students are required to keep a sketchbook of ideas and inspiration.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

In this course, students explore their creativity and experiment with the graphic language of form, meaning and expression -- using Quark, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and other creative applications -- in a state-of-the-art computer lab. They focus on designing an exciting poster series that demonstrates their skills and ideas in color, typography and imaging, and are encouraged to find unique ways to combine word, symbol and the photographic image. Sessions include group discussions, critiques and individual reviews. Each week a new dimension is introduced to challenge your progress and encourage you to customize project concepts to your personal interests. Each work is an experiment in communication as students explore the plasticity and three-dimensionality of graphic design to create innovative solutions and develop new computer skills. Class discussions address actual professional applications.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Have you ever bought a product you thought you could improve, or wondered why a given product looks and functions as it does? In this course, students explore the broadly-based field of industrial design and experience firsthand what it takes to bring an idea to market. Slide presentations, discussions and studio projects help students examine the balance between pragmatic and aesthetic relationships in product design as they gain familiarity with the design process from market research to product roll-out. Research data is integrated into sketches, which then evolve into design intent drawings and are finally communicated via working models. A final presentation of the product concludes the class.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

The ability to draw rapidly and effectively is one of the most valuable skills needed in design work; it is critical for expressing design ideas to oneself, one's colleagues and one's clients. Accordingly, this course explores a wide range of tools, materials, processes and techniques that help hone drawing and visual communication skills, from very simple working sketches to full-color professional presentation renderings. Topics covered include rapid visualization drawing, ideation, basic and advanced perspective, blocking out shapes, appropriate point of view, composition, tonal contrast, light and shadow, textures and details, and presentation. Students receive instruction in the use of assorted media, including pen, pencil, markers, pastels, paint, and a variety of drawing papers. Participants should possess some drawing skills to gain full advantage from the course.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

An intriguing piece of jewelry not only attracts the eye, but complements its wearer or tells a story. In this course, we move beyond appreciation to creation by learning the fundamentals of jewelry-making techniques, design and fabrication. A range of hand-tool processes is covered through practical exercises and imaginative concept-based projects. The non-technical side of the class focuses on idea development and the critical-thinking skills needed to realize a vision. On the technical front, we cover sawing, filing, hard soldering, scoring/bending, linkages, hollow construction, wire construction and more. In addition, discussion of design, materials, jewelry history and alternative techniques is part of every class. Note: Students may purchase tool kits from RISD's Metcalf Supply Store on the first day of class for $130. Students are expected to purchase metals for their projects, the nature and scope of which determine costs.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

At RISD, intentional engagement with the land starts with an understanding of the materials, systems and processes -- both cultural and environmental -- that have shaped and continue to shape the visible world over time. This annual course introduces studio-based conceptual design thinking together with field and classroom-based ecological studies, and offers students methodological and theoretical frameworks necessary for pursuing studies in the fields of landscape architecture and architecture.

Studio work includes two- and three-dimensional exercises through which students become familiar with materials, tools and language. Participants are asked to investigate and analyze material characteristics, potential, form, structure and transformation. Issues of process and the balance between intuitive responses and finding a logic for testing and developing ideas are a critical part of all discussions. Design criticism in the form of individual presentations of work and group discussion is an integral part of the program.

The ecological component of the program uses a shared conceptual language with the design focus -- material logic, potential, form, structure, systems, process and time-based transformation. The focus is on the geology, botany, geomorphology and ecological communities of the New England region. Methods of analysis and interpretation include measurement, field documentation, mapping, conceptual thinking and on-site drawing. The intent of the ecological component is to strengthen the students' observational and analytical skills, and to foster an environmental ethic through illumination of the relationships and dependencies of all parts of the physical world.

The final week of this intensive four-week course is spent in Fryeburg, Maine, along the Saco River and in view of New Hampshire's White Mountains.

Friday, July 31 - Wednesday, August 26

5 days on/2 days off per week

9am-6pm, with some evening lectures and critiques

The lab fee includes the cost of field trips and entrance fees, but does not include food costs for the final week. Enrollment in the course is by permission of the Head of the Landscape Architecture Department, who may be contacted at 401 454-6282 for a brief telephone interview and an overview of course and credit details.

Note: This course may be taken on a non-credit basis, pending availability, but only at the regular tuition rate.

In this course, students take a reflective approach to the construction of the photographic image, building a foundation of technical skills while challenging themselves to consider the architecture of their images. Students learn how to properly expose a negative, use aperture and shutter speed to control their images' content, and print from their negatives in the darkroom. Students are also asked to analyze the subject matter of their images. Class time alternates between darkroom instruction, critiques of student work, class discussion and student presentations. Assignments include photographic projects that address both technical and creative exploration, as well as supplementary reading and viewing response journaling. By the end of the course, students should have acquired knowledge of contemporary photographic practices and assembled a thoughtful photographic portfolio. No prior experience is required, but students must have access to a 35mm camera with manual exposure capability. Note: Photo Kit Deposit (listed below as "Other Fee") of $100 is refundable upon return of undamaged equipment.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

The dynamics of color have significant implications in the work of artists, illustrators, craftspeople and designers. Students explore the issue of color in this studio course by developing creative exercises -- studies from nature, the human environment and the like -- using collage, paint and other media. Other projects facilitate in-depth explorations of the role of light, the psychological impact of color, and how such factors as hue, value and intensity affect design. Historical background is provided through lectures and slide presentations. Trips to the renowned Roger Williams Park Zoo, The RISD Museum and/or other resources provide an opportunity for direct observation of color phenomena, deepening students' understanding of this complex subject.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This introduction to oil painting provides students with an opportunity to explore and understand this challenging medium. Participants become familiar with oil painting through a variety of assignments that highlight color, surface, space, volume and illusion. Students explore a range of subject matter including still lifes, interiors and landscapes, and conclude the course painting the figure from a live model. Slide-illustrated lectures and frequent discussions of student projects complement studio work and help students master various techniques of paint application, from underpainting and glazing to impasto and direct painting methods.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Beginning with close observation, students in this course research natural forms and landscape as inspiration for abstract imagery. Research also highlights the styles of various painters, examined within the rubric of 20th-century abstract painting. Supplementing studio work are frequent individual and group critiques that help students build the self-awareness necessary to uncover a personal style. Throughout the course, students focus on the conceptual and technical skills that address their particular painting requirements, and are free to work in a variety of media and in various scales.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

In this course, students are taught various intaglio techniques that can enhance their personal imagery. Monotype, monoprint, dry point, xerographic transfer, collagraph, etching and chine colle are all demonstrated. Students should plan to work intensively on a final portfolio based on a series of images that explores their developing personal imagery. Early on, the studio experience is enhanced by visits to both the RISD Library's Picture Collection and The RISD Museum's Print Room, and is later augmented by demonstrations, slide presentations and group critiques.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Explore traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques for transferring images photographically to intaglio, lithograph and screenprint. This course encourages exploration of and technical experimentation in using drawings, photographs and computer-generated visual information as components of a print. Furthermore, students master the darkroom and printmaking skills necessary to bring their ideas from conception to printed edition. As a result, each student completes a final portfolio of prints ranging from black-and-white etchings to four-color separation screenprints. The course is suitable for all -- beginning, intermediate and advanced art and design students -- and its structure allows repeating students and advanced-level printmakers to concentrate in a print area of their choice.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Artists constantly research new materials and invent new processes to create a new piece. In this multi-disciplinary course, students experiment with several different media in reaction to a specific site or location. Each week students meet at a predetermined location where they plan a project in reaction to the site, whether it is, for example, sound-based, sculptural, a drawing or a painting. Each student is encouraged to try a different medium or way of thinking for each site. The class is introduced to a diverse range of contemporary artists making site-specific work, and we discuss how each site shaped their material choices and ways of working. Classes are held at locations within walking or public transportation distance of the RISD campus.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Great figurative sculpture does not simply copy nature; it takes what it needs from nature and translates those essential qualities into the visual language of three-dimensional form. How a sculptor conceives of the figure and interprets anatomy is dependent upon the artist's visual language. Students in this course learn to think of the body as an interconnected system of layered forms. By combining close perceptual study of posed models with a conceptual understanding of the human body's shapes and proportions, students learn how to craft their visualizations of the human figure. In the process, students are exposed to the history of three-dimensional composition and the dialogues between form, process, narrative, tradition and meaning. Students are also introduced to the various ways the human figure has been used in art and encouraged to begin thinking critically about what it means to represent the human body in their art.

Note: Lab fee includes all armature supplies and some of the tools and clay.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This intensive course in human anatomy for the artist combines careful perceptual study of specific models' bodies with clear conceptual interpretations of the essential forms of the human body. During class time, students sculpt in plasteline clay from live models. Outside of class, students work on an ecorche, or flayed figure, in which they first sculpt a skeleton and then the muscles. This combination of perception (looking) and conception (analysis) increases one's ability to visualize the human body as layers of overlapping, bulging surface forms on top of rigid, planar and symmetrical core structures. In order to develop this theoretical construct, the course focuses on the body's proportions, the types and ranges of joint movement, and the relationships between underlying structures and surface morphology. Ultimately, students are able to look at a model from one point of view and visualize it as a systematic structure that can be simultaneously seen and understood from all views in the mind's eye.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This hands-on course introduces students to a variety of casting techniques. Students learn additive form-building, as well as basic mold-making and casting. Materials and processes introduced include plaster and FGR/fiberglass molds, polyurethane and silicone rubber molds, wax, Aqua-Resin, foam and vacuum forming. Experimentation with materials is encouraged. We look at a diverse range of contemporary artists working with these materials, and determine how the process informs the work itself. Ultimately, students gain the skills and knowledge needed to continue to use moldmaking and casting in their future work.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This multi-faceted, hands-on course encourages participants to explore line, form, texture and color in both two- and three-dimensional works using unconventional materials, such as: rusted nails, metal scraps, interfacing, burnt marks, found objects, rinse-away solvent sheets, threads and yarns, paint and collage. Developing and visualizing concepts is emphasized, and students approach problem-solving with a risk-taking attitude -- even using the sewing machine as a "drawing" tool -- thus gaining an increased ability to develop a unique perspective. This course is open to students who are interested in fine arts and design-oriented work, and includes a portfolio of experimental swatches to nourish future work.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Graduate, Non-Credit

This multi-faceted, hands-on course encourages participants to explore line, form, texture and color in both two- and three-dimensional works using unconventional materials, such as: rusted nails, metal scraps, interfacing, burnt marks, found objects, rinse-away solvent sheets, threads and yarns, paint and collage. Developing and visualizing concepts is emphasized, and students approach problem-solving with a risk-taking attitude -- even using the sewing machine as a "drawing" tool -- thus gaining an increased ability to develop a unique perspective. This course is open to students who are interested in fine arts and design-oriented work, and includes a portfolio of experimental swatches to nourish future work.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Graduate, Non-Credit

Students learn the basic techniques of machine knitting, and explore the possibilities of developing knitted fabrics through the use of structural effects, color, pattern and materials within those techniques. Other methods of manipulating knitted fabrics, such as felting and printing, are introduced, as well as pattern drafting techniques for knits. Students have an opportunity to explore their most interesting results by creating a final project, be it an apparel, interiors or fine arts application. The lab fee is assessed to cover the use of the Textile Department's extensive yarn collection.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Graduate, Non-Credit

Students learn the basic techniques of machine knitting, and explore the possibilities of developing knitted fabrics through the use of structural effects, color, pattern and materials within those techniques. Other methods of manipulating knitted fabrics, such as felting and printing, are introduced, as well as pattern drafting techniques for knits. Students have an opportunity to explore their most interesting results by creating a final project, be it an apparel, interiors or fine arts application. The lab fee is assessed to cover the use of the Textile Department's extensive yarn collection.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Graduate, Non-Credit

This two-week intensive course, designed for beginning and non-weavers alike, proceeds at a quick pace from computer to woven fabrics. Through exercises woven on the RISD industrial jacquard power loom, students start by learning how weave structure and yarn color are used to develop image and texture in jacquard cloth. Students then apply these concepts in developing their own designs while learning to use specialized Pointcarré computer software. Basic weave drafting and double woven cloth are reviewed. Students explore their designs through color and material experimentation on the jacquard loom with the help of RISD Textiles technicians. The course emphasizes creative development of woven cloth as part of a technical learning experience. The lab fee provides access to the Textile Department's extensive yarn collection and covers technical support and yardage produced at the loom. Sampling and final design length amounts to approximately three yards of the student's own design.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

This two-week intensive course provides an introduction to the design and creation of jacquard knit fabrics using a digitally driven industrial knitting machine. This technology provides a myriad of possibilities for pattern and image making. Students learn to prepare artwork, produced in Photoshop or Illustrator, import their files into M1 (the Stoll knitting software system), convert their designs into double bed jacquard structures, and ultimately produce an integrated or layered knit cloth. Students also develop a color and material palette, using manually operated knitting machines, to drive the sampling process. Each student has the opportunity to work alongside the Textile Department's technician at the industrial machine. The lab fee provides access to the Textile Department's extensive yarn collection and covers technical support for knitting. Sampling and final length amounts to approximately 3 - 5 yards.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit

Employing computer-interfaced dobby looms, this course covers a wide variety of weave structures, including twills, cords, blocks, double weave, pique and matelasse. Students gain a thorough understanding of AVL WeavePoint software as well as the drafting skills necessary to design and combine weave structures. Exploration of color, texture and finishing techniques are encouraged. Work is directed toward the design of patterned and dimensional fabrics. The emphasis is on developing sources of inspiration and personal direction along with technical skills. Each student produces a collection of woven samples in a variety of weave structures and materials. The lab fee is assessed to cover the use of the Textile Department's extensive yarn collection.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Graduate, Non-Credit

Employing computer-interfaced dobby looms, this course covers a wide variety of weave structures, including twills, cords, blocks, double weave, pique and matelasse. Students gain a thorough understanding of AVL WeavePoint software as well as the drafting skills necessary to design and combine weave structures. Exploration of color, texture and finishing techniques are encouraged. Work is directed toward the design of patterned and dimensional fabrics. The emphasis is on developing sources of inspiration and personal direction along with technical skills. Each student produces a collection of woven samples in a variety of weave structures and materials. The lab fee is assessed to cover the use of the Textile Department's extensive yarn collection.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Graduate, Non-Credit

This course is designed to teach students how to take a website from idea to publication. Students gain familiarity with design issues and concepts specific to the web environment, using Dreamweaver as a tool to create pages emphasizing HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Design problems include how to make multipage sites visually pleasing, interactive and navigable while appropriately organizing text information. Simultaneously, assignments focus on various stages of planning, creating and publishing an actual site. Hands-on exercises and projects, supplemented by instructor demonstrations, help students learn how to prepare images and content, and how to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop to optimize content for upload. To get maximum benefit from this curriculum, students should already have a knowledge of the Macintosh platform and an intermediate level of skill with Photoshop.

Credit Options: Undergraduate, Non-Credit