Assignment 2 - Subject Matter

The final composition of the concept,
Global Mean Temperature

Assignment 2 - Process

Created the base of the thermometer using three rectangles, which were manipulated to resemble a box looked through a perspective view.


Drew the markings on the base using the Line Segment Tool and the Blend Tool, to get a sequence of shapes in a more efficient way.


Outlined a profile of a thermometer using the Line Tool.


Applied basic color profiles to the shapes. Markings on the base inherit a stroke color of gray.


Added specularity to the thermometer to give a feeling that it is being made out of glass. Used layers of shapes with subtle changes in color to achieve the desired effect. The Mesh Tool and the Gradient Tool had been used excessively through out the process. In some cases I had to use the effect, Gaussian Blur to make the specularity more diffused.


The whole process of illustrating the ideation concludes with application of shadows and a background to the scene. Used the effect, Drop Shadow to apply the shadows, but I also had to create some shadow effects on my own as the default shadow effect is not that realistic that it shows no decay in values of the color.

Assignment 2 - Precedent Studies

After seeing this image I got the idea of using a thermometer as a subject matter to symbolize the increase in Global Mean Temperature.


An old-fashioned thermometer, which inspired me to give my ideation more of an authentic look.

Assignment 2 - Background Research

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that plays a major part in shaping the earth’s climate. It produces the relatively warm and hospitable environment near the earth’s surface where humans and other life-forms have been able to develop and prosper. It is one of a large number of physical,chemical and biological processes that combine and interact to determine the earth’s climate.

Not all changes in climate are due to natural processes. Humans have also exerted an influence. Through building cities and altering patterns of land use, people have changed climate at the local scale. Through a range of activities since the industrial era of the mid-19th century, such as accelerated use of fossil fuels and broad scale deforestation and land use changes, humans have also contributed to an enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect. This enhanced greenhouse effect results from an increase in the atmospheric concentrations of the so-called greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, and is widely believed to be responsible for the observed increase in Global Mean Temperatures through the 20th century.

see also : The Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change

Assignment 1 - Symbol

The final composition of the symbol on Global Warming.
The Green House Effect

Assignment 1 - Process

Created several circles using the Ellipse Tool and transformed them to get the desired shape. Changed the stroke weight of the outer circle to show the region of the symbol.


Added the remaining strokes that would form the outline of the whole symbol. Used the method of mirroring as it is a symmetrical shape to make the process more efficient.


Outlined the world map by using an image of a globe as a reference. The reference image was placed as an template image. Only the Pen Tool was used to draw the outlines.


Coloured the objects, using the appropiate colour scheme, that can be found in the swatches palette.

Put gradients on several objects to enhance the visual quality. Used the Mesh Tool and the 'Create Gradient Mesh' command to achieve that effect.

Changed the stroke colour into some other to get the desired rendering of the symbol.

Assignment 1 - Preliminary Studies

Preliminary Studies
The Green House Effect

The Earth works as a Van de Graaff Generator, covered by a spherical glass. Energy flows from the Sun to the Earth, but the Energy doesn't go out into the space because of the glass, which represents the region of the Earth's atmosphere. The energy circulates within the region of the spherical glass, which is what really happens in a green house.

I've used the standard symbol to represent the sun (Circle and a dark spot in the middle). It was then embedded to the base of the generator and connected it with the Earth to show how energy flows.

The rendering that I had done for the sketch is only for visualization. I will use solid colours most of the time as it should inherit characterizations of a symbol.