The game of chess has been around for over 1500 years. The game originated in India where it spread to Persia, and later through Southern Europe. The European chess game evolved to what we know today. The image pictured below shows the Knights Templar playing chess in 1283, and the other image shows a painting of Queen Nefertiti platting a chess like game somewhere around 1320-1200 BCE. The game of chess consists of 16 pieces; a queen, a king, 8 pawns, 2 bishops, 2 rooks, and two knights on a checkered board.

  • What art elements are used to create the illusion of form on a flat surface?
  • How do designers create a variety of textured forms using advanced tools within Adobe Illustrator?
  • What technology tools enable artists and designers to construct 3-dimensional forms?
  • How can we expand on the application of tools used to create a variety of forms with various shapes and textures?

Students are to analyze the elements of shape, value, and form of a chess piece and render the form using 3D Effects Tools in Adobe Illustrator.

Using the Graphic Styles Effect 23 construct a chess pawn that has a 3-D appearance. Duplicate the form and explore the different textures that can be applied using the SVG Filters found in the Effects menu. Create several versions of a chess piece to show the form in different textures such as rock, marble, wood, or plastic. Use the tutorial guides below to illustrate all the pieces on a chess board. Create a variety of different textures and colors by applying different SVG Filters to duplicate ,
nefertiti_chess_1320_1200_HC
Painting of Queen Nefertiti playing a game, c. 1320-1200 BCE, source: History.com, Ancient Egypt

KnightsTemplarPlayingChess1283_WikiPed
Knights Templar playing chess, Libro de los juegos, 1283, source: History of Chess – Wikipedia

Chess_Game

Try a game of chess online and get familiar with
the different moves each piece makes.
Instant Chess

 

Viewing the tutorial below use the Pen Tool along with the Graphic Styles Library construct a chess piece that has a 3-D appearance using the Graphic Styles Effect 21 in the Graphic Styles Library.

Chess_pawn

Tutorial | Creating the Pawn Form

 

chess_bishop5

Tutorial | Creating the Bishop Form

 

rook

Tutorial | Creating the Rook Form and Texture

 

Chess_knight_03

Tutorial | Creating the Knight Form and Texture

Using the skills developed in the previous chess pieces to create the King and the Queen on your own.
Chess_King

Chess_queen2

Tutorial | Creating the Chess Board

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Student Gallery

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rubric_chess