Foundations of Design : Representation, Sem 1, 2017 Renee Relampagos 832 666 Studio 14 - Colby Vexler
MEASURED DRAWING OF A CROISSANT How to measure a Croissant? From this task, I have learnt the complexity of carrying out artwork in two different mediums - of photography and of drawing. Process of drawing: My process of drawing for this involved highlighting areas of light and darkness which provided a point to begin with. I found that having the original image placed alongside the tracing paper I worked with produced the best results in understanding where the shadows were. This was particularly due to the artificial lighting in my workspace which made it difficult to accurately view the shadows on the image being traced. This made the process of shading much simpler. From this task, a technique I found to be quite useful was to lightly indicate the lightest and darkest points of the image and establishing the shade and pencils to use to create this from the beginning.
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NEW MARIO WORLD
Forward Projection Landscape.
The
Backward Projection Landscape.
making of new world.
The Mario World I created intended to be playful and classic. However, with that in mind, this prevented me from truly experimenting and being as creative as I could have been in this assignment. With the existing spaces within the world, I have created a body of water which runs in between the islands of the world and run through
Mario
the areas which it is visible in the images provided. With the characters, I particularly focused on picking movements which prompted questions about the illustration’s narrative that could perhaps interrelate with the other worlds -- thus, Mario falling and Luigi in skiis.
Final Mario World Drawing.
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Detailed Drawing of the First Mario World Draft.
First Draft of the Mario World Drawing.
Colour Analysis and Reflection. The aesthetic and colours used in the illustration were based off the original worlds that were provided, utilising the pale colours and the subtle shades. The progress drawings on the left displays the original idea which was unaltered due to absence in the feedback tutorial, and so the lack of improvement and progression from the original drafts. However,
Coloured Final Drawing of the Mario World.
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upon reflection of the other works, a plethora of changes can be made to the world, starting with perhaps and underground extension of the world, or the creation of a narrative where the characters on the illustration sit.
The making of new landscape The terrain provided in Module 3 had a clear peak running towards the centre intersections of the square, making the highest point the centre of the landscape. Thus, through placement of the folded elements within, I attempted to highlight where these peaks were located, and utilised a sort of key system to further highlight these peaks. The pyramid elements represent the shortest levels on the terrain, thus the encircling of these around perimeter. Just within are the two triangle elements which indicate medium heights, and lastly the elements with hourglass openings to indicate the peaks. I believe my intentions for this task were achieved successfully. However, the main issues that need to be addressed are my methods of folding and assembly, and perhaps more experimentation and creativity in the elements used within the model.
Isometric View of Elements on Rhino3D. The three elements which compose the entire landscape vary in the hierarchy in height within the terrain.
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Array of folded double triangles that run vertically through the west of the landscape.
Closeup photo of the folded clusters on the southwest side of the landscape.
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Tilted closeup of the Tasmanian landscape. This movement and positioning of the landscape tests the flexibility and capacity of the model to hold together.
Isometric View of Landscape on Rhino3D. The digital representation of the modelled landscape.
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Landscape of Tasmania. This was the terrain which held the basis for Module 3’s landscape model.
INVISIBLE CITY City & the Dead : Argia Argia is an underground city of ‘earth as air’, crawling roots and sprawling staircases, and inhabitants with so little strength they are better off still. My interpretation of it was reliant on the heavily descriptive narrative of the objects and the environment within the city, as opposed to a character-focused and dynamic narrative. In the perspectives, I have taken both literal and symbolic meanings in order to retell the story and create the following.
The isonometric’s focus was to both reiterate what is narrated in the perspectives, hint to what laid beyond them and to add a dimension of mood and movement; whereas the perspectives aimed to encapsulate the vivid descriptions within the city – the details of which will be discussed further along.
Key Light Mood
Movement
Heavy Mood
Staircase
Character Perspective 1
0
2m
3.5m
Light and Dark
6m
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Stare Perspective 2
Perspective 1
Whilst the narrative depicts almost an unliveable city, I still portrayed Argia to be quite liveable and have a sense of warmth despite these conditions through the light, shelter and characters in the perspective, who without choice, coexist with the dirt and rubble that is their home. The scene I have chosen is heavily influenced by the lines “...clay packs the room to the ceiling� in the text provided. This inspired me to create a scene which captures the dark and confined description of the underground city. The areas where light exists I have highlighted with the fire. The background and ceiling are made of dirt and worms to exaggerate location, and a small house with relatively small characters to capture the grim and even debilitating tone of the city. This focused on the literal depiction of the city, a projection of my imagination and visualisation of Argia rather than a symbolic interpretation.
This ill-looking character sits hidden behind a column to emphasise his frailty perhaps from the debilitating conditions of Argia.
This frail, old lady, I believe, visually encapsulated what I envisioned the inhabitants of Argia would appear to look.
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The presence of fire in the frame was important, not only as a source of light but heat for the inhabitants that reside in Argia.
Perspective 2
This scene also derived on the same aesthetics as the previous perspective, however I wanted to explore the narrator’s role in the portrayal of the underground city. While it is viewed in Marco Polo’s eyes, the city’s existence seems to be of knowledge to the world above and beyond it from where the narrator stands. This to me was a concept of surveillance that was almost transcendent. I have depicted this with the staircase leading to the omnipresent eye that is a centre of focus for the scene. The staircase which leads to the city’s exit exaggerates this distance between the two worlds, deeming it almost impossible to for one to meet another. The use of light in this perspective is also more contrasting to further highlight this concept.
Contrasting the frailty of the characters within, I believed the adventurer would introduce an interesting dimension to the image
Shelter in the story was a key object, signifying that life existed in the buried city - I believed the house complemented the city it sits in.
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The roots in the narrative were important in establishing the setting of the city- underground. And so, I ensured these were omnipresent in both perspectives.
To say that I have learnt a lot in the past twelve weeks from this subject is an understatement. From the lectures, tutorials and the sleepless nights, I have learnt everything from building a reciprocal relationship with fellow students to digital skills that are transferrable throughout different software, to theory and practice in architecture through the lectures. In particular, I found Scott’s lecture on ‘Frame’ to be quite interesting. His emphasis on the importance of consideration of the events occurring ‘out-of-frame’, was valuable during the process of creating my perspectives. This mindset allowed me to carefully consider the details of the narrative provided, and not just the narrative itself such as character and setting. This prompted me to ask questions like – ‘how do they survive in such a dark place?’, thus the fire, and ‘what kind of people reside here’, and thus the different ages and genders of the characters.
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This also resulted in my application of both symbolic and literal interpretations on the perspectives. Furthermore, I’ve also learned to use new digital programs such as Illustrator and Rhino3D. One of my greatest struggles this semester has been the insufficiency of technical skills, preventing me from articulating my work to its full potential. This, I believe was a big part of what hindered me from achieving better results in Module 2, on top of the missed tutorials which would have provided feedback for my work. As I have mentioned in the folio, this is something that could’ve been improved with thorough experimentation and going out of my comfort zone to create something more outside the box. That and my digital skills are things that I wish to improve on throughout the holidays, and the next two years in the course.