Foundations of Design : Representation, Sem 1, 2017 PORTFOLIO Sophia Miriam Harrison 914382 Studio 01 - Emmanuel Cohen
MEASURED DRAWING OF A CROISSANT
How to measure a Croissant? It is interesting to look back to this first module after now complteing Foundations of Deisgn: Representation and to remember the difficulties I had in doing it. I had no experience with any form of technical drawing and so the concept of axonometric drawing was a hard one to grasp. Furthermore, I had no Photoshop or InDesign skills so the whole process was a challenge. First I photographed the croissant in the Fabrication Lab using a photo stage set up for the purpose of this task. Next I scanned the croissant, first slicing the three sections. I scanned each of these sections separately. From the photographs, I traced, sketched and rendered the croissant, adding hatching, shadow and depth. The sections were measured through use of a grid and then plotted onto an axonometric croissant. I then redraw these sections, joining them to demonstrate half of the croissant. I found the sketching and rendering of the croissant and the graph of the sections the most manageable of the task. I learnt a lot about the effects of different lineweights and also the scientific aspect to drawing. For this portfolio, I retouched the photographs, giving the croissant an all white background. I also changed the composition of the drawings.
2
A
105mm
3
B
C
A
B
C
4
MARIO WORLD
The making of new Mario world. Module 2 was the most overwhelming and taxing of the four tasks for me. Unfortunately, I have not had the time or the patience to explore it further for this portfolio. I struggled with every aspect; th euse of Illustrator and Photoshop were, again, challenging to say the least. Even by simplifying my axonometric, my inexperience made it near impossible for me to complete. I would have liked some more support in this area and can see now that I should have devoted more time to Adobe tutorials. Compositionally, though my given worlds were set under water, I decided to add a sand bank to ground the scene. Once in Illustrator, I decided on a simple colour palate. Struggling with pen tool, especially for the many curves in my drawing, I completed the ajority of the colouring with the paint brush tool making it a tedious and clumsy process. The artistic decision to add the dots was to create a representation of bubbles. I knew that my skill was lacking so I wanted to soften the edges and create vitality through the colours and shapes. I am ultimately proud of myself for finishing and submitting this module because at times I thought I wouldn’t get there.
5
Work in Progress. Showing the set up of my axonometric drawing. Includes some materials used: ruler, drawing board, masking tape, pen and image
Finished Axonometric. My finished axonometric before scanning. Includes add-ons such as the two waterfalls. Does not include final Toad character.
Annotate your drawing
6
PAPER LANDSCAPE
The making of new landscape Module 3 is where things finally started to make sense to me. As a Digital Technologies major, using Rhino was a manageable and even an enjoyable process. The constant iterations of 2D and 3D variables helped me to practice the methods taught in the workshops and my experience with coding allowed me to understand the command system of Rhino in a very helpful way. After learning how to create 3D variables and to mesh them I decided on a truncated pyramid theme. Though it took 3-4 iterations before I was satisfied with my choice, I eventually created diversity through their heights. It was a safe choice, but I wanted it to be successful so I decided to keep them. The difficult part for me was meshing the landscape surface so as to allow the variables and the surface to be unrolled together. Eventually I manage to mesh the surface through the custom 2D panel command. This meant that when unrolling my landscape I was able to do it in sections of 4-5 pieces. It sped up my model making process and also made the model a lot cleaner than it might have been. Again, as a digital tehcnologies major, my skill does not lie in physical model making. Thus, my model was lacking precision and care.
7
Prototype unfolding, unrolled sections and detail of the final model
8
My landscape. The shape and contours of my landscape.
1st Panelled landscape. The result of my first 3D variable iterations. They were too similar and I decided to change
Final 3D variables. These were my final variables. The taller truncated pyramid was to appear in the middle of the landscape with the pyramids slowly flattening out towards the bottom and top.
Close up of the finished model
9
Final panelled landscape. The final model with 50% flat and 50% 3D. I left 3D elements to accentuate the curves and high points of the landscape.
INVISIBLE CITY
CITIES & THE SKY 5: ANdrIA
Cities & the Sky 5: Andria Module 4 was by far the most enoyable and my most succesful task of this subject. The challenge of creating a rich, imaginitive scene within the constraints dictated by the rubric was exciting and demanding. For example, the strict use of black and white meant that the images used in photoshop had to stand in their own right. My use of blood on the wall had to have the physicality of blood to deliniate its nature rather than the obvious red colour. It is important to note that I initially misunderstood the task and created a narrative based on the myth of Cassiopeia totally irrelevent to the city of Andria. It was only at the final class before the pinup that I realised my error and had to start from scratch. To me, Andria is a city of strength and precision. The order and refinement of the city and its inhabitants extends to the stars and celestial connotations are intrinsic to their world. The only hint of disorder is in the phrase “...when the last of the plague victims were cured...� and these nine words are what struck me most. I decided to show this constrast; perspective 1 as showing the elegance and clarity of the city and perspective 2 as showing the moment of chaos underpining the order.
Key Perspective 1 Perspective 2 Number of people Glance
I chose the camera and target views to support this: persepctive 1 concentrates on a strong and direction focus whereas perspective 2 has a clear sense of foreground and background, or, present and past.
Stare Walking pace - thinner = quicker Heading backwards in time 0
1m
2.5m
5m
Dark and turbulent times Light and calm times Regarding the view
10
Perspective 1: The Andrian Ideal
This scene shows the order, precision and elegance of the city and its inhabitants. The text describes the city as “flowing calmly� and I have tried to depict this calm through lighting as well as the sleeping cat. The order and elegance I have shown through the marble floor and walls as well as the camera view where the scene is richly framed; the effect is of strength and directness. Lastly, the sky and atmosphere is intrinsic to the city hence the celestial fountain sculpture, the astronomical wall paintings and the space setting outside of the quad.
11
Perspective 2: The Chaos Behind the Order
This scene is a juxtaposition of the order and precision of perspective 1. Here the elders are recounting to Marco Polo of the plague that took over the city some years before. Thus, in the background, it is darker and uglier. The death and decay is echoed in the sky through a lightening bolt - “any change in the city involves some novelty in the stars�. The contrast of the lightness and calmness of the foreground, accentuated by the flowers and books, and the dark mess, including blood and rats, of the background highlights the time jump as well. I maintained continuity through the marble walls and floor as well as the space setting outside of the quad
12
REFLECTION This subject was probably the most challenging I have ever undertaken. As a digital Technologies major, it was confusing for me to be taking a subject which seemingly only concerned architectural principles, specifically hand drawing. Drawing true to life has never been my strong point and so it was incredibly daunting to discover that module 1, presumably the ‘easiest’, was really difficult for me!
The things I most enjoy, such as programming, started to have an impact on my results. I struggled most with the physical model making, which wasn’t surprising but I did receive my first H3 and I was delighted! I felt that I had worked so hard and struggled so much and I was finally seeing my work pay off. To end with module 4 was the most exciting way to finish this subject and this semester. By now, I felt like I had a grasp on Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator and was able to use every skill I had learnt over the semester. I was determined to do well and found that I actually enjoyed myself. The hardest part came when deciding when to stop playing with my scenes in Photoshop. I loved working creatively but within a boundary; the lack of colour was an interesting test of aesthetic as was the story itself. I was elated to have gotten my best result within the suject for this module: H1.
My hopes did not improve with module 2 which proved not only more challenging but more bewildering to me. I had never used Photoshop or Illustrator let alone had much success with the axonometric drawing of the previous task, and so I was overwhelmed and dissatisfied that despite spending hours and weekends at the MSD I was barely passing the subject. Nevertheless, I persevered, and I have come to value this subject for exactly that: perseverance, patience and persistence. My struggles came mostly from a need for perfection, but once I accepted that perfection wasn’t the aim and that the aim was, in fact, the process and trial and error, I became much more eager.
Overall, I am grateful for this subject. It taught me that being defeated by a task is unhelpful and a waste of energy. I feel much more capable to take on my design studies after successfully completing all four modules of Foundation of Design: Representation.
With module 3 I began to finally find my groove. The introduction to Rhinoceros, though foreign and tough, was starting to make sense in terms of my major.
13