ARC1017 Summative Submission
Jan 2023
210512715
Jacaranda Zeng
Task 1 Hollow Object
1:1 Orthographic Drawings of My
Mug (Figure 1)
Photo: Glittering Mug in the Sun (Figure 2)
Photo: Beautiful Ceramic White of My Mug (Figure 3)
A4 Pencil Preparatory Sketches and A4 Charcoal Sketches (Figure 4)
A3 Charcoal Sketch 1 (Figure 5)
I chose my mug as the hollow object of the task. Although its shape is relatively simple and its colour is white, it’s quite challenging to represent it well. However, I really loved to take this opportunity to put my skills to the test.
Because the entire mug body has curves, whether plan, section or elevation were difficult to control compared with straight line drawings. The orthographic drawings of my mug (Figure 1) took me seven times to complete and I eventually presented the final one for submission.
I took a lot of photos of the mug with the help of our photography tutor and picked two to show the beauty of its ceramic material (Figure 2) and white colour (Figure 3). I used the reflection of sunlight on the body of the mug to capture its bright texture and used green leaves and the grey concrete floor set off the whiteness of the mug.
For the observational drawings, I firstly drew two pencil sketches for preparation. The mug texture that I had been arranging with pencil for a long time could be quickly expressed with charcoal. The delicacy of the two pencil drawings and the haziness of the two charcoal drawings (Figure 4) were really good.
After that, I continued finishing another two charcoal sketches but in bigger sizes. Although the first a3 charcoal sketch (Figure 5) considered the surroundings of the mug, the latter one (Figure 6) expressed the shape and texture of the mug better.
I am satisfied with showing plenty of characteristics of my mug by various representation methods.
Task 2 Room
1:20 Orthographic Drawings of My Room (Figure 7)
1.South Section (Figure 8)
2.West Section (Figure 9)
4.East Section (Figure 11)
3.North Section (Figure 10)
Footnotes
Plan (Figure 12)
Preparatory Drawing
1:20 Plan (Figure 13)
1:20 North Section (Figure 15)
1:20 East Section (Figure 16)
1:20 West Section (Figure 14)
1:20 South Section (Figure 17)
Photo: Harsh Morning Sunlight in My Room (Figure 18)
Photo: Cosy Afternoon in My Room (Figure 19)
A4 Observational Drawing 1 (Figure 20)
A4 Observational Drawing 2 (Figure 21)
Reflective Summary for Task 2
My room is a 4070m long, 2540m wide and 2300m high tiny bedroom. It contains a single bed, a small tawny cabinet ,an earthy yellow desk, a green swivel chair, a three-level white plastered concrete bookshelf embedded in the wall, a bright red pin-up board, an old brown multi-level chest of drawers , a wardrobe and a stainless-steel washbasin. Entering through the doorway in the north, you will see my desk first, in front left you will see my bed, then turn left to see my wash basin and wardrobe.
For the final orthographic drawings (Figure 7), I drew a plan, a long section cut through the area between pin-up board and wardrobe, and a short section cut through the area between bed and washbasin based on the footnotes (Figure 8, 9,10, 11, 12). I put myself inside the drawing, which made it easier to imagine what it's like to live in.
The time when I drew footnotes (Figure 8,9, 10,11,12) were the first time I drew my room, preparatory drawings (Figure 13,14,15, 16, 17) were the third time, and final orthographic ones ( Figure 7) were the fourth time. The second time room drawing can be seen in the physical submission if needed, so as to avoid duplication of layout for digital one. I am very proud of the final quality and this polishing process of drawing the room several times.
In the morning, I captured the harsh sunlight shining into my room through the south-facing window (Figure 18), which I thought was very different because many people have mild morning sunlight in their rooms. I enjoyed afternoon in my room (Figure 19) more because with the breeze blowing in through the window and the tall green trees and birds outside the window, my room will be very cosy. And my observational drawings were finished by pencils and watercolour pencils and both were at night in the pure artificial lighting, one in front of my bed (Figure 20) and one in front of my desk (Figure 21).
Through observing, recording and drawing my room, I got to know it better.
Task 3 Inhabited Section
3.South Section Sketch (Figure 24)
1.West Section Sketch (Figure 22)
2.Colour Rendered West Section (Figure 23)
4.Mono Rendered South Section (Figure 25)
5.Colour Rendered East Section (Figure 26)
Altered 1：20 Plan (Figure 27)
Reflective Summary for Task 3
Altered 1：20 Colour Rendered Longitudinal (West) Section (Figure 28)
20
I chose to represent the west(longitudinal) and south(cross) section of my room in a rendered way. The black and white west section sketch (Figure 22) was drawn by pencils and pens and I tried to render it a little bit. After that, I did the colour rendered version of the west section (Figure 23) by watercolour pens and coloured chalks. The hazy intermingling of many colours feels wonderful. South section sketch (Figure 24) was produced by pencils and pens too but I didn’t render it because I would like to keep the rendering skills for the mono rendered sketch (Figure 25). The black and white rendering (Figure 25) conveyed my personal emotion of the emptiness and loneliness of living alone in a small room while studying abroad. Additionally, I made a rendered east section(Figure 26) , which conveyed the warm and cosy atmosphere I felt at a time at night without the noisy flatmates outside my room.
Speaking of how I rendered these sections, I firstly observed the light and shadow of the certain section. Then find the darkest place to black with a black pencil and slowly reduce the grayscale to colour in other places, leaving the brightest place white. Finally, I painted the furniture in the corresponding colour.
I really enjoyed the altered version of my room (Figure 27). I love dancing ballet very much during my spare time so I considered to divide an area just for ballet in my tiny room. I reduced the size of the window for more privacy and added a ballet barre under the window for myself to stretch my arms and legs(Figure 29). There is a big ballet rug near the barre for me to stand on. Near the barre there is my previous cabinet for storing my leotards, tights and ballet shoes. The wardrobe is just beside the cabinet. My washbasin, my desk and my bed are arranged in turn (Figure 28). I specially added wall-high baffles and curtains to the bed for more privacy again. I love the current layout of my small room, but I also love the wonderful ballet-themed room I imagined.
Altered 1：
Colour Rendered Cross (South) Section (Figure 29)
Task 4 Human Figure
Photo: Andy doing homework in his room (Figure 30)
Reflective Summary for Photography in Task 4
Photo: Andy enjoying the scenery in Town Moor (Figure 31)
I sincerely asked my stage 2 friend Andy, my former colleague whether he could be my model for this task. He gladly accepted and he posed in a variety of poses for me to sketch and photograph, both indoors and outdoors. I was very grateful to him and put this sincerity into my work.
I photographed him when he was making his design model at his desk (Figure 30). I wanted to express his scale in this space through the contrast between his figure and the surrounding furniture and other environments. I not only worked on the structure of the photo, but also wanted to express the warm atmosphere of the nighttime through light and shadow. The second photo was casually taken at Town Moor as he wandered in the vast meadow (Figure 31). The hillsides, woods and buildings in the distance can give people who watch this photo a sense of scale. I saw his body as a vertical line, to create a cross that meets the distant horizontal grassy line, which was a very comfortable photography composition in my opinion.
Final A4 Pencil Sketch – Andy playing tablet in his room (Figure 33)
Final A3 Charcoal Sketch – Andy taking a selfie in his room (Figure 32)
A4 Preparatory Pencil Sketches
Andy at Tynemouth (Figure 34)
Reflective Summary for Drawings in Task 4
Andy playing mobile phone in bed (Figure 35)
Andy in a daze at dining table (Figure 36)
For the observational drawings, I produced five sketches, one final a3 charcoal sketch (Figure 32) and four pencil sketches (Figure 33,34, 35, 36). Figure 32 was drawn when he was leaning against the heater in his room and taking random pictures including a selfie for himself. I first gently outlined his contour and the key environment around him with charcoal, then continued to draw all the lines, and finally emphasized the lightness and darkness of the picture according to the light and shadow of that time. I think the output was desirable. The final a4 pencil sketch (Figure 3.3) was made when he was playing his tablet at the desk for relaxation. I chose this one as the final one out of four a4 sketches because it is the best. Its composition is the boldest of the four paintings, and Andy's body occupies most of the sketchbook page, making it quite challenging to represent him well. Figure 34 was drawn when we went to Tynemouth. He stood in front of the railing of the grandstand by the sea. I put my backpack at my feet and picked up my sketchbook and drew his gesture in the cold breeze by the sea, as if I were taking a picture of him, which was very interesting. Although the wind gave me a headache, the output was still good, a rare outdoor sketch. The remaining two sketches were still done in his room, one of him playing with his phone in bed (Figure 35) and the other of him in a daze at his dining table(Figure 36), not bad.
From my point of view, photographs can show a lot of details that sketches can't draw, but sketches can show a very strong personal style and vision. I easily control the composition when taking Andy's photos, but I find it very difficult when sketching. But sketching allows me to use grayscale to clearly make people feel the light and shadow, and the light and shadow of the photo is something that I took a long time to figure out.
Task 5 Urban Space
Photo: Trinity House near Quayside (Figure 37)
Reflective Summary
The first drawing for this task was an a1 charcoal sketch finished at the end of September last year. It was the City Drawing Event Day. I followed the route the photographer had planned and came to the Trinity House. It is a building located near the Quayside. Less than a minute walk from there you can see the beautiful River Tyne. Trinity House is now a charity that houses marine collections and also an ideal venue for corporate events, private events or meetings.
I photographed it (Figure 37) and admired the traces of the age of this building. Its black-painted iron door pillars, gleaming glazed tile windows, and old wall tiles all show off its former glory. This was my first time sketching with charcoal. I needed to finish it in two hours. I was a little nervous, so I first briefly sketched its shape on my sketchbook with a pencil, and then bravely picked up the charcoal and drew it (Figure 38). I focused on the facade of the building and the topography it is located in and made a very concise composition by putting the building in the middle of the a1 paper.
The output was amazing. I felt the charm of this historical treasure of Newcastle from my drawing and I was so moved. This may be the power of protecting historical sites in such a modern urban space.
A1 Charcoal Sketch of Trinity House (Figure 38)
Photos: The Field - West View on the 4th Floor of Urban Science Building (Figure 39,40,41)
A2 Charcoal Sketches of the Field (Figure 42,43,44)
The second photograph and drawing were done in late November. I attended an Urban Sketch Event in Urban Science Building held by Students’ Union on a Saturday morning with Newcastle local sketchers and artists, most of whom were the elderly. It was raining on that day so we chose to draw urban scenery indoor. Everyone found a spot to sit and so did I. I went to a computer cluster located on the 4th floor and sat in front of the vast French window. Of course, I took a picture of this spectacular sight (Figure 39,40,41). In front of me was a huge clearing with plenty of grass and there was a small bulldozer- levelled construction site on the right- hand side, with low housing complexes and a gymnasium called NU Foundation surrounding the field in the distance While the sight wasn't as glamorous as many of Newcastle's cityscapes, it gave me deep thinking about urban development Cities will keep some things and give things away in order to develop, but this is all for a better future
I divided the whole field into three parts and decided to time myself to finish each for at most forty minutes because I had to meet up with those artists downstairs two hours later to admire each other’s finished work. I first outlined this big meadow and then drew the distant dwellings in detail. After that, I spent most of the time carefully drawing the content inside the field. Finally, I checked the light and shadow and used greyscale to polish my drawings This is how this long charcoal sketch (Figure 42,43,44) was drawn The three paintings are naturally connected into a landscape, which makes me marvel at the charm of sketching
A vibrant city requires builders to make a wise eye to choose whether to keep or discard some of the existing resources, and to think about how to innovate. In my documentation and representation of Newcastle's cityscape, I seem to see a bright future beckoning to us. As a new architecture student, I may not be mature in thinking about cities, but I am always on the road.
Thank you for watching!