Post 18: Printing

The magazines and posters were printed today. It was really cool seeing how the plotter worked and seeing the finished magazine in hard copy. Although, I must admit that it is a little odd having my face printed on such large pieces of paper. I'm very proud of all the work my group has done and I look forward to seeing everyone else's work in the show tomorrow.

Day 17: Finalizing magazine

The magazine layout and design is finished now. I'm very happy this is finished. I aimed to make a very clean but sophisticated magazine that incorporates the group's theme of effortless harmony between man-made materials and shapes with organic ones.

Day 16: Magazine layout

The magazine is coming together quite well. I am really glad the final section uses a program I am really familiar with. Still, it is very interesting to see other people's designs despite the fact that many of them haven't used indesign before. Their aesthetics and creativity comes out in their page layouts, colour arrangement, covers, and fonts. 

On a side note completely unrelated to this course, I went to see Tegan and Sara today at pier 26 and they were amazing and the sunset was stunning :)

 

Day 15: Magazine cover and final guache painting

We started our magazine covers today in indesign. I'm aiming to bring out the dynamic and almost angelic lighting in my chosen photo. I am also aiming for a sophisticated but more minimalist look to my cover than traditional magazine covers.

In the afternoon, I made my final guache painting. The task was to create a guache painting using 2 or 3 colours with the same value. This exercise proves that different hues with the same value can be just as effective and attractive as pieces with extreme contrast. I really enjoyed the emphasis on colour and I think that through the various focuses I have become more aware and will be a better artist/designer.

 

Day 14: Drawing the dresses

I drew and painted a set of my groups dress and several other dresses. The painting was in guache. I found that sheer and translucent materials are extremely difficult to paint in guache. In fact, it was pretty frustrating to paint layers seeing as guache just dissolves in the background. However, I found that blotting paper towel was very effective to achieve a similar texture to the sand on the dress. By far, guache has been the hardest paint i've ever worked with because of it's nature to dissolve the layers behind and leave streaks. 

 

Day 13: Photoshoot and axonometric drawings

The photoshoot went well! We experimented with lighting and different affects so that we could highlight certain parts of the dress. Modelling was very exciting. The group worked very well together for the photo shoot and we are very pleased with the photos that came out. 

The afternoon was spent making the axonometric drawing from a few days ago, into colour. Specifically, colours that had different values so that the object looked three dimensional. This activity was good practice of combining value and hue. 

Day 12: Guggenheim and the Met (round two)

We spent the day at the Guggenheim and the Met. I found the architectural aspects of the Guggenheim really modern and captivating. I think how the museum and all its exhibits are centered around a large spiral at the core unifies the museum and more practical because it makes it easier to navigate. Aside from the museum itself I really enjoyed seeing Kandinsky's paintings as I've studied them so much in my high school art classes. The Met was also enjoyable and this time we went to see some of Monet's paintings, many of which I thought were much more beautiful in person as I was able to see the detail and the true color of each.

Day 11: First garment fitting and colour wheel

This morning the group had our first garment fitting. The dress fit very well! Now the group only has to figure out minor details of the dress and the makeup for the photo shoot. We are all very relieved to be finished and that all our complications have been solved. Overall, we are all very pleased with the final aesthetic of the dress. 

In the afternoon we painted the colour circle and learned that each value following yellow has an increasing value when compared to the greyscale. Yellow being a 2 and violet being an 8. Painting the circle was very difficult as it took a very long time to determine whether swatches were darker or lighter than the desired grey on the greyscale. This was a difficult task.
  

Day 10: Finalizing dress form and value

The dress is finally coming together. We put each part together today and as much as we would have liked to create the original bodice, it was just not practical with the time we have left. Instead we have decided to hang it on sheer and wrap it around the shoulder. The sheer provides some soft, flowing texture to balance out the hardness of the sand and wire. The product we decided to make was a flower embedded wire mesh belt. The group is very pleased that our many challenges have finally been solved. Only minor details and the cloth to wear underneath are the only things left to do.

In the afternoon there was another model. Moving on from really distinguishing negative and positive space, we painted all values of grey darker than a value of 5 in black to create a very interesting and somewhat abstract piece. I really enjoyed how these pieces came out. Again, we were forced to examine the value of every block of color on the form. The second piece was a little more abstract as it was of an object under harsher and more condensed lighting versus an obvious figure.

Day 9: MOMA

The MOMA exhibits were all very different and inspiring. It was also nice to see pieces that I had previous studied because I had a level of knowledge and connection to them. In particular, I loved the Le Corbusier exhibit. I have admired his work since I studied him this year in my high school design class and loved how controversial his architecture was in his time and how inspired we are today by it. It was hard to realize that his works were from the 20th century yet embodied the minimalistic and clean sharp lines of today's architecture, which just proves how celebrated and inspiring his aesthetic truly was on today's architecture. Sadly, no pictures were allowed in his gallery.

I also enjoyed the rest of the exhibit. I particularly liked some of the contemporary art and installations. It is hard to pick a favourite but if I had to, it would be John Baldessari's "What is a Painting?" It is just purely text but I feel that writing is equally a form of art and his words really embodied what I believe what art in general represents. And forgive me for getting a little deep here but Baldessari's work also made me realize again why I truly love the arts and it is that some things whether they be emotions or stories can only truly be represented through the visual stories and images in art. Simply put, art speaks when words cannot.

Day 8: Coming together of garment and axonometric drawing

After solving the design challenge from the previous days, we have finally begun to work on constructing the full bodice of the dress. It is coming along quite well. Also, the train/asymmetrical skirt is beginning its process of getting covered in sand to create a gradient and the effect that it is "trickling down". The group is very excited and relieved that all the little issues have been solved now. All there is left to do is the actual construction. We hope to be done early next week.

In the afternoon we learned about axonometric drawing and created many shapes to try and perfect the technique of drawing two point perspective on a 45 degree angle. I actually found drawing these really fun and this was very new to me. I would really like to explore this type of drawing more as I am quite keen on going into product design.

Day 7: Solving bodice problem on garment and greyscale

A concern came up when beginning to piece together the swirls of the bodice: The swirls not only swivel but would not hold in place. The day resulted in experimenting different solutions. We tried weaving wire to make a fence-like structure to hold them right, however the wire was too stiff and hard to work with to fabricate a working weave pattern. Next we tried twisting wire at the ends to create two anchor points and to create a possible belt around the waist. Yet again, the wire was too hard to manipulate into the desired form. Finally, deciding that using more wire to anchor the wire swirls was not working, we switched materials and anchored the ends with duct tape. After, strips of sheer fabric were weaved in between the swirls to create a very interesting pattern and texture as the sheer fabric had many threads coming loose. Not only did this solve the problem, a very interesting and rather beautiful product was produced. Solving this challenge was very both relieving and satisfying.

The afternoon consisted of painting a 9-block gray scale. This was actually much, much more difficult than it seemed. Each shade of grey had to be in the exact centre. To find these middle shades, we were taught to judge the grey based on three concepts: contrasting edges, grouping and tuling (I probably spelled that wrong). Combining these three were very difficult and mixing one shade of grey actually took a good couple minutes of testing and minute adjustments. In fact, I actually had to re-do mine because the contrasting edges between each grey tone was either too crisp on one side and too blurred or similar on the other. The second time I took much longer and tested the colours about 8 times each before deciding on the right value. Making this gray scale actually made me realize that maybe I am not concerned enough about value when painting or mixing colours and that mixing the proper value actually takes far more effort than I believed. This was my first attempt at the gray scale:

Day 6: Gestalt's Principles, beginning of garment fabrication, and tone drawings.

The morning class began with an introduction to Gestalt's Principles of proximity, similarity, continuance, closure, and figure ground. Although I already had some idea of these principles from studying design, it was nice to have terms to associate them with. One idea really stuck out at me though and it's that it is really important for all these principles to work together so that an image can be manipulated to make viewers see what the designer sees and hence, to create the desired response.

We also continued to make our dress. Metal wiring and flowers are now beginning to form the bodice but we have encountered a problem, and it is that the wire swivels and will not hold the desired rigid and geometric shape. We are now attempting to weave thinner wire between the bigger wire in hopes that it creates more support and hardens the shape. 

Another life drawing class began in the afternoon where we learned about tone. We drew around four tone drawings of a lady and focused on the different shades of grey instead of focusing on drawing the perfect edges and lines. These drawings were made in charcoal and one was assigned for homework. I really enjoyed this type of drawing and liked how line was less of a concern and how the tone was more prominent. I think accurate tone is key to creating more dramatic or realistic pieces and a lot of the time perfect lines are more of a priority. I'm looking forward to working with the grayscale.

 

Day 5: Gathering materials for outfit and drawing patterned fabrics

After finalizing the design for the dress, the group decided to gather the required materials from various stores. Our final design embodies the idea of the geometry of the urban cities in balance with the free-form lines of nature. We decided on using silver wire to create a curled bodice that resembles the stainless steel structures and fences of the children's park at Union Square. The bottom is a asymmetrical dress that will be covered in a sand gradient to provide a whimsical/earthy element. Lastly, flowers will be embedded into the fence and the whole bodice will be spray painted silver. We think the dress will be sophisticated while combining geometric and natural lines.

Another model came in and the new piece was focused on the ability of patterns to stack and actually make a 3D perspective seem 2D. It was rather difficult drawing the draped fabric over the person because the fabric tricked the eye into seeing less shadows and depth than usual. It was interesting to work with these patterns and to really focus on the challenge of drawing and painting them. I think stacking patterns for a 2D effect is a useful skill and good knowledge to keep for future reference.

 

Day 4: MET

On this stifling hot day, the class went to the MET to explore the many different facets in which figures are represented. But first we went to the punk rock exhibit. The first exhibit consisted of statues. We made line drawings of one or two of these statues. I noticed and was very impressed by how detailed and accurate the lines of the muscles and fabrics were.

The second exhibit was armour. I found the sharp lines and the way the plates folded over each created clean but also bold and majestic lines for the human body. I drew one of the suits of armour. In addition to the lines, I really enjoyed the detailed etchings on them.

Lastly, we visited another exhibit that consisted of more abstracted human figures. I redrew a statue that resembles a human figure in some ways but I also appreciated a separate and less accurate but equally impressive representation of the human body. The statues were made of wood which also created a more rustic and authentic aura to the statues. 

Day 3: Photoshop and Use of Space

During the morning session we learned some photoshop skills and used them to find our colour palettes using several adobe programs. It was a good review of my photoshop skills and I also learned how to trace in illustrator to obtain a palette.

This afternoon, we drew another figure but this time female. Also, we learned about space and the foreground and background. The assignment was to draw silhouettes of the model and the background as well. I really enjoyed focusing on negative space instead of positive space, it really made sketching outlines an easier task. I look forward to continue exploring this topic.

Day 2: Exploring textures and patterns of chosen location and figure drawing

After having chosen the playground at Union Square, the group went to the playground and made 12 rubbings and 12 copies of patterns we found intriguing and wanted to explore. In addition to patterns and textures, we took photos of the objects and patterns we saw. Next, we created a mind map to explore all the objects, feelings, and people we associated with the location and began to draw images that we believed represented these descriptions. By melding these images together into a form of a dress or garment, some very unique patterns and lines that symbolized our location were fabricated. I really enjoyed delving deeper into how a simple pattern that is usually overlooked can be used to create an exciting garment.

In the afternoon, we switched classes and made many quick contours of the male figure. From a few seconds, to a few minutes, the sketches varied in detail. Proportion was stressed and we learned that a figure can be accurately measured and drawn by measuring the head with a pencil and measuring the limbs and width of the body parts using the same scale. We also learned that the environment or setting of the subject also sets the tone of the piece. Overall, it was a busy day but it was also full of learning and exploration of new design process steps and techniques of sketching.

Day 1 : Indroductions and Finding a location

    First day of class was somewhat overwhelming but also exciting. We began with an introduction to a very important aspect of design: Critiquing and analyzing pieces. Inspiration and the design process was also introduced via mood boards and how to draw inspiration from the most minute, simple objects that others may often oversee but the ability to see the potential of something (however seemingly insignificant it is) as an inspiration is an key skill. Next, we discussed many aspects of a few pieces of art such as lighting, simple shapes that can be identified in a piece, natural and man-made materials, use of complementary colours, organic and geometric shapes and lines, and textures. It was very interesting to see these photographs and discuss why they are "good" rather than just dismissing them as good photos "because they look nice". I really took to heart the concept of opposites today and it provided a new perspective on how I first analyze a piece from a designer's point of view. For instance, the contrast created between geometric and organic shapes, between complementary hues, between man-made materials and natural materials.

Next, we were introduced to our project, which was to work in groups of three people with varied and spread out talents in order to create a magazine that will finally encompass a garment, fashion shoot photographs, a product (accessory) and a layout. We split up into groups and began to look for a location to both have a photo shoot at and to draw inspiration from. As a group, we began to walk taking photos of sit

es like graffiti-ed corners and large instalments of art to the tents and people playing chess at Union Square. Finally, we found a children's playground whilst walking Union Square with colorful spongy tiles of blue and green contrasting the stainless steel metal playing structures that span the width of the site.

The stairs down to the playground created a stage-like scene and the tiles provided a whimsical tone. Seeing the many possibilities of the hard, smooth metal mixed with the spongy, geometric floor sparked inspiration in all group members.

Together, we concluded that we would like to explore this playground as both an inspiration and our site for the photo shoot.