For the first drawing ILA, I started by just practicing to draw different primitives using cuboids as a base. And as a challenge to myself, I did this whole first drawing ILA freehand, which though definitely harder was very good practice.

I also did this with some modified/ combined primitives, as an extra little bit of practice.

I then drew a few of these on a ground line (still freehand), as a base for the shading bit of this ILA.

I once again decided to work with color, as it doesn’t really affect the exercise/ technique, and I prefer the look of it. And this exercise was actually harder than I had thought, as I tend to never do shading when I draw, and as such I have very little practice with it.

Even if I did understand the technique, having to understand where different highlights/ reflections was confusing. However, after this task and the sphere ones last week, I think I’m really starting to get the hang of it.

For the second drawing ILA, I made a grid in one point perspective so that I could practice drawing ellipses. I used the reference geometry method we looked at earlier in the course when drawing the grid to make sure my squares were even, and this wouldn’t have an impact on the ellipses.

This was a really useful exercise for me, as I had even said early in the course that I had trouble with ellipses and wanted to learn how to better draw them. And actually the grid and the axis were really useful, as I feel before I can do them fully free hand, I need the guides to help me understand how they work and the proper hand movement/ technique.

I then turned some of these into cylinders. Where this was more challenging than I thought was that I purposely did the upper ellipses of the cylinders fully freehand, without the axis to guide me. And this meant I really had to trust my hand and eyes, and also not just follow the lines of the bottom ellipse which was harder than I thought.

However, all the axis for these ellipses were aligned with the grid, so it did make them regular and I feel easier to draw. So I also did another page of drawing ellipses, only this time making the axis a lot more random/ irregular, which was more challenging, but definitely good practice. And by the end, I started feeling like I didn’t need the axis as much, and I had a better understanding of how the ellipses should look.

So though I definitely need more practice drawing ellipses, as it’s obviously not something you just try once and can do perfectly, I think I’ve at least developed a better understanding of the technique, and my ellipses actually are more regular and look a lot more like ellipses, which is a big step in the right direction.

 

EDIT: After getting comments on the ellipse drawings, I realised I had gotten confused between the major and minor axis, and the perspective guidelines. So I went back in and added the major and minor axis, to make sure I understood the difference and knew how to do this properly.

Based on another comment, I also tried to redo the shaded primitives, only this time using the same color for the shading and the outlines. And it is really interesting seeing how much of a difference that can make in terms of realism, or at least in terms of how 3D it looks.

Nov 8, 2020

I started with a version more similar to the example, with only pencil and trying to have no clear outlines. I’m relatively happy with how it went, again as like for the spheres drawing challenge I’ve never drawn spheres before this week and I haven’t done much with shading either.

I realised what I was having trouble with was creating enough contrast, and as a little extension I thought it could be fun to try and work with different colors. I also added outlines as I generally really like what that does to a drawing. It was definitely challenging to make the bowl lighter, as it gave me a much smaller range of greys, however I really like how the sphere turned out. And it was also definitely easier to have the contrast created naturally by the colors.

This also showed me that I need to work more with shading, as it’s actually quite fun, and it would be good if I could improve at it for later activities.

Nov 2, 2020

I had never worked with polymorph, so it was a bit weird at first, but I quickly got the hang of it and it was actually really fun to work with. I also like how even though it’s plastic, it is renewable, and therefore better for the environment.

My first idea is maybe more basic, however I thought it was an interesting one to explore. Medical splints, or the weird glove things used to keep your finger(s) from moving are generally bulky, not the best looking and also often warm and uncomfortable. So this object allows for the finger to be held in place whilst being more comfortable, smaller, and arguably almost looking like some kind of jewellery.

The second object covers a nowadays very common use of our hands, holding our phone. And being very clumsy, I’m always really scared of dropping it (Has already happened, very problematic, see photos below). So this device basically hooks the phone onto the fingers, providing an additional bit of security, whilst also not being uncomfortable at all for the finger.

The third object is an attempt to solve an issue which I personally don’t face. When my mom puts on nail polish, she puts this foam thing between her fingers to keep them apart. But it’s really bulky, and also has corners which generally seems really uncomfortable. So this object is thinner, keeping your fingers apart but not stretching them, and being more confortable due to the rounded edges.

For my fourth idea, I made two, more simple objects. I realised whilst working with the material that the result can be very smooth, and very ergonomic as it is made with the hands. So I realised it could be great to create some small fidget/ stress relief toys, that would basically perfectly fit the shape of your finger tips.

For the fifth object, I thought about the idea of holding a pen. This object keeps your hand in proper hand writing position, whilst still being comfortable due to its curved edge and relative flexibility. It could be great as a teaching tool for children, when they first learn how to write.

I decided to do my drawings based on the second object (the phone hook), as it seemed complex enough to give me good practice in drawing a curved object, but not too complex knowing this is something I haven’t done much before.

Finally, I added a bit of shading to some of the drawings. It is challenging with curves, as there’s a lot more to consider in terms of light, and it is arguably harder than the spheres as the shame is more varied and random. However, I definitely think I’m on the right track and I’ll get there with some more practice.

Nov 2, 2020

For this week’s drawing challenge, I started with a little testing, looking at the example drawings and figuring out how the shading worked. This was important as I’d never drawn a sphere before, and I wanted to do this right.

I’m really happy I did this test, and at this point I felt confident enough to try and do this. My results took a bit of a cartoony spin, which I really like and fits my style more. I also liked the idea of working with color, as it allowed for each sphere to have more character.

I maybe played with shading, color and shape more than I did with texture, however it was my first time drawing spheres I’m still really happy with how it turned out.

Nov 1, 2020

Firstly, this course has been great in that it has challenged me to draw more, teaching me new techniques like the rotated plan method, helping me improve on others like perspective drawing or practicing some more familiar ones like orthographic projections.

I think throughout the years I’ve attempted to find my style in a sense when it comes to drawing and design, and though that’s good maybe it means some time I don’t try things and step out of my comfort zone quite as much as I could and maybe should to improve.

And when it comes to connecting 2D and 3D, something I have to do is plan more by sketching and writing out, rather than just planning in my head. Beyond maybe improving my ideas, it could also improve my understanding of the connections between 2D and 3D.

So overall I’m happy with my work, and I think I’ve already improved a lot, but my main goal for the rest of the semester is to take more risks and in that process to be less scared of making something that “looks bad”, and be more free in my work.

Oct 26, 2020

Because when I do abstract I often do very geometric stuff, I wanted to challenge myself to try and avoid angles and straight lines. And it quickly turned into this really cool, very organic random pattern. It was a challenge but it ended up being really fun, so I’m happy I tried. I also find it really interesting how though the line seems to have created shapes, it’s hard to say what are the shapes and what is the negative space.

Oct 23, 2020

For my first attempt, I used rolled up tubed of newspaper. This made a thicker, more solid material. However, it lacked a bit of flexibility, so the result isn’t as neat as I would have wanted. However, I also really like the newspaper look. And I managed to get it generally symmetrical.

For the second basket, I thought to have more flexibility I would just use thin strips of paper. Though the result is a bit less sturdy, it is definitely neater and more symmetrical. I also decided to try folding the leftover ends to the side to create a nicer top, rather than just folding them over and having a flat top.

I then tried seeing how these ‘baskets’ would interact with light. The first one due to the material used, and its lack of perfect symmetry gave off a more natural, somewhat more organic light, which I thought was really cool.

The second one gave off a way more neat and symmetrical light, which also looked really nice in a completely different way.

This activity was really interesting because it was a lot of fun to see how small differences in the object could cause a lot of variation in the light effect.

Oct 17, 2020

This ILA was a lot of fun, because I really like perspective drawing. However, it was also a challenge, especially in forms like the one with all the little cubes where a lot of perspective work had to be done. It’s also interesting to see how much variety you can get from just removing cuboids from (almost) the same base cuboid.

I then took four of these, and redrew them without the pencil lines and wit color, which really brought them to life in a sense, and actually brought them from 2D to 3D.

This was also a good opportunity to try the Photoshop tutorial for cleaning up images after scanning (See images below). Though this worked well with the background, I still need to practice more as the colors turned out a bit weird.

Out of curiosity, I made a few extra ones, seeing what it would be like if the shapes I subtracted were not cuboids. This was to an extent harder to work with, especially when it comes to ellipses which i find challenging to draw, however it was a fun little extension.

Oct 16, 2020

I attempted this challenge twice, and though being honest I don’t love the result visually, I feel that’s not what the task was about. When looking at my hand, I realised all the little curves, bumps and turns. I was forced to see the detail. So I feel this is a good technique to remember maybe as a warm up, as to be more aware of the detail on something before trying to properly draw it.

Oct 16, 2020

For this drawing challenge, I had to do a sketch a day for 5 day, spending a maximum of 5 minutes per sketch. Unfortunately, being stuck at home, I couldn’t really go outside or do anything really varied as I would have wanted, but I think it still worked.

And ultimately, I feel I always spend too long drawing (if that’s a thing), so doing quick sketches like this was really new for me but actually really fun, and it forced me to really focus, and I want to try and keep doing this as it’s definitely good practice.

Oct 11, 2020