Reflecting on my progress with help from Jennifer Moon

This blog entry is a snap-shot from the term end report I have prepared for submission and includes some of the reading on the work of Jennifer Moon, the high priestess of REFLECTION. 

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE:

There are chapters that relate directly to the learning we are all embarked upon during this Foundation Degree. The chapters worthy of further reading have been..

Chapter 7 – The role of reflection in counseling, therapy and personal development.

“The different uses of the term ‘reflection’ overlap and separating them in a meaningful manner inevitably is a matter of making the best sense, rather than the perfect sense, of the situation.”

In each of the subject areas we have studied up to know have caused me to reflect and draw some conclusion and apply a meaning to new skills we have developed and, while each subject may not appear relevant to my future plans it has forced me to take positive thoughts whether the feedback was a lecturer or my peers who have offered critique.

Jenny goes on to say “Personal development encompasses any activity that might contribute towards growth or development of the person. This will not all be down to reflection. However, for example, growth may occur when a person puts themselves in a challenging position and faces up to difficulties, but the decision to put themselves into that position may have been determined by a reflective process, a coming to understand what is needed”.

This quote can be applied to the two examples within my report, firstly as all the tasks are new skills then each I would say contribute to my development & facing up to a texturing task after an accepted failure in modeling supports this view.

Clearly by leaving my first year submissions until the last few days I have put myself in a 'challenging' position and although I probably 'reflected' from term 1 that not preparing my final submissions well before deadline I clearly need to learn to prioritise time better and not accept this mistake as an 'experience' to be repeated.  

Other noteworthy reading from J.Moon

Chapter 15 – Learning through Reflection – the use of learning journals

The Key text from our recommended reading list has been …

Reflection in Learning & Professional Development

Jennifer A Moon

RoutledgeFalmer (2004)

ISBN: 07494 2864 3

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION, Show me the Money - What links Lucas Arts & Pixar to The Medici

Linking in Social & Contextual with my studies to date...

Back in earlier blog I have reflected on some of the biggest companies and the success they have found during the last few decades (70's & 80's), but what struck me is the fact that some common social & economic factors are linking these companies to the success found by families, like the Medici back down the historical time-line.  Back on March 9th I wrote heavily on my findings on the Medici of the Renaissance who were based in Florence. Florence at this time was full of wealth and extremely prosperous. Not to mention the Medici came to be very wealthy and it was this wealth that allowed them to make their name in history by investing and commissioning some of the finest artists of the time.

So part of the key to their success was to be based in the wealth of Florence.
Pixar, were based... Oh yes in California, which is known for silicon valley, a known hot-spot for funding new enterprises.
So at the times these companies were developing themselves they were being backed by prosperous economies, and operating in an environment where investment was rife and backers (like Steve Jobs) with millions of dollars to plough into the technology to propel these companies forward.

POWER, MONEY & AMBITION
Florence & California had the wealth to support the ambition of the likes of Pixar and Apple and now these companies are iconic in their day.
How many more examples are there like this that relate to New Media and Social Context I wonder? ?

CGI Movie Milestones - From TRON to TRON in under 2 hours

We have suddenly gone mad over 'new media'. Well at least in terms of looking at some of the Films that have been viewed by some as 'KEY' milestones. The slides began with Tron & ended with Tron Legacy so here is a good place to chart the progress ...


1982-TRON: (Disney) 
Why: 15mins of CGI
Where the main character was transported into a computer program, but the special effects at the time were the first of their kind. Full of computer references. The effects of the day were amazing but compared to today's animation and CGI effects they were basic at best.

1985-Young Sherlock Holmes (ILM) 

Why: First Completely Computer Generated Character

ILM made further breakthroughs in computer graphics with the creation of the first completely computer-generated character in a feature film, the "stained glass man"

1989-The Abyss: (ILM) 

Why: First Soft-surface CG Character
Industrial Light & Magic created the first computer generated three-dimensional fluid-based character with the "pseudopod"

The significant piece in this was the fluid movement of the alien. It had the effect of making an entity look fluid inside a fluid (the sea). It was particularly special as the alien mimicked a human face by manipulating the water. This was the first time a full fluid digitalised face was seen on the big screen. 

1985-Terminator II: (ILM) 

Why: First computer Graphics Main Character

This film was spectacular success for a number of reasons, mainly because of the fluid chrome / mercury main character. The terminator was human looking but made of this futuristic material that could be manipulated. The movement of the terminator was not always brilliantly smooth but back then it looks realistic enough. The fluid / solid mercury / chrome material was what really stood out more so than the fact that it was a completely digital human form.

1991-Beauty & The Beast (Walt Disney) 

Why: The first union of 2D & 3D used in a film. Best highlighted in the Ballroom scene. 

1992-Alien 3: (Boss Film) 

Why: Integrated CGI shadows

CGI was still in its infancy then the close up shots of the aliens were actual models. This film had a blend of real models, and CGI created models. Used together you had the detail up close, with the fully CGI images at further distances not being so detailed. This film also  into the models which helped when blending in with the studio illuminated models.

1193-Jurassic Park: (ILM) 

Why: number of dinosaurs on screen at once

Who doesn't remember this film, wow, dinosaurs and real looking ones as well. The dinosaurs throughout this film are numerous in number and variety and didn't look robotic in movement at all. The realism of the animals and their detail are what made this film as well as the number of dinosaurs on screen at once. Groups of dinosaurs stampeding and charging amongst the actors was fabulous.

1995-Toy Story:(Pixar) 

Why: The first fully animated 3D CGI feature. 

This is where animation as we know it today started. This film had great characters, a great story, and even to this day looks great in HD. The people in the film looked animated and not quite real but this could be forgiven when the other characters (toys) had such great personality. 

1999-The Iron Giant (Warner Bros) 

Why: Cel Shading & Brad Bird who went on to work at Pixar 

1999-Star Wars (ILM)- The Phantom Menace:
Why: the greatest number of CGI scenes than any previous film
Although not the greatest of films this did at the time have the greatest number of CGI scenes than any previous film. In 1999 we had an underwater city, fully CGI alien characters, and the unforgettable 'Pod' racing scene with a young Anakin Skywalker. It was fast and made the audience almost feel as though they were in the pod itself.

1999-The Matrix (Manex) 
Why: Bullet time/ Green Screen & a Legacy Made

2000-Gladiator:(Mill Farm) 

Why: The crowd composite from a British Company

This was a British film when Britain still had a CGI industry.

The crowd scene around the arena filled with masses of people looked so real it was difficult to differentiate it from a real crowd.

2001-Monsters Inc:(Pixar) 

Why: A milestone from Pixar, the fur and skin of the monsters. 

This was the first time that fur on a character had been used and it was especially effective on the main character Sully. Again, a great story with great characters, but especially for their look and textures.

2001-Lord of the Rings :Two Towers: (Weta Digital)
Why: Gollum skin texturing (subsurface scattering)
Although Gollum had been seen in the previous film, it wasn't until this one where Gollum could be really appreciated as a CGI marvel. It moved almost naturally, and had skin and textures not previously seen. It had almost a wet layer overlayed over its original skin layer. This with brilliant lighting emphasised the water on the skin making it look almost real.

2005: The Lion, Witch, and the wardrobe: (Rhythm&Hues) 
Why: This film had in excess of 20,000 characters in some of the main fight scenes. 
Numerous characters had already been done in Gladiator but this had both human and animal characters, and even part human / animal characters in the scenes. Amongst this there was also Aslan's fur and the fur and skins of other animals.

2005: Sin City: (CafeFX) 
Why: Stylised 3D Backdrops

2006: Pirates of the Caribbean: (ILM) 
Why: Pioneering use of motion capture. 
It was used throughout the film, and continued on through the rest of the series.


2011: Avatar (ILM) 
Why: 3D Steroscope


2011: Tron Legacy (Disney) 
In order to retro-age Jeff Bridges to a 35-year-old, the actor had to wear a special helmet fitted with 4 strategically placed cameras enabling every textural nuance of his facial expressions to be recorded for precision synthesis during digital processing


A really thorough round up of movie milestones with CGI, technology & 3D at the forefront of 'new media' film making techniques. 

Is Darth Vader in a New Media & Social Context Again?

As part of class research we have fast fwd to the last 30 or so years and began to consider the impact & legacy today of some of the movies and video games from earlier generations. At 37 I can consider this genre a big part of my social history, more so than some of the earlier works studied.
One example in particular has cropped up on more than one occassion in my learning and reading on this degree, STAR WARS.
From my ILM research for the presentation on a succcss story, George Lucas & Star Wars has been prominent. Now it's back again with the Focus on 3D Gaming. Jed Margolin was the main programmer  behind the 1st 3D first person game  using 3D perspective graphics. "It was why he went to work at Atari"

Warp speed officially turned into Star Wars project in January 1982, an 18 month schedule then to turn it into an arcade game, but with the backing of the newly formed Lucas Games they got underway.

Star Wars was was easily one of the most famous film franchise of all time and now & again it's influence appears to a modern day audience to help sell, with the help of new media technology, products to my generation of consumers.

The latest incarnation appears courtecy of this tv advert...

 Originally the 3D math allowed any object  and the observer to be in any orientation but they ended up going with vector graphics.  Vector graphics is a term I came across when background reading for Understanding the Media and the programme Illustrator so more and more connections are being made in my understanding of the origins of some of these terms and where they have led us to with currant new media software. What the 3D element allowed was for someone to become Luke Skywalker and play a more 'interactive' role. It's a true timeless piece of history and art.

The Matrix, West Influencing the East or vice versa?

During our lecture (seperate blog) we have zooomed into the last 150 years of Art history into a 'digital age' and the big 'key' milestone 3D Film & CGI the use of graphics in movies. 
This ties in with the research I did for the ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) talk hence alot of the films within this set of slides included some of the same 'key' technological developements invented by or developed by ILM. 
 I'm sidetracking as the one film that I noticed falling across our core subjects was 
The Matrix. 
Why? Because it included aspects I wrote about in Creativity & Social Context, namely the way the story and script includes both eastern & western philosophy. 
This subject is heavily written about on-line and I have taken a few extracts below that seem to ring true when looking at the Film past the action scenes. 


"The content of the film includes scenes that are clearly influenced by by Zen Buddhism or eastern mysticism. Many of the lines, and certainly the martial arts sequences, are certainly all aspects of an eastern influence. The fact that many people watching The Matrix are seeing only the "content" of the kung-fu scenes and the electronica soundtrack while missing the serious sermon going on all around them".
 But people often make the mistake of assuming that Judaism and Christianity are somehow exclusively "western" religions. Both are situated geographically and historically in Israel, which is on the Asian continent. The holy city of these two religions is Jerusalem, which sits in the navel of the world, as the meeting point of east and west. In other words, Judaism and Christianity are religions that share and have been influenced by both east and west, and have influenced both eastern and western philosophies since time immemorial.


http://www.metaphilm.com/philms/matrix1.html


Further more the basis of the film is set in a modern enviroment where software and 3D is prevelant and features heavily the use of these mediums in it's production and it's content. 


On Reflection  from our earlier studies where the work of artists like Kitagawa Utamaro(喜多川歌麿, 1753 - September 20, 1806)  a Japanese printmaker and painter, and is considered one of the greatest artists of woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). came to influence arts movements, (Impressionism), artists, and cultures.  
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kitagawa_Utamaro


This cross over and influence now seems to be as influential now as back in the 1700's

Show Legislation that matters - RE: Broadeye Creatives

INDUSTRY GUIDELINES & LEGISLATION: AN OVERVIEW

Below are extracts that I have encorporated into my final report on the Broadeye show and worthy of an entry here. 

Copyright and Design Act 1998 (and Intellectual Property) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/contents

As some graphics students were exhibiting work that used existing company branding, they needed to be aware of the acts that govern the use of original material. Trademarks of these companies were also present on some of the work displayed so some sought permission from those individuals who were responsible for the original work.  

This would have fallen under Art Licensing.

As the protection of intellectual property is critical to the work produced by New Media & Graphic students this becomes a relevant issue with displays in a public arena. 

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/other/0118404830/0118404830.asp

This will apply to the posters and/or flyers used and to the work exhibited.

Also relevant would be SCHEDULE 2 Playing or showing sound recording, film, or broadcast at educational establishment as the original intention was to play a film that showed content of the 3D work we had created. This legislation is to be found here:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/schedule/2/crossheading/playing-or-showing-sound-recording-film-or-broadcastat-educational-establishment

Equality and Diversity Act 2010

http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010.aspx
This applies to both the content and location of the exhibition. 

It may also raise questions of accessibility.

Data Protection Act 1998

As we as a group were distributing data that was personal to the members within our class we needed to be aware of the appropriate law on data protection. This applied to the recording of the minutes for meetings held and contact information for the likes of the venue and other contacts and suppliers utilised for the purpose of organising the event. http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection.aspx

Data sharing code of practice

The data sharing code of practice is a statutory code that has been issued after being approved by the Secretary of State and laid before Parliament. The code explains how the Data Protection Act applies to the sharing of personal data and good practice would need to be applied.

Managing the welfare of People

As this was a public display we needed to be aware of the welfare of the visitors to the show and that access for disabled people should also be considered.

HEALTH & SAFETY:

Health and Safety is an area of exhibitions, conferences and events that has become more important and in some cases more confusing!

One problem is that local authorities frequently dictate the Health & Safety policies of many UK venues. This is in addition to the statutory regulations set out by the Health & Safety Executive.

We were required to assess the risks, complete the H & S statements and formulate a Health & Safety policy.

This is an area of exhibitions/conferences/events that should not be ignored hence we needed to ensure that all forms were completed and submitted to the relevant people. Should there be a problem at an event any investigation starts with the forms supplied by the exhibitor so we had to be aware.

Tied in closely with the risk assessment was the aspect of Fire Safety.

FIRE SAFETY:

The Pie & Ale House as owners/occupiers of the premises, to which the public have access. Therefore they would know to comply with the provisions of the Fire Safety Order.

The Fire Safety Order providing fire safety risk assessment guidance to those who are seeking. More information & further reading available online:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firesafety/

Broadeye Show - POST SHOW REFLECTION - RE: Maylor, h

HOW TRUE! 

Chapter 7 - Rethinking time planning: the critical chain approach

p.157 introduces you to a term called 'student syndrome' This is identified as where, despite people being given extra time (slack) for an activity, the extra time is wasted at the front end, and they often won't start the activity until the latest possiible time. 

If we are to look at the 1st year conclusion to a foundation degree or a project such as the Broadeye show further reading on this subject would be as well before embarking on a second year! 

Project Management 4th Edition

Harvey Maylor

Apr 2010, Paperback, 440 pages

ISBN13: 9780273704324

ISBN10: 027370432X

http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/detail.

East Influencing the West

IMPRESSIONISM, UKIYO E & POST IMPRESSIONISM (Late 1800-1900)

THE EAST INFLUENCING THE WEST

The Impressionism art movement was centered on Paris & generally focused on oil painting.

Artists included in the movement: Monet (sunrise painting 1874)

The term Impressionism came about after an art critic L Leroy was quoted as saying ‘Impressionism was an impression of an artistic picture”.

The technique was of layering oil paint – comparable with Photoshop of today where you work with layer upon layer until you get the desired result Renoir, Auguste (The swing)

The focus of the art was scenes from French society

Degas – known for his horses & ballerinas

UKIYO E literally meaning ‘the floating world’

FEATURES: handrawn/printed landscape/ prints  (colored & hand painted)

ARTIST: Hokusai – Work shows elements of foreshortening but no perspective.

Kitagawa Utamaro 1797

Post Impresssionism

Van Gogh 1885 influenced by Japanese work

Ohashi (bridge in the rain c1800

Hiroghige

Gauguin, Paul 1888

Cezanne, Paul who was known as the ‘Godfather of Post impressionism’

Lautrec, Toulouse – known for his poster work.

Pointelism – La Grand La Parade Seurat 1800

Creativity & Social Context - Art History

Creativity & Social Context

ART HISTORY

ASSYRIAN ART

MINOAN ART

MYCENAEAN ART

BYZANTINE ART

ISLAMIC ART

EGYPTIAN ART

ISLAMIC ART

BYZANTINE ART

LATE GOTHIC ART

COSIMO DE MEDICI

EARLY RENAISSANCE (ITALY)

RENAISSANCE (ITALY)

HIGH RENAISSANCE

  

1500-1860

Manerism

Baroque

Rococo

Age of Enlightenment

Academic Art & The Salons

Neo-Classicism

Romanaticism 

Broadeye Show Diary 1

Tuesday 3^rd May 2011

The plan on Tuesday was for the 4 people that are going to collect the cage to meet by the college café on Earl Street and then return the cage to BE301, where all that are helping to erect the show will meet at 10am.

I got myself to college for 9am sharp and met up with Tom, Natasha, Phil & Richard to get the white boards over to the venue in the cages. This was easily done except for the off curb and college security men.  Once we reached the Pie & Ale house it was just a question of getting the boards upstairs, via the Fire Escape. Next, with the majority of the rest of the group we set about erecting the boards with the clasps that accompanied the boards.

As I had collected my final showpiece print I had yet to get it trimmed & fixed on the foam board. Back at college I was able to get together the materials required and set about using the fixent adhesive to mount the piece. Having rolled it out and carefully cut the board to match the A3 print it was done. 

Back to the venue to get the work mounted. Some of the work was up already courtecy of Mark & Neil but all but a few students had stuck around so I helped mount the remaining pieces before having to leave. 

Below I have included my work on display at the show 

Athena&Chariot - Show Mounted

Close Up of Show Piece

AURIGA Texture Progression - ATHENA - Greek Godess or pasty bird with angled jaw?

So we move on to ATHENA, expertly modelled by Paul, unwrapped by Paul and handed over in good faith to my graphics tablet and fundermental grasp of the texturing process. On reflection the problem came when it came to appling the face. Unlike the other textures that are uniform, ie: Skin is Skin all over a leg, armour is armour all over but a face, what with lips, ears, eyes and all those senses, well that's a whole new ball game. Hence what we have is a desperate attempt to apply some 'digital' woman's face on to the beauty that is Athena. The results show for themselves! 

Athena wasn't worthy of a render so the texture map below will suffice.

AURIGA Texture Progression - THE CHARIOT by ME !

As a change from modelling I can honestly say I've enjoyed the time I spent texturing the Athena character and Chariot. As way of reflecting this I thought I'd post up the before and after of the task.

So below we have the unwrapped, but clearly labelled I must add, blank canvas for the Chariot.

As you can see Paul has done a fantastic job of marking up each section so it leaves me in no doubt what's what in the Chariot and should ensure wooden bits don't end up with metal rivets and so on.

So over to me to go from Photoshop novice to seasoned texture master, all in a mater of days.

What came apparent, is in an attempt to blend the areas the textures meet I've over cooked the brush work with the BLACK and this becomes evident in the finally 3D model once the texture get's applied. 

OR maybe it was driven through an ash cloud before being left over an open fire? Either way the reality is I've got to mark down my initial joy and settle for a 7/10 for effort. 

Anyhow here is a screen grab of the finished article. 

Anyone who may follow my blog, feel free to comment... 

Professional & Contextual Studies - Types of Self Employment

Professional & Contextual Studies
 

“A group of people get together and exist as an institution that we call a company so they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately.” 1.

1. David Packard, Co-founder, Hewlett Packard)

During my further research to support class learning I have used the Business Link resource as a key ‘framework’ and guide map to follow as they focus on the most relevant and significant legislation and dilute the legalalities into key points that are understood by the layperson. 

I've compiled a snap shot of these for the purpose of the blog.

Any creative enterprise can be set up using a variety of different legal structures, for example as a self-employed sole trader, a partnership, a limited company, or community interest company etc. Selecting the most appropriate legal structure to support a business objective is an integral part of the business strategy.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all possible legal structures, so choosing the right one for your enterprise depends on the kind of business you want and what kind of success you want to achieve.

Options include: self-employed ‘sole trader’; partnership; private company limited by shares; limited liability partnership; company limited by guarantee without share capital; and a community interest company (CIC).

Options and Consequences

Choosing a particular structure may have short-term benefits but long-term drawbacks, so it’s important to think ahead and take professional advice.

There is rarely a simple ‘right or wrong’ answer.

It’s more a case of understanding all the options and consequences of each legal structure. You will need to assess the extent to which each structure could potentially support or hinder the development of your enterprise in line with your chosen business strategy.     

A few notes made on the day. Most Relevant to New Media Industry at top.

SOLE TRADER:

Seting Up - Money In Bank 9 6 months finance is usual)

Contracts- Pre-arrnaed contracts to guarantee work

FUNDING – Loans & private investors  / Bank overdraft facility / Charge up front to raise the capital

Freelance no registration fees

PARTNERSHIP:

Two or more sole traders working together

LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIPS LTD

Debt limited to the company

FRANCHISES – License to an existing business

SOCIAL ENTERPRISES


RESOURCE: 

BUSINESS LINK:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk

Business Link is government's online resource for businesses.

It has been delivered by Serco on behalf of HM Revenue & Customs since April 2007.

It contains essential information, support and services for you and your business – whether you work for a large organisation or are on your way to starting up.

Simple to use, up to date and practical, Business Link is the first place to go to find guidance on regulations and to access government services. It also has a number of useful online tools, calculators, and best practice case studies; and provides access to funding options, as well as wider support.

Broadeye Show - New Media/Old Media

The publicity for the Broadeye Show included a mixture of new & old media 


For instance the show flyers designed by members of the Graphics class turned to their skill set to produce the flyers for the show. These we traditionally printed and distributed the old fashioned way by hand.  

Other ideas raised were adopted by others within the group, for example Natasha went on to create a Facebook page that I became one of many ‘members’ with the idea to grow the publicity through our own Facebook friends.

Using social networking like this is a very New Media way to promote an event like the

 BROADEYE DESIGNERS SHOW 

Broadeye Show - Marketing

Claire Chick attending the 2^nd meeting allowed the pre-show marketing to be completed in time for the publicity bandwagon to get started. Claire asked for ideas from us that she could use in aiding her with the publicity. This included ideas as to whom the show would appeal to so she could prepare the marketing to appeal to the ‘target’ audience. In response to this request I e-mailed Claire with my thoughts. 

As a result Claire included my ideas in the press release 

Showcase for new designers

A town centre exhibition highlighting work by a group of Foundation Degree students from Stafford College known as the Broad Eye Designers is taking place from 3-6 May at the Pie & Ale House in Crabbery Street, Stafford.

The exhibition has been described by lecturer Neil Brewis as “A very exciting opportunity for anyone interested in the world of new media. It shows the technical and creative skills developed by people who intend to work in the fields of interactive media, graphic design, film and animation, web design, computer games design or 3D modelling.”

Work from up to 20 students will be featured in the free-to-view show, which will include moving images projected onto screens in the first floor of the building. 

One of the students taking part in the exhibition is Martin Evans. He explained that the Broad Eye Designers have used a vivid image of a colour spectrum wheel on promotion for the event: “This symbol has been chosen not only because it is something familiar to graphic designers but also because we want to showcase a wide spectrum of new creative talent,” he said.

“The exhibition gives an insight into the standard of work produced by current students on the Foundation Degree course, including people of very different ages, backgrounds and interest. We expect it to have a wide appeal to fans of 2D and 3D design and employers hoping to spot new talent as well as people who might be considering the Foundation Degree as an alternative route towards a higher education qualification.”

Fellow exhibitor Mary Hemingway, whose photographs and collages are inspired by buildings in and around the town centre, said that organising the event had been a very positive experience: “It has shown us what it is possible to achieve with limited time and budget”.

Work by the Broad Eye Designers can be viewed at the Pie & Ale House on the evening of Tuesday 3 May and throughout the day from Wednesday 4 until Friday 6 May. 

8 Head Rule

Drawing with Katrinka (Week3)

Today’s morning session was held with Katrinka whose aim was to teach us basic figure drawing while using an 8 head rule.  We started by sketching out the simple outline of the human body, drawing in lines for they neck, shoulders, nipples, belly button, bend line, knee & ankle lines.  This ties in nicely with the proportion work of the last few weeks.

** SCAN IMAGE FROM SKETCH BOOK***

Apparently fashion students employ a 9^th head that is shown in the lower half of the body to signify a longer taller thin line of the body.

We quickly moved towards stick figure drawing where we were trying to capture the basic line of the figure in various poses. Although this sounds simple it really made you focus on the line of the body and how it was posed. Translating this onto paper was tricky and the easiest way to visualize a pose was to ‘strike’ the pose yourself.  I had a little success with this and enjoyed the task. We have been assigned a variety of poses/moods that we need to capture over the Easter break. These include…

Standing /Running/ Falling/Leaning/Ninja/Happy/Miserable/ Proud/Scary/Frightened & Sitting.  In each sketch I should look to get the proportion & weight distribution correct!

Working on from the stick figure we looked to block out the figure using a selection of basic shapes.  These would focus on squares, oblongs (legs) circles (joints)

Each sketch needed to show a ‘centre of gravity’ point and a ‘contact’ point.

*** INCLUDE SCANS from the Sketch Book!

Finally we introduced ‘single point’ perspective or ‘one point’ perspective on a ‘vanishing line’

Another fundamental that helps with ‘foreshortening’ & was demonstrated by using a figure sitting at a desk. I found this a little tricky and need to work on this if I am to show any improvement. It was great to work in a small group and now having worked with Katrinka over a few weeks, a feel for her style of teaching.

The simple rule of the 1 perspective was to emphasise the foreshortening and so the nearer the item to you the wider it is in the drawing.

 

Reflective Practice - Presentations of my peers

Other Reflections:

Alicia:

Minecraft – Markus Persson

Retro Style Sandbox Game

Zoe Edwards:

Herb Lubalin – Logo Designer 1918-1981

Grid System

Clever use of letters

Meaning through Typography

Influenced by Bauhaus

Has influenced – Alex Trochut/ Si Scott/ Marian Bantes

Cat Walker:

Si Scott – The secret of Drawing

Paper Sciccor Stone

We are Bitch

Mary Hemmingway:

The graphic Language of Neville Brody

Design Ethic – True to Principles

Innovation – Blur Typeface 1992

Assimilation of Influences

Designed over 20 typefaces

Futurist Influence

Art Director of Face Magazine- typography – A continuem through magazine & work

Fuze – qtrly publication- A typeface experiment with digital language

Examples of work: Tribeca for Issey Miyake.

Art Deco- 1920’s – Derived from an exhibition held in 1925

Artists who used Art Deco- A.M. Cassandra

Architecture: Style Visible in Golden Gate Bridge

Font: Art Deco has it’s own font.

Film: Style visible in early Batman film+Metropolis & Metropolis the Japanese animation

Duval Guillaume: - Design agency

Known for work with Alfa Romeo & Carlsberg

Lotus Craving cup animation

Helvetica

Sans Serif typeface of Swiss design created in 1957 by Max Mledinger

Translated means Swiss

Similar in style to Ariel

Used heavily

There is a short film on YouTube called The Film Helvetica document film.

Jorn Kasphul

Born 1980

Worked Alone freelance

Joined an international illustration Agency called DUTCH UNCLE

Known for ‘Nature at it’s best’ Humanimals

ANIMAL ABC

Sir Clive Sinclair

Sinclair Radionics Ltd

1^st calculator 1972 / ZX Spectrum 1982

Watch Micromen BBC 4

Swiss Graphic Design – also known as International Typographic Style

Pioneered by Joseph Muller Brockman

Founded San Serif Typeface & Helvetica

Invented the Grid system that is now the framework for design elements on a page.

Birth of the Home Computer 1976

Steve Wozniak & Ron Wayne

Apple 1 sold in kit form originally

Apple inc founded 1977 – original logo featured Isaak Walton sat under a tree

Apple pioneered the GUI (Graphical user Interface) & the 1^st paint programme.