Process journal

                          

During this specific trip, driving around the state of Colorado and visiting the mountains of Utah inspired my final drawings. I felt an overpowering energy, where everything around me was so dominating that I felt so miniature around it. I focused on the unique curvature of the mountains, the roads that loop around and the variety of tree species that created vibrancy in the atmosphere. The word I would use to describe the whole experience is “unreal”.

The purpose of this project was to use compositional elements with intention to support a mood or energy. Drawing from observation already helps us focus on and away from things that we deem important or interesting. I utilized manipulation techniques such as; morphing, enlarging and reducing. The first drawing represents the word “real”. I used my camping trip to Colorado and Utah as inspiration for this project. In the “real” (first picture) composition, I used pictures as my reference. I wanted to portray things exactly as they are. and make them look as real as possible (theoretically). For the unreal composition, i used my memory and imagination. The things i experienced throughout my trip, morphed into one composition. 

I wanted to portray the feeling in a simple way. I looked beyond what was visible to the naked eye and imagined what we don’t see. I noticed a variety of bird species flying around, their movement and sounds caught my attention.

 

“Unreal”  

 

        

I started drawing from imagination. I channeled what I would want the space to feel like, while incorporating some things that were actually there to create context of the location and the surface feeling. I felt that the abstract feeling would be best portrayed with a radical shift in what people would normally see.

“Real”

     

For this composition I started by drawing what was really there, the roads and mountains looked like this when pictured.

Comparison

I think the first composition exaggerates the energy the most. It is truly a representation of something unreal. Other planets are not visible from the surface of the earth and animals are usually not this large.

Learning one, two and linear perspectives 

                

I first started with exploring cubes in different perspectives; top, bottom, left and right views. Then I began placing them in a room of different depths. This set a foundation for creating the perfect perspective grid with transverse lines.

Practicing orthographically 

              

This step consisted of turning a two dimensional figure into 3 dimensional. I used cylinders to extrude the form and achieve the second drawing.

Rough Sketching

           

I wanted to challenge myself and the assignment prompt, so I decided to create a second level. The bottom floor honors the 200 sqft limitation but the top floor is extended. I experimented with several glass roofing options. I also decided to include a staircase.

Feasibility 

At this point, I was having trouble figuring out how to extend the top floor without making the bottom floor too short. I decided to use two transverse lines to make the drawing more accurate.

Then I started to place the furniture in place using the vanishing point and the two transverse lines and also moving them on the horizon line to create different angles.

 

Digital Composition

After bring introduced to the project, I set out to create shapes with shapes. Initially, I started to randomly organize white and black forms in a unstructured manner. It was basically flow of ideas of my mind unconsciously trying to create outlines that I recognized, ones I see in my every day life.Drawing digitally had several benefits, it was easier to move things around and align them in a way that allowed the eye to visualize layers in a way that would be difficult to the human eye. The ease was especially beneficial in just putting down ideas to allow development in the next process steps.

Then I decided to experiment with combining several shapes together to visualize how the complexity of the overall form would; change shift or progress. During this process, I again caught myself trying to rationalize the forms, make them into something I know or something recognizable by others.

The downside of connecting more than one different shape was that the composition stated to look too complex to where it requires extra effort of the viewers part to figure out whats going on.

  

This lead me to wonder what the preexisting squares would look like if I eliminated the black squares and implemented the same concept as the analog version to the digital. Then I started exploring the elements and principles that were unconsciously used in the first stages of my process, along with the feelings they convey.

Analog Composition

I used shapes made of Bristol paper to create these ideas. I simply started by randomly placing shapes in the boxes. My intention was to make it look organized without putting too much thought into it. I focused on the flow of ideas and let my brain communicate with the page.

I found this process quiet challenging because it was hard to make perfectly sized shapes. As compared to digital drawing where you can just copy and paste to get perfect outcomes without hand errors. A benefit of this method was that I couldn’t used black squares so it was easier to see outlines. This progression helped me look deeper into the line contours to identify new forms. I also started to recognize that the simplicity is an asset because it helps portray complex ideas without overwhelming the viewer.

In this next step, I started to to compose frames by considering the Elements and principles of design. I stated focusing on creating hierarchy of elements and narrowing the scope down to a 2 element focus. in each square I explored the feeling and impression I intended to convey and also considered how those elements are portrayed to others. This shift in technique helped me dig deeper and create meaning. I focused on utilizing space and conveying intent. The most challenging part of this process was trying to focus on 2 main elements, this also proved to be the most important. In most cases, less is more. being able to covey the most with as less as possible is a design concept I am working towards.

 

Curiosity 

After making all these different compositions, one of them struck out to me the most. I tried tirelessly to make it coherent and harmonious. it looked nice but something was off. so I began experimenting different ways to make it work. I was having trouble picturing it, so I decided to experiment in a way that I could visualize it best.

                                               

Final Six