Viscom 4

Kicking off my recap from last term here are the sketches from our Viscom 4 course. This course, much like our previous Viscom courses focused on drawing skills. In this particular course we learned techniques for rapidly sketching objects both organic and mechanical. Many of the sketches below were drawn in less than two minutes, while some of the more elaborate ones took about fifteen.

Almost all of these sketches were drawn from life, at one of the many museums we visited during the course. Drawing from life is a great exercise as it helps appreciate the forms better than drawing from photographs. Ultimately, sketching skills require a lot of mileage and in that respect it was a great course.

Viscom 3

Following our first two Viscom courses, in which we learned sketching and shading, Viscom 3 was aimed at rendering different materials using various media. This is an edited version of our work throughout the term.

We started with a simple sketching exercise going from quick doodles to a more refined form.

Our first assignment with materials was in rendering wood and concrete. This was a mix of markers, pencil and chalk.

Next we rendered glass using markers, pen and gouache.

Chrome and matte steel were done in chalk and pencil.

Our midterm piece was a large drawing incorporating the materials we had previously studied.

In the second half of the course we started using digital media, in this case Photoshop paths.

There were also numerous exercises for us to practice our skills drawing and shading with the Wacom tablet.

We were gradually given more freedom to explore different digital techniques.

Near the end of the term we returned to analog media with watercolor as a quick and emotive technique.

Our final work for Viscom 3 was related to our product design course which you can see here.

Development of Form

Each semester at Art Center presents its own challenges, I’m beginning to accept and expect this. My third term came to a close a week and a half ago. Reflecting upon it I feel a great weight off my shoulders, knowing all the while that harder obstacles will face me soon.

One of the courses I took this summer was titled Development of Form, taught by the legendary Gaylord Eckles. The main assignment for the term was to select a product we would draw for the duration of the course. I chose a 1962 Kodak Brownie Holiday Flash. Each week were assigned many pages of sketches, with a particular theme in mind. These are some of the highlights of the term.

We started with basic views of the product including perspective sketches and orthographic views.

We then progressed to sketching hands and arrows.

Our first assignment in shading was to render the inverted shades of our product.

Here is the reverse of my drawing

The following week we sketched the product with a great number different lighting scenarios, here are two examples.

Each week in class we reworked a few of our homework pages to correct the mistakes. It was a very instructional process which greatly improved my technique.

Viscom 2 - Part 2

Following my end-of-the-term recap, here’s the second half of Viscom 2. As I described in my first post, the aim of Viscom 2 was to teach us basic shading techniques starting with simple geometric shapes and evolving into more complex panels and forms.

Having completed the basic geometric forms we moved on to simple panels, and attempted different lighting scenarios.

Paying attention to reflected light was one of the challenges of the course.

The following week we worked with compound panels, which bend in two directions. We also tried adding form changes.

A variety of media was used including marker, Prismacolor pencil and chalk.

The next two weeks were dedicated to working with side views and trying to sculpt these semi-recognizable objects with light.

The second round of side views was done entirely in chalk and black Verithin pencil. Most of them were done on Canson 335 paper as a practice for our final rendering.

The final rendering was done on a large sheet of 18 by 24 inch Canson 335. You can see a larger view here.

Viscom 2 - Part 1

Continuing my midterm recap, these are some of the results from Viscom 2. The aim of this class is to learn how to properly shade objects from simple geometric forms to complex curved surfaces. We also learn how to use various media such as pencil, markers and chalk. The principles we learned in Viscom 1 are the basis for our constructions but instead of using lines to describe form we use value.

Our instructors have created a great online resource called SketchWiki which is growing each week and describes the techniques for shadow construction and value assignments that form the basis of this course and of Viscom 1.

I’ve mentioned Scott Robertson’s DVD series as an excellent place to start for perspective drawing but he also has a set that describes shading and rendering. The series How to Render Matte Surfaces is broken down into Planar Surfaces, Geometric Surfaces and Complex Curved Surfaces, and are essentially a condensed version of our lectures this term. They’re an excellent resource which I’m still using every week to aid in me with these assignments.

As you’ll see from this sampling we have gone through the basic shapes and will be starting to create more complex objects as the term goes on. Unfortunately the scanner isn’t particularly flattering on some media and the subjects remain basic but I hope that by the end of the term I’ll have some cool stuff to show.

We started with simple boxes in this case drawn with black Prismacolor Verithin pencil.

Increasing the complexity of the construction, here is a drawing made with Polychromos and Verithin. These pencils are preferred over graphite because they can create a darker black.

We then started to tackle shapes with more facets, and new materials such as chalk (Prismacolor Nupastel) and marker (in this case toner-gray Copic).

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working mostly with chalk. Though it is easy to mess up, it is also a fast and fun medium to work with.

Each week we are asked to try a number of lighting scenarios, varying the angle, the softness of the light and whether the source is the sun or a local light.