LESSON 03!

HI ALL! :)

We learnt more about the history of symbols and typography.

Wait, isn't history supposed to be boring?! Not in Visual Communications for sure!

We learnt more of the different types of symbols including ideogram, rebus and logotype.

Each and every single one of them are very different and hold different purposes and uses.

This could be very useful for our CA as we are required to create a logo and a mascot for our T-Shirt brand. To reinforce what we have learnt, we were tasked to form a group and I was part of the group to research on the various symbols of Singapore. I was really surprised to find the different types of symbols in Singapore and it was fun presenting it to the class as well and as others presented on different people such as Saul Bass, we could learn more. 

Next, we learnt more about the different types of typography and our lecturer, Ms Li Sar also showed us many different types of fonts. I was impressed to learn that typography has a long history and I can't wait to try my hand at using these various fonts! 

Next, we learnt basic photography. I had fun playing around with my camera and learning the various rules such rule of thirds and balance. 

Lines

This pictures were taken outside the Visual Communications class and I had to find the best angles to portray the theme well. 

Framing

For framing, I just wanted to keep
it simple.

Rule of thirds

Simplicity 

Balance

I had fun doing this homework as I really had to take notes of my angles instead of just taking photos any way that I like. 

That's all for today,folks! :D

LESSON 02!

HI all!
Visual Communications modules never fail to be interesting and are never mundane.
So, let's get started on LESSON 02!


Firstly, we learnt about the various textures and how to make visual textures using lines, shapes or colours. We were tasked to do 3 different textures.

My first texture

We were told to do the first texture of something that represents us. After thinking for a while, I decided to draw 3 things : clouds, curvy lines and straight lines. This is because, firstly, being a person who loves and treasures freedom and one who detests being in a fixed place, clouds represent these facts well. The curvy lines shows how I'm usually a messy person and disorganised but the straight lines describe the fact that I am able to adapt to the situation and I am able to be organised should there be a need to do so. 

My second texture

This second texture that we were asked to draw is a texture found in our surroundings. It was not a daunting task as there were many textures to choose from like the tables in the classroom or windows. After some contemplation,I decided to use a pattern that was printed on Raimi's pencil case who was sitted beside me. Drawing this required some time as I had difficulty gauging the length of the zig-zag lines and the amount of spacing between the dots. 

My Third Texture

 We were then tasked to do a texture based on what we would think is futuristic or modern and since most modern designs are usually made of lines, I decided to draw that as my texture. I first drew 3 triangles and then elaborated on the design by adding more lines in each triangle but with each triangle's lines not the same as other.

We were then taught on the various line quality and the various methods of shading! I did not realise that with different types of line quality and line pressure we could make out different shapes or objects. We were also shown examples to illustrate the point. I really hope that I could use this part of the lesson well for the logo-making for our CA. 

I did not know that there were different types of shading and it really intrigued me.

Thereafter, we touched on the basics of Perspective drawings which were the point of sight and the horizontal line. We were also shown some examples on good and bad examples of perspective drawings to aid our understanding on this specific part of the lesson. 

Our next activity was to attempt our perspective drawing.

This picture was taken at the link bridge. 

Drawing in Perspective was very challenging as we had to take in several things in consideration including how the distance affects the shading and the proportions had to be right. I overcame it by paying close attention and focusing carefully. This definitely took some time and effort, but however, it did not turn out as well as  I hoped it would but I'm not going to give up and I am going to practise and learn from my mistakes.

Our next part of the lesson was about the principles of design and how it is being used in various places or logos. After our lecturer has gone through the examples and the definitions of the 8 principles, we had an activity of finding 2 other examples as a group and share and present to the class. Through this activity, I better understood the principles and the wrong examples that was presented by some of us were pinpointed to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes again.


In summary, we learnt about line design, perspective and the principles of design and much much more! The examples shown helped me to understand the designs better and it would prove to be useful especially when designing logos. The activities also enforced the lesson better for me and it was a fun and interesting LESSON 02! :)

LESSON 01!

Last Friday was our first Visual Communications lesson and it was indeed an eye-opener and definitely an interesting four hours of class.

First up, we were given an overview of what Visual Communications is about as well as the various things that we would be doing for the year. This includes not only drawing but also using programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Adobe DreamWeaver.

What are we waiting for? Its time for drawing!

Identifying shapes was our first task.



As shown above, drawing Po (from Kungfu Panda) wasn't exactly a walk in the park for me. Being a person who has never failed to fail art in school ,what really helped was identifying the basic shapes of Po and then defining the lines to form a better picture.

Drawing this character was a little easier as I got the hang of drawing the shapes first and then scribbling the lines lightly to finally define the picture. However, I could improve on the precision of the details drawn in the picture.




                       


I drew the second mannequin and indeed whatever we have learnt thus far was important considering the various shapes in a mannequin. Getting the details right was not an easy task and concentration was definitely crucial.

Forging a signature may seem like an easy feat. However, it's the complete opposite! Paying attention to the lines and curves was the only way to do a perfectly forged signature.





Drawing a rose upside down combined both the knowledge of drawing the basic shapes and paying attention to lines and curves. It took me quite some time and focus to get the rose done.







Using a pencil as a measuring stick and drawing the puppy in proportion was challenging and required lots of attention.

As our last activity, we worked in pairs and drew each other. It was hilarious to be observed with such keen eyes by my partner and a little awkward. This must be the life for real-life models in art classes!
It was difficult to get the details right about my partner.




All in all, the first Visual Communications class was interesting and it really required my utmost concentration and time. We learnt how negative spaces are used in drawings as logos to make it more interesting and visually-appealing. Though, I'm not really a good artist, I'm going to try my best and put in the effort and have a positive mindset that 'impossible is nothing'! :)