3D pathway- Week 1

When choosing my pathway on the course I was stuck between 3D and Graphics. I enjoyed the 3D rotation on the exploratory stage the most out of all the topics, however I was starting to think about what courses I could apply to for my undergraduate degree and it was illustration that sparked my interest. Still undecided, I chose to see how 3D went for the first week and was measured by the tutors that I could change later on if I wanted to.

For the first day in the 3D pathway we were instructed to build 15 small models using three or more materials out of the wide range of supplies provided. The models could be any shape and did not have to look specifically like anything yet. This made it a bit confusing and challenging at the start, however I soon got into the activity and enjoyed using the materials. Here are a few examples of what I made:

Balsa wood, zip ties and tape

 Left: Balsa wood, wire and elastic bands

Balsa wood

Balsa wood, translucent plastic sheet and zip ties

Wire and elastic bands

Balsa wood

Black plastic sheet

Although I did not produce the full 15 model target I was pleased with a few that I made and thought that the time I spent on them was worth it. My favourite structures that I made are models 1, 3 and 6 pictured above. I particularly like working with the Balsa wood and carving this into the shapes I wanted.

For the second day of this week we were instructed to draw from our models so I selected 5 which I thought would be the most interesting to draw.

Although at this stage we were not asked to put our drawing of our objects into different contexts, whilst producing my drawings I could already see what they could be in real life, both products and architectural structures. For example the first drawing pictured above looks almost like an abstractly shaped chair and perhaps the most obvious solution for the last drawing would be a stair case.

After this we were asked to put our objects and drawings into different contexts by tracing over them, coming up with multiple layers of drawings, showing how we came to that solution.

As I progressed though the first week of the 3D pathway I became increasingly unsure wether this was the right pathway for me as many of the students in this group wanted to go onto do product design or architecture, and the activities were often talked about in terms of coming up with a product or architectural solution.

I therefore proceeded to talk to Geoff the 3D pathway tutor and he suggested that if I were to stay in that pathway then I should try and make my outcomes and drawings more illustrative.

On Thursday of this week I was informed that Andy would be taking a group of pre-foundation students to an Illustration exhibition at Summerset house and I was asked if I would like to tag along to broaden my knowledge of the subject and help me decide what pathway I should be on.

Nata Joh- A Giant Visitor

Philip Wheeler- Biodiverse

These are sketchbook works by Turine Tran that weren't actually exhibited at the exhibition, however I discovered her work on the internet after being interested in another one of her pieces, Crayola, at the exhibition.

Grahamme Baker-Smith- Alice In Wonderland stamp designs for The Royal Mail to mark the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

I really loved these illustrations of Alice in Wonderland as I feel the artist has captured important and memorable scenes really well that everyone can associate with the story.

I went and was really inspired by some of the work I saw there. Wether it were illustrations for texts or posters, I really liked what I saw and decided to change to the Graphics pathway to make my portfolio stronger for applying to undergraduate illustration courses.