Workshop Two: Drawing and Rendering- Rotation Three

The final workshop focused on rendering techniques and presentation of drawings. The first week was spent going through some basics of plan, section and elevation drawings, a lot of which was familiar to me as I had just focused on them in the first drawing workshop. We did a few class exercises on drawing sections and elevation off of a plan, and were told where the drawings should be placed in reference to the plan. The tutors did a presentation of the four buildings we were to choose from for our major assignment. They explained a lot of different aspects of the drawings, like the trees and the landscape and different ways to represent them using various media, and incorporate them into presentation drawings. I chose the Ken Israel House for my final presentation, and used coloured pencils to render it. I drafted the drawings in lead pencil first, to make sure I got them correct and then went over them with black felt tip pen, making some of the lines thicker to accentuate it. I tried to focus on making my drawings clearer, using the feedback from the second round workshop. It was my first time drafting and I was quite pleased with how they turned out. It was a great learning experience in drafting, and I thought my drawings turned out quite strongly on final presentation. My rendering wasn't as strong as I would have liked and I received feedback to work on my trees in plan, which I could understand. I did experiment with a few different techniques in my sketchbook when I was experimenting with colours, however I thought that they would turn out better than they did. I learnt from it though, and will definitely work on them for future works. I found it really helpful to see the works of other students and the different techniques and media they employed, as it was quite inspiring for future ideas. I think the final workshop was a great learning experience and I have learnt a few things that I will definitely be drawing on in the future, and will endeavour to be more experimental in my works.

Workshop One: Architectural Drawing- Rotation Two

I was really excited to start Workshop One, as I really wanted to work on my drawing skills and it sounded like a really good ground knowledge for architecture. The lecture on the day we started the workshop was actually by Felicity about the workshop and I really enjoyed it. It made me even more excited for the workshop. I admit, I was a little bit intimidated by the work from the first rotation that she showed as examples during the lecture however, but I was ready to give it my best shot. Felicity gave a quick run-through of her lecture again, and went through some finer details on perspective, the differences between plan, section and elevation drawings and the expectations of the workshop. Our first exercise was to draw a plan, section and elevation drawing of a cup, to cement in our minds what each of these drawings showed. We had to be very exact, and the drawings were done to a 1:1 scale. It took the rest of the studio to complete, and even then I had to render it at home, but I really enjoyed the task. It helped me remember the differences between section and elevation drawings and it gave me a chance to use my drawing skills. I also really liked the feedback we got from Ross and Felicity throughout the workshop, they were really helpful and gave me some confidence in my drawing capabilities. They were really supportive and gave great tips as well. We were also given our major assignment for the studio at the end- we were to complete a minimum of 2 section, 2 plan and 2 elevation drawings of Rose Seidler House in Wahroonga, as well as a 3D drawing, to a scale of 1:100. It seemed like a big task but exactly the type of project I wanted, so I was excited.

My still life drawing of the cup

For the second week of studio, we focused on perspective drawings, and some guidelines for perspective drawings. We were given a simple exercise to start with, where we had to fill in a few objects on a scene and then render it, and we then had to complete two perspective drawings of somewhere in the uni, a one-point and a two-point. I started with my two-point in studio, and I was actually pretty happy with it. I found the task challenging but thought I completed it quite nicely. I was proud of my effort. I completed the one-point perspective for homework, and I was also pleased with my end result. I attempted to be creative in my rendering techniques and explore different methods. I started to discover that, even though I needed to spend a fair amount of time on it and sometimes stopped and started again halfway through, I was proud of the work I was achieving. I was also learning a lot about rendering and drawings, especially perspective drawings. I still found perspective drawings difficult, however I was learning.

We had mid session break before the third studio, and I took the opportunity to visit Rose Seidler House in person, something that really helped me with my understanding of the house. I went through really carefully and paid extra attention to all the detail, as I wanted to be able to complete my drawings successfully. I also took a LOT of photos, to aid my assignment. The visit was a great help in my understanding of the drawings we were given, and I also got a brochure to get some background information on the house.

Studio Three started with a sketching exercise- we had to sketch an object or scene in the Red Centre using no lines, only making blocks of colour, to get us to recognise that the differences in shades and colour of objects, and the way they meet. I did three drawings, my first was very basic, my second two I tried to branch out a bit more and be adventurous and really challenge myself. It was hard, but I felt a bit better when we got back and a lot of people had drawn lines to help them. I was proud that I at least managed to not do that. For our last task, we were given a picture of the Science Lawn at Uni, and were told to draw the Rose Seidler House onto it, using one given scale to make it the right size. It sounded difficult when it was introduced but I actually enjoyed it. It was definitely a challenge, but a good one. I was really happy with my end result, and feel that it reflects how much I have learnt in the past few weeks.

Rose Seidler House drawn onto the Uni Science Lawn

My trace overlay of Rose Seidler House

For the final week, I was quite proud of my work. I really liked my perspective drawing the most, as I drafted it completely from scratch, using the techniques learnt during studio. I quite liked my rendering as well, as I have been trying to improve on my drawing skills. The feedback I received was quite helpful, I was told that my rendering on my sections and elevation were slightly confusing and not very clear, which looking back on it, I can see what they mean. I found this workshop really helpful and I feel that I learned a lot- I quite enjoyed it.

Workshop Three: Material Modelling- Rotation One

First week of Workshop 3- The first week was a little daunting, but exciting as well, as I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The workshop ended up being really interesting, with The tutors going over the lesson plan and the expectations of the workshop, before we did a quick drawing exercise, which i thought i struggled in a bit as I'm not e very strong drawer (yet!), However I got some really helpful feedback, which I appreciated. The end of the workshop was spent listening to information on various architects and artists and their work and style. I particularly enjoyed the presentation, as I really liked the meanings behind the various works and the really different ways that they were portrayed.

For the second studio, we had to construct a model as a 3D response to one of four texts, which were given, using only white 2mil thick mountboard. I had a little bit of difficulty comprehending a lot of the text, however I chose to do 'The Fold', and went with the idea of being constructed of a lot of things, and the idea that life is a journey and we're constantly growing and being 'imprinted on by our experiences and memories. I liked my idea, however I wasn't entirely happy with how my model turned out. I was a little bit rushed for time to finish it off at the end of studio, however I still think I preferred my idea to my execution. I got some positive feedback however, and it gave me a little bit of confidence, as I'm not used to being overly creative.

For the third studio, we had to do a site visit, anywhere between Hyde Park and Circular Quay, and write a 250 word response about our experience, do an A2 collage and then extend our experience into a 3D model, using any material of our choosing. I had difficulty finding the time to actually visit the city, so I ended up waking up at 5.30 one morning and going before uni. It was extremely cold, however I really enjoyed it. I'm unfamiliar with the city as I have just moved back to NSW so I decided to visit Hyde Park and really throw myself into the unknown. I decided to focus on the trees I could see everywhere as soon as I left the train station, something I found really odd but comforting amongst all the tall buildings. The trees seemed a little bit out of place between all the buildings and construction, a little bit like me, and they made the city seem slightly friendlier. I didn't mind my model, as I thought it accurately represented my experience and thoughts, and I used a variety of different materials, however I received some critical feedback that it was too literal, and I needed to be a little bit more creative in representing my ideas. I could completely understand what they were saying, however I knew it would be a hard thing to achieve, as I struggle to be abstract. Nevertheless I took it on board and kept in mind for the final workshop.



My A2 Collage



For the final week of the workshop, we were asked to reflect on our entire workshop experience and construct a 3D model using balsa wood, also exploring the properties on balsa wood in the process and accompanying it with a poster. I found this model challenging, and I represented each of the workshops in my model. Ultimately, I combined the poster and the model together, and went for a minimalist approach, attempting to portray that the studio may have seemed difficult at first but once you took the first step in completing the tasks, it wasn't as difficult as first thought. However, as you went along completing the tasks, there were little difficulties and obstacles along the way, many unexpected, that could lead you astray, and that you were continually learning. Again, I felt that my idea was a lot stronger than my model, which I received in my feedback, as well as again being too literal with my ideas.

Overall, I did enjoy the Workshop, however it was definitely not easy, and I did struggle with the creative aspects. I appreciated all the feedback however, and definitely feel that I learnt something.