sandra3053409-blog

[sandra3053409-blog]

Product Photography

PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY

This final week and the session was on product photography and how this can be used to create an emotional response as well as to simply document a product. Having watched the Lynda.com recommended videos I had seen how to create product shots in even outdoor lighting.

Rob’s tips in the moodle notes were very useful where he suggested to establish “what is interesting about the design” and "what do I want the viewer to understand about it”? Is it aspects of the form (silhouette, contours etc), function (ergonomics, range of motion etc), materiality (reflection, translucency etc), are the interesting design features (buttons, textures etc)? How do I want the viewer to feel about my product (eg. Is it exciting, prestigious, serious etc)?”

The other notes then set out suggestion for techniques to achieve the goal. These included information on using the direction of light sources to emphasise different features. Lighting which may often been a combination of

Back lighting for  outlines or silhouettes. Front or top lighting for detail. Side lighting for texture.

There was also an explanation of how to use the relative intensity of light sources with explanations of how main “key light” can be supplemented by filling in detail in shadows with a second light source etc. The particular qualities of hard light and sort light sources were also included as was information on modifying light through materials including tracing paper and black and white card. There was also information on the difference between high and low key light and colour palettes.

Unfortunately I could not complete this task in the allocated studio session but used the very useful notes and cheat sheet to try and create some product shots at home using one of the works I had done for studio- a desk top mobile, a favourite handbag for the item we were to bring with us and a magnetic platonic solid toy to substitute for the group project shape.

As I don’t currently have a digital camera I used my phone and unfortunately with no tripod so I was aware that I would not be able to have the suggested level of control none the less I set about doing what I could with my phone camera. I was mindful of the goal of experimenting with light sources, colours etc. and hoped I could use photo shop tools to enhance the images.

I shot the “products” in a range of settings, lighting conditions etc. Using our carport for the even outdoor lighting and the kitchen for indoor images and experimented with different light sources and locations. I downloaded the images and used Adobe Bridge to sort through and edit a few for this blog post. I then made adjustments to the images using tools like content aware fill, magic wand and adjusted colour, brightness and intensity etc. These exercises to gradually allow an understanding of how to use an increasing number of tools in Camera Raw, Bridge and Photoshop were really useful.

This was an indoor version and I experimented with various lights and locations to either minimise, enhance or remove the shadows etc.

Above I was using a favourite handbag which has two distinct sides. The blue side is shown later. I love this bag which the British artist Tracey Emin made in 2004. Here I was adjusting brightness and contrast and experimenting with different backgrounds etc. 

With the blue side of the bag again I made adjustments with the backdrop colour both during shooting and then also later in photoshop- this time to further emphasise the already striking blue. 

Then with the shape below I experimented further. These are just a few examples for the blog as there was much experimentation both during and post production and this studio exercise worked in allowing me to start learning and experimenting with product photography which I had not done before and enjoyed and which I look forward to improving.

Final reflections on the course. For me this course has been interesting, challenging and very fast paced. We have been moving through a significant number of topics- most of which I had no prior experience with and all complex in themselves. That has at times felt frustrating and overwhelming however seeing the course more as an introduction to these various skills and programs that can be a starting point for further self directed learning and future courses is more useful for me. 

So rather than get too disappointed with the quality of the final output I have tried to refocus on the skills and experience gained and look forward to developing those much further which I am sure will result in more satisfying end results. I have found the resources on Lynda.com really useful and also really enjoyed exploring Rob’s weekly suggestions on the Course Tumblr. I have also discovered other great resources online along the way and enjoyed the opportunities Tumblr provided to see how classmates were progressing and to get their feedback.

I have really enjoyed Rob’s enthusiasm and thoroughness that has obviously gone into both the course preparation and its presentation.

What I have found the most challenging  - even more than the content has been managing some of the difficulties that relate to my disabilities and how that has impacted on my participation. This has meant that I have needed to work at home with my modified desktop for some of the tasks - it has also required assistance with things like taking the lift so a big thank you to those who have been “lift buddies”- it was very much appreciated.

I hope everyone has a great Semester break. Sandra

[sandra3053409-blog]

Photography- part one

The lecture was a run through of the work of a range of photographers and styles and discussion of the benefits photography offered to designers not just to document their work and process but also to expand and refine their way of seeing and the benefits that could bring to their design work. We were then given a brief to photograph on the university grounds and to return to the studio to post a selection of images on Instagram.

Prior to class I had uploaded Camera Raw and Adobe bridge- these like Photoshop are new to me. I used the tutorials on Lynda.com to get an overview and then after using my phone to take some photos returned home to use these on my desktop on a selection of the Friday photos. I found the videos very useful and enjoyed discovering tools within both programs that will be useful for editing and managing image files. I now need to set up an Instagram account and post these pictures as per the instructions. 

To date  I have for various reasons opted wherever possible to avoid social media so I was reluctant to set up a Tumblr and now Instagram account. Tumblr has been a good tool for the weekly blog but I keep getting unwanted and completely unrelated posts that need to be actively deleted. I hope the same doesn’t happen with Instagram and will investigate the privacy settings further. I am not particularly fussed about the photographs I took on the day and was disappointed that some I took of students dancing in front of reflections in front of Tyree building didn’t adequately capture the movement well enough to make the cut as excluding those makes the overall group less lively and student oriented- it was also fairly quiet on campus in the area I was photographing at the time which didn’t help. Using Bridge I will go back through all of the photos to confirm a  final selection and potentially use Camera Raw and Photoshop to enhance those before posting to Instagram. With Instagram I have been looking at how to create posts from Desktop as opposed to just uploading directly from mobile phone however it seems for this task it might be more practical to do any photo editing on my desktop and then send them back to my phone to post from there.

I would be keen to know how others have/or intend to manage that element.

for example changing this image into a black and white photograph and reducing the contrast in the highlights. I have posted below a few pics to edit from for the Instagram part of the task- meanwhile I will continue to look at and post some comments on classmates blogs for this (and last week) and hope that brings me nearly up to date!

[sandra3053409-blog]

Happy Easter

Rob was temporarily replaced by a bunny

[sandra3053409-blog]

Am I up to week 8 now?

So on the blog catch (note to self have just enjoyed looking and commenting on blogs by Lewis and Keith for wk7). Perhaps I am now up to where I got started with Photoshop. This program was new to me and I followed the very detailed notes Rob provided to step through the process.

to get from this to the version below

I had a few issues with the pen/curve tool which I have worked on resolving  - watching some more tutorials. With this exercise I also had some challenges with the hole in the grip area and had to opt for a light background shadow rather than vignette behind as I had an issue with some path/layer set ups that kept interfering with achieving those. In the meantime, while working on our Assignment 2, I spent time trying to explore materials and finishes. My product was an atomic coffee maker and I was going for a sketchy rather than realistic shiny photographic result that I had used on the research boards. I had created some Pinterest boards on materials, coffee machines and rendering styles.

I struggled with getting the material renderings as I wanted them and did try different versions the first version being more a  “sketch” type and above another approach. Along the way I was certainly getting more experience with Photoshop but clearly have a lot further to go. After being uncertain as to whether to chose a chrome type material or just a glowing grey look I did a lot of experimentation with surfaces adjusting elements and along the way discovered a useful site called Blue Lightning which has extensive tutorials on finishes and a lot more that are easy to follow. Later I discovered an application from Alien Skin called Eye Candy- and downloaded a free trial version which has been fun to experiment with.

I missed the detailed briefing for the assignment but was able to listen to the lecture recording- unfortunately this was sound only and so the examples of previous boards were a mystery. On reflection I should have followed up on that and sought out more information as I subsequently misinterpreted the board component for the assignment- so the take home lesson is make sure I really do understand the brief and expectations.

Trying to frame the course projects as an introduction to these elements of the designers communication and design tools rather than an expectation that you can master those diverse skill sets from scratch in the time available is perhaps the most useful approach I can adopt. 

Being for the moment less concerned by the “final” result being disappointing and more aware that in this course I have at least been exposed to a range of visual design tools that can with time be mastered - on that point it is now time to move on the next catch up blog which I think must be Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw and Friday’s photos to post. 

[sandra3053409-blog]

Week 7

WK 7

Still playing catch up with blog – but doing so has underlined the pace and variety of areas covered in this course.

So week 7 continued perspective work with emphasis on perspective grids. The importance and benefits of Warm up exercises was another feature and I have watched various videos with a range of different exercises for this. Drills included working on improving skills and muscles through tasks with straight lines, joining dots, circles and ellipses, ellipses and cubes in perspective and so on.

The reminders for these include

·        keeping body relaxed

·       locking your wrist and drawing from the shoulder

·       As appropriate keeping spacing even and starting and stopping the same distance  from the edge of the page and keeping the lines perpendicular to the edge of the page

·        Improving line accuracy by staring at the starting point and then the finishing point

·         Rotating the paper as needed and controlling the page, and drawing from your shoulder, relaxing your body etc

And the benefits of ghosting technique 

As per the Spencer Nugent videos being aware of  the importance of Contour Lines – and the need for the appropriate handling of these around edges.

Other exercises covered Shading and Toning on flat surfaces including for 3 dimensional forms. I completed these at home and also enjoyed revisiting the Nugent videos which I had watched earlier in the course while attempting exercises. 

I also was mindful that I needed to build muscle control (post-car accident 7+ years ago and with much ongoing rehab this is slowly getting better however arm and shoulders issues to continue to interfere with things in this and other courses that rely on fine motor control and compounded by vertigo some aspects of course particularly on difficult days adds an extra level of challenge to the degree of difficulty.)

I have also been exploring a great series of videos on youtube LE MANOOSH on techniques for product drawing as this is something I need to improve. In fact I found his method so helpful that I decided to sign up for his online course – have started but intend to use the break at the end of Semester One to focus on this in earnest. Note to self – Sketch DAILY and enjoy the holiday course which will hopefully be a great help. Below is the sketch panel for my consumer product - an atomic coffee maker. I had decided on a quick sketch style and used copic markers for shading and fill. It is a start but I look forward to greatly improving on this.

[sandra3053409-blog]

Week 6

Week 6 - Perspective Drawing

As I am behind it updating my blog this is a much later reflection on the activities of week 6. However I do remember my frustration with Rhino software as glitches continued while project deadline loomed meanwhile in class and in week 6 Max outlined how to print in Rhino – which was fine in theory but didn’t work for me in practice for the project. In fact as my previously posted picture shows I was still unable to get the title block issues resolved by the time the project was due.

Meanwhile for the rest of the lecture Rob moved on from orthographic projection, used for manufacturing etc. with its top, front and sides 2d views (supplemented by sections and auxillary views ) to 3 dimensional sketching and views. It was highlighted that axonometric and oblique views are not commonly employed by designers these days and more often designers would use 3d views to explain and indeed develop what an object could/would look like in a manner that is closer to “real life”.

Rob explained the three types and applications of 1 point, 2 point and 3 point perspective and the studio session provided the opportunity after warm ups for practical exploration with the task of sketching Marcel Bruer’s Wassily Chair (ca 1925). The Knoll site is full of useful designer and product information and this design classic has extensive information including a selector feature

Configure Wassily Chair-.

I had to leave class for health reasons that day after the lecture so missed this studio – we do however have one of these chairs at home so I figured I could complete this task there and do the studio warm up exercises. I missed the deadline for the blog as I hadn’t yet completed the drawing at home – this was becoming a problematic pattern with my work for this course.  I struggled with catching up and then as the saying goes a deadline is a deadline until its passed…If I hadn’t completed the task or more often wasn’t happy with what I had completed and thought I would re do it before posting….. in reality I found that I would spend A LOT of time watching relevant videos tutorials both those highlighted by Rob and others found on Youtube etc. Feeling I should watch all those first etc. would then leave not enough time to actually complete the task.  Better time management and more restrictions on how many relevant video tutorials/viewing time to allow for the specific topic would help me manage this problem and allow more time for the “doing”.

So my reflection has identified the problems and that is fine in theory but yesterday I re-watched ALL the Kevin Henry episodes on Lynda as I wanted to do a better chair sketch (those videos are fantastic but take up time as you also do exercises as you watch) so I am ok on identifying the issue but still but working on rectifying it…. On the upside I found reviewing all those videos very helpful in a more general sense….and yes I have watched numerous videos on methods to “fix” these sort of time management problems too!  Being able to critique my task results as poor and not yet competent enough to produce better outcomes in the various areas (which are all new areas to me) is perhaps more at the heart of the problem. I have also been mindful of the need to move on and not get further behind.

So while trying to watch all the tutorials and explore the current topics like Photoshop, Camera Raw and Bridge etc. I am still also stuck back at WK6 perspective drawing task. So in an effort to finish this blog I have combined learning Photoshop and Bruer task and post some of those pics here. I am just about to post a comment to Caroline and Boo whose impressive blogs I have been reading and I mention this here so I can find those comments if needs be now I know that Tumblr doesn’t make it easy to track those.

[sandra3053409-blog]

Assignment 1- why Rhinos have  thick skins

Having been quite enthusiastic following our Green group session I left the subsequent lectures on Rhino less so. In between like many I had experienced a range of Rhino glitches both on Citrex and then on the demo version. Both involved a mix of different issues and crashes and not saved saves etc. and they happened on PC and Mac. 

and his look summed it up. Posted below is an image from Rhino work in progress version of my hand tool

[sandra3053409-blog]

Assignment 1

Playing catch up and late putting this up. This image is  my hand drawn component of our hand tool assignment- and my choice of the Spear and Jackson hand saw. The measurements taken enabled me to complete the assignment. I was disappointed with my line work but that turned out to be nothing compared to my Rhino experience- but that can wait til the next post.

[sandra3053409-blog]

Hand tool

Bit late adding my blog picture of my chosen hand tool. A tenon hand saw – and yep it’s a SPEAR AND JACKSON.

Now for those procrastinating from knuckling down with Rhino practice or simply unaware of the delights of the Michael Palin and Terry Jones Ripping Yarns episodes on The Testing of Eric Olthwaite– the gist is he is a man so boring his family run away from home. He then becomes inadvertently more interesting when involved with a bank robbery and bonds with the thief over a common interest in the details of Spear and Jackson shovels! well here is a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYpsz2eAKOs

REFLECTION:  The irony of now posting various images complete with showing the measuring devices I used to accurately measure my Spear and Jackson hand saw is not lost on me… nor is the insight that I should not allow myself to get distracted by watching or sharing Ripping Yarns video links or be late with blog posts.

[sandra3053409-blog]

Week 4 Rhino

I was excited to be moving on to starting to learn Rhino (from scratch) this week. I realise it will be a gradual and no doubt at times challenging program to master but it looks to be a great design tool.

Prior to the lecture we had all had a look at the program and explored the interface, navigation and the multiple options available for each command. The training videos were very helpful.

The “Learning by Teaching” method worked really well in our group. While I had focused on understanding to be able to explain aspects of 2D Geometry, Xiaoyun was able to explain and show how to create, delete, name or rename layers. She also covered how to make layers current and turn them on and off etc.

Maks was able to teach how to edit 2D geometry and explained the selection methods, transformations including rotating and offsetting as well as how to fillet and chamfer. He was also able to explain control points, trimming, extending and joining and much more.

When it came to the “Learning by Doing” stage we were able to combine all this to work on the gasket assignment. During this Maks who has prior experience with Solidworks was extremely helpful. 

The method and process of teaching/learning/doing worked very well for this task. I know I would have struggled with aspects of the task without the knowledge and patience of my team members - so thank you Macs and Xiaoyun.

It was good to finish the task and feel satisfied with the learning experience and the exercise result. I am mindful of the need to keep practicing and exploring Rhino and will continue to watch the instructional videos and complete the downloadable exercises. I was also pleased that when working on a screen the lighting issues that had been problem with line work exercises in that room previously were not nearly as difficult for me.

I am very keen to get comfortable with the Rhino 2D elements so I can then move on to working in 3D which looks like great fun.

[sandra3053409-blog]

Week 3 Engineering Drawing II or When an orthogonal  just isn’t enough!

This lecture covered when orthogonal views are inadequate and explained why you may need to do sectional, auxiliary and detail views. Rob also discussed drawing conventions- including the hierarchy of drawings in a full set of working engineering drawings. 

The tutorial included assessing blogs and comments posted to date. New to Tumblr I hadn’t realised it didn't track comments and spent far too much time trying to find them. (Note to self keep a record of comments!)

The remainder of the tutorial was focused on the tapered block exercise. I found this challenging on multiple fronts. I am still struggling to realise the orthogonal views which has a flow on effect on auxiliary, sectional and details views. I also have some ongoing issues in the workspace with lighting specifically when doing line work and so these issues combined meant I was not able to complete the task in the allocated time only reaching sketch and preliminary layout stage. 

I will need to continue to work on building my technical drawing skills and when time allows will repeat this exercise and add that drawing eventually to this post. I think revisiting some of the instructional videos may assist and in future I will seek out extra and timely help when struggling. In addition this and the week 4 exercise highlighted the need not to get behind and to make posts on time and to remember to keep a record of comments.

[sandra3053409-blog]

3rd Blog Post

I was unable to attend or work on projects for over a week and while that situation is now resolved it has left me with a lot of catching up to do. They are not overstating the impact of falling behind! 

My steps so far to do that have been to read through the relevant material I have missed and to commence work on the missed projects. I have watched the recommended videos including Kevin Henry’s Orthographic drawing explanation which I found very helpful. I also really enjoyed watching a number of videos by Spencer Nugent and found his Sketch-a-day site very worthwhile.

I really enjoyed having pencil in hand and doing exercises on drawing circles, cubes, cylinders ending up with a lot of pages of sketches which have no merit in themselves but were really helpful to practice the process. Something I will continue to do.

I commenced work on the small object task and selected a stapler. I have done a very rough sketch while also attempting to understand the Boundy text book chapters set as readings and the AS1100 Technical Drawing so that I can do the orthographic exercise I missed. I also had a look at some images on line of orthographic drawings of staplers to see how I might go about the task.

I have found Boundy a challenging and dry read- keen to know if anybody else finds it a struggle and if there is such a thing as Engineering Drawing for Dummies! 

I have also attempted to catch up readings for today’s class and have started having a look at Rhino. I had hoped it would be a bit more like Archicad a program I am more familiar with but so far it appears very different.  I also have a question as to if there is a way to rotate images whilst doing a tumbler post- advice very welcome.

Looking forward to being back at Uni today.

[sandra3053409-blog]

2nd Blog Post

This post is the first reflection blog after week one. As apparent from the pic of my vintage geometry set- it has been a long time since I handled this type of equipment. Overall I struggled with the exercises both due to lack of skill and experience combined with a migraine on the day. I have since acquired the text book and resolved to spend some time on improving my knowledge of basic technical drawing. I hope this will improve my outcomes as it was very disappointing to not achieve a better outcome on the day. I also will make an effort to draw on the knowledge of class mates and tutors when I experience difficulties with future projects. 

[sandra3053409-blog]

First blog

Hi all. My name is Sandra. I have always enjoyed creating and inventing things as a hobby. I hope that through study at UNSW I can develop the skills necessary to pursue design as a career as it has always been a passion of mine. Look forward to meeting you all and studying together.