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Week 10 Studio Exercise

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Week 9 Studio Exercise

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Week 8: Learning fusion 360

Learn Fusion 360 Day 1

2D sketch

Extrude

Shell (make hollow)

How to create a rectangular pattern

LEGO Process: 

Importance to create a habit of organising files: Using the Data pattern panel. This is important as in the future I accumulate many models I locate them. This is also evident by creating a new component to group parts of the design. 

TIPS

Shortcut to extrude: press e

Press home button near cube to see the 3 Dimension perspective

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WEEK 7: Physical Model Making

Shaping Foam Models:

Make a simple 1:1 orthographic drawing (front, top, side views) of your preferred bottle concept from the digital sketching exercise in Week 5:

I pulled out the trusty french curve set to obtain the desired curve of my bottle design. 

Blue foam:

Getting comfortable: I carved out 3 models (bottom right) to experiment with how blue foam material. I used a Stanley knife to section off block pieces and began carving my final model. Using the stanley knife to cut massive blocks of foam was dangerous and I nicked myself 2 twice doing so. But using it to carve out controlled edges and foam was really useful. 

I realised I couldn’t stand the noise of cutting foam so I put some earphones on whilst carving to stop me from cringing. 

Sanding:

I had on hand 3 different kinds of sandpaper, However I found that I only had to purchase the sandpaper of 240p to achieve a nice surface. 

Tip: Wrap my sandpaper around a flat surface, to achieve a clean edge or surface simply put the model on top and glide in one motion (not back and forth). 

Using Polyfilla

I did a test run on one of my first blue foam models, I ended up having to scrap it off: Key take away was to make sure I did really thin layers, I needed to add much more water then I thought and making sure I waited for it to completely dry before I sanded it.The nightmare of it was when I did 3 layers but then when I started sanding, the moisture made the polyfilla crumble. 

However in my final model the process was much faster and more therapeutic it also helped to rewatch the the filling and sanding foam video . I preferred using my fingers to smooth over my curved surface, it also gave my more control over the sculpting of the model

Next time: I would first use the hot wire cutters to get the correct dimensions before using a Stanley knife. Then I would go through the same process. 

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Week 6 Studio Exercise

13/07/20

1st Home maker space (Marie Kondooooo everything)

Tips: Only have the thing you are working on in the desk, everything else leave it off the table. Have things that give you joy (Marie Kondo) to create a creative and inspiring workplace area. I followed this podcast: it lets you know how to set up your work space so it supports productivity. I recommend :)

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-productivity-show/id955075042

2nd Maker space: For the Messy projects

I’ve set up a space in the garage for any sort of toxic fumes, spray painting and hot glue adventures. 

Andrew Simpson: Vert Design talks about models in the design process

Q. How model making fits into a design process and it’s value to the designer? 

Sketch modelling can be used to inform scale, to test the validity of part of a design. Low-fidelity is most appropriate for producing a high volume at a cheaper rate to test scale and ideas that can be ruled out easily. Some materials can be models from CAD, 3D prints, clay, blue foam, paper, cardboard etc. However, when testing details of a design a high fidelity model should be considered especially when thinking about the user interaction. 

Models can be used in any part of the design process to confirm a certain functionality or element of a product. Prototyping is always to check something (material property, risk-taking) and inform the design process.  Its a flexible and readily available adaptive process, for research and discovery of certain mechanisms, its interaction with consumers, environment and longevity. 

Physical modelling allows more room for happy accidents, it opens space for us to see opportunities on the spot for improvements. Outsourcing can be efficient but it may be a missed opportunity for new innovations.

The best technique is the one that informs the design process, create materiality. Therefore understand how your process informs the final idea and design. This applied art aspect is in the fact that the actual act of doing will often inform and better design outcomes. Make them often, early and think wider in terms of the possibility for the consumer and designer.

Prototyping isn’t always about communicating the design to other people but it's for the actual designer, to make sure it meets our own standards and our personal intentions, which is why it's used so often in so many ways throughout history, its invaluable in that aspect. 

Making sure you understand that model making is important and that doing lots of it is about informing your own design, not necessarily communicating it to other people, it's about checking the aspects important to you and making sure they’re improved. Distinguishing between modelling to inform the design vs the communication aspect that expresses your design to others. 

 Eric Strebel: Cube with Foamcore

Progress: I had to do some practice cutting, on the top right you can see the my improvement progress. 

Tips: Sharp knife, a few gentle stokes over one strong stoke. 

Further Reflection...

What went well: I think I progressed well through this project in terms of my mindset. I wasn’t scared of making mistakes I just thought of it as a pure learning experience and it came together better then I thought. 

What did I have difficulty with: At first I had difficulty in how to break the blade of my Stanley knife but I watched this tutorial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=verGyEBjFQo

What did I enjoy:I enjoyed seeing the cube come together. I also enjoyed Eric’s character it was very passionate and kind of funny. 

What did I dislike: When I cleaned up my homemaker space I first took everything out on the floor and bed to reorganise. I was pretty overwhelming at first and for the first few hours, I felt like it was a little endless. However, the result of understanding how much you have and what you needed in the aftermath was really comforting. 

What would I do differently if I had my time again? Sharpen my Stanley knife and curve cutter from the beginning. It would have saved some foam core and time. 

What were some of the key things I learnt, or insights which I developed? I think I realised sometimes you have to just start doing random stuff before you get to a conclusion if you expect to get it the first time its a set up for disappointment. Also it's completely useless comparing a beginning idea to a finished model of a professional, I simply just need to flesh out all my designs, sketch models and everything I can assemble quickly and cheaply so I can eventually reach a beautiful well thought thorough product. 

What led to those experiences or insights? I believe going through the design process so many times you realise you can't really be a perfectionist until the last 5% of the project, otherwise you’ll stump your own growth. I’ve also realised this through looking at my peer's blog including  @eamon5312470 I feel like his blog has a really positive and uplifting reflection no matter if things a little hard. Moreover looking at  @maddy5309143 in her reflection of  “happy accidents” are all part of building up my skills and knowledge of professional model making. Model making is just as much of a mental challenge as it is a practical challenge. Reading my peer’s blog helps me understand how different people come in with all different kinds of mindsets towards the same challenge.   

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Week 5 Studio Exercise

12/7/20

Sketching Drills: Lines, Dot drawings, 2 point -Perspective, Potato communication and Spherical drafting.  

Drafting:Further Understanding references

Types of lines I discovered:

Contour: Light lines that define the 3 dimensionalities of the product

Ghost: Scaffolding lines

Construction/plane: Normally straight lines that drive back to the vanishing points in order to give a reference guide to the construction of the product.

Outlines: Darkened outlines to define the overall shape and structure of the product.

Sketching concepts: OLAY Bottles

Photoshop: Attempt 1

Missing: I couldn’t find the paths tab on my Photoshop so I tried to keep going without it however down the track I realised it got way too difficult to work without it. I also could not locate the symmetry tool. 

Experimentation: I tried to fiddle around with colour and tried my best to understand how layers, masking and the steadiness of my hand.

Conclusion: After understanding the subtracting tool and how the a highlight and shadow layers worked through making random designs, I decide to start completely over again to actually try to follow some of me initial sketched design.

Photoshop: Attempt 2 Preparation:

Prep: I had a look at a few youtube tutorials as a bit of a breather from attempt 1 and in hopes of being able to navigate Photoshop with a different mindset. I tried to also research where tools like symmetry tool were and paths tab were. I was able to find some but some remained missing. 

Looking back: I also looked at my communications work 1 year ago, when I rendered a hair dryer. I picked up extra tools like grussian blur and had a bit more faith that I could render these bottles even though some tools were missing from my photoshop that Rob used in the tutorial.

Photoshop: Attempt 2 

Process insight: I found the path tabs under settings changing from a painting platform over a 3D motion platform. This time around I really wanted to test if I could render the actual forms I sketched above by hand. 

Experimentation: I used similar colours to my hairdryer for good luck, I also began this time with rectangles of different widths in order to achieve my desired designs.

Reflection:

What went well:  I really liked the layout of this tutorial, it allowed a complete beginner to follow step by step. But what I most liked is what I learnt, the ability to digitally render is actually an amazing skill to bridge a hand-drawn sketched idea to a computer generated 3d render to help communicate the product effectively to clients in the idealisation process of design. I also enjoyed being free to choose colour scheme that elevated my motivation to keep going. Understanding the correct set up for Photoshop e.g. its good to make pixels greater (3000w x 2000h)

What did I have difficulty with: My mindset, I started off with a mind that this was “way too hard” and doubted my abilities to even follow along the recorded tutorial. I realised I got more flustered when I my Windows Photoshop opened to a different layouts to Robs Mac Photoshop. I had to overcome not being able to locate tools like the symmetry tool and having my paths tabs disappear even the 2nd time. Instead to starting again with a 3rd attempt I tried to work with what I had already accomplished. 

What did I enjoy: I enjoyed the initial hand sketching on a A3 page, the end result gave me confidence and it was very satisfying. I endured overcoming my slight perfectionist side and knowing when to stop. I realised that there were so many things wrong even with the final outcome but I made myself happy with how much effort I put in rather then comparing it to Robs example. I’m proud that I could say “good enough” rather then worrying about getting it absolute perfect. 

What did I dislike: Not being able to use grussian blur tool and smudge tool as well as I did for my hairdryer render. For some reason this time around I couldn’t get the tone work quiet right. I have a visual arts background but I found it hard to recreate realistic lighting this time around. 

What would I do differently if I had my time again? Keep learning and to have more faith in my abilities. Simply to come in with an open mind and be excited to learn a new skill without overthinking. 

What were some of the key things I learnt, or insights which I developed? Understanding the minimal lines needed to construct a product. Also taking note of types of lines when communicating objects in 3- dimensions. 

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Week 4 Studio Activity: Perspective Drawing

29/06/20

Research 1

Research 2 

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

What went well: The exercise flow, I loved being able to see the box and other shapes appear as I kept projecting the lines back to the horizon line. 

What did I have difficulty with: I did some extra lines and I tried to this fast so I wasn’t as accurate in meeting each point sometimes.

What did I enjoy: The outcome, I liked how I was able to communicate the object clearly on a page. Its totally different from fine arts sketching were details and textures can be expressed but it doesn’t always come out as clean and as precise as an perspective drawing. 

What did I dislike: I think once again my own time management. I would really like to set a goal to upload my blog on Sundays, leaving more time for people to comment and for me to get feedback on improvements I could make. I also motivates me when I interact with people, classic extrovert traits. 

What would I do differently if I had my time again? Experiment with more 3-dimensional shapes like a triangular prism and pyramids.

What were some of the key things I learnt, or insights which I developed? the effect of different viewing planes on an object. Circle is no longer a circle when the stationary point moves up or below the eye level. 

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Week 3: Secondary Auxiliary View

29/06/20

Attempts:

Textbook diagram: 

General Rules: To be able to draw and auxiliary view successfully, one must form a mental picture of how the object will look from the direction of viewing.  (my biggest struggle) :(

Rule 1: An auxiliary view is normally used to detail an inclined face of an object which would be distorted on a principal orthogonal view,

Rule 2: An auxiliary view is projected at right angles to the edge view of the inclined face contained in a principal orthogonal view. 

Rule 3: The auxiliary view is placed on the same side of the normal view as the position of viewing. 

What went well: Finding additional resources to help me 

What did I have difficulty with: This was a really difficult exercise for me. I struggled alot in visualising even the first auxiliary view, I looked at many of my peers work on tumblr and tried to understand what the textbook engineering drawing, chapter 7 pointed out for: Descriptive Geometry Auxiliary views. I actually spent hours trying to understand what was going on but I didn’t succeed in understanding how to achieve the final outcome. 

What did I enjoy: Unfortunately I really didn’t enjoy this exercise, it made me want to avoid communications all together for week 4 task because I couldn’t do this task. 

What did I dislike: This exercise. I felt like I wasted so much of my time on this exercise and its something that I could have easily ask in-person for someone to explain. I really disliked learning online 100% for this subject. 

What would I do differently if I had my time again? Reach out for help sooner, additional research didn’t support my understanding.

What were some of the key things I learnt, or insights which I developed? My personality, I don’t think I like to be challenged when I dont eventually succeed, I think the fact that I didn’t reach the end goal made me really stressed out and annoyed unfortunately because I had dedicated so much time already. Sometimes I just wont get it and I have to accept that...

Honestly I wish this was a more positive post, Ill have another go at it once I’ve seen some of my peers work.

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Week 3 Studio Activity

22/06/20

Sketch 1: Visualising views

Really thankful I did this, I realised A3 page was cramped.

I had a quick revision of how to project an Auxiliary view as well so I would make any mistakes in the final engineering drawing. 

As I did this sketch it made me less nervous for the final one, knowing roughly how nice the layout would be. 

I added in many notes to improve the presentation accordingly to AS1100 standards. 

Sketch 2: Adjustments and Improvements added 

I felt really happy that I studied so much of the engineering drawing textbook from my first year, it allowed me to achieve such a high standard of accuracy and presentation 

Having grid paper defiantly came in handy to project the auxiliary view 

I tried my best to do meet the A2 standards for zones and bordering layouts according to my textbook in shown in my week 2 blog post. 

Sketch 3: Final

Really happy it came out so neat. I felt this was the first time I didn’t doubt myself in my knowledge. I would normally have a bit of a perfectionistic mindset that pulled me back from having a flow, worrying if Ill make a mistake. However I think after doing the sketch it allowed me to finish the final drawing in a record time of 15min. 

Reflection:

What went well: The final result was amazing, I think the most critical thing I achieved in this exercise was I was less worried about making a mistake. Sometimes I feel a little stressed to start without checking the textbook to see if I’m correct but I trusted my gut for alot of this exercise in my knowledge and experience to produce this engineering drawing. 

What did I have difficulty with: It was quiet difficult for me to understand the dimensions from an image, I defiantly prefer having a caliper and the physical object. I couldn’t quite understand the front view in the beginning but I just kept going from the measurements given step by step. 

What did I enjoy: Feeling confident in my own ability which contributed to  working so fast and accurate. I enjoyed also being ably to find the true size and shape of an object given only half of the information. I also liked making notes on the physical page, it just made it easier and spotlighted mistakes and improvements in an efficient way.  

What did I dislike: Having to stick 2 A3 grid papers together to have an A2 size Grid paper. 

What would I do differently if I had my time again? Think about adapting the scale, I learnt this from @josh5209434​. 

What were some of the key things I learnt, or insights which I developed? The more I overcome a fear of making mistakes and be vulnerable (Brene Brown) the more I can improve and progress better in all types of my life. Trying to control things is almost always impossible so its much better to have a mindset of persevering knowing and welcoming all the mistakes that take place. Having joy over fear in learning new things.  

What led to those experiences or insights? Understanding that the only thing stopping me from begin more joyful in these tutorials and leaning more amazing skills is a fear of failure that I defiantly see and overcome with excitement. 

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Week 2 Studio Tutorial Exercises - Orthographic projection

15/06/2020

Summary: Engineering Drawing Guidelines AS1100

Part 1: Construct a 5 sided box to fit over your chosen object.

Understanding different line weights

Playing around with a black background for presentation purposes

Experimentation with interesting fonts

Part 2: Sketch a third angle orthographic drawing of your object (3 views)

Use of a caliper

Reading through this textbook was really useful for details

Part 3: Construct the orthogonal drawing accurately using using your drafting equipment

Reflection:

What went well: The overall layout of the engineering drawing. The construction of the views through orthographic projection. 

What did I have difficulty with: I think I had issues with general time management, I left this last minute which made me stress about not posting on time. This impacted the overall enjoy-ability of this tutorial.

What did I enjoy: The outcome, I liked how I was able to communicate the object clearly on a page. Its totally different from fine arts sketching were details and textures can be expressed but it doesn’t always come out as clean and as precise as an engineering sketch. Using a caliper and experimenting with various fonts.

What did I dislike: My own time management. I would really like to set a goal to upload my blog on Saturdays, leaving more time for people to comment and for me to get feedback on improvements I could make. 

What would I do differently if I had my time again? Make sure I make a good start during studio time so I work load will not clash with my other subjects too much. This will also allow me to focus better at learning a new skill over feeling overwhelmed.  I’ve also realised that I forgot the 1mm gap for the standards for dimenisioning in AS1100.

What were some of the key things I learnt, or insights which I developed? How many details and intricate designs were in my own stapler. I’ve never looked at it as a industrial designer. I think the process of drawing this product out made me look at the world a little differently. 

What led to those experiences or insights? From sketching and measuring the draft of the Stapler I appreciated the details of elements that created a textured surface. 

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Week 1 Studio Tutorial – Drawing Instrument Exercises

8.6.20

Summary: Introduction to engineering drawing

Engineering drawing: is a formal type of visual communication that is often used to communicate technical details of a design. They are essential tool for designers to visualise, communicate and document a design. It provides a standardised method to document a design - critical for manufacture.

Technical drawings do not always have to be produced at the level required for manufacturing. In many instances it is used to communicate the general arrangement parts, materials, finishes and dimensions of a design.

Types of drawing: Engineering drawings - Technical drawings

Part Drawing A part or detail drawing contain all the information required for a specific part. This type of drawing describes a part for manufacture.

General Assembly (GA) An assembly drawing contains two or more separate parts to show the final (assembled) product how they fit together. Each part is identified by an item number referring to Bill of Materials (BOM). Assembly drawings typically show an exploded or section view to better identify each part in the assembly. Commonly 1 drawing page and views are as required. Dimensions: Overall finished sizes ONLY. There is no specifications for hole diameters, bend radius, material thickness, etc. Scale: as per AS1100 1:1, 2:1, 1:2, 5:1, 10:1, etc. Not 1:3, 1:4 & 1:15

General Assembly & Part (detail) drawings: A part or detail drawing contain all the information required for a specific part. This type of drawing describes the part for manufacture

Third-angle orthogonal drawing Because there are two projection systems used world-wide, all drawings must show a projection symbol to identify the system used and is placed on the drawing along with the labelling of views.

The Australian Standards (AS1100) Engineering drawings adhere to a clear and precise set of defined rules. To ensure that a design is clearly understood Technical drawings are based on a set of international globally standards - International Standards Organisation (ISO).

Tips for saving files formats:

PNG = text and line work

JPEG = images and photo

1920 pixels is optimal for tumblr 

FINISHED PRODUCT:

PART 1: Construction of star

Set up an A3 sheet with removable tape on each corner.

Used a grid 5mm squares

Aligned set square 60 degree angle against a T square

Lightly drawn with a pacer (ensure consistent clean lines)

Dimensions outlined with a 0.3mm fine line pen

Outline of star 1.2mm fine line pen

PART 2: Construction of wheel

Set up an A3 sheet with removable tape on each corner.#

Used a grid 5mm squares

Aligned set square 45 degree angle against a T square

Lightly drawn with a pacer

Used a compass and a circle template (by diameter) to construct the arcs and inner corners.

Dimensions outlined with a 0.3mm fine line pen

Outline of wheel 1.2mm fine line pen

PART 3: Tessellating Pattern

Ruled a line with 30mm apart marks

Constructed a equilateral grid from set square 60 degree through a A3 page.

Outlined the “Tooth” shape.

I cut out the shape with a Stanley knife and steel rule on a cutting mat.

Tested by joining the shapes together

Reflection:

What went well: I think I worked well through this exercise. It was more enjoyable and I felt confident in executing these 3 figures with the use of drawing instruments. Furthermore the experimentation in editing the 2D photos through CAM Scanner, the edit tool in Samsung Camera and understanding how to unite the overall look of my images. The cropping of my images was good for my presentation/blog on Tumblr.

What did I have difficulty with: It took me a while to understand the best way to transfer my photos onto my laptop with a reasonable quality. I ended up using google drive and I played around to also understand how to organise all my previous files. I also had difficulty using the compass with the outlining pen. I still have no idea how to put a fine tip pen the the compass I used.

What did I enjoy: The efficiency and the gliding movement of constructing everything rather then measuring or estimating. I also really liked the end result, it looked clean and polished. I enjoyed using PhotoScape X for the first time to collage my images

What did I dislike: The photo resolution looks grainy and the contrast looks a little funny in my first photo.

What would I do differently if I had my time again? Go straight to uploading on google drive. Start sooner and have an A3 5mm grid sized paper over an A4 to allow more freedom. Do a bit more research into how to transfer and take high resolution photos.

What were some of the key things I learnt, or insights which I developed? Constructions is actually so much fun, measuring is what drags out the exercise. Practice really makes learning any skill fruitful.

What led to those experiences or insights? Seeing how much I’ve improved from my first time trying this Studio Exercise.

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Welcome to my blog! >-<

INTRODUCTION

Hello all!, I studied Communications 1 last year and I’m happy to start numeral dos this semester. I love to spend my time teaching watercolour and acrylic painting, I’m always keen for Ultimate Frisbee, a match of tennis and the occasional soccer. I find joy in naming plushies and looking after my indoor plants. 

WHY INDUSTRIAL DESIGN?

Fundamentally, how amazing would it be, to be able to design a product that is able to improve the quality of life of another individual. I’m motivated from the idea of having the capability to transform something from my imagination to our reality. I most of all look forward to meeting more people that I can humbly learn side-by-side and to be constantly inspired as we combine our talents and passions to serve the greater good in the future.

Excited to be back and ready to explore opportunities and new skills opened to the life of an industrial designer. 

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WEEK finished!

OVERALL REFLECTION TIME 

What went well: I think, since everything was a first for me in this whole subject, I actually felt pretty surprised that I finished everything to a good standard. I found the exercises challenging but just enough to ensure I learnt a lot without feeling lost. 

What I had difficulty with: I had the most difficulty in using Rhino 6 and  Photoshop. I think because everything that used a computer program was new to me. 

What I enjoyed: well most of all the advice all the tutors gave and the peer helping groups. I don't think I would have enjoyed most of the communications without everyone's help and even giving help to others helped me learn so much more effectively and efficiently. 

I disliked: not having enough time to prep for class, on one or two occasions the pre-class activities weren’t posted in a time-frame that I could adjust to. Even when I had completed them I felt very rushed and unable to really soak in the teachings. 

What would I do differently: I found that when I posted on the reflection blog straight after the lesson, it was much more enjoyable and beneficial than posting even a few days later. The more time I left it the more it felt like a chore.  

Key things I learnt: I think just being patient with things and not being so afraid of the time it may take to learn new things. Also the importance of reflecting, I think most of the skills we learnt I would have easily forgotten without this blog. I was an effort to keep up to date but overall I don't regret doing any of it. Finally how to save in an organised manner, how to save backups and how to use the basics of Adobe programs. 

Just a bonus photo. It wasn’t part of any exercise but I with a few others just decided to take a photo of a project from our fundamentals class. I felt really content with all our hard work and I think its kinda nice to look at. 

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Week 11 - Product Photography

Reflection 

Previously... from the last lesson, I got to understand how to upload photos on to Adobe Bridge/ Camera and use a rating system. It was a good refresher, in reusing the same technique to enhance and touch up these photos. 

I found difficult... Understanding how to use the camera in the setup with 2 light sources. But overall with the help of Max and Will in this tutorial, it was quite a smooth lesson. 

I enjoyed... seeing how different light is in different settings, how the features of a product can be highlighted depending on the background. I also enjoyed using a professional camera and seeing the contrast of quality compared with my phone and the ability to customise everything. All in all, enjoying the experience in trying to effectively execute product photography to communicate important information for the intended viewer.

Next time... I would really like to experiment with more professional cameras, to be more comfortable in using the settings to improve my skills. Also experimenting with different DIY light modifiers like tracing paper or foil might be interesting. 

Setup 1: interior studio setup - 2 lights

I liked this set up the most it was interesting seeing how the backlighting drew emphasis on the outline or silhouette of the lightbulb paper sculpture. With the inclusion of front/top lighting can show all the aspects of the product in great detail. 

The side lighting really enhanced the paper texture, noticeably especially on the right of my object.  Ultimately understanding that more often than not, the final image is generated through a combination deferent lighting, with each balanced to give due importance.

Key terms I learnt included: 

fill light - a second light that fills some of the shadows

rim light - lighting from behind 

Key light - main light source

Setup 2: interior studio setup - 1 light

Understanding the ‘key light’ in this set-up. Experimenting which angle the main light source should come from. Moreover, the effect of varying intensities of light, experimenting with a filter sheet that softened the light versus a harsh white light. 

Light modifiers such as umbrellas, softboxes and reflectors can be used to modify the quality of the lights in your scene.

For future reference:  tracing paper, black and white card/foam core and aluminium foil can all be used as light modifiers.  

Setup 3: exterior direct light with diffusion

I found in this set-up, using the sun had the strongest quality of light source - with the image produced having the highest contrast compared with the other settings pre editing. 

Setup 4: exterior - open shade

I found that open shade was the softest lighting with low exposure. 

Underexposed - tonal range skewed towards dark tones

overexposed - tonal range skewed towards ‘white ends’. 

For future reference in setting up... 

Questions to ask for future improvement:

“what is interesting about the design?

"what do I want the viewer to understand about it”? 

“How do I want the viewer to feel about my product?”

Features like silhouette, contours, buttons and textures

Function ergonomics, range of motion  

Emotions: exciting, prestigious, serious

Materiality reflection, translucency 

Hard light sources are those which are highly directional (the light rays are parallel) and relatively small in relation to the object. Examples include direct sunlight or a naked light bulb. 

Soft light sources are very scattered (light rays are not parallel) and relatively large in relation to the object. A good example is a skylight on an overcast day.

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Week 10 Studio Tutorial – Photography

Reflection 

Previously...I hadn’t had much experience in editing photos, I would normally edit a lot of my photos just on an app on my phone ‘Camera 360′. 

I enjoyed... I really liked just pausing for 1.5 hours to “practice the art of seeing” to stop for a while, on my own, to concentrate and be more aware of my surroundings. I really liked using Camera Bridge, specifically camera raw to enhance the images. It was similar to the app I used on my phone and it had more options to play around with. I really liked the ‘transform tool’ as it allowed me to adjust aspects of the photo to align with the perspective I wanted. I also enjoyed exploring parts of Unsw I never been to. I realised I’m still quite an alien in knowing what buildings around me are for, and spaces I never knew existed. 

I found difficult... Uploading the images, It was a longer process then I thought. I realised that using messenger (facebook messages) was faster but decreased the quality of photos. Using google drive took a while to upload especially when having found the images and saving them individually. I found the best option was with a phone cable where I could see all the images in its file and drag onto the program. 

Next time... I would like to experiment more with photography in capturing different compositions and seeing how to communicate certain narratives, emotional/intellectual responses and the universal principles of design. To learn how to technically craft a piece well. 

Using the rating system on Adobe Bridge: 

Capturing the essence of life on the UNSW campus in the autumn of 2019...

A portrait...  trying to capture emotion in photography, I thought that making the image monochromatic highlighted the expression on Will’s face. 

Capturing the built environment...I really liked adjusting the photo to be centred and to have a sense of balance and unity. I really liked the simple but striking upper shot. It kinda showed off the unity of the building and the sky, with the help of a blue tint.

An interesting detail... this photo from a bird’s eye view and used the transform tool to adjust to align with the border. I chose this photo because I thought it captured the life of a uni student. Simply not just the concept of studying but if you look carefully he’s actually studying with an absent friend/buddy. That even when we technically with people we go into our own little worlds which can feel quite lonely. I really liked the empty couches, that I think shows the fact that we have so many unused privileges and comforts but because we are constantly busy and distracted we only ever see and never really properly experience. I’m sure that this student would rather sit on a couch then a cold white seat. The top view shot, pretty much expresses that a person doesn’t really notice what they are doing until they look from a perspective when they take a step back, and look at what they missed out on.

Inside a building: This is an interesting shot of the built environment red centre building from the inside, I initially liked the strong reddish tones and the intricate infrastructure of the walls/windows. However, in general, I really don't like this space at all. I think its really complicated, and overly status seeking if that even makes sense. I feel that besides the windows its confining and not that welcoming nor comfortable to be in. 

Natural environment... This was me trying not to just take a photo of a leaf or a tree, as I tried to depict humans in what I believe should be their natural environment. There is a great sense of energy, excitement and comfortableness in belonging within this simple game. 

Some questions that helped me choose my final 6 photos, a good reference for the future: 

How does what you are seeing make you feel? 

Think about the light in relation to colour temperature - is it cool or warm/ Is it hard or soft?

Do you like your photos more natural or artificial (or a combination)? 

Do you want your photos more direct or indirect? 

How many and where is the light source coming from? 

Can you create an interesting silhouette or lighting effect?

Look for an interesting subject matter?

How can you use the principles & elements of design for your composition i.e focal points, balance, symmetry, a sense of movement, repetition or rhythm?

Can we get a sense of their personality?  

Can you use an abstract detail to show something in a surprising way? 

Is there an opportunity for humour, or to juxtapose one element against another? 

 A sense of narrative? 

Do they say something interesting about your subject matter, uni life or a broader issue?

[sandy5214329]

Week 9: Project 2 - Presentation rendering -consumer products

Reflection

I enjoyed: choosing my own objects to render. I really liked using InDesign to layout my research boards for the first time. Also after all the hard work, the final render turned out much better than anticipated. It was pretty interesting to see how close I could render the oil-diffuser to the rendering style I liked on my research boards. 

I found difficult: Using the layers for my object, even though I followed the hair dryer tutorial method I found that 

Next time: I would actually like to watch more youtube tutorials on photoshop, I got a small taste of the high-quality tutorials already out there in this project and would really like to pick up more skills. 

Also, one thing I learnt was downloading brushes, I didn’t even know it was an option but after some advice, I realised its quite a useful shortcut and portrayed the final product so much better. 

Consumer Products

I chose an oil-diffuser because I thought it presented interesting challenges of textures from glass, to wood, to smoke. I chose it because I thought it was hard and would hopefully cause me to have a learning curve in the project. 

Material Study 

This was a good insider for future confusion in understanding how different objects reflect light and how the finish of texture of different materials appear like. 

Render styles:

I think the style I preferred were ones where the background of the product and the product itself were the same colour. I thought it looked really modern and really allowed the consumer to look at the form of the object. 

Some process photos in which I followed the hair dryer tutorial for: 

Youtube videos that helped: 

Adding Shadow: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft5TP0taDJU

‘Photoshop Tutorial: How to Cast Realistic Shadows’

Adding Wood texture: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpbHvfckE4Y

Photoshop Tutorial How to create a wood texture in Photoshop (Adobe Photoshop cc 2017 - PS Design)

Final Render:

[sandy5214329]

Week 8 Studio Tutorial Exercise - Creating a 2d Photoshop Render

REFLECTION 

During this tutorial: 

Previously... well there is no previously as this was my first time using photoshop. However, I took the same approach as learning any new software like Rhino 6, it simply took time and patience in learning these things. I did, however, have the traditional fine art skill of toning an object to make it 3 dimensional which I found useful in understanding where light could hit the hairdryer. Also, I reused the incremental saving technique I learnt from Rhino 6 exercises, super helpful.

I enjoyed... I really liked the layout of this exercise it allowed a complete beginner to follow step by step. But what I most liked is what I learnt, the ability to digitally render is actually an amazing skill to bridge a hand-drawn sketched idea to a computer generated 3d render to help communicate the product effectively to clients in the idealisation process of design. It allowed me to show quite a high level of detail and achieve a realistic output of a hairdryer but in future of any product. 

Also really liked sitting next to elite CAD professionals - Coraline.L and Dorcas Chu which naturally made the step by step transitions of bringing this mint-fresh hairdryer to life, smooth in some sense :)

I found difficult... the detail bit at the end with the glowy buttons and texture. I tried to follow the tutorial but for some reason, I had a lot of trouble selecting the right things and understanding what the instruction meant a lot of the time. This did test my patience a little bit but after a few people helped me I slowly understood better and better. I somehow got the end result after a lot of playing around and just clicking around, I defiantly need to go through this tutorial over again to cement everything in. 

The snapshot above of the input and expected output of this exercise. 

Sketch to photoshop...

This was given to us, but for the future, this is an example of a file we would have scanned. 

Scanning...

SCANNING > TAKING A PHOTO

I learnt from project 2 that if you take a photo of your sketch rather then scan it's super difficult to get a clear image on photoshop.

The first question to ask is "what size do I want my final presentation image to be"?  Image size depends on two variables: resolution (think of this as ‘pixel density’, measured in dots per inch or ‘dpi’) and the physical page dimensions (measured in mm or standard page sizes such as A4). 

 If your paper sketch is smaller than is needed for your presentation output, make sure your scan resolution is higher than the resolution you will be printing or displaying the image at to compensate. If in doubt, it is better to scan your sketch with slightly more resolution than you need.

Page Layout how to set it all up

 In Photoshop, create a new document e.g.(A4 landscape @ 200dpi).

 Save it as "Rendering_01.psd".

 Open "Hairdryer Sketch.jpg", select it (Select_All), copy it (Edit_Copy) and paste it into Rendering_01 (Edit_Paste).

 Scale, rotate and move your sketch so that it is composed appropriately on your page (Edit_Free Transform). 

• Flatten your image (Layer_Flatten image).

 • In the Layers tab, change the name of your sketch layer to "Linework" (double click on the layer name) 

Cleaning up an image:

You can desaturate your image to remove any unwanted colour tones (Image_Adjustments_Desaturate). 

A good aim here is to make the page go perfectly white and the linework to go dark grey. • Bring up the Levels dialogue box (Image_Adjusments_Levels).

Drag the white point arrow to the left until your page is white, and then drag the black point arrow to the right until your line work is dark grey in colour.

Residue Dots/Dust marks?

To remove any residual dots or dust marks etc, you can use the Dust and Scratches filter (Filter_Noise_Dust & Scratches), the Spot Healing Brush tool or the Clone Tool.

Creating layers: 

Create a new layer 

Drag it so that it sits below your Linework layer.

 Name this layer "Paper". It will serve as the background layer for your image. 

Fill it with solid white (Edit_Fill). 

On your Linework layer and change the blending mode from “Normal” to "Multiply" and make its opacity about 30%

Group structure for the hairdryer parts... 

• Create a new layer group  "Main Casing" which sits between your page and sketch layers. 

• Within this new group, create a fill layer to use as the main casing colour (Layer_New Fill Layer_Solid Colour). Double clicking on the fill swatch. 

• Next, click on the white rectangle next to the fill layer swatch. This is a layer mask that appears by default with fill layers. You don't need it. Drag it to the bin or press delete to get rid of it.

 • Create a new layer above your fill layer. 

• Rename it "L" for light. This will be the layer where you paint in your highlights and light tones. 

• Change the layer blending mode of your light layer from "Normal" to "Overlay". 

• Duplicate it and rename it "D" for dark. You will paint your dark tones and shadows on this layer. 

• Change the layer blending mode for your dark layer to "Multiply". 

Then you can simply copy and paste for each respective part.

How to create paths and organise them well:

1. Create separate paths for each part, and an extra path for the overall hairdryer outline.

2. Use these paths to create selection masks.

3. Apply those selection masks to layer groups constructed for each part...

4. into which you will add separate layers of colour, tone and reflection.

Appropriate naming of your groups, layers and paths will help avoid confusion down the track.

Such an organisation is also crucial.

During the tutorial, I switched between the Curvature Pen Tool and the Pen tool which was useful in outlining the curves fast and sharp corners. 

Click on the drop-down menu in the paths tab and select "New path". 

Name it Outline. 

With this path active, use the pen tool to trace around the outline of the hair dryer. 

Finish your path by clicking on the same point that you started with in order to create a closed path 

Next, adjust your path so that it accurately fits the hairdryer outline. 

Use the path editing tools in the Pen tool flyout menu (Add, Delete and Convert anchor point). 

I found that when creating paths, you only need to trace the internal part boundaries because of the Outline created in the previous steps to trim them later. 

Fewer anchor points are also key as well, that you don't have to be accurate as well because you can adjust the path afterwards. 

Generating masks for each layer groups:

In your Paths tab, click on the path called Outline. 

Load it as a selection. 

Go back to your layers tab and select your Parts group to make it active.

 Add your selection as a layer mask. 

Repeat the process for each of the "subgroups" within the Parts group, leaving the main casing until last. 

Create the mask for the main casing group by subtracting all the other parts from the overall outline. To do this, first select the outline (right click on the Parts mask, then select “Add Mask to Selection” from the drop-down options). 

Then, progressively subtract the other parts (right click on a part mask, then select “Subtract from Mask Selection” from the drop-down options). • Finally, use the same technique to subtract the hole in the Handle-Back.

Shading and Reflection:

Begin with a large part such as the main casing 

Make its L (light) layer is active. 

Make your foreground colour white.

Select the Paintbrush Tool. 

Adjust the paintbrush parameters (size, hardness and opacity) 

 Then make your D (dark) layer 

Make the foreground colour black. 

I found the Gaussian Blur tool and the smudge tool was really cool in experimenting with. it allowed me to get a really nice finish without having to shade too accurately. 

Background:

I used the smoke tool for the background in my paintbrush option. 

 LCD display 

Create an LCD layer group immediately below your Outline layer.

Make a rounded rectangle with the shape tool 

Make the fill colour black. 

In the layers tab, click the fx button "Add a layer style"  

Select "bevel and emboss" to give the LCD a recessed look. 

Then Select "outer bevel" as the style and adjust the settings to give the look you are after. 

Next, hold down  Ctrl and left click on the LCD vector mask to generate a selection. 

Using Select_Transform Selection, scale the selection to make it slightly smaller. You will need to hold down Shift + Option / Alt to constrain the proportions and keep it centred. 

Fill this selection with white in a new layer (Edit_Fill). 

Using the Polygon tool and eraser, delete part of the fill as shown in the example below to create the highlight. 

Now on a new layer, add some brightly coloured LEDs. 

Duplicate the layer and convert the blending mode to screen. 

Blur to give a glowing effect (Filter_Blur_Gaussian Blur). • Duplicate the blurred layer to strengthen the effect.

Final Product: