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thegreenwolf · 7 years ago

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Why Pagans Need Field Guides

Originally posted at A Sense of Natural Wonder at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/why-pagans-need-field-guides/

I was talking to someone on Facebook today about how I’m a field guide nerd. I have an ever-growing collection of identification books on the fauna, flora and fungi of the Pacific Northwest, as well as its complicated geology, climate, and other natural features. I even collect vintage ones just for the fun of it. I’m also an avid iNaturalist user and spend a decent portion of my outdoor time taking photos of beings I meet along the way. And I love the challenge of trying to identify some critter or plant that I have never encountered before, just to put a name and a niche to it.

Now, I’ve spent the past couple of decades watching experienced pagans talk about how important history books are for pagans wishing to deepen their practice. They’re right, of course, at least if your path is in any way linked to historical cultures. But think of how many pagans invoke the elements without understanding anything about the earth, air, fire and water in their bioregion, or who call on deities of storm and forest and fertility with little comprehension of those natural forces. We can name entire pantheons of deities and list off magical correspondences for hours, and yet so many of us can’t identify more than a few native plant or bird species. I’ve already asked why we can’t be as nerdy about nature as we are about history in a both/and rather than either/or manner. So consider this a continuation of that query.

Using Field Guides

First, what is a field guide? Simply put, it’s a book or website that lists a certain group of living beings found in an area. Bird guides are by far the most popular as birders are also generally pretty avid book fans, and when you’re trying to fill your Life List with positively identified new species it’s important to be very sure you know what you’re looking at through your binoculars. But field guides to flowers and other plants, mushrooms, wild mammals, and other beings abound. Some of these cover entire continents; others focus on a single state or region. The best have clear, full-color photos or high quality illustrations showing the field marks–distinguishing characteristics–of each species, along with pertinent info on behavior, habitat, and more.

The best way I’ve found to use one isn’t to cart it around with me all the time, but instead to take note of various beings I find in my day to day life. If I can get a picture, great! But sometimes that’s not possible, and so I need to either sketch or write down as many of the field marks I noticed as possible. For example, the first time I saw a varied thrush I noticed that it was a bird very much like a robin except it was yellow and black. When I got home I grabbed one of my Oregon bird guides and flipped through until I found a bird like the one I saw. The size, location and habits all matched up with what I observed, so it was a pretty safe bet that this was indeed a varied thrush.

I also read through my field guides, because there are many beings I have yet to see in the wild. There are several species which I had previously only seen in books and photos, and which I instantly recognized in person the first time because I was already aware of how they looked. Plus it’s fun to imagine what sorts of wildlife, plants and mushrooms I might find if I decide to go exploring somewhere new!

I’ve kept a journal of my nature sightings for several years, and I also have a pretty extensive collection on iNaturalist. Every time I find a new animal, plant or other being, I make note of it in the journal with what I saw, when and where. Then as I further research the ways in which my ecosystem is put together I can place this particular being into its niche and know how it’s a part of the greater whole. The varied thrush, for example, is food for hawks and other predators. As an insectivore it helps to keep insect populations in check. And like all birds its droppings are important fertilizer for plants and fungi, and because it eats berries it helps to distribute the seeds to new locations. I can appreciate the need to preserve forest habitats in particular since the numbers of this species have been declining due to habitat loss. And so now I think of those things whenever I see a varied thrush, rather than just saying “I see a bird. I wonder what it means?”

How Is This Useful to Pagans?

If you’re going to draw on nature in your path in any way, it’s a good idea to have at least a basic understanding of what it is you’re incorporating. Any introductory book on paganism will extol the virtues of getting to know the differences between various deities and spirits and the like so that you aren’t calling on Artemis in a men’s ritual or asking Dionysus to help with a safe ocean passage. In the same way, it’s important to be able to identify at least some of your non-human neighbors if you’re going to be asking them to join your rituals.

And I don’t mean just going with anthropocentric information. If I am going to learn about fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) I’m not just going to look at pictures of Smurf houses or try and pretend I’m a Siberian shaman by ingesting some of this hallucinogen. Instead I’m going to find out this fungi’s natural range, what sort of substrate its mycelium prefers, what sorts of trees it forms mycorrhizal relationships with, and whether there’s any animal that can safely eat it. All these tell me more about how it fits into the ecosystem I am also a part of, and gives me a greater appreciation for it as something other than “one of those mushrooms that can get you high.”

The more you get to know your community, human and otherwise, the more you come to value it. Just as knowing the names of your neighbors and store employees conveys a deeper sense of connectedness, so knowing the names of the animals, plants and other beings around you makes you more appreciative of them. And as you grow your awareness of how your human community works together in a web of inter-reliance, so your understanding of the complexity of your overall ecosystem shows you just how precious and important it is. And that, to me, is the center of truly nature-based paganism. Not how many Samhain decorations are on your altar or how many crystals you own, but how aware you are of just how entwined you are with everything around you and how much responsibility you have to it. If all you do is take, take, take and never give back, even in the simple act of knowing something’s name, then you are a parasite rather than a partner.

Field guides are a great way to begin this healthy and balanced relationship. Like a list of deities in a pantheon, they introduce you to who’s who. You don’t have to memorize every species in every book or website; just knowing which field guide to start with when researching a species is a great first step. And how much you explore is up to you. You may be content just knowing the data in the field guide entry for a given species so that you can name it the next time you see it. Or you may wish to get to know it better, along with the various other beings that it is inter-reliant with, so that you can place a few more pieces into the puzzle of your ecosystem and have a greater part of the whole picture.

How Do I Find Field Guides?

The easiest way I’ve found is to go online and search for “Oregon field guides” (you can substitute your state, region or country for Oregon.) Or go to Amazon and search for “field guides” and see what pops up, though I recommend actually buying your books from local independent bookstores. If you want to narrow it down, search for things like “Oregon plant field guides” or “books on birds of the Pacific Northwest.” If you’re more hands-on, go to your local bookstore and peruse their nature section. I’ve gotten almost all of my field guides from the gift shops at state and national parks and wildlife refuges as I like supporting them financially.

The same goes for websites. Let’s say I saw a salamander but didn’t know what it was. Searching for “Oregon salamanders” brings up several pages that showcase all the species of salamander found in this state. Some of these sites, like the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s wildlife viewing site, also include information on other sorts of animals, making them valuable for broader research. Here are a few more links to get you started (please notice some of these are US-based, though there are some non-US links as well):

Encyclopedia of Life’s list of online identification guides

Whatbird – the Search page allows you to narrow birds down by attributes like location, color, shape, etc.

Identify That Plant’s list of plant ID websites

MycoKey – the free online version only allows ID of some types of fungus. I haven’t been able to find a single good online reference for all fungi.

10+ Naturalist Resources for Identifying Wildlife – a few broken links but still a solid list

Does this post resonate with your idea of paganism? Then I bet you’ll enjoy my books! The titles from Llewellyn are particularly informed by my interest in natural history and include more details on how to connect more deeply with the nature around you. Check them out at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/books/

#pagan #nature #biology #wildlife #field guide #mine

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jeepersjeeves · 4 years ago

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Sketchbook Excavation Tour 1/??

(Future Note): I'm fortunate enough to still do this! Came back home after spending time out of town, only to get displaced for a month. My sketchbooks somehow survived, though, so I guess I'll just tear through them with a bit less fanfare than this one. There have been bigger fish to fry.

Also, I spent way too much time trying to explain myself, worried that I'd come off as preachy and not really knowing what I'm talking about, and now, the iron is ice cold, and the thoughts shared in this entry are no longer fresh on my mind. So, I'm just going to post this and move on.

Here's the first of many sketchbooks. This one is from high school. A classmate of mine gave it to me, because she didn't like the paper quality, if I recall correctly.

I vividly remember the feel of drawing in this sketchbook. The pages felt super grainy, like nothing would stick and would just immediately smudge. So, half of the sketchbook is still blank haha

I did this thing where I wanted to journal while traveling, and this page was supposed to be where I kept track of finances.

I rather liked the idea of anthropomorphic(?)finances(?), and I liked their contrasting fashion sense, one being more relaxed than the other, so I thought I'd give these designs some more attention.

I wanted to emphasize that visual contrast between the two, so I focused on giving them a more obvious shape language, as seen in the first two images.

Retrospectively, after I had drawn everything, I revisited the above image and took notes of what I wanted to keep and what I felt should be further developed or adjusted.

These are things like keeping the contrasting silhouettes of the boots, getting rid of the glasses on the left deign, and putting more thought into the design of the hair. Some of this is reflected in the final image of this post.

I still feel a bit sheepish about this page of sketches, but, I scribbled some forms to get an overall feel of the design, and how the clothing would look from different angles and poses. Also tried to hash out what I wanted the sleeves to look like.

Around this point, I started to visualize them more as bankers, so I thought of their outfits more as uniforms.

Once I had a series of design elements that I felt I liked, I drafted up these designs to see how they'd come together. I was also pretty excited about color, so I added color too, just to see how it would look.

So this is where I'm at right now. I think there could stand to be a bit more variation. Guy on the left also looks a tad too similar to another design I worked on not too long ago, so I might give this another pass.

Either way, though, it was fun, and I like them well enough. Gotta come up with names.

Extended ramblings under the cut.

Clothing Variations

I still have some thoughts, like, while drawing the guy on the left, I kept Persona 3’s Akihiko Sanada in mind, particularly Sarah Kipin’s rendition of him. In keeping with the round silhouette, I thought of adding round and broad shoulders, which would lead downwards into round fists, making me think of an old-fashioned boxer. And because of this round silhouette, I opted to give him a sweater vest instead of a regular* (?) vest.

The material of a sweater vest is soft, you see, which I thought would help with creating a more round silhouette, and I thought that'd contrast nicely with the sharper feel of a more traditional vest with coattails, but because I wanted to give them a uniform, those two articles of clothing felt too different from each other. I'll have to spend more time with it and do some research, maybe on uniform variations or something. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about, like, a three-piece suit, but it didn't quite come out that way, I think because I was so set on the vest idea, and was trying to depict two different types of vests, rather than a vest-jacket combo. Mixing up the latter (wearing just a vest, just a jacket, both, etc.) has more cohesion than two types of vests, I would think.

Something Something Visual Tropes

That thing with Akihiko is what I want to refer to as visual tropes. I read it once in the comments section of a video art tutorial, and I think it‘s applicable here. Though I guess “visual signifyer” might be more appropriate. Still, I think ”tropes” gives it that nuance of “design elements that are commonly or repeatedly used to convey certain ideas”.

So, when someone says that a drawing looks like [famous anime character], I think that it’s an interesting way to examine what design elements it might have in common, and even to see where those design elements might trace back to.

I think it’s worthwhile enough for me to start doing more often, so I’ll try it and report back

Design Process

A previous venture in character design led me down a similar mode of thinking while drawing these two, and now I've scrounged together a sort of thought process when it comes to designing characters. I'd distill this down to "ideation then research". Can I say that? Ideation?

Basically, get all the ideas out there first, and then ask questions about what you drew (why did I draw this? what led me to this?) and to research elements that you're not quite familiar with (what does this actually look like/how does it function?). I mean, it all sort of remains in the abstract, but feeling my way around along these parameters really helped me to get the ball rolling, got me excited and curious, and helped me to feel a bit more intentional about what I was designing. I tend to put the cart before the horse, when it comes to both drawing and storytelling, wanting to create something that falls into place on the first try, but I've found more value in working with your gut reaction. You have a more active voice that way, there's more problem solving, you arrive at the result in the literal sense.

Application

So yeah (this is the last thing), I wanted to make them NPCs for a western-themed game idea (will explain later) that I had about a summer ago. The combination of banking uniforms and western-like accessories (the bolero tie, sleeve garters, and boots) had me thinking about, well, westerns.

So that's that! :v

*I did a google search and it seems like most vests were made out of silk. Bless Wikipedia. At a glance, it reminded me of details like single and double-breasted coats, as well as U and V necks. There’s a lot of potential here, and opens up more design options for a vest alone.

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architectnews · 4 years ago

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Render Battle Architecture Competition

Render Battle Architecture Competition 2020, Architectural Contest News

Render Battle Architecture Competition 2020

30 Dec 2020

Render Battle Architecture Competition Winners

Render Battle 2020, an international architecture visualization competition, organized by theCharette, unveiled the winners of this year’s edition. The competition’s aim was to find one mind-blowing architectural graphic that conveys an architectural design in the most nuanced way possible. The contest is an annual competition and will be released again in 2021.

theCharette’s RENDER BATTLE 2020 – Winners Unveiled

Renderings have been an architect’s greatest medium to convey a design. It is the art of creating images that highlight the best attributes of an architectural design. Architectural renderings can take many forms – digital collages, hand sketches, perspectives, illustrations, drawings, realistic renders etc.

Our world is becoming increasingly visual every day. The digital revolution has given architects the opportunity to showcase our designs to millions of people. However, with thousands of images flowing across the web, each designer has just a brief moment to make an impact via one bold image that says it all!

The full results, including the winners, the honourable mentions, and the top 30 shortlisted entries can be viewed here – https://thecharette.org/render-battle/result/

JURY

This year’s jury included a raster of eminent illustrators, authors, educators and visualization artists:

• STEPHANIE BOWER (Architectural Illustrator, Author and Educator) • MILOS TEMERINSKI (Founder – Balkan Architect) • AGNIESZKA KLICH (Co-founder – Black Balance Studio & Arch Viz Artist) • KAREN LEWIS (Associate Professor – Ohio State University & Amazon Bestseller Author)

Read on to discover the results of the 2020 edition of the competition and the top three winners.

1st Prize Winner The Fifth Orchestration: Debate Chamber Edwin Maliakkal from United Kingdom

image © Edwin Maliakkal

The Fifth Orchestration: Debate Chamber by Edwin Maliakkal from United Kingdom took home the top prize with its captivating visuals. The self-taught artist designed a graphic that the jury described as “intriguing”. The jurors felt that, “The idea is really interesting, and the image illustrates it in a great way. The composition is good, the lighting creates a mysterious atmosphere, and the colors support the concept.”

Caption by Participant: We live in an age where one can experience space both through physical and virtual realities. Our cognition extends beyond our bodies. Our surroundings become an extension of our minds, the stage on which we dance to the rhythms that line the walls, trace the light that reveals the soul. We become the space we experience. Architecture, therefore, ceases to simply exist within built reality, and instead, fabricates a hyper-real landscape in our minds that we perceive as reality.

The debate chamber becomes an architectural response to the above statement and a reaction against the chaos of biological inefficiencies in democratic legitimacy. Stipulating a future in which we share a symbiotic relationship with machine and AI, the individual becomes one with their surroundings and the collective mind. Thenceforth, embodying the soul of a democratic system, they take part in the debate.

2nd Prize Winner Everything in life is as much fiction as it is fact. Anoovab Deka from United Kingdom image © Anoovab Deka

Anoovab Deka from United Kingdom, won second place for his graphic, “Everything in life is as much fiction as it is fact.” The judges loved the creative vertical composition with interesting framing elements that draw the observer into this strong single-point section perspective. They felt that the architectural elements and suggestion of materials are well-articulated. This indeed is a spectacular work that straddles the line between highly detailed and abstract. The hatching / line-drawing technique is exceptional.

Caption by Participant: The inherent contradiction ignites a sparkling processus which enlightens consciousness and illuminates the view of the world. The objective is to create a similar phenomenon of space which the mind holds and creates. A space that is in choreographed or un-choreographed motion, revealing its histories and excavating embedded fictions within the landscape and through the journey of enclosures and exposures will make us question between what is fact, and what is fiction. Fact and Fiction and the boundaries that separate it can be explained in a multitude of ways and yet still have a sense of obscurity.

3rd Prize Winner Noah’s Ark Tai Zheng Wei & Toh Koon Theng from Malaysia image © TaiTohShowcase

Third place in the competition went to Tai Zheng Wei & Toh Koon Theng from Malaysia. The image makes one ponder about the negative effects mankind is having on the planet, and how humans are on a path of self-destruction.

Caption by Participants: Mankind has irreversibly created a profoundly altered planet because of fossil-fuel-driven civilization. With the misdeed of mankind controlling greenhouse gases and global warming, rising sea level became more destructive for the world’s coastal cities and flooding billions of homes, forcing people to seek shelter from container ships with the remnants of plant samples and animals. Container ships were once carrying container loads and were then carrying humanity’s hope.

A century of voyage finally bought the ship to the ground after an extreme climate reversal vaporising the ocean. The ship was made redundant but fortunate for the voyager with botanical resources and living stocks, the ship remains became an oasis shelter in the middle of the dry sea. “This is just the beginning of the end for mankind’s Noah’s Ark.”

HONORABLE MENTIONS • Shaokang Li (United Kingdom) • Anoovab Deka (United Kingdom) • Wei Ying Ch’ng (Malaysia) • Sarah Hopfner-Heindl (Austria) • Sahil Rattha Singh (India) • Akash Ganguly & Madhavi Sharma (India) • Ahmed Noeman & Jace Marc Fernandes (United Arab Emirates) • Osama Zia Khan (India) • Darlyn Chau (Usa) • 高原 & 李杼欣 (China)

4 Sep 2020

Render Battle Architecture Competition News

PREMISE:

Our world is becoming increasingly visual everyday. The digital revolution has given architects the opportunity to showcase our designs to millions of people. However, with thousands of images flowing across the web, each designer has just a brief moment to make an impact via one bold image that says it all!

COMPETITION BRIEF:

One Mind-blowing Architectural Graphic.

Create one rendering or graphic that conveys an architectural design in the most nuanced way possible. It may be of a new proposal, fictional design or an existing building. It can be located anywhere in the world and be at any scale. The rendering can take the form of a digital collage, sketch, perspective, illustration, drawing, realistic render, etc. It can be drawn by hand or on the computer using any software. This should be accompanied by a short description, in no more than 150 words.

Let your creative juices flow freely and create the most visually stunning architectural graphics!

AWARDS:

Exposure and recognition is the key to success for any designer. The Render Battle competition provides architects and students, the opportunity to showcase their work on a global stage.

• EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: The Top 3 Winners will get an exclusive interview in both – written and video formats. Photos, interview, and more information about the winners will be published on our website.

• PUBLICATIONS: The Winners and Honorable Mentions will be published on the Charette’s website and other international architecture magazines and websites partnered with us. The best entries will also be featured in theCharette Journal.

• CERTIFICATE: the Charette will also acknowledge the outstanding performance of all Winners, Honorable Mentions and Top 30 entries with Certificates of Achievement. All the participants will be awarded a participation e-certificate.

TIMELINE:

• Competition Announcement: September 5, 2020 • Registration Deadline: November 5, 2020 • Submission Deadline: November 10, 2020 • Results: December 2020

ELIGIBILITY: Open for all

For more information, visit the website – https://thecharette.org/render-battle/

Render Battle Architecture Competition information / image received 040920

Architecture Competitions

Current Architectural Competitions Selection

Tomb of Waste Architecture Competition

image courtesy of architects practice

30 May 2020: Standard registration deadline

31 May 2020: Submission deadline

Tomb of Waste Architecture Competition

‘RETHINK: 2025’ Design Competition

RETHINK: 2025 Design Competition

Call For Submissions: Sustainable Revolution

WAF / PechaKucha ‘Isolation Transformed’ Design Competition

Isolation Transformed Design Competition

Kaizhou New City International Young Designer Competition, Sichuan, China

image courtesy of architects practice

Kaizhou New City International Young Designer Competition

Comments / photos for the Render Battle Architecture Competition page welcome

The post Render Battle Architecture Competition appeared first on e-architect.

#e-architect

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themoderndesignstudent · 6 years ago

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MDM691 Professional Practices

1. Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership

The first course greatly influenced both personal and professional development through self-discovery and self-assessments while studying leadership and behavioral traits. Personal growth was highly encouraged and fostered throughout assignments and ongoing discussions relating to personalized learning styles and characteristics. The research paper and associated discussions provided an opportunity to analyze and identify personal design approaches through reflection and discussion pertaining to industry specific leaders. Personal triumphs were made through the successful completion, of the Turning Point video assignment, given my disinterest for being the topic of conversation and being seen on camera. In addition, this course laid the necessary groundwork to effectively compose and communicate design projects showcased within the thesis project.

2. Defining Client Needs

The second course segued into the creative process through critiques and initial progress work. Personal and professional development simultaneously grew through concepts pertaining to mind mapping strategies and city project research while the creative design process integrated iterative sketching and logo development. Furthermore, research and discussion relating to client/designer relationships and creative agency insight contributed to my professional development. The biggest triumph is derived from the successful completion of iterative sketching due to my lack of experience with hand-drawings. The foundational techniques of research and sketching served as pivotal milestones to communicate the project development lifecycle throughout the thesis project.

3. Brand Development

The third course highly influenced my personal design growth given the full integration of design workshops and design related research. Professional growth revolved around research pertaining to brand development and conducting effective peer critiques through written and live discussion. The creation of vector work was highly emphasized and explored which led to the successful implementation of design projects within the thesis project. Personal triumph is reflected through the vision board iteration assignment (geography, modern culture, and tradition) as they represent my first formal creation of a vision board.

4. Effective Copywriting

The fourth course inspired personal and professional growth through the ad campaign creation process. Research into a selected non-profit contributed to personal growth as motivation to see how my personal design skills could be positively utilized through creative contribution. Professional growth was influenced through testimonial ad lifecycle, tagline creation workshops, and research into copywriting practices. The creation of target audience personas served as my biggest triumph given my lack of creative writing. Furthermore, the volume of writing assignments and discussion material, within this course, greatly contributed to the successful creation and communication of the thesis project rationales.

5. Design Research

The fifth course served as a pivotal moment for personal and professional development as course material pushed my creative thinking and application of design research. With major emphasis on research, rationale development was greatly focused upon to effectively communicate and defend personalized creative direction. The biggest triumph involved the successful understanding and creation of a customized narrative statement, for the City of Kyoto. This single paragraph statement is directly reflected, within the thesis project, while underlying process development and research strategies contributed to the creation and connection of key defense topics and supporting rationales to the degree learning outcomes.

6. Organizational Structures

The sixth course emphasized personal development through creative writing and individualized creative direction while professional development is reflective upon storyboarding and motion project creations. The process of story journaling, through daily observation and documentation, served as a personal exercise to focus on surrounding environments and flex my creative mind through fictious story development. My biggest triumph would be the creation of the Kyoto dynamic vision board, as countless hours and tremendous work ethic were put into the successful completion of this daunting assignment. Dynamic vision boards and the Kyoto cinemagraph were integrated into the thesis project to showcase motion studies and project assignments while supporting the overall arguments.

7. Design Strategies and Motivation

The seventh course introduced the second city project with primary assignments focusing on exploration and research surrounding my local city. Personal development was pursued through individualized surveys, photo documentation, and identification of area development. Design brief and problem statement creation focused on professional development through brand identity, problem solving, and data presentation. Personal triumph derived from the successful completion of the primary design brief given the vast amount of research and data entry. Data collected throughout this course support thesis project rationales by showcasing background methodologies used to enhance storyline progression.

8. Design Integration

The eighth course continued with the city project through design brief revisions, solution statement identification, and vision board creation. Static and dynamic vision boards elevated personal development by focusing on positive messaging and branding of the local city. Professional development is emphasized through voice and tone case studies, peer reviews, and asset selection via media matrix tools. The biggest triumph was creating the artistic design brief, for consumer viewing, within the consolidated one-week timeline. Asset selection and design brief material is presented throughout the thesis project to support conveyed topics and rationale arguments.

9. Multi-Platform Delivery

The ninth course served as a creative workshop for logo development and asset production. Logo design critique attributed to personal development, for continual design strategy, while production of assets, within a two-week period, reflect an elevated level of professional development. My biggest triumph was the detailed creation of the brand guideline document within the condensed timeline. Logo design process was thoroughly documented, within the thesis project, to showcase multiple solutions and integration into finalized production assets.

10, Measuring Design Effectiveness

The tenth course emphasized target audience feedback and data collection through customized surveys. Personal development is enhanced through receipt and processing of public feedback to analyze various perceptions, of personal creativity, to develop stronger barriers against negative criticism. Professional development is elevated through data reporting practices and proposal of city campaign research via research papers. My biggest triumph was personal reflection and awareness of specific design choices called out, among the target audience, which allowed for additional time to conduct individualized audits on associated assets. Data reporting and analysis is presented within the thesis project to explain McDonough’s target audience demographics and is expressed through the artistic design brief.

11. Thesis Presentation

The eleventh course focused on personalized reflection of course experiences and practices. Personal development is leveraged through application of organizational methodologies to understand and compose key storytelling moments. Professional development is highly expressed through presentation of conducted research and crafted assignments which elevate the support of rationalized defense arguments. Personal triumph is highlighted by the successful completion of original milestones, for website creation, and submission of an enhanced and detailed thesis project. A plethora of research and creative assignments were allocated and used to express personalized approaches and thought processes relating to research and project development.

12. Professional Practices

The twelfth course encompasses research and discussion surrounding advertising ethics and copyright practices. Personal development is gained through reflection of designer responsibilities concerning ethics, on an individualized level. Professional development is fostered through formal discussions and research of ethical and copyright practices used to regulate professional industries and work processes. Personal triumph is reflected through the completion of my final research paper showcasing an elevated awareness and understanding of ethical regulations and practices.

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The experience map below was created during my final class and depicts personal thoughts, emotions, and actions expressed throughout my program journey.

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delhi-architect2 · 5 years ago

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Journal - The Art of Rendering: Duy Phan on Creating Powerful Architectural Visualizations

Byron Cai is the lead editor at Archi Hacks, a platform dedicated to architecture visualization, portfolio, and design tips and tricks for students and professionals.

Duy Phan is the winner of the Ronen Beckerman TMRW 2020 Challenge and his project “Orchard Jenga” was honored to win two out of ten best-commended entries from One Rendering Challenge by Architizer.

I first came across Duy Phan’s work while browsing through the finalist gallery of Architizer’s One Rendering Challenge. His images immediately stood out to me for their bold expression of color and uniquely crafted narratives.

I would describe his style of visualization as ‘hyperrealism’; the prefix “hyper” being defined as above-and-beyond or ‘enhancing reality’. Robin Eley, Nathan Walsh, and Emanuele Dascanio are excellent examples of hyperrealist artists.

The ARM at Hudson Yards; design and visualization by Duy Phan

I think it is important to mention that hyperrealism, even though it is often mistaken as a term to be synonymous with photorealism, is not the same as photorealism. Rather, hyperrealism is the clever synthesis of color, composition and atmosphere with a hint of the avant-garde that ultimately invokes a heightened sense of emotion and mood. Duy Phan’s work does it all, and its exemplified in his winning entry for the Ronen Beckerman TMRW Challenge 2020.

I had a chance to reach out to Duy Phan and ask him about his work, methodology, and any insights he may have about ArchViz.

Byron Cai: How did you initially become interested in the field of architectural visualization? What made you decide to pursue architectural visualization or even architecture to begin with? Did you have a background in traditional art or digital art?

Duy Phan: Things started back in my high-school days when I got too addicted to drawing imaginary comic scenes and my Mom discovered that I designed and drew the little buildings I put in my images so she encouraged me to apply and study architecture. It is not that architectural design bored me, but on the contrast, having to portray and represent my ideas glued me so tight to the chair.

It made me as the question — how do I convince the project viewer to explore my work further by showing powerful images just like all the legendary architects and visual artists do? Genuinely speaking, the more I refined my project images, the more it helped me to realize my path as an ArchViz illustrator in the future.

The ARM at Hudson Yards; design and visualization by Duy Phan

Your renderings often invoke a unique sense of mood. Is photorealism the goal, or are you striving for something more?

I believe Photorealism is more of a tool rather than a goal in order to chase the outcome. Understanding and using physics in visualizing images could help the shot be more convincing, but the most realistic image might not be the most interesting. Since we observe our world with all its lights and materials daily, things become curious if those realities are stretched a bit to promote certain ideas. I have to keep reminding myself about the message I would like to convey in the image to help me collect the ingredients, and photorealism usually plays a main part here.

Urban Farm Temple; design and visualization by Duy Phan

What I find interesting about your work is that each image has its own unique quality. Where do you get your inspiration from? Does it differ from image to image?

I’m really glad that you found my works differ from one to another, as I love to try and bring something fresh to the table each time. Besides following and studying visual images from profound studios, I love to spend a bit of time everyday exploring photography sites such as Flickr and Unsplash, training my eyes to see how all physical elements attach together in a beautiful shot. At the same time, I note interesting moods that are present in some adventurous photographers’ work.

I keep these random inspirational images in a cloud drive, where I can access and note any ideas I have during my free time. Later on, when touching base with a specific image, this resource helps remind me of some concepts, and I explore whether it could fit the project brief and is worth developing further.

The ARM at Hudson Yards; design and visualization by Duy Phan

One thing that stands out immediately are the beautifully selected color palettes for each render. How do you decide which colors to use?

Color in an image is like the alphabet of our language. Letters and words are picked and organized to help us demonstrate our thoughts. In the case of visualization, considering which color to go with sis dictated by what feeling the painters would like their viewer to have. Studying the color palette and how it connects to the narrative of the image concept is key. Collecting reference images by both photographers and other rendering artists can help pre-production go in the right direction.

What is your favorite rendering that you have done so far?

Orchard Jenga is my most memorable image, which happened to be a career guide for me when I was finalizing my thesis project in university recently.

Orchard Jenga image development; design and visualization by Duy Phan

What kind of software do you use? How did your choice of digital mediums change between your school education and the ArchViz industry? Vray or Corona? Something else?

At the moment I mostly use Sketchup, 3ds Max, Corona and Photoshop. I found it was quicker for me to build my concept and preview it quickly in Sketchup, playing around with it by adjusting the Style tab features before moving on to 3ds Max. Corona got me hooked straight away when I first tried it after using Vray for a while. It’s more of personal preference when comparing these two; we can barely distinguish between them when looking at high-end renders by the masters in this industry.

Though I continually learn new techniques in 3D software, the more images I have a chance to work on, the more I lean toward 2D resources to get the result pictured in my head. Hence, the digital mediums might not change, but the proportion of time I spend on each step is changing in my workflow.

Orchard Jenga image development; design and visualization by Duy Phan

You obviously have your own creative approach to an image. Your work-in-progress images can look very different from the final result. Can you describe the process you go through for an image?

In the brainstorming process, if I didn’t model the design myself, I simplify the 3D file and then import it to Sketchup. Personally, I have found the user interface in Sketchup helps me explore and invoke more potential concepts by playing with basic light and shadow, lines weight and fog. With some images, I could go straight to Photoshop from a shot I captured here and matte paint the rest, but usually the next stage is moving to 3ds max for rendering.

From the sketched concept, I replicate the angle similar to what I had in Sketchup using Corona cam, and start with sun, lights and materials. I always keep all the lights separated in Corona Lightmix so that I can quickly find a potential mood by messing around with the light setting. As an example, two versions of the Orchard Jenga both came out of a single rendering, but differ by custom lightmix. I try to balance the time I spend in 3D and 2D; if I can solve a problem using Photoshop, I will not invest too much time in the CPU burning process.

The ARM at Hudson Yards (gallery view); design and visualization by Duy Phan

Can you describe the influence of matte painting and how you use it in the visualization process?

In my case, I think matte painting is more about eye-training rather than hand-training, just like in the old days when painters had to mess up the palette to find out which color is most similar to nature. Attaching and gluing all the pieces together to create a beautiful image is a time consuming process, and requires knowledge about any brush or montage we choose to put in.

Fully relying on 3d software sometimes gets us to forget how reality works and makes us hesitant to pursue the original concept because there is a limitation of technology, or we simply can not find the right 3d model.

The ARM at Hudson Yards (matte painting); design and visualization by Duy Phan

Are there different visual approaches that you use depending on the kind of architecture you are portraying?

Yes there are a few ways to approach a specific image in my case. A good example for this is with a birds-eye view, I would spend more time studying the surrounding context, if not in person then by google map and local images. This sometimes results in capturing good images for a photomontage, or otherwise provides me heaps of information to build the context from scratch, either in 3D or using matte painting.

Then there are interior images, where I spend more time on looking or making the right materials which happen to be exposed within the scenes, again things could be purely done from the render engine but I found it always needs a quite decent of touches when moving onto post-production process.

Interchange Oasis image development; design by Xpace, visualization by Duy Phan

Tatiana Bilbao controversially said that renderings are “dangerous and damaging” in a recent Dezeen article. Do you agree with her reasoning?

I partly agree with Tatiana about holding ideas from further development after seeing a realistic render. As I understand, from a design concept to built reality, it has been and will always be a constantly communicating process, back and forth, between designers and decision makers. Realistic renderings, collages, physical models, technical drawings or any other presentation mediums are considered as a method to convey the message from one mind to another.

Choosing to use any of these mediums is dependent on an architecture studio’s culture of demonstrating their thoughts, and this should be uniquely tailored to that studio’s type of project and their clients. Hence, in Bilbao’s studio, with a very interesting story about an old client and their potential clients, it makes sense that they found a new way to express their process.

From the viewpoint of architects, using renderings is just one of the tools to achieve their goal for a specific client or public community. When a project suits the need of making compelling images that communicate ideas, that is where ArchViz artists can help.

Where do you see the future of ArchViz going?

The more developed technology is, the easier it is to produce renderings for architectural designers. For illustrators, this should be a more positive thing rather than a competitive thing. There are always good, very good and super good images. Those who recognize the differences between them tend to value the manual work and effort put in to portray the unbuilt.

Nonetheless, this raises the bar higher for the industry. Better tools help artists unveil their potential skill set and discover more hidden inspiration in the corners of their imaginations. As a result, we will see more and more stunning work that will define new boundaries.

The post The Art of Rendering: Duy Phan on Creating Powerful Architectural Visualizations appeared first on Journal.

from Journal https://architizer.com/blog/practice/tools/the-art-of-rendering-duy-phan/ Originally published on ARCHITIZER RSS Feed: https://architizer.com/blog

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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The Quarantine Diaries - The New York Times

Before the end of life as we knew it, Ady, an 8-year-old who lives in the Bay Area of San Francisco, read a biography of Anne Frank.When she realized that she, too, was living through what would soon become history, Ady started keeping her own diary. In one early entry, she recorded that the judging for her county’s science fair would be conducted over the phone, rather than in person. “Not ‘fair’!!” she wrote. “Har, har, very funny.”When Santa Cruz County enacted a shelter-in-place order on March 16, she again picked up her pen.“I’m REALY scared!” she wrote. “Did you know this is getting so bad that I have to go my clarinet lessons on the cumputer!!”As the coronavirus continues to spread and confine people largely to their homes, many are filling pages with their experiences of living through a pandemic. Their diaries are told in words and pictures: pantry inventories, window views, questions about the future, concerns about the present. Taken together, the pages tell the story of an anxious, claustrophobic world on pause.“You can say anything you want, no matter what, and nobody can judge you,” Ady said in a phone interview earlier this month, speaking about her diary. “No one says, ‘scaredy-cat.’”When future historians look to write the story of life during coronavirus, these first-person accounts may prove useful.“Diaries and correspondences are a gold standard,” said Jane Kamensky, a professor of American History at Harvard University and the faculty director of the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute. “They’re among the best evidence we have of people’s inner worlds.” History isn’t usually told by the bigwigs of the era, even if they are some of its main characters. Instead, it is often reconstructed from snapshots of ordinary lives. A handwritten recipe. A letter written by a soldier at the front. A drawing of a kitchen sink. One of the most famous works of academic history — “A Midwife’s Tale,” by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich — came from the diary kept by a woman living in Maine from 1785 to 1812. It won a Pulitzer Prize.“The personal that is presented in diaries gives us the truth of the era,” said Carole Ione Lewis, a diarist and the author of “Pride of Family: Four Generations of American Women of Color,” which she wrote using her relatives’ diaries.Today’s journals convey the shared experience of life in isolation. Some diarists record statistics: the number of infections, the number of deaths. Others keep diaries that are part shopping list, part doodle pad. Unidentified phone numbers are scratched out in the margins of punctuation-less pages filled with the frustration of being separated from family and friends. Among these accounts, anxiety is the constant.Deb Monti, a 22-year-old painter, was in Valencia, Spain, when the country went on lockdown. Confined to her apartment, she painted what she could see from her window. “I’m looking at other people who are now trying to live their daily lives on these tiny balconies,” she said. Now back in Pittsburgh, where she grew up, Ms. Monti is self-isolating in her childhood bedroom. “You look at this painting of a person looking out a window and you think, like, ‘Oh, how romantic. This person is able to just daydream,’” she said. “But for me, it’s so all of a sudden. It makes me feel so suffocated and restrained.”For some visual diarists, making new work has been a way to stay connected with other artists in isolation.In Manila, before the outbreak, Patricia Joyce V. Salarzon, a 27-year-old production editor, would meet her friends to draw outside. Now they all agree to sketch at the same time, just to feel like they are together.Timothy Hannem, an illustration artist in Paris, made a template for people to fill in and post on social media using the hashtag #coronamaison: corona house. A well-known illustrator, Pénélope Bagieu, shared the drawing with her Twitter followers. They will each draw their own ideal place to be quarantined, she wrote. Within a few days, hundreds of people had uploaded their own imagined interiors, with cats and plants and books. They started a website, too, as a landing pad for the project.Together, the drawings make for a fantastical house, with rooms created by many, many hands.About two weeks ago, Anna Temkina, a professor of public health and gender at the European University at St. Petersburg, realized she was living through what sociologists refer to as “emergent moment.” “It is a moment when new rules begin to develop, but they are not yet clear,” Dr. Temkina, 59, said. “Sociologically, this was absolutely great.”She has started project called “the virus diaries,” part of a broader effort by the university to study quarantine’s effect on daily life.“Saturday — a normal crowd out and about,” she wrote. “I don’t notice any increased caution. People are walking without distancing; two military men shake hands; a man and woman my age greet each other with a kiss.”In the early days of the outbreak, Annie Armstrong, a 24-year-old writer in Brooklyn, went home to Atlanta. Now her diary is filled with questions about her career, how to find meaning in her life, what she really wants. “I really feel like I’m witnessing the fall of the empire,” she wrote. “I’m already mourning this whole little life I made for myself in New York.”Kari Stevenson, a 34-year-old high school librarian who lives near Colorado Springs, Colo., started keeping her own quarantine journal. Writing soothes a nervous ache in her stomach, she said, even when the subject matter is anxiety provoking. “The grocery stores are feeling the strain + shortening hours,” Ms. Stevenson wrote in a recent entry. “I am starting to worry our 14 day supply might not be enough.”The day before public schools closed in Boston, Ari Zimmet asked his middle school students to draw how they were feeling. Normally, Mr. Zimmet, 25, teaches woodworking. But he remembered how one art professor, in college, opened up her classroom for discussion and sketching after the 2016 election. He wanted to make room for his middle school students to do the same.As they drew, many seemed unaffected. But one student, a boy, drew frantically. With blue and orange lines, he made frenzied marks as stick figures fell from the sky.“He didn’t articulate his feelings, and he almost never does,” Mr. Zimmet said. “But it was like he was constructing this whole narrative with the path that his Cray-pas was taking.”That these accounts are recorded on paper is crucial to their longevity. “People think the internet is going to be permanent, but we’re already starting to lose things that were committed to bits and bytes,” said Shane Landrum, who holds a doctorate in American history from Brandeis University. “Even with the danger of your house burning down with all your written records inside, I still think paper is valuable as a practice,” Dr. Landrum said.The weight of a personal diary is familiar to Frank Herron, a 67-year-old book publisher who lives in Winchester, Mass. He has studied the journals his great-aunt kept in the early 20th century. In one entry, she wrote about seeing Austrian royalty from a tailor’s window. “The procession was like a fairy tale,” she wrote on June 14, 1900. “I never expect to see such a fine one again anywhere.” She was right. In a few years, in a few more diary entries, World War I would start. A few years later, the Austro-Hungarian empire would fall. “What makes history is people who write some stuff or keep some pictures,” Mr. Herron said. “This is how we communicate across centuries.”Daniel A. Kipnis translated Anna Temkina’s diary entry from the original Russian. Read the full article

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kcoconstruction-blog · 8 years ago

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Dream Healing: A Crystal Healing Approach

A method that is powerful of crystals for guidance is through dream healing. You are able to receive intuitive guidance from your higher self when you are dreaming. You might also experience connections with higher beings or guides. When you becomes able to remember your dreams and interpret them, astounding messages can be discovered and allow for the process of healing the inner self to begin.

Each to be used only for dream work to begin the dream healing process, obtain a piece of Red Jasper and a piece of Amethyst. These crystals should be cleansed and purified, charged, and programmed before use. When the crystals have been cleansed and programmed, you should place the Red Jasper beneath your pillow. Red Jasper is known to stimulate the dream consciousness in order to bring forth dreams of deep meaning. It also keeps the dreamer’s astral body connected to the earth during intense astral travel. Amethyst is usually used to stimulate intuitive guidance and will help in the interpretation of your dreams. It will be used later in the process.

You should place a notebook and a pen or pencil next to your bed (within easy grasp) before lying down to go to sleep. You should then focus your attention on intending to dream and to remember the dream. You should also focus your attention on intending to properly interpret dream symbols and messages for the highest good of your being.

Upon awakening, you should lie still and attempt to remember as many of the details as possible from your dream(s). When comfortable with moving, you should hold the Amethyst crystal in your receiving hand and write the dream experience down as precisely as can be. You may even wish to draw sketches as some plain things from dreams can be difficult to convey with words alone. Then, at a time that is later you need to review the journal entry and attempt to decipher any symbols, people, places, or experiences that occurred whilst in the dream awareness.

It is important to keep very good records in the dream journal as these are some of the greatest clues you have to determining what is best for your higher self. You can often gain insights to healing through these clues so you should be meticulous in your record keeping. Also, although you will sometimes immediately understand how a dream symbol should be interpreted, many dream symbols are just pieces of a greater puzzle. You may need to link entries that are together several fully understand the messages behind your dream(s).

Other crystals that are useful in dream healing include Herkimer Diamond, Moonstone, Celestite, and Moldavite. http://clashofclanscheats.us/ These stones can be used under the pillow, or in grid formations within your bed or bedroom.

Herkimer Diamonds can help you to fully tap into your astral body and to have control over it while in your dream awareness. They help to facilitate the dream journey and are invaluable for this variety of work.

Moonstone is good for those attempting lucid dreaming, or a state in which the conscious awareness is present during astral travel. This state of dreaming can be beneficial you to direct a dream in order to receive guidance according to your desired agenda because it allows.

Celestite facilitates communication between your awareness and those of higher beings that are spiritual. Using this stone for dream healing can help you in receiving insights and guidance from those in the plane that is astral.

Finally, Moldavite can assist you in fantasy journeying. This stone will need you where others that are few. The ride may be fast and bumpy (always with good reason), so hold on tight with this crystal! When making use of this stone for dream work, it is important to additionally use a grounding stone such as Hematite or Red Jasper to ensure that it is not difficult for the fantasy consciousness to return to your body and resume being your waking conscious awareness.

If using these stones in grid formations, you need to be imaginative. Stones can be placed in the corners of the available room, in each of the four directions, one each to represent the twelve houses of the zodiac, in a circle around your bed, or in any other formation one so chooses. Following is a array that is crystal facilitate the dream state and to help one to remember your dreams, as well as to facilitate intuitive interpretation of the dream symbols. The stones utilized in this grid include:

RED JASPER (Under Pillow, Beneath Third Eye Chakra)

MOLDAVITE (Under Sheet, Beneath Heart Chakra)

CELESTITE (One at Each Corner of Bed)

HERKIMER DIAMOND (One at Crown Chakra (Under Pillow) & One at Solar Plexus Chakra (Under Sheet)

*Crystal Healing is not meant to replace medicine that is conventional but rather to complement and enhance it. The information within this guide is purely metaphysical in nature and is by no means medical. Crystal Healing should only be used with the understanding that it is not an independent therapy, but one that is a part of a healing approach that is holistic.

Read More Articles about Dream Healing: A Crystal Healing Approach on my blog http://kcoconstruction.tumblr.com/

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architectnews · 5 years ago

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Render Battle Architecture Competition

Render Battle Architecture Competition 2020, Architectural Contest News

Render Battle Architecture Competition 2020

4 Sep 2020

Render Battle Architecture Competition News

PREMISE:

Our world is becoming increasingly visual everyday. The digital revolution has given architects the opportunity to showcase our designs to millions of people. However, with thousands of images flowing across the web, each designer has just a brief moment to make an impact via one bold image that says it all!

COMPETITION BRIEF:

One Mind-blowing Architectural Graphic.

Let your creative juices flow freely and create the most visually stunning architectural graphics!

AWARDS:

Exposure and recognition is the key to success for any designer. The Render Battle competition provides architects and students, the opportunity to showcase their work on a global stage.

TIMELINE:

• Competition Announcement: September 5, 2020 • Registration Deadline: November 5, 2020 • Submission Deadline: November 10, 2020 • Results: December 2020

ELIGIBILITY: Open for all

For more information, visit the website –https://thecharette.org/render-battle/

Render Battle Architecture Competition information / image received 040920

Architecture Competitions

Current Architectural Competitions Selection

Tomb of Waste Architecture Competition

30 May 2020: Standard registration deadline

31 May 2020: Submission deadline

Tomb of Waste Architecture Competition

‘RETHINK: 2025’ Design Competition

RETHINK: 2025 Design Competition

Call For Submissions: Sustainable Revolution

WAF / PechaKucha ‘Isolation Transformed’ Design Competition

Isolation Transformed Design Competition

Kaizhou New City International Young Designer Competition, Sichuan, China

Kaizhou New City International Young Designer Competition

Comments / photos for the Render Battle Architecture Competition page welcome

The post Render Battle Architecture Competition appeared first on e-architect.

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delhi-architect2 · 5 years ago

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Journal - Architecture Students: Enter This Summer’s Biggest Ideas Competition

Graduating architecture students have experienced a surreal end to their courses this year, with the pandemic depriving them of a physical final exhibition and graduation celebration. This unique situation should not take away from these students’ talent and innovation, and they deserve huge credit for their incredible hard work this year.

The question is, how can you get your work seen by architecture firms and elevate your resumé as you begin the hunt for a job in practice? One way could be to enter the One Drawing Challenge, a global ideas competition with a simple design brief and big prizes.

Open for entries until midnight ET on August 28th, the One Drawing Challenge poses a simple question: Can you tell a powerful story about architecture with a single drawing? Your drawings could earn you $2,500 and get your project seen by thousands of top architecture firms in the process. Here’s how to get involved:

Architectural drawing by Emi Nakajima; via Instagram

The Challenge

The task is as follows: Create a single drawing that communicates a new architectural proposal or existing piece of architecture, and the experience of those that would inhabit it. It can be located anywhere in the world and be at any scale. It can take the form of a plan, section, elevation, perspective or sketch. As long as it portrays part or all of a building or group of buildings, it is eligible.

If this sounds like hard work, look on the bright side: it’s likely you’ve already created an amazing drawing for your final review. If that’s the case, your submission is ready and waiting to go!

Enter the One Drawing Challenge

You must write a short paragraph to accompanying your drawing — no longer than 150 words — that describes your drawing and the story it tells. This could include but is not restricted to descriptions of the formal, atmospheric and poetic qualities of the buildings and spaces shown in your drawing. There are no specific requirements here — be creative!

If you’ve got an existing drawing you’re proud of, this is your chance to show it off on a global stage — or produce a brand new drawing especially for the challenge! Either way, we can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Now, we can hear you asking: How can I maximize my chance of winning or securing a place among the finalists? Read on …

Architectural drawing by Jeff Murray; via Instagram

Competition fees and guidelines

There is a submission fee which helps us keep our engines running and hosting competitions like this one, but we want to make the program as accessible to students as possible. For this reason, fees are lower for all students and recent graduates, with an additional 30% discount on additional entries should you have more than one drawing you’d like to submit.

Head this way for complete competition guidelines and eligibility.

The Judging Criteria

The judging process for the One Drawing Challenge is designed to reflect the multi-faceted qualities of architectural drawings. Our outstanding cast of jurors will be asked to select winning entries based on their communicative and aesthetic qualities, as well as their potential to “go viral” on social media. Entries that stand out in one or more of the following categories stand a great chance of being a Winner.

The Jury will evaluate drawings based on the following criteria:

1. Communication

Unlike a piece of art, the most important quality of an architectural drawing is its ability to communicate the design intent behind an architectural proposal. Further to this, a good drawing can tell the story of a building and those that might inhabit it in a single snapshot. The image can communicate many different things and focus on one or more of the following aspects: Spatial layout, technical details, materials, connections between architectural elements, relationship to context, the transition between spaces, and more.

2. Aesthetics

A beautiful drawing is undeniably appealing, but at their best, the aesthetics of a drawing are about more than just beauty. They convey the essence of the architecture they are portraying, and the atmosphere of a space. A well-considered drawing can portray a specific architectural language that speaks to the author’s wider design philosophy. Aesthetics may also concern the portrayal of an untidy, chaotic or even “ugly” brand of architecture to paint a powerful picture of certain environments.

3. Impact and “Shareability”

When communication and aesthetics are perfectly combined, they can produce an image that is eagerly shared among a huge design-oriented community. Virality is not an exact science, but Instagram experts understand the bold qualities that make an image memorable and shareable. The ingredients of a viral architectural drawing include but are not limited to: Bold geometry, unusual angles, rich color combinations, sharp contrasts, rhythmic patterns and strong legibility.

Architectural Sketch by Giuliana Flavia Cangelosi; via Instagram

Those are the key factors to consider — but this competition is deliberately left open to interpretation. It’s up to you to decide how one tells a story with a drawing, and what you want that story to be.

If you have specific questions about the competition, check out the One Drawing Challenge FAQs, and if you have a further inquiry that is not answered there, you can reach out to us at [email protected].

Enter the One Drawing Challenge

The post Architecture Students: Enter This Summer’s Biggest Ideas Competition appeared first on Journal.

from Journal https://architizer.com/blog/competitions/architecture-students-one-drawing-challenge/ Originally published on ARCHITIZER RSS Feed: https://architizer.com/blog

#Journal #architect #architecture #architects #architectural #design #designer #designers #building #buildings

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delhi-architect2 · 5 years ago

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Journal - The Art of Drawing: Bob Borson on Architecture’s Most Powerful Creative Weapon

“Drawings are architecture’s ultimate storytellers.”

The words of Marc Kushner lie at the heart Architizer’s inspiring ideas competition, the One Drawing Challenge. The competition, with a final deadline of August 28th this year (submit your entries here!) poses a simple question: Can you tell a powerful story about architecture through a single drawing?

One of the jurors for the One Drawing Challenge is Bob Borson, architect at Malone Maxwell Borson Architects and founder of one of the most popular architecture blogs on the internet, “Life of an Architect“. Bob has been writing for years about drawings as powerful tools for communicating ideas, from conceptual sketches to detailed construction documents. Borson sat down with Architizer to talk about the art of drawing, including some hints about what entrants should aim for when creating their submissions for the One Drawing competition:

Paul Keskeys: You still draw by hand a lot, a process that increasingly seems to be skipped by young architects these days. What do you gain from hand sketching, and what advice would you give to designers who tend to avoid it?

Bob Borson: There are a few things that I feel are beneficial when you draw by hand. The main benefit is probably the simplest thing imaginable … speed. When I bring up the idea of speed most people instantly assume this means that I can sketch through my ideas faster than someone who has to interface through some sort of technology, but that’s not what I mean at all (there are some people out there that are pretty darn fast using current technology!)

When I sketch, I think it slows my thought process down and forces me to think through my idea a bit more completely in my effort to actually be able to draw it out in a manner that allows someone else to understand what I am trying to convey.

Borson sketches out plans during the early stages of a project; image via Life of an Architect

Your drawings encompass architecture at every scale, from broad conceptual ideas to the tiniest details. How do you decide when to “zoom in” to small areas of a project, and what do you gain from drawing at this scale?

It really depends on the problem that I am trying to solve, and what stage of the project I am working in. When the scale of the project is “broad” I am not trying to talk about the details; everything is far more diagrammatic in the beginning. It isn’t until I am trying to work through the assembly of the project that I start drilling down and enlarging the scale of the sketches I am creating.

Which of your drawing-related articles on Life of an Architect is most popular, and why do you think it is?

It’s got to be “Architectural Sketching or How to Sketch like Me“. Since I have so many different posts on sketching, I’m not sure why this one is the most trafficked post covering sketching on my site. It probably has to do with the fact that I don’t think sketching is a gift but rather a skill that can be learned and this is the posts where I walk through the 5 tips and techniques that I think anybody can incorporate in just a few minutes and their sketches will look better.

Unfortunately, I feel like a lot of architects don’t sketch because they think they are bad at it and feel some sort of embarrassment about their attempts — this is the post that I think can change that for many people.

Borson’s travel sketches created during college; images via Life of an Architect

In your opinion, what are the three worst habits of architects when it comes to drawing?

The worst is probably not sketching at all. I think most people would agree that the more they sketch, the better they become.

Other bad habits are fairly user-specific but when I talk with people in my office about sketching, the things I try to get them to quit doing is drawing over their lines (i.e. instead of one single line, theirs will be five or six little lines put together) and the other is to not bend your wrist when trying to draw straight lines. It’s rather amazing how much better a sketch will look when your lines are relatively straight.

Which architect’s drawings inspire you the most? Is there a specific drawing that has blown you away the moment you’ve laid eyes on it?

There’s not really any one person or drawing that inspires me – it tends to be a collection of sketches that someone has created over time that tends to blow me away.

Actually, as I sit here trying to answer this question, the name that comes to mind is a friend of mine who left the field of architecture to help out with the family drywalling business. He was the person who initially inspired me to work on my sketching and gave me some of the tips that I mentioned in answer #3 that changed everything for me.

Borson places emphasis on line weight and hatching style to communicate design intention; image via Life of an Architect

What qualities will you be looking for when judging the entries in this year’s One Drawing Challenge?

First and foremost it will be pen weight and hatching techniques. There are levels of skill that become more prominent as the people become more and more comfortable with how they sketch. Sketches should be easy to read and pen weight and hatching are what separate the great from the amazing.

Now show us what you can do: Register for the One Drawing Challenge and submit your best drawings before August 28th, 2020 for a chance to win amazing prizes:

Enter the 2020 One Drawing Challenge

Top image via Studio MM

The post The Art of Drawing: Bob Borson on Architecture’s Most Powerful Creative Weapon appeared first on Journal.

from Journal https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/stories/bob-borson-architectural-drawing/ Originally published on ARCHITIZER RSS Feed: https://architizer.com/blog

#Journal #architect #architecture #architects #architectural #design #designer #designers #building #buildings

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delhi-architect2 · 5 years ago

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Journal - How to Win the One Drawing Challenge: 3 Key Ingredients to Consider

It’s this summer’s biggest architectural ideas competition, and it is heading towards an exciting conclusion The Second Annual One Drawing Challenge is inviting entries until midnight ET on August 14th, and we invite anyone with a eye for architectural drawing to get involved.

The brief is a simple one: Tell a powerful story about architecture with a single drawing.

Enter the 2020 One Drawing Challenge

Entrants are challenged to create one drawing that powerfully communicates your architectural proposal and the experience of those that would inhabit it. It can be located anywhere in the world and be at any scale. It can take the form of a plan, section, elevation, perspective or sketch. As long as it portrays part or all of a building or group of buildings, it is eligible. This should be accompanied by a short description of your proposal, no more than 150 words.

Now you know the task at hand, the next question is likely to be — how do I win? The answers lies in the criteria by which the Finalist drawings will be judged by our expert panel of architects and influencers.

Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre by OMA / REX

The judging process for the One Drawing Challenge is designed to reflect the multi-faceted qualities of architectural drawings. Our outstanding cast of jurors will be asked to select winning entries based on their communicative and aesthetic qualities, as well as their impact and ability to “go viral” on social media. Entries that stand out in one or more of the following categories stand a great chance of being a Winner.

The Jury will evaluate drawings based on the following criteria:

Communication

Unlike a piece of pure art, the most important quality of an architectural drawing is its ability to communicate the design intent behind an architectural proposal. Further to this, a good drawing can tell the story of a building and those that might inhabit it in a single snapshot. The image can communicate many different things and focus on one or more of the following aspects: Spatial layout, technical details, materials, connections between architectural elements, relationship to context, the transition between spaces, and more.

Aesthetics

A beautiful drawing is undeniably appealing, but at their best, the aesthetics of a drawing are about more than just beauty. They convey the essence of the architecture they are portraying, and the atmosphere of a space. A well considered drawing can portray a specific architectural language that speaks to the author’s wider design philosophy. Aesthetics may also concern the portrayal of an untidy, chaotic or even “ugly” brand of architecture to paint a powerful picture of certain environments.

Impact

When communication and aesthetics are perfectly combined, they can produce an impactful image that is eagerly shared among a huge design-oriented community. Virality is not an exact science, but Instagram experts understand the bold qualities that make an image memorable and shareable. The ingredients of an impactful architectural drawing include but are not limited to: Bold geometry, unusual angles, rich color combinations, sharp contrasts, rhythmic patterns and strong legibility.

Architectural drawings via Horia Creanga on Behance

So, there you have it: The 3 key ingredients to a winning entry in the One Drawing Challenge. Now, it’s your time to shine: Submit your best architectural drawing(s) before midnight ET on August 14th and show us what you can do.

Check out the FAQ section for common questions about the competition. If you don’t find the answer to your question there, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll be glad to help.

We can’t wait to see your drawing and read your story. Good luck from the whole team at Architizer!

Enter the 2020 One Drawing Challenge

The post How to Win the One Drawing Challenge: 3 Key Ingredients to Consider appeared first on Journal.

from Journal https://architizer.com/blog/competitions/win-one-drawing-challenge-3-key-ingredients-consider/ Originally published on ARCHITIZER RSS Feed: https://architizer.com/blog

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themoderndesignstudent · 6 years ago

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MDM570 Organizational Structures - 4.5 Mastery Journal

Overview

Throughout the course, emphasis was placed on the exposure and developmental processes relating to motion design. Three of the four weeks were spent concepting, designing, and producing a dynamic (motion) vision board derived from a previously designed static vision board. The fourth week focused on the creation of a secondary motion piece complementing the overarching city project campaign. From a predefined list of motion styles, the motion styling of cinemagraphs was chosen to compliment the dynamic vision board and previously designed campaign collateral. Concepts regarding the effective use of timing, motion behavior, narrative development, story development, transforming static designs into motion artwork, and integration of applied motion work into real-world applications served as central topics of conversation and research. These topics served, in varying degrees, as the basis for writing story journals, planning and sketching motion storyboards, and creating work in Adobe After Effects.

Connecting, Synthesizing, and Transforming

Understanding the power and influence of motion is critical to successfully communicate key storyline and messaging. Summers (2018) reveals how “motion graphics allow you to subtly infuse your brand’s message into every aspect of your video content” (Summers, 2018). As portrayed through the dynamic vision board, the creation of kinetic lines, at various speeds, combined with key transitional effects highlighting particular design elements encompass the three primary brand filters and express nature and correlated messaging through movement. The development of motion paths, for each scene, were inspired by Correa and Schlemmer’s (2016) statement where “motion should above all else help guide users, providing them with the right information at the right time” (Correa & Schlemmer, 2016). Within each segment, the kinetic line moves horizontally, vertically, and diagonally both in and out of frame, on precise paths. These movements help dictate the delivery of information and transition viewers into the next segment of information.

Cinemagraphs will play a vital role in social media marketing, for the Kyoto city brand campaign. This newer style of motion design provides a faster avenue for delivering information while conveying targeted emotional appeal. Most commonly found within social media platforms, cinemagraphs offer the “visual punch and immediacy of video, without the barrier to entry of a play button” (Flicker, 2016). By leveraging cinemagraphs in tandem with social media auto-play features, companies have the ability the expose brand content and messaging by disrupting the traditional static advertisements found within social media timelines. The designed cinemagraph showcases a first-person observation of nature allowing consumers to experience a brief moment in Kyoto. As Flicker (2016) expresses, “it is the moment, both with and without time, that can create a lasting impression for brands” (Flicker, 2016). The design and implementation of these key moments will generate stronger relationships, with consumers, “by drawing the eye to small details” (Flicker, 2016) all while capturing the emotion and majestic beauty found within nature.

Problem Solving

The primary concern, of the dynamic vision board, is ensuring all information, from the static vision board, is accurately represented and transformed into motion-oriented graphics while maintaining thematic integrity. Implied focus is expressed on segments with a higher degree of relevance including imagery, video, logos, diction, and brand filters. To solidify intended messaging and convey a unified thematic experience, the categorical segments are given longer exposure times for individual elements and incorporate strategically timed transitional effects. As Xia (2018) explains, “[transitions] helps the audience receive the information immediately and understand the core concept in it” (Xia, 2018). The transitional effects used are either minimal - to maintain aesthetics and show similarity between elements, or expressive - to isolate a particular section and signify importance. The remaining categorial sections, of typography and color palette, have shorter transitions, among individual elements. This decision is based on ease of legibility and corresponding size of each element allowing additional time to be allocated to smaller and more complex elements. The proposed design solution eliminates preconceived time constraints and delivers all supporting information into one cohesive motion experience.

Social media accounts promoting the City of Kyoto lack content needed to generate intimate relationships, with consumers, in order to solidify brand awareness. Currently, the City of Kyoto manages two primary social media channels. The Facebook account, “VisitKyoto” consists of 522,000 likes with posts dating beyond 2015 (Visit Kyoto, n.d.). The associated Instagram account “@visit_kyoto” has 2,220 followers with original posting dates of October 2016 (City of Kyoto, n.d.). A second Instagram account, with the handle “@visit.kyoto” is managed by Visit Japan International and has a base of 19,700 followers with an initial post dating back to January of 2017 (Kyoto, n.d.). The integration of cinemagraphs featuring curated natural photography provide greater depth in content offering, on social media channels, and entice consumers to maintain attention on displayed motion pieces. By utilizing cinemagraphs, consumer engagement among platforms will increase and generate a higher following base as the percentage of social media users in Japan steadily increases (Neely, 2018). In addition, the dormant activity, of “VisitKyoto” Twitter account, also managed by The City of Kyoto, is a missed opportunity to showcase unique designs and generate a larger following given that “Twitter is and has been the dominant social network in Japan for a long time” (Neely, 2018).

Innovative Thinking

Industry social media accounts predominately showcase urban tourist destinations and big picture natural environments. What accounts lack are detailed, intimate imagery expressing moments of alluring natural environments. The integration of close-up imagery, in the form of cinemagraphs, provide consumers with a detailed perspective of nature. Described as “a living photograph,” a cinemagraph “emphasizes that live aspect that all great photographs have” (Mevorah, 2017). This unique combination, of close-up and motion imagery, entices consumers to further examine the location, of each image, while noticing the commonly overlooked intricacies of Kyoto. These posts will ultimately drive brand awareness and consumer retention leading to a greater interest in dynamic and engaging content, among the accounts.

Acquiring Competencies

There are three main topics, derived from this course, where comprehension levels and an understanding of the material are solidified. Story journaling was an essential part of the course development and is utilized as a tool for generating narratives. Understanding the unique blend of observations and ideas help formulate a given narrative. Through this process, designers are able to pick out relevant themes, from an individual or collective set of entries, and establish a dominant theme. This chosen theme provides the foundation for identifying and creating story kernels which are used as a guiding template for developing stories.

Adobe After Effects is heavily relied upon to produce motion assets. The creation of course assignments provided a beneficial understanding of key production tools and motion-oriented design processes. Keyframes serve as the primary tool for achieving desired motion behaviors and visual effects while allowing designers to make minute adjustments. The utilization of alpha matte layering combined with linked shape layers contributed to the visual effectiveness of hiding and revealing information, throughout the dynamic vision board. Understanding the concept of timing, in relation to object behavior, ensures key information is appropriately conveyed to the target audience. The creation of parallax imagery and cinemagraphs provided exposure into two of the primary types of motion. Parallax imagery is integrated into the dynamic vision board to emphasize the alluring aspects of imagery while cinemagraphs serve as the choice of motion for the second project.

Lastly, the topic and application of audio identity was completely foreign, at first. As discussed throughout the course, audio is broken down into three primary classifications: voice, music, and sound effects. At this stage, the three classifications are sorted into two categories, diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Diegetic can refer to the voice or sound produced by characters and objects, in the story, and can be represented onscreen or offscreen (Blazer, 2015, p.89-90). Non-diegetic sound encompasses sound the characters are unaware of, including narrator’s commentary and mood music (Blazer, 2015, p.89-90). At any given point, both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds can transition into opposite categories based on the content displayed, within the composition (Blazer, 2015, p.89-90).

Reflection

The course provided a challenging yet motivating environment when learning motion design. Having no prior knowledge and experience relating to the subject required additional time spent understanding the foundational concepts and applying new knowledge to application-based development. At the beginning of the dynamic vision board process, storyboards required undivided attention to ensure desired messaging and thematic integrity were properly conveyed and aligned to the associated campaign elements. Detailed sketching and layout design were pivotal components to express implied motion and showcase key transitional effects. Translating designs into a digital environment and applying motion behaviors required the use of various Lynda courses and YouTube tutorials to understand the After Effects workspace and key features. Having extensive knowledge and experience working with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator) offered an advantage given the seamless transfer of essential characteristics and operating methods between the software platforms.

The idea of implementing motion design into future projects is highly plausible. The course transition, into thesis work next month, will provide time to reflect upon the various methodologies and practices associated with motion design. As a result, better planning and integration of motion work will provide opportunity to explore new design strategies and elevate future projects. In addition, the information accumulated, throughout the course, can be directly applied and custom tailored to fit current and future projects at work. Additional project opportunities, with cross-functional team members, and exposure to new creative roles will foster an expanding, creative mindset.

References

Blazer, L. (2015). Animated storytelling: Simple steps for creating animation and motion graphics. Peachpit Press Publications.

City of Kyoto Official Account (@visit_kyoto) • Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/visit_kyoto/

Correa, S., & Schlemmer, J. (2016, September 23). Making Motion Meaningful - Library. Retrieved from https://design.google/library/making-motion-meaningful/

Flicker, M. (2016, January 05). Why Brands Should Embrace Cinemagraphs for Storytelling. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/digitalnext/brands-embrace-cinemagraphs-storytelling/301977/

Kakroo, A. (2015, March 31). Closeup of a Bird. Retrieved from https://www.videvo.net/video/closeup-of-a-bird/3557/

KYOTO 京都 (@visit.kyoto) • Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/visit.kyoto/

Mevorah, V. (2017, May 21). What is a Cinemagraph? Retrieved from https://www.widewalls.ch/cinemagraph/

Neely, C. (2019, January 28). Japan's Top Social Media Networks for 2019. Retrieved from https://www.humblebunny.com/japans-top-social-media-networks-for-2019/

Summers, S. (2018, June 20). Why Motion Graphics Are Effective For Content Marketing. Retrieved from https://bottlerocketmedia.net/blog/why-motion-graphics-are-effective-for-content-marketing/

Visit Kyoto. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/visitkyoto/

Xia, R. (2018, January 29). 4 Types of Transition in Motion Graphics – Muzli - Design Inspiration. Retrieved from https://medium.muz.li/4-types-of-transition-in-motion-graphics-3ec29ffa3e19

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