Color Study Cont.

I need help! I put all these together and I can't decide which ones to finalize. Any votes?

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Design Examples

Just found these on my computer. At the start of the year I took photos of my new campus! Here's a few great design examples:

 Lobby of the Olympia Dorm

Upstairs in the CUB

Top of the Terrell Library

The Cyber Cafe

Downstairs in the CUB

Lobby of the Kimbrough Music Hall

Study lounge in the CUE

Upstairs in the CUB

Not entirely sure what building this is actually...

Staircase in the CUB

Southside Dining Hall

Lobby of the CUE

Stairwell at the Tech Help office

Hallway in the Todd building

Staircase in the Fine Arts Building

Drafting!

My very first attempt at drafting! Of course, the scanner didn't pick this one up either but I'll give you guys a look-see anyway. This is all very informal of course, because it is my first time doing this, so keep that in mind.

 To start off this project, my friend Abby and I measured everything you can possibly imagine in one room. But only the items attached to the wall. Above is a picture of only some of the measurements written. To give you guys an idea of just how much we had to do here's the process for one door:
door height
door width
door length
door molding, top and sides
glass panels height
glass panels width
molding around glass panels height
molding around glass panels width
glass panel distance from top of door
glass panel distance from bottom of door
glass panel distance from sides
door handle height from ground
door handle height
door handle width
and so on.
Now in the room we measured, there were three doors, three windows, electrical strips on three walls, one light switch, a radiator, one large plug outlet, and floor molding. The tiles on the floor were also measured, as well as the overall height of the room and width of the walls. It was hectic and difficult but Abby and I think we got it all!

I was going to post a general birds eye view floor plan, but my drawing was too large in the end. Instead, here are a few cross-section views of each individula wall. Not very many measurements are listed here, but it's an example none the less. I'm currently working on recreating these with their now proper measurements, as opposed to these quick hand drawn ones.

Color Study

The first part of my color study was to lay out all the hues, plus two of their tints, and two shades. Some of the colors didn't mix as well as I'd like but regardless, it was a good way to start.

 The next part of this process was to decide how I'd organize my colors (other than a pretty, pretty rainbow). So thumbnail sketches were necessary once more. Most of these thumbnails are cropped parts of my line study final or inspirations taken from that. I tried to pick basic patterns because.....

..... once I pick a module (four samples above) I'm going to put it into a grid. These were on cut trace paper, so it was difficult to lay them flat to scan. However, I have picked the top right and the bottom left of these modules to put into a 18" x 18" design. The final is going to incorporate all 60 colors at least once, so let's hope it doesn't kill the eyes!

I will add to this post as the project progresses.

Color Schemes and Paint Swatches

 This is the first time you'll see something that you'd actually expect me to be doing right? Paint swatches are so much fun, I've loved stealing samples from stores since I can remember. However, this is the first time I've worked with gouache (opaque watercolors) in months, so forgive the muddy colors. The scanner also yellowed it up.

 Here is my first example of a split complementary. A color from the red family, yellow-green, and blue-green, brown being an accent color. Sample of the Beverly Hills Hotel swimming pool.

 Neutral colors... Well they're mostly white. So the scanner failed to pick them up. The accent colors were the light brown of the wood on the desk and chair legs, and the green of the plant on the desk.

 A green monochromatic. I don't think it can get any better than this. This is a museum in Germany, I believe, don't quote me on that. So clearly the main colors are all different shades of green, with orange randomly tossed in there as an accent on the bus.

 Tiny picture, sorry about that! This is a restaurant that uses complementary colors to create an atmosphere. The wood on the ceiling is lit to a deep orange with blue tile work on the walls. Accent colors are the white linen tablecloths and the true green of decorative plants.

Analogous colors are usually some of my favorite color schemes. I absolutely loved this room the moment I saw it, with the deep red carpet and deeper purple walls .The pop of blue in the chair and orange in the painting as well as desk objects really made this a great room. A deep gray is the accent in the desk.

Line Study

As of right now, this post is incomplete. The first drawing is that of my thumbnail sketches. Basically just as many ideas as I can come up with, inspired by Michael Parkes, his quote listed previously, and some form of an optical illusion. It took me quite a long time to figure out what I wanted to do but the second drawing is what I came up with. In the end, I felt like it didn't quite have enough of an optical illusion, so the final drawing, which I will hopefully post tomorrow, will show the edits.

To explain my design choice, I started to play around with objects that are off-balance with one another. This was because Michael Parkes regularly depicts animals and people defying gravity, off-balance with the world around them. From there, I went to the quote, where Parkes invites people to live in other realms. I took that, and the optical illusion idea, and tried to create a series of off-balanced lines which seem to pull you into a different realm.





Design Inspiration

Michael Parkes has been one of my favorite artists for years. His talents span through drawing, painting, sculpture, and stone lithography. He's actually the best of all time when it comes to stone lithography. Seriously, that's not just me saying that. He may not be famous for it, but for those who actually try the challenging art form, they realize there will never be any competition with Michael Parkes. I chose him as my inspiration because of his incredibly unique style. He thinks outside of our world, and defies earthly laws in all his work as if it is an everyday thing.

"As human beings, we limit our sense of perception to what is generally comfortable and present in everyday life. In limiting our perceptions to suit our individuality, we miss the vastness of other perceptions and the doors they represent. Though we have been conditioned to perceive nothing except our own world, this does not mean we cannot enter other realms." - Michael Parkes

Sketches

These are just a few random sketches I've done. Just to study drawing objects in front of me and quick sketches. The first is the base of a lamp on a stand (cross-hatch shading is ruined by my scanner). The second is a bamboo plant (the focus was on the plant itself, no effort was put into the container as it was purely to keep the bamboo from floating in space). The third and fourth are tree studies, practicing different forms of scribbling to see what got me the best result. I personally like them all, I think scribbling is a very good thing to use when it comes to drawing nature.

Back to the Basics

 No good art (or drafting) can start without knowing the basics. Although I've done it a thousand times before, practicing perspective views can really help. I found it a bit tricky to return to after moving on from it two years ago. But it made me realize just how much I left behind. I have to practice incorporating perspective into my drawings.

 Trying to draw a chair in perspective is not my strong suit... Clearly it looks a little wobbly. As I stated before, it was difficult for me to return to this sort of drawing. More practice!

I'm actually kind of proud of this one. The Seattle Public Library has long been of interest to me. Although this was not my first time drawing it, it was my first practice with drawing a building in perspective with good graphics. (For those of you who are curious, "good graphics" are displayed in this last drawing. Crossing of the corners, the "professional gap" in the lines, and the "professional dot," scattered wherever it may seem fitting, are all examples that I actually remembered to add.) I still haven't visited this building, as much as you'd expect an interior designer living in Seattle to, so that will be next on my to-do list!