Lecture 6: Visual Principles - Basic Design

For the lecture activity we were required to draw simple images using dot and line to best represent two adjectives on pieces of paper scattered on the table in front of the room. Sherwin and I teamed up to do this one, and man, did it turn out to be harder than it initially seemed, as our tutor Siti disapproved of some our sketches and we had to pick new adjectives to 're-sketch'.

Below are our sketches, 5 in total (after re-drawing):

1. Puny

For this sketch, we were thinking of a regional map, with a small country (the black dot) being surrounded by far bigger ones (think Singapore). However, the other group could not quite see this sketch as that of countries/continents and hence did not understand the nature of the black dot. Verdict: Fail.

2. Fierce

We wanted to draw a fierce-looking face with sharp teeth protruding out to represent ferociousness, but the other group saw it as a scary face instead. Maybe it's due to the slit-like eyes giving it a slightly "inhuman" look. Verdict: Fail.

3. Superstar

This one was fairly straightforward to sketch, with the Superman logo "S' representing the word "super" in the middle of a huge star. Though it was a drawing taken out of context of actual objects (ie. the star), Siti approved of it in this case, and the other group could guess the word easily. Verdict: Pass.

4. Brief

This one was harder to sketch as the adjective is time-based and hence rather abstract. So we had not much choice but to draw an underwear to represent the word "brief" and an exclamation mark to represent "directness"/"succintness"/"to the point" (hence implying "brief"). Needless to say, this drawing was taken out of context and the other group couldn't fathom what the exclamation mark meant. Verdict: Fail.

5. Crammed

This sketch shows many circles being squeezed into a square box, hence implying "crammed". As the meaning was direct, Siti approved this one. Verdict: Pass.

Tutorial 4: Assignment 3 - U C What I C

For this week's assignment we had to tell a story with not more than 10 photographs and without the use of any words. It should have a plot and a twist at the end. I was at my wits' end as given the constrains of time and resources, I found it hard to come out with something more abstract and far-fetched. Instead, I decided to work with whatever props I have at home and re-enact a scene with relative ease, with my mum helping me take the pictures.

After thinking for a while, I came out with an idea of a 'burglar' apparently ransacking a house with a mask and gloves on. However he turned out to be a traveller packing his luggage and getting ready to leave for a vacation. Below is the storyboard sketch and description:


1. Mysterious pair of legs and a bag
2. 'Burglar' with face mask and gloves on
3. Ransacked bedroom
4. 'Burglar' rummaging through drawers
5. Cash and passport found
6. Putting his 'spoils' into a pouch
7. Posing with umbrellas?
8. Putting a mask and gloves into his bag (with a travel brochure visible)
9. Wearing a cloth hat
10. Traveller getting ready to leave

The next step is getting ready the props and getting ready to act the scene. With my mum's help, I managed to find the relevant props (mask, bag, pouch, passport etc.) since we travel rather frequently. I also messed up the house abit for the 'ransacked bedroom' image. Next, I put on the gear (boy, was it hot wearing the mask and gloves!) while posing in the various positions as depicted in the sketch. My mum was patient enough to give me some tips as to how to pose, where to stand etc. and after a day's hard work, we managed to get the pictures taken. Below are the pictures:

1. Mysterious pair of legs and a bag


2. 'Burglar' with face mask and gloves on

3. Ransacked bedroom

4. 'Burglar' rummaging through drawers

5. Cash and passport found

6. Putting his 'spoils' into a pouch

7. Posing with umbrellas?

8. Putting a mask and gloves into his bag (with a travel brochure visible)

9. Wearing a cloth hat

10. Traveler getting ready to leave

For images 1-6, I used a reddish hue to symbolize a criminal situation (think red light district). For images 7-8, I used a bluish hue to symbolize the shift in storyline to a more wintry setting since the traveller is getting ready for a skiing vacation as shown in Image 7 - Posing with umbrellas (representing skis). From images 9-10 I hardly used any hues and left the images as they are, because they are not directly related to skiing (Image 8 has a ski brochure).

The tutorial session offered some insights for improvement. From classmates' feedback that the hues are not uniform (some shades of red/blue are darker than the others), I decided that I would standardize the hues and include the bluish tint for Images 9-10. Also, as to feedback that the image quality is grainy (I used my home printer and photo paper), I will see what I can do about it because it would be pretty hard to re-take the pictures (and my mum would be fussy if I had to mess up the house/dig out winter clothing again). Furthermore, the finished product had borders of varying widths, as can be seen from above and the portrait shots (such as Image 10 above) was squeezed in a landscape format (because I thought the lecture example had a similar format), so I may have to do some image re-sizing and border eliminating. Other than that, the tutor and classmates thought mine was a good idea for a story.

Latest update: Below are the photographs after I have touched up on them as described above. I have also increased the resolution of the images hence they look less grainy as a whole:

1. Mysterious pair of legs and a bag

2. 'Burglar' with face mask and gloves on

3. Ransacked bedroom

4. 'Burglar' rummaging through drawers

5. Cash and passport found

6. Putting his 'spoils' into a pouch

7. Posing with umbrellas?

8. Putting a mask and gloves into his bag (with a travel brochure visible)

9. Wearing a cloth hat

10. Traveller getting ready to leave

Lecture 5 - Representation Techniques II - Composition

The lecture exercise and assignment 3 seemed harder than usual because it is a departure from the usual sketches we have made and developed with Freehand thus far, rather we now have to apply rather complicated-sounding representation techniques (such as Golden mean) to our photo compositions.

I had a hard time completing the lecture activity, because I couldn't find anything ambiguous of interest in or around the room. Hence, I came out with an idea that is not exactly something which I saw, but which I feel is likely to happen:




In this preliminary sketch, I portrayed a couple with arms around each other's waist. However, I made the sex of the person on the right ambiguous by drawing him/her shorter than the girl, and carrying a fremale-like bag while wearing male-like clothing, casting doubts on the couple's sexual orientation as well. A hand holding the handphone can be construed as either taking a photo of the couple (many voyeurs do abound) or messaging his/her friend. After I did the drawing, I had a feeling that somehow I did not do things right, and I was right when Reddy told me not to use my imagination but draw something as I see it, but with my own perspective.

Though rather confused about the exercise in general, I decided to change my theme and follow my friend Damon's theme of drawing the scenery outside the room (I initially discussed with him on doing this drawing together but decided to come out with the more controversial drawing, having misinterpreted the instructions). Hence, below is my revised sketch for this lecture exercise:


This drawing is of the outside scenery featuring the sea, ships, crane, a factory and tall, thin plants. It makes use of the Golden mean with the rule of thirds coming into play with a boat, the crane, the plants and even the railing appearing at roughly the intersections of the thirds segments. Perspective and ambiguity is featured in the portrayal of the ships and removal of the finer details of the ships and factory in the background. The 'story' behind it is that man-made activities such as fishing, construction and industrial production is damaging the environment, represented by the thinning of the leaves of the plant located closest to these 'polluting' elements.

Now, on to generating ideas for Assignment 3, which I feel I needed to spend more time on, given the constrains such as time and resources. Hopefully I could come up with something soon.

Tutorial 3: Assignment 2- Making Images Talk

While doing the assignment on Freehand, I decided to use the image of a clock as Stage 0, instead of actually sketching it, to give it a more realistic feel. Other than that, the rest of the stages are the same as mentioned in my previous post. As for the colour choice, I used yellow for the clock face, brown for the frame and blue for the hands because I wanted these contrasting yet complementing colours to highlight different details and therefore the removal of a detail will be even more obvious in the following stage:

As for the A4 symbol, I have decided to stick to stage 3 (as shown above). However, as I was preparing the A4 image, an idea struck me that perhaps I should use ticks instead of a circle and reduce the hands to mere lines (as in Stage 5). This would make a universal symbol for a clock which is instantly recognizable. Hence I developed Stage 3 into the following symbol:

I had initial reservations about using this symbol since it was not quite the same as the Stage 3 image, hence I went to the tutorial session to seek clarifications. I was told that it was ok to make the symbol different from the original drawing. However I had to either add or remove a stage so I can fit this new image in (since it has 12 ticks and couldn't be in Stage 3 since Stage 2 only has 4 numbers). Otherwise, the class preferred this to be my final symbol rather than the original Stage 3 image.

This was abit of a headache for me because I did not know exactly what kind of modifications to make such that the symbol would fit right in with the rest of my stages since it would kinda stand out awkwardly if I just inserted it in. This is because Stage 1 onwards already do not have ticks of any sort so adding ticks halfway would be rather weird. Hence I decided to redo Stages 1-5 such by adding ticks where necessary such that when it comes to show my symbol, the transition will be seamless:


In this case, my chosen symbol has now shifted from Stage 3 to Stage 4. In accordance with my plan to remove/change 1 or 2 aspects of the image from one stage to another to make the transition steady and gradual, I have removed the frame and the second hand in Stage 2. In Stage 3, I removed the numbers and changed the hands to just lines, while for my symbol (Stage 4) I decided to remove the yellow clock face and replace the blue colour for the hands with black to reflect the simplicity that a universal symbol should evoke (since colour can sometimes be distracting). Finally, I removed all the ticks, leaving just the hands in Stage 5.

Latest Update: In response to Siti's comments that the final A4 design does not resemble a clock, I decided to make minor changes to my work by replacing the ticks in the A4 with a circle (as shown in the original A4) which I feel may make it clearer that it is a clock.

Lecture 4: Assignment 2 - Making Images Talk

For the classroom activity for this lecture, we were told to choose an object and distil it using at least five levels of abstraction until the simplest but still recognizable form of the original object is left. We can choose either the iconic or indexic form of the object.

After looking around the room for some inspiration, I decided on the clock, an object that is not too complicated and rather straightforward to distil. Below is my sketch of the levels of abstraction in my sketchbook:

I decided to use the iconic form of this object because the indexic form (which I believe is the hands of the clock) is way too simple too distil any further. Stage 0 shows the complete clock with a frame, all three hands, all the numbers, ticks and type (quartz). Stage 1 has the ticks and the shading of the frame removed, while Stage 2 is missing 8 numbers and the second hand. The image in Stage 3 is left with just a circle and the hour and minute hand, while Stage 4 has just both hands. Finally, I have reduced the hands to mere lines in Stage 5 which also is the indexic form of the clock (in my opinion). I have decided to use Stage 3 to further develop into a symbol (for the A4) because it is simple, yet the basic components (the clock face and two hands) are still there to indicate that it is still a clock.

I will continue working on this piece using Freehand and I believe the final images will be very similar.

Tutorial 2: Me, Myself and I using Photoshop/Freehand

Next, I proceeded to scan in the images and trace them out using Freehand. After heeding my classmates' feedback, I decided to make the timpani form the 'O', as in the below prototype image:

I decided to keep it neat, simple and not too abstract. After my presentation, my classmates also agreed that my designs were clear cut and the letters easy to discern.

Now, for the prototype image on smoking:

This one had more comments and suggestions from my classmates. They believed that the perspective for my ashtray is off because from an aerial point of view, the height of the ashtray is too high, which I agree too, after careful observation. Another suggestion was for me to keep the complete circle shape of the No Smoking sign but using smoke to obscure part of it such that it still looks like the letter 'e'. Lastly, someone thought that I should make the last cigaratte butt bent to form the 'L' instead of having ash come out from it.

After evaluating their comments, I realised they had a point since their suggestions for improvement will help make my images look more realistic without being too far-fetched (like warping the shape of the No Smoking sign). Hence, below is my improved version for prototype 2:

Comments anyone?

Tutorial 1: Developing Roughs

Over the weekend, I spent time developing the selected thumbnails into roughs in my sketchbook by enlarging them, cleaning up on the details and adding colour, which I feel will enhance my drawings.

As for the musical instruments, I had difficulty drawing them due to the complexity of their keys, valves etc., hence I referred to images on the Internet to help me clear up the details. I found that the mid-section of the french horn too complicated so I simplified it. As for the choice of colours, I used pretty much similar colours for the instruments as real ones, except that I coloured the drum top bright yellow (though in this scanned pic it appears beige instead) and the grand piano wood brown (because I feel the usual black is such a boring colour). All in all, I had a fun time as after all, I am drawing and colouring things that I feel passionate about. After much work, here is the rough for thumbnail 1 (music-making):

I developed a variation of the above rough which is quite similar, except that a saxophone, timpani (a larger type of drum), inverted french horn and two adjacent accoustic pianos form the letters of my name instead:

When I presented the above roughs to my classmates in the Tuesday tutorial, they generally liked my concept, and unanimously agreed that I should choose the first rough for my final product, which was also in line with my original preference. However, they felt that I should use the timpani for the 'O' instead of the normal drum and that I should not have coloured the drum top yellow (which I also agreed looks pretty garish). Although I had initial reservations about the timpani, I decided to go ahead with it in my final product as it is after all more unique (just as a bass clarinet is more unique than a sax).

Now as for what I hate (smoking), I made no explicit changes from the thumbnail and just concentrated on the colour choice. I chose standard colours for the tobacco pipe (dark brown), cigarettes (brown and white), No Smoking sign (red) and ash (dark grey). I decided to colour the ash tray green because the rest of the colours were mostly dull and I thought green will help spice it up a little. I also made the outlines for the wisps of smoke more prominent for the reasons highlighted in my previous post. Here is my rough:

Subsequently, I had a headache in developing a variation but nonetheless came up with something very similar except that more cigarette butts were used in this version (perhaps to connote a type of excessiveness, as in chain smoking). A cloud of smoke was also used to form the 'O' instead of the ash tray:

My classmates again liked my concept, especially the use of a modified No Smoking sign to form the 'e'. They had no further comments, except to recommend that the first rough should be used for my final product.

Hence, armed with my classmates' helpful comments and my own intuition, I went about using Freehand to develop my final product.

Lecture 2: Thumbnails for Assignment 1 - Me, Myself, and I

When I attended Lecture 2, during which Reddy specified that we use images of what we love and hate to construct the letters of our name, I vaguely remembered having done something like this during an art lesson many years ago, only that we used images to represent objects rather than our name. Nonetheless, being the first 'artistic' experience I had in a long time, I decided to play it safe and chose two concepts which were not only clear cut and not too abstract, but also something which I feel passionately about. Hence my ideas:

1. My name is Joel and I love music-making.
2. My name is Joel and I hate smoking.

I decided to keep my name 'Joel' for this exercise as it was short (only 4 letters) and the letters are fairly easily represented by common objects (perhaps with the exception of small 'e'). Now, to begin my sketching of thumbnails, it did not take a long time for me to come up with the below image for what I love (music-making):

I chose a bass clarinet for the 'J', drum for the 'o', a french horn for the 'e' and two adjacent flutes for the 'L' because I felt these instruments represent the letters of my name most clearly. Furthermore, I'm a musician with NUS Wind Symphony and was a bass clarinetist not too long ago, hence inspiration for musical instruments to represent my name came very spontaneously and naturally.

Since this first idea stood out in a very striking manner in my mind, I had difficulty churning out the remaining 3 images. But nonetheless, here they are:

I used musical notes coming out from a ground piano for this idea. The quaver represents the 'J', semibreve the 'o', laterally inverted bass clef the 'e' and the piano itself the 'L'.

Now I think this is an interesting one. I decided to try something different for a change and make people making music the focus of the images rather than instruments or notes (except the 'J'. The 'J' is represented by a large bass clarinet being played by a fat man, whose rotund torso forms the 'O'. A conductor with his arms outstretched represents the 'E', while "L' is represented by a chair on which sits a man blowing a clarinet.

After having run out of more 'novel' ideas, I decided to revert back to using instruments to form my name. A large tuba forms the 'J', a french horn the 'O' (with emphasis on the round tubing only rather than the tubing and bell which formed the letter 'e' in the first thumbnail), four drum sticks of various lengths the 'E' and a bassoon with mouthpiece tube sticking out forming the 'L'.

The verdict:

I only completed my drawings long after the lesson ended after much erasing and re-drawing(drawing has never been easy for me) , so I used my own discretion to select the thumbnail to develop into roughs. The choice: thumbnail 1 with the 'L' being formed by a piano (as in thumbnail 2) rather than the two flutes.

I think that this is an obvious choice since the shape of the instruments forming the letters of my name is very clear cut and not ambiguous. Furthermore, I chose the piano to replace the flutes because I think it looks solid and being a common, instantly recognizable instrument, it has an iconic connotation if used in my final drawing. Another interesting thing to take note: the four instruments represent each of the main categories of musical instruments in a wind band: woodwind (bass clarinet), percussion (drum), brass (french horn) and keyboard (piano). Hence, I think the modified thumbnail 1 is fitting to represent my love for music-making.

Now, on to what I hate - smoking. I was thinking of using various objects related to smoking, the images of people smoking and even clouds of smoke to represent my idea. Though I had some difficulty at first, I eventually came out with the following:

A tobacco pipe with wisps of smoke coming out (though they are rather faint in this pic) forms the shape of the letter 'J', and round ashtray with two cigarettes inside forms the 'O', a stylized version of the 'No Smoking' sign (with part of the circle chopped off) represents the 'e' while an upright cigarette butt with ash coming out forms the 'L'. I particularly like the 'e' because I think it is rather creative to modify a well-known symbol (No Smoking sign) to form a letter.

This is a modified version of thumbnail 1 (since I was kinda short on ideas at that time). A cigarette and tobacco pipe placed adjacent to each other forms the 'J', a No Smoking sign (unmodified this time) the 'O', four cigarette butts the 'E' and a tobacco pipe (laterally inverted this time) the 'L'.

For the remaining two sketches I decided to use clouds of smoke and people smoking to represent my hate for smoking (since I have kinda exhausted using 'tools' for smoking). The above sketch basically outlines the first three letters of my name using clouds of cigarette smoke, emitted by a smoker sitting on a bench (forming the letter 'L').

Now I think this is my worst sketch because it looks very ugly. Nonetheless, the letters of my name are represented by smokers of different physiques standing/sitting in various positions.

The verdict:

Thumbnail 1. I feel that the tobacco pipe, ash tray modified No Smoking sign and cigarette with ash coming out represents my distaste for smoking most prominently. While the tobacco pipe and ash tray are fairly neutral objects, I plan to make the wisps of carbon monoxide coming out more obvious, to connote that such wisps, when breathed in, insidiously lead to one's slow death. The No Smoking sign is obvious in reflecting my anti-smoking stance, while the ash coming out of the cigarette reflects a 'bleeding' of sorts (another connotation related to a slow death).

My first post

Hi all,

Welcome to my NM2208 Blog! In this blog I will not only include my sketches and finished product, but my learning journal as well. Pls feel free to comment on my work. Thanks!