“Make A Sketch” – A Summer Project

The summer has started, and I am well under way with the various extra shifts I have been able to gain from work. However, a friend was speaking to someone on Twitter the other day about their Summer Project for their Art Foundation Course (to start in September). Suddenly, I had an inkling that I may have a summer project as well.

Sure enough, I check out the MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University – my first choice) website and there it is, a Summer Project, “Make A Sketch”. Not only this, but term dates until next summer, an indroduction letter (which contains blogs, magazines and books which would be worth the subscription/buy etc) and the timing and location of my first session.

There is no question that this has scared me quite a bit, especially as this happens to be one of the only things I have yet had to do for myself and by myself so far in my life. I know I will have many more projects like this throughout my years at University, but this has now started to strain my mind slightly – especially as I haven’t thought as artistically as I need to for this in a while…

The Project:

• Produce at least four A2 sized drawings of an existing or imaginary interior or space – these should also explore the three-dimensional views of this space
• Produce a “3D Sketch” (at the scale of my choice – I don’t think I have ever done that!!!) using materials which illustrate the qualities of the space I have chosen

I am being completely honest when I say I am not entirely sure where to start with this.

I don’t want to think too deeply into the project otherwise I might not fully appreciate the whole reason behind it.

My thoughts for this at the moment are to think about an existing space/interior which I could easily access for photographs and evaluations.

Usually for a project, I would have a series of photographs and then experiment with ideas and the different spaces/interiors which I have as an option and put all of my thought-processes into one small sketchbook and work from there.

Would this be suitable for just a summer project? Should I be that thorough with it, or literally just produce the sketches?

Finally, I’m getting somewhere …

Today, I have managed to finish my Fine Art Dissertation for the Unit 03 coursework project this year (title: “Microscopic Worlds”).

So now, I move back in time to finish my coursework sketchbooks so I can finish those and focus on the exam project more thoroughly. Once these are finished, I know that I will have some more time to blog about the work which I have already produced for the Exam project “Combinations and Alliances” – for both subjects.

So the sooner this all gets finished, the sooner I will be back blogging every day!! … *touch wood* …

My First 3D Model is Born

Today, I decided it was about time to create my first three dimensional model – with the inspiration from some modern buildings.

Having collected a bag of matchsticks from school and cardboard from Christmas – I was sorted.

I started with the walls and initial structures…

my starting point...

To start with, I didn’t really know where this would lead me, but I had to start somewhere.

Here is the bird’s eye view of the first stages…

overview...

Some of the walls, beams and stilts still look a little off balance, but I soon sorted this out when the ceiling and first floor was put in.

I added an initial ceiling to the ground floor, and then started on the walls of one side of the first floor.

Here is my finished model…

my first ever model is finished!!!

The floors and ceilings are sill a little unbalanced and I’m missing a pillar to hold up the first floor’s ceiling, but for my first model, I think this is a good start!!

Independent SketchBook

I thought I would give you all an insight to a few pages of my sketchbook (so far…)

Some still life sketches (all freehand) :

Two still life sketches

And also some three dimensional sketches which are a must for interior design:

Three dimensional freehand sketches

All of the universities I visited earlier in the year really emphasised a necessity in freehand sketching. Since that De Montfort open day, I have had this sketchbook glare at me everyday and therefore making me sketch more and more.