Group run through creative environment design week 1 art and feedback

[JerrySketchyArt]

My trees and free choice thumbnails. For the free choice I wanted to explore what housing might look like for the first people to live on Mars.

[JerrySketchyArt]

@ErinCortese When I'm stuck I normally just make a mark; any mark. With these thumbnails you don't have to work out the details yet, just make an interesting shape and turn that into a building/tree/whatever.

I also find that using my wonky shaped sketch brush (it's a kind of an uneven diamond shape tip) helps by creating more interesting shapes than a simple circle brush would. If you look at the "windows" on my Mars building at row 2, column 1, that's the shape of my brush. I just used the transparent "color" and tapped to make those.

[braden H]

@ErinCortese It's really hard to loosen up, I'm with you there I find that if I start to tighten up I just start making random shapes and line for a few of the thumbnails. I'll usually get something that looks 'like a building'. I think that's just part of the process and why we need to do so many of these You eventually get all the boring stuff onto the page and then you arrive at the more interesting designs. In other words, most of everyone's thumbnails are fairly rigid at first.

Review's always good, but when in doubt do more thumbnails, I think!

[braden H]

@JerrySketchyArt Nice! I'm likin' the nice thick brush you're usin'.

[Erin.Cortese]

@Braden-Hallett @JerrySketchyArt Thanks, I think I will just keep at it. I agree the thumbnails are important, and it’s never been more clear! It’s nice to know that it is just part of the process, it’s hard to feel incapable of creating something interesting or creative. I was just feeling a little defeated, but I have to suck it up and keep working, lol.

[JerrySketchyArt]

Oops. Realized that I hadn't added my initial house thumbnails here. I had traditional Japanese home shapes in mind while making these.

[JerrySketchyArt]

@ErinCortese Many of your thumbnails are super interesting. You're probably just being a bit hard on yourself. That's something we all seem to excel at!

[Erin.Cortese]

@JerrySketchyArt Thanks, but it’s probably because the photos I referenced were interesting I feel like I didn’t do much designing of my own. The beached pirate ship one on the bottom left was done without reference, and I happy with that, but again not original. But I really appreciate the positive feedback, it’s not a total loss, I am definitely learning. But I should also learn to be less hard on myself, because yes, I am pretty good at that.

[ArtofAleksey]

@ErinCortese im digging these actually. Although they leave me wanting some sort of structural elements to help enhance the silhouettes even more. Some of them have them, like the fences and the chimneys and such but more please!

[Erin.Cortese]

@Aleksey Thanks!

[Heather Boyd]

@Braden-Hallett

Question: Now when you drew the silhouette of this castle gate did you concern yourself with perspective measurements or did it rough and when you moved to the sketch faze 2 you worked on the accuracy part?

Also scrolling through these are so cool and well done everyone! I will post mine here once I complete week 1 which may push into nest week. Oh well.

[demotlj]

I like doing organic things better than buildings and have a terrible time imagining anything without reference but I tried to make myself do these without any reference. I wish I had the imaginatiion some of you have!

[braden H]

@Heather-Boyd said in Group run through creative environment design week 1 art and feedback:

@Braden-Hallett
Question: Now when you drew the silhouette of this castle gate did you concern yourself with perspective measurements or did it rough and when you moved to the sketch faze 2 you worked on the accuracy part?

I kept perspective in mind making the thumbnail, but I didn't bother with horizon lines or vanishing points. At the thumbnail stage it's a lot easier to just make it 'look right'.

Since the thumbnail looked right, I didn't bother measuring anything during the sketch phase either. I kind of used the lines I though looked right as anchor points then tried to stay true to them as best I could.

Seems to work for me

[braden H]

@demotlj I'm really liking some of those building silhouettes! Lots of neat bridges, gates and towers

[MichaelaH]

Exercise 3, this time I had more fun drawing.

[braden H]

@MichaelaH I see a couple of airships on there!

[MichaelaH]

@Braden-Hallett Yeah, than I did well, if You can see them

[murielle]

@ErinCortese I really like them. I don't mind that they are 'rigid', they look good.

Maybe you need to make a mental shift?
Whenever I feel I can't get anything on the page or create work that is too stiff, I realize I care too much about the end result.

This forum is where we give feedback and to be honest when I saw what was already posted, I felt my work sucked. I was very hesitant to participate. Then, I shifted my way of thinking and said to myself "post it anyway, get feedback, get better".

You also mention that you don't have any mental references to pull from. That's fine. That is what Pinterest is for
What I've noticed looking at your trees is that the trunk is always straight. I was looking for references today and realized that does not always have to be the case. It's these little things that I look for.

[murielle]

@JerrySketchyArt I like the Mars Habitats, they mostly follow the 3/5 rule. Some of them can still be divided in half, I'm not sure if that is what you are going for.

I can give the same comment for the trees, but there I feel the 3/5 rule is missing for most of them.

To be honest I think the tree exercise is harder than the houses. It's the 'symbol thing' Jake talks about in the class. Our brain just wants a tree to look a certain way. (I haven't posted my trees yet, because I want to redo them if I find the time. I made the same mistake )

[murielle]

@demotlj Nice work. These look good. The buildings are interesting especially if you don't like drawing them.