Life Drawing - Clay

Using clay to depict the image of the life model was a really fun and experimental technique for me. I've never really used clay properly before as a medium to create something so the whole experience was new and an opportunity to learn. I preferred creating the whole body position rather than the just the head as i found it really tricky to make the all the facial features match and look realistic, the eyes were especially tricky to get right. If i'd had more time i would have liked to have worked more on the head to get the hair and the facial features right in order to know how to make these kind of corrections for next time.

Illustration & Graphics Taster

This taster was also one that i really enjoyed. I experimented with different techniques such as using grounds and different media and ways of making images which was interesting and i learned a lot from, before moving on to focusing on one word. My word was 'Hide' and after producing a mind map i focused on a few key areas of interest. Firstly, i experimented with the marks and shapes associated with my word and thought of blurs and blocking out and distortion, so i used lines and squares and layering. I then looked at the way the word itself could behave on the page to depict the meaning, i tried different spacing, placement of the word, size and lower and upper case. I then experimented with imagery, both drawn and found, taking everything i had done into account and deciding on the best layout. These were the final products:

I feel i learned a lot from this taster and along with Fine Art it was my favourite, i think the techniques i learned will be useful for me in the future.

3D & Applied Arts Taster

 During this taster, we split into groups to design a moving vehicle that could hold the weight of one person. To start off we looked at several shapes that we could integrate into the main body of our our design, to make it both interesting to look at but also to keep it functional. We decided on an arch shape as we believed this would be the strongest and so able to support the weight, we planned on using two bicycle wheels and two smaller wheels to create stability. We started by layering up card to create the main body of our design but found that when we tried to attach the two back bike wheels they were too wobbly and needed more support, therefore we added blocks inbetween the wheel and the body to keep them in place. However the wheels were still not secure enough, so we decided to change the shape of the main design and make our own wheel out of layers of card rather than use the two bicylce wheels. We then attached the two smaller wheels at the back and used long pieces of layered card between the front wheel and the back axel to keep them in place. Unfortunately we ran out of time to finish our design as we had had changed it so late on, but if we had had more time we would of attached more pieces of layered card either side of the large wheel attaching it to the main body to keep it in place.

I didn't really like this taster as i found the designing difficult to create and choose a shape that would work, and i found the making side of it a bit boring and repetitive. However i learnt something in that the properties of the material you are using have a huge impact on the way you have to design and create a product.

Leeds Armoury

On a trip to Leeds Armouries i took lots of photos of all the things i found interesting. Looking back at these photos i saw that i was most interested in the patterns and textures of the armour from different cultures, not necessarily the function of the armour or what it represented. i looked at the aesthetic value of the armour and the that it looks was and is still so important when worn on noth humans and animals such as horses. Although the aesthetic value would normally be considered the least important factor when it comes to making armour, it seemed to me that the makers of the armour were focusing on this the most.  The colours and patterns were there to make soldiers look better, maybe richer, stronger or higher up than other soldiers perhaps to scare  or intimidate them.

My favourite piece at the armouries was the elephant armour displayed the Asia section. The intricate detail on something that was used to save lives was fascinating, and i began to think about the pictures and symbols used on many of the pieces of armour. Maybe they have religious value or are believed to bring good luck. These ideas led me to start a short project based on the idea of protection in the form of good luck charms and talismans.