Part 2 Reflective Journal by Maria Clara Pachêco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g en-us 2018-05-01 02:22:33 UTC 2023-01-20 23:37:22 UTC hello@padlet.com Day 1 - 07.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063012 Sound and Vision (Day 1)
Today was the first day of Part 1. I actually arrived late and missed the first part of the class, where I'm told there was a quick lecture about how things are going to work from now on, the class was divided according to our pathways, and then my colleagues started presenting the research about visual representations of sounds.
On the second part of the class, me and some other students finished presenting the researches. Apparently, there were some problems in the Moving Image side's projector, do the whole class ended up running late, and we didn't have time to do the other thing we were supposed to do today, which was starting to  work on our instruments
The instrument I'm planning to make is an ancient lyre (I talk more about this on my Research File). It's original version was built using wood (and/or bull horns), cows entrails and a turtle shell, and my plan is to mimic this visually, but, of course, using very different materials.
I stayed after class doing a part of my instrument that couldn't be left for later, because it involved papier-mâché, which takes a long time to dry. This part is going to double as the turtle shell, so I took a small bowl, wrapped it in plastic, and created a papier-mâché shell over it, so that, when dried, it would take the same round shape. This was partly inspired from someone online who used the actual bowl as the replacement for the turtle shell, when building an ancient-looking lyre (seen on my Research File).]]> 2018-05-11 19:07:02 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063012 Day 2 - 0.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063216 Sound and Vision (Day 2)
For this project, we will be working in groups of four, that will serve as bands, and they were defined today. My group is me, Bruna (who is making a DJ table), Lucas (who is making a bass-sounding instrument, that actually only has one chord) and Fabi (who dropped out, so we actually only have 3 members). We were sat together, but mostly only worked on our respective instruments, sometimes giving each other tips and a little help.
On this class, I focused on the "arms" of my lyre, which were originally made using horns or wood. I don't trust myself to saw a piece of wood without loosing at least one finger, so I chose to use several pieces of cardboard glued to each other. After finishing it, though, I still wasn't totally secure that the structure could handle the vibrations without falling apart, so I decided to coat it with papier-mâché (which is actually something I like to work with). There were some compilations, I ended up using too much water, but in the end it seemed to work out, and I left it to dry.
Another thing I did, was deciding what to use as strings. I was initially set on using yarn or sewing thread, because I already owned both in red (a colour I want to use to symbolise the entrails used originally), but neither of them really make a good sound so, along with my group, I ended up deciding to buy nylon, and then painting it red.
By the end of the class, we were told to make an action plan for this project, but we didn't want to plan next week already, because it's going to be about making an animation and graphic score to represent a song that doesn't exist yet, so we just planned this week (finishing the instruments, rehearsing at 3:30pm tomorrow, recording the song on thursday, and, only after that, planning how and when we're going to do the graphic score and the animation).]]> 2018-05-11 19:07:56 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063216 Day 3 - 09.05.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063297 Sound and Vision (Day 3)
I went to EBAC in the morning, to finish my instrument as soon as possible (it was drying yesterday, so I couldn't really work on it a lot). All that was left to do was installing the crossbar and the bridge, and then string it, but this was the part that I was the less certain of how to do.
I couldn't use cardboard in the crossbar, because it was going to hold the strings, and cardboard wouldn't be strong enough. So I ended up using a thin piece of wood that I found on the ground (it already had the perfect thickness, so it was easy to saw) and gluing it on the arms with hot glue.
Then, it came the bridge, which I wasn't even sure yet if I was going to include, because most pictures of actual chelys lyres show them from behind, so I didn't know if they in fact used to have this part. I ended up choosing to use the bridge for sound purposes. The priority was to record something with that instrument, not make it historically accurate. The next problem was how to make the bridge, and I ended up having to saw a piece of wood a lot longer and that needed a lot more precision than my abilities could provide (the good news is that the part that I was supposed to discard ended up fitting well, after being sanded for a few minutes).
I only managed to finish stringing the lyre at 4pm, so I delayed my band's rehearsal for half an hour. Fortunately, one hour was enough (we all had to leave at 5pm), and we have a rough, but neat, idea of what we're going to do for our song.
But then I left the lyre in the classroom for about 2 hours while I was in the students' union meeting, and, when I came back, the crossbar had unattached itself from the arms (taking all the hot glue and some newspaper with it), because the strings pulled too much. I glued it again, and then covered it up with papier-mâché, but I'm afraid the strings will be too loose to play now.]]> 2018-05-11 19:08:21 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063297 Day 4 - 10.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063398 Sound and Vision (Day 4)
Regarding the instrument malfunction from yesterday: The strings are too loose now, even if they don't look it, but I got a piece of wood that stretches it just enough, and I stick it between them and the arms when I need to play.
We had the first half of the class to record our song, and it ended up coming out a lot different than planned. My instrument wasn't actually used, I ended up playing one of Bruna's (who made two). We struggled a bit with Garage Band, but in the end everything went well, and we finished in the proposed time.]]> 2018-05-11 19:08:52 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063398 Day 5 - 11.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063462 Sound and Vision (Day 5)
In the first half of the class, I was in a workshop where Kevin taught how to use After Effects. I learned something very useful to our animation, which is that you can sync an image and a sound file, and make it move to the beat. No one in my group really knows how to use those programs (I want Illustration, Bruna wants design and Lucas wants concept art), so these kind of "shortcuts" are really helpful.
In the second half of the class, we started planning our graphic score, now that we have the sound to base it on. A lot of ideas were thrown around, but our final decision was that we were each going to illustrate a part of the song (which, appropriately, is divided in 3 parts), using pre-defined shapes for each instrument's sound, and a set of complementary colours for each of us (mine is yellow and purple). This way, the final graphic score will be the combination of an artwork from each member of the group, divided into three screens. Also, there's an extra element in our song, which is a shout, and we're adding the representation for this one later on, using the same illustration for all three works, instead of three different ones.]]> 2018-05-11 19:09:08 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/260063462 Day 6 - 14.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/261401025 Sound and Vision (Day 6)
After analysing the graphic scores each of us did on the weekend [mine on Image 1], we came to the conclusion that they didn't fit together like we'd planned to, so we ended up getting the element from Lucas' piece (me and Bruna weren't really satisfied with ours) and, together, arranging them to represent the whole song [Image 2]. As for the scream element, we created one in the same style as the others, and ended up colouring it with the colours Lucas had been "assigned" (orange and blue) - and this wasn't actually a thought-out decision, Lucas was playing with the colours and we thought it looked nice, and the hot/cold element fitted well with the contrast between the beginning and the end of the song that we wanted to show by using complementary colours.
We still wanted to use the idea of printing the "scream" in a transparent paper and putting it on top of the (regular) paper with the other elements, so Bruna went to Copyset to print the test sheets and me and Lucas stayed in EBAC, to start thinking about the animation.
We wanted the graphic score and the animation to be connected, and we also wanted to use the "image moving to the rhythm of the sound" technique that Kevin had taught on his workshop. This and the fact that none of us had any experience with After Effects culminated in deciding that the video would just be the same elements from the graphic score, side-by-side, with each one moving to the rhythm of the instrument it represented.
Then, Bruna came back with the test sheets and there was a problem: the impression on transparent paper was only done in A4 sheets, and we wanted our graphic score on A3, at least. She had the idea to put the A4 transparent sheet in the middle of the regular A3 one, but we weren't totally happy with how it looked, so I went with her to ask advice from today's tutors, while Lucas stayed working on the animation.
Monique and Cézar weren't big fans of the idea of putting the transparent paper in the middle of the regular sheet, they suggested we cut up rows of the screams instead (which we didn't really like) or just cut out the screams alone (which Lucas had actually already suggested, but we were a bit reluctant, because we thought it didn't show the "shiny" aspect of the transparent impression that well, but then Monique pointed out that having only the screams in the transparent paper would actually bring out said "shiny aspect" more). While we were talking, they also mentioned that the graphic score looked a bit too crowded and hard to read, and the three-part division we intended wasn't clear at all.
We discussed the feedback with Lucas and ended up deciding to cut out the screams individually, and also to try and rework our graphic score, to make it cleaner and easier to read.]]> 2018-05-16 22:40:48 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/261401025 Day 7 - 15.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/261401063 Sound and Vision (Day 7)
Today we redid our graphic score (same elements, but a continuous line instead of 3 parts, following the feedback from yesterday) and worked on the animation.
For the animation, we decided on black elements (like on the graphic score) on a orange background (one of the colours we used on the scream element on the graphic score).
Bruna got some feedback from Leopoldo on the scream element, suggesting that we put them elevated from the regular paper, and started working on it. When she showed me the first try, I told her that I thought it looked better directly on the paper, and that the transparent paper holding it upwards looked weird. She then proposed we tried with the support on the horizontal, following the line in the middle of the graphic score, that represented the bass, and it was a great improvement.
As we're basically finished with what was requested on the brief, Bruna said she wanted to do something more, so she decided to come to EBAC tomorrow and do some screen printing and T-shirts, using the same illustration that is going to appear on the animation.]]> 2018-05-16 22:41:08 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/261401063 Day 8 - 16.05.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/261401177 Sound and Vision (Day 8)
Today I stayed at home, painting my instrument. I didn't have the time to do it before, and it wasn't necessary, as I only needed it for it's sound, but now that we've mostly finished our project, I'm finally finalising my lyre. I don't know if it'll be ready for friday, thought, because I had to paint everything white at first, to cover up the newspaper, and also have to paint one side of the instrument at a time, so there's a while where I'm just sitting and waiting for it to dry. Also, I still need to figure out how exactly I'm painting the nylon strings.]]> 2018-05-16 22:41:55 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/261401177 Day 9 - 17.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/262188447 Sound and Vision (Day 9)
Our work was pretty much finished already, but Sol gave us some tips to make it look more interesting, saying that having a lot of things to present didn't necessarily show quality of work. She suggested we did a bit more experimentation on the screen prints (and T-shirts, but we were happy with these) and added some more movement to the video, making the elements get closer to each other as the song went on. Lucas went to work on the animation and Bruna on the screen prints, and I alternated between helping the both of them.
On the afternoon, when we were organising our table for tomorrow, Monique saw the screen prints and suggested that we bookbinded it, using the same technique we did to make our drawing diaries. [Image]
To be honest, I didn't do much today. I was having unexpected menstrual cramps and didn't have my meds, so this made it a bit hard to work, and I actually went home early, missing the Life Drawing class.
At home, I spent the rest of the day painting my instrument. It's not finished yet, missing the details, but I'm probably the only one who can notice this. I'm thinking of stringing it again, though, I think the strings are getting looser with time.]]> 2018-05-20 16:23:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/262188447 Day 10 - 18.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/262188465 Sound and Vision (Day 10)
Today we had the crit for the "Sound and Vision" project. The class was split in half and each group had 15 minutes to showcase our projects and receive feedback.
How did I personally contribute to the success of my team? Why am I happy with my contribution?
Honestly, I feel like I could've contributed a lot more. Lucas' pathway is Moving Image, and Bruna's choice of B.A. is Design, so, naturally, they each took a lead of the animation and the graphic score and I ended up mostly helping them out, and giving some ideas when we brainstormed.
What feedback did the group receive and what can I learn from this feedback?
We gave each other feedback via a game, and the result can be found here (including my own opinions, under "MC").
According to the data from the game, we met the brief well; could've experimented more with processes, but used a good amount; the graphic score was the piece of work that got the most attention; people liked the way we sold the problems presented; and we showed a "personal style".
Overall, it seems we went very well, definitely better than I expected. Our animation was simple, but that's due to lack of experience from all 3 of us. We definitely could've experimented more, and that's something we talked about yesterday, we decided on something in the beginning and never got very far from it.
How will I use this feedback to improve my future work?
I'm already aware that I have a problem with experimentation, so this feedback was another incentive for me to try this more.
What assessment criteria can I evidence for the Part 2 assessment after this project?
From Unit 5: 1.1 (Identify and adapt appropriate methods and materials to develop ideas), 1.2 (Demonstrate practical methods and skills for creative production), 2.2 (Demonstrate approaches within a chosen art or design subject), 3.1 (Integrate research, interpretation and evaluation of information and ideas), 4.1 (Integrate and apply practical, theoretical and technical understanding), 5.1 (Maintain detailed, critically reflective records e.g. reflective journal or log) and 5.2 (Review and evaluate how effective own learning, plans, methods and actions have been).]]> 2018-05-20 16:23:54 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/262188465 Day 11 - 21.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/262440750 The End Of The World (Day 1)
Today was our first proper day on the Visual Communication pathway, and we're doing an Illustration project, which I'm immensely excited about. We started by seeing a presentation with several illustrations that could be interpreted as related to the end of the world, and discussing what made them strong [Image 1]. Then, we each chose an Illustration of the end of the world and described it to the class, to see how important details really are in a drawing.
After lunch, we all worked together making several small drawings that turned into a single big one, and it was surprisingly very fun. I'm always a bit stressed about the final product when drawing, so it was nice to just have fun not worry about results. Then, we were asked to take pictures of our favourite parts of the drawing and post one on Padlet [Image 2].
On a similar note, wee then had to pick an element from an image we'd chosen as inspiration and use it as reference for a drawing. We all reflected about where we'd positioned the element on the paper, if we envisioned it as being on the background, foreground or middle, perspective, light source... All things I don't usually consider, even having had classes on this (I immediately started adding shadows on my zombie). Our task was to add at least two more elements to this drawing [Image 3] until tomorrow, so I was working on it by the end of the class, and showed it to Michael. The drawing, by then, only took up half the page, so he asked what I was planning to do with the rest, and I replied nothing, because I thought it'd look weird, so he suggested putting a big tombstone right in the front (as there were already some on the drawing). I tried and it brought so much more life (no pun intended) to the drawing, in a way I can't really explain. It's the first time in years that I do a drawing that really takes up the whole page, with a full scenery to it, instead of just whatever is touching the characters. People are my favourite thing to draw, and I"m not very good at backgrounds, so I end up completely neglecting them and just drawing people floating on a blank page, even though I have the whole scene in mind, and even see it whenever I look at the "finished" product.
Our final activity of the day was to, in groups of four, tell our idea for the illustrations and have our colleagues apply the SCAMPER method [Image 1] to it. I've actually not decided yet what I want to do, so I explained some of the ideas I had and heard they discuss them. From the ideas that came out of this exercise, I had two favourites, both Sofia's, one where I'd show how the mythical/fantastic creatures we hear about disappeared, and one with a war between ancient deities resulted in the end of the world (though I don't think I'll be using this one, as I'm already working on a project about greek deities on my free time).
How has the research you have undertaken into illustration influenced your approach to this brief?
To be honest, today was by far the best class I've had in my life. It was literally everything I hoped college would be, and this is mostly due to the fact that "the research I've undertaken into illustration" is basically the last 4 years of my life. I'm extremely excited for this project.
When illustrating, what are the important considerations?
Colour, depth of field, lighting, how much to take out, perspective, point of view, details, context and who is in it.
What did you learn from the drawing exercises in the studio today?
To try to worry less when drawing, to make it more fun, but also to take in consideration aspects that I'd always just trust to happen naturally.
What problems did you encounter with your illustrations today?
My lack of experience with using more technical things, like light source, horizon line...
How could you have improved your illustrations today?
"By planning them better from the beginning" is what first comes to mind, but the way both of them happened didn't really leave room for it, so I guess I did the best I could, under the circumstances.]]> 2018-05-21 17:12:59 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/262440750 Day 12 - 22.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/262864148 The End Of The World (Day 2)
Class today was dedicated to develop more our ideas to the project, with occasional inputs from Leopoldo.
Out of all the ideas I had, I'm now between two: The extinction of fantastic creatures, and the destruction of Krypton. What draws me to the last one, besides my love of comics, is the idea of making a "plot twist" where one thinks what's being shown is a futuristic Earth seeing it's end, but on the last panel there's a familiar spaceship leaving the exploding planet. As for the first one, the visuals are what gets me the most. I love drawing magical creatures, and their "natural habitats" are so beautiful, in so many different ways, and I'd love to portrait this.
Leopoldo suggested that I drew some things for each idea, and eventually picked the one I liked best, so that's what I did for the rest of the day.
After the class ended, I talked to Sol (with whom I had a conversation last week, where she said I should come to her whenever I needed help, so I seized the opportunity given by she being today's Moving Image tutor) and she had a very different suggestion. She said I should explore more ideas, besides those two, and, especially, more techniques (as all the drawings I did today were in pencil). She said that I have all of next week to make the drawings, so there's no need to hurry]]> 2018-05-22 23:35:12 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/262864148 Day 13 - 23.05.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/263815560 The End Of The World (Day 3)
Today I finished the drawings Leo suggested of the two possible themes for the project and decided which one I"m going to use.
The Krypton designs were very fun to make, and I hope to still have the chance to work with them at some point, even if just on a personal project, but the first three panels would look too much alike, while I have a lot more room for different scenarios and characters if I do the magical creatures idea. Besides, I'm not really sure the Krypton idea fits on the brief, because it's something that has been done before (multiple times, in fact).
Now, I'm starting to think of some techniques to try out (like Sol suggested), and what to make with each of them.]]> 2018-05-26 21:47:02 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/263815560 Day 14 - 24.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/263815568 The End Of The World (Day 4)
I've started trying out techniques [Images 1 and 2].
On the first work, I was inspired by an illustration by Alayna Danner that we were shown in class, which is actually what really made me consider doing something with magical creatures. I used acrylics on a paper that imitates canvas. I really liked how it came out, and it was very fun to make, but I really don't think I could do anything very detailed, like a face, with this.
For the second work, I used coloured pencils, which I actually never liked working with, but this went better than I expected. The illustration focused a lot on the colouring, especially lighting, which are things I usually avoid, and the result was actually really great, especially compared to how my colouring/shading normally goes, but definitely not good enough that I'd want to do my whole series with this technique.]]> 2018-05-26 21:47:12 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/263815568 Day 15 - 25.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/263815645 The End Of The World (Day 5)
On the first part of the class, we had a Photoshop and Illustrator workshop. I'm already very familiar with drawing on Photoshop (even if I mostly use it just for colouring, preferring Paint Tool Sai for the lines), so the Illustrator part was what I was most interested in.
It ended up being quite different from what I expected, I didn't even think it would have the option of drawing with brushes, considering I can't think of any artist I follow who uses it. What was most attractive to me was the possibility of creating a brush with a scan of my own trace on paper. I've mentioned before my problem with finding a way of drawing digitally that satisfies me as much as how my style looks on paper, so being able to simply transfer how the drawing looks would be ideal. But recently I found a brush that I've actually been liking, so this single attractive probably won't be enough to make me start using Illustrator.
On the second part of the class, I continued experimenting with techniques, this time watercolour [Image 1]. I really love the way watercolour-ed drawings look, but I don't have much practice. Using this technique ends up being very stressful, and the results never measure up to what I was thinking. The project would actually probably look very good in watercolour, but I don't have enough ability to make it half as good as it could.
Later, I absently started drawing digitally [Image 2], using the brush I mentioned above, and - although still not ideal - it actually worked out great. It has a lot of the "sketchy" look my trace has on paper, and it was quite fun and quick to make (unlike the Zine, where I used smooth lines and it proved to be absolute torture). So, in the end, despite having tried a lot of other techniques, I'm probably sticking with doing the illustrations digitally.]]> 2018-05-26 21:48:26 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/263815645 Day 17 - 29.05.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265416393 The End Of The World (Day 7)
I missed class yesterday because I was feeling sick, but I already started working on my illustrations at home. The basic draft is finished for all of them, and I'd already started working on some of the final lines. It's going indescribably better than the zine. I haven't fully mastered drawing with this new brush yet (and it's specially hard to keep the lines proportionate when I'm drawing small, delicate creatures on the same scenery as big trees), and it's not going as naturally/looking as good as it happened with the sketch I showed on my last entry, but the fact that it's going way faster than my last project with digital drawings, and looking basically as good, is already amazing news.
I showed my experimentations and what's done of the definite version to Sol and she said that, as far as experimenting with techniques goes, I did well, but I still need to work on branching out my style. I'm a bit reluctant to do this, because I'm actually quite happy with my drawing style, but Solange was our drawing teacher last year and I trust her to know what she's talking about, so I'll make an effort. She also understood why I ultimately chose to go with digital art, but suggested I still added some (scanned) handmade elements. I'm really not a fan of collage, but I told her I'd try to do it if I have the time.
Then, I talked to Leopoldo, our actual tutor for the day, and told him what Sol had said. He suggested some more stylised designs for the characters, but I'm already pretty set on how I want this project to work out.
The rest of the day I spent working on the lineart. The problems I mentioned above are still present but, besides that, it's going really well.]]> 2018-06-04 15:18:51 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265416393 Day 18 - 30.05.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265416745 The End Of The World (Day 8)
I worked more on the lineart and am now almost done with it. There's not much to say about how it's going that I haven't already said on my previous entry.]]> 2018-06-04 15:20:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265416745 Days Off - 31.05.2018-03.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265417367 The End Of The World (Extra Days)
My mother was in town for the holiday so I'll have to admit I wasn't nearly as productive as I could've been. I'm mostly satisfied with the lineart, except for the problem I mentioned before where it's sometimes seems disproportionate due to how much some elements differ in size. What happens is, with the smaller ones, I zoom in a lot to be able to do the details, and, with the bigger ones, I zoom out a lot to see the piece as a whole and be able to fit the element in it the best way possible. So, the lines I use with the smaller elements are much thinner than the ones I use on the bigger ones, and this is something I'll definitely have to watch out for in the future, try to be closer to a middle ground.
Overall, though, I was still happy with how most of the drawings turned out. But the first one of the series [Image] definitely could've been better. It's a landscape showing as much of the different environments from this magical pre-humans world as I could (which turned out to be too much), but the perspective clearly needs some work. There's no obvious point of view and, to be honest, I didn't even remember to use the technical lines I've actually had classes on (probably because of how rarely I draw actual backgrounds). And what bothers me the most about it is how disproportionate it looks. The environments look too small when compared to the creatures, the trees and the rocks, but the trees look too small when compared to the creatures... Given more time, I'd definitely change a lot of things. The mountains in the background, the volcano-looking mountains (but with a subtler sky over it) and the sea look mostly fine, but the rest looks too neatly divided, unnatural. I'd have to find a way to include at least a hint of the rock desert between the two sets of mountains, maybe making it look like it's further away (along with the regular mountains), and leave a green area nearby the centaurs, so that they don't look too out-of-place, and still find a way to include a beach (or maybe move the mermaids to freshwater near the green area...).
As for the colouring, I used a lot of a photoshop brush that randomly mixes the foreground and background colours. In my opinion, it gives a lot more natural look to things like grass, wood, leafs, scales, feathers... The downside is that it looks a lot better with proper shading, and I ended up not having the time to do it (besides a bit on the last one, where the hill looked flat without it), because of what I mentioned in the beginning. I don't known if I'll have the time to re-do the first illustration before the assessment (I know we'll have a project that is to re-visit old projects, but I already plan on working on the zine, so I don't know if I'll be able to do this too), but I'll definitely find some time to add light and shadow.
Also, I forgot to make the images CMYK until very late in the colouring, so some things ended up looking very different than I planned, especially the grass, given everything was in RGB before.]]> 2018-06-04 15:22:28 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265417367 Day 19 - 04.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265418159 The End Of The World (Day 9)
I arrived just before the class started and my mother got there to give me the printed illustrations (she was waiting for them to be ready at Copyset) just after it began, so my presentation was definitely lacking.
During the Crit, we weren't allowed to explain our work or even talk at all, because our illustration's job was to speak for themselves. We should just listen and record what our colleagues (half of the Visual Communication part of the class) had to say about our work. Bellow, I'll show a transcript of the recording (with some modifications for better understanding), with my own comments regarding what was said, and pictures of the final pieces.
Julie: So, I think that I really like your final outcome, okay-
Michael: Why?
Julie: No, wait, I’ll get to the point. I really, really like it, I’m not saying I don’t like it, okay, let’s just be clear. But. I have seen you work, and I saw how beautiful you can do with your hands instead of… With a computer… So what I’m trying to say is that maybe you can do really nice stuff handmade, you know? So maybe, sometimes try to embrace this instead of like- I don’t know, for me, I believe like this- the texture and feeling the paper and, like, this is really pretty but you don’t get to touch the paper, you don’t see the marks, you don’t see the-
Yasmin: You don’t feel the-
Julie: The, yeah so, like, maybe it’s a thing for Fine Arts, I don’t know, but I would just want to say that maybe leave sometimes the... Box…
As soon as Julie started talking I knew what she was going to say. She'd told me before how much she liked my handmade experiments and preferred them over digital drawings, so I knew what was coming. I agree on how nice it is to see and feel the texture on handmade art, but I also agree with her comment that it's a "Fine Arts thing". My career goal is to illustrate comics, where it wouldn't matter if my art is handmade, because it ultimately would end up scanned and printed. I am working with "leaving the box" when it comes to my drawings, but, considering the path I plan to follow professionally, I have to be able to evoke feelings with my art without people being able to "touch the paper and feel the texture"
Julie: [contd.] But it’s really pretty, and you can see the narrative, and you can see how you developed it, and I think that this is something you would like to do, this kind of narrative and this kind of creatures, so it was something that totally fits you, so you can see there’s effort and passion into each [piece]. You can see so many details, microscopic details. And, if you would enlarge it, you would see many det- like I saw how much time you spent doing those freaking, uh...
Michael: Wings.
Julie: Wings, so…
She saw me doing some of the fairies on Tuesday, and I was struggling with a pair of wings that I wanted to show mid-lowering, because the fairy was taking care of a sick gnome who'd just died. I did try to incorporate as much of a narrative as I could and every character has a bit of a personality and a story established in my head, so I really appreciate that people were able to see at least some of that.
Michael: Letícia.
Letícia: Okay, so, adding to what Julie is saying. For example, here you can see that even the colours, I think they worked better. I don’t know if it’s because they are blue and orange, are in the opposite sides of the chromatic wheel, so I think that if you had thought more about the colours to use maybe it could be- It would get more to this, because I know that you wanted to make this digital, so maybe if you really wanted to make it digital, because of the colours, it would give… I don’t know how to explain this-
Julie: Harmony.
Letícia: Yeah, more- There would be more harmony, I guess, because- Looking at it, for example, this one. I think that the mushrooms, they catch my attention because of the yellow, and because it’s very light- and red, of course, but then it looks like the fairies, they’re-
Julie: Unless that’s what you want, you know-
Letícia: Yeah-
Me: I did it in RGB then turned it into CMYK-
[Everyone shushes me]
Letícia: Yeah but that’s- You know, I’m just talking about colour and harmony…
As I said in the recording and on my previous entry, I did the whole work in RGB and only by the end realised that and changed everything to CMYK, so I didn't have time to re-do anything besides what look the most weird (the grass). The bright yellow of the mushrooms actually bothered me after I saw the work printed, because I'd intended for it to be very soft. The red top of them was indeed always bright, but so were the greens of the forest, so it didn't stand out as much. I definitely need to tweak with the colours a lot if I plan to include those drawings on my portfolio.
Michael: I think it could be a combination of both, couldn’t it? I don’t see why we couldn’t have it in this- It’s starting to happen over here, perhaps, and maybe even over here, this texture being brought into the work through a combination- it could be a combination of hand-painted and digital.
The texture was actually made using the Photoshop brush I mentioned before, which was probably the best decision I made on the colouring of those illustrations. I didn't have the time to include Solange's suggestion of doing parts of the drawings manually, but apparently it looked like I did anyway.
Michael: [contd.] My issue with digital is that it looks like it’s all being created separately, in separate elements. For example these creatures down here are being just copied and pasted into that environment, without an appreciation of where they are, there’s no shadows. The perspective is off, it looks as though those elements are not all in this place, and they could be. Now, it could be that you decided to do that to make it seem unbelievable or unrealistic, but the simple inclusion of some shadows on the beach, for example, would make these characters seem like they fit in that environment. It’s got the feel of a sticker-book to me, where those elements are just being put on the top.
I definitely agree with all of this. I didn't have the time to include the shadows (which was my fault, as I prioritised spending time with my mother), and definitely plan to finish properly colouring the drawings once I have the time.
Michael: [contd.] And the things I do like are the colour choices, and I think that the elements that are brighter stand out, because the rest of the environment is quite muted in terms of its colours, you know, browns, quite mixed greens... But then there’s primary colours, that do stand out. Pedro.
This was actually the opposite of what I"d intended. The original colour of the drawings (in RGB) was bright and colourful, to pass the idea of magical and happy place. It was to be slowly getting darker, the first one being seen from above, the second in the middle of a forest, where light could only pass between the leafs, and the third on a place with caves and rocks and very little vegetation. This way, the lighting would connect with the story where the creatures were slowly getting sick and dying.
Pedro: Uh, yeah, I was gonna say that the shadows- But also the you created a texture using digital and brushes and- Illustrator, right? So yeah like this and this, you can see a texture [made] using brushes, you could join this analogue brushes and digitalize and use the brushes that you made on hands so you compose.
Like Michael had thought the Photoshop brush was handmade art scanned, Pedro thought I'd made my own brush on Illustrator using handmade traces. Again, it's just a regular Photoshop brush that I really like (in fact, it's the only reason I use Photoshop to colour instead of PaintTool SAI, where I draw).
Michael: Good. Last question, and I’d like to ask this of everyone around here [unintelligible]. What’s the story?
[Short silence]
Pedro: The time... of the mystical beasts.
Yasmin: I think I have a... The story is...
Natália: The magical-
Yasmin: Yeah, the magical and the-
Natália: [unintelligible], the bad...
Yasmin: Bad world… take-
Michael: How does it end?
Yasmin: -The… good… world…
Pedro: The- All- All the creatures are dead.
Michael: Which one is the final panel, though?
Julie: Aaaaahhhooorrrggghhh! Okay, I got it! So, like, it’s the de-
Yasmin: [laughs] Tell me!
Julie: Ah, no, no no! It’s the death of the mythical world, right? So then, here it’s like, humanity, us, homo sapiens, like, this- It’s like the end of the world that I think she really likes, which is this world that is mythical and magical so - ugh sorry, I didn’t understand that earlier – so, yeah, like. I can see it now.
Yasmin: Now it makes sense, now everything makes sense!
Michael: What do we think of that story, then. What do we think of that story?
Julie: It’s really nice.
 Michael: It’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? Actually, it’s not the end of the real world, it’s the end of mythology. Nice, okay. Tom, you had a comment you wanted to make?
When I was undecided between two possible stories (Krypton and the one I ended up using) what attracted me the most to the other story was the possibility of having a plot twist on the last illustration (with it being revealed that the planet being destroyed was not a futuristic Earth, but Krypton), and it seems I unintentionally managed to still do this. I hadn't realised that the fact the fantastic world I showed was something that took place before the human race was born would surprise people, so the reaction to the story ended up being a lot nicer than I'd anticipated.
Tom: I wanna say that I like the details of- Uh, if you look there’s some little fairies, and some details that it’s nice to observe, if you go closer and- It’s not so explicit.
Michael: Yes, there’s clues there, isn’t it? But it’s not very literal. There’s clues we can investigate. With our eyes. Those details. Okay, yeah. And, very finally, Julie.
Julie: Also, I really like how you planned your characters. You tried to study a lot, every single- you know. So I really like how much study you’ve done for- you know.
Again, I tried to include as much of a narrative as I could and I'm glad people could see this. If you zoom in a lot on the first panel you can see a lamia/nāga who's already sick, with blood running from her mouth. In the second panel, the potion the fairies are giving to the sick creatures is the same colour as the plant on the bottom left, because I intended for it to be made from the leafs (which one fairy is even seen trying to pull) and one fairy drops the potion she was holding when she starts coughing blood, which is how the disease starts. On the third panel, you see the creatures being eaten by larvae, while plants grow around them, to show that the geography of the land is changing. And, on the fourth panel, the dragon skeleton was found beside a mountain, which I intended to be one of the mountains shown on the first panel, where the dragons used to live, except now it's taken by vegetation (as was shown on the third panel).
Yasmin: And I think it has a Maria Clara identity there
Julie: Yes, totally. Like the dog. There’s a dog!
Yasmin: Because, [out of] anyone in the class, I would know that this is Maria Clara’s work.
Michael: Very good. Uh, lets move...
I have nothing to say about this except that it made me really happy.
  • What assessment criteria can I evidence for the Part 2 assessment after this project?
1.1 (Identify and adapt appropriate methods and materials to develop ideas.)
1.2 (Demonstrate practical methods and skills for creative production.)
2.1 (Analyse different contextual perspectives within a chosen art or design subject.)
2.2 (Demonstrate approaches within a chosen art or design subject.)
3.1 (Integrate research, interpretation and evaluation of information and ideas.)
3.2 (Use analytical skills to develop creative solutions.)
4.1 (Integrate and apply practical, theoretical and technical understanding.)
4.2 (Solve complex problems within a chosen art or design subject.)
5.1 (Maintain detailed, critically reflective records e.g. reflective journal or log.)
5.2 (Review and evaluate how effective own learning, plans, methods and actions have been.)
]]> 2018-06-04 15:25:52 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265418159 Day 20 - 05.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265978701 Rules, Restrictions and Chance (Day 1)
Today we met at the Garoa Hacker Club to hear one of it's members, Alexandre Villares, talk (mostly) about programming. It was a fun experience, but, to be honest, I didn't really understand it's purpose. I know the brief says the outcome can be a digital game, but it's not like one could learn programming from zero AND make a game, no matter how basic, in less than two weeks. So anyone planning on making a digital game likely already has some experience on this area.
After lunch, we had the Project Briefing and spent the rest of the day "idea-generating" for the project. The most I achieved with that was a list of "techniques that use chance as a process", to eventually use when planning the game, but, to be fair, I didn't sleep well and was very tired.]]> 2018-06-06 22:02:49 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265978701 Day 21 - 06.06.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265978775 Rules, Restrictions and Chance (Day 2)
I spent the day planning the basics of my project and what I ultimately decided was to stick with the board game idea that was my first thought upon reading the project description. I then proceeded to start researching a bit about some board games I enjoy that are both fun and simple (so, kids' games).]]> 2018-06-06 22:03:36 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/265978775 Day 22 - 07.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/266216036 Rules, Restrictions and Chance (Day 3)
Today I started really working on the game.
First, I combined elements from the two games that inspired me (the Barbie Rapunzel and Pokémon Master Trainer ons, that can be seen on my Research File), trying to make something that wasn't as simple nor as complicated as the ones I used as reference.
Then, I started to think of the theme I could use on the game. I'm not really a big fan of games, so I thought it'd be easier to make one if I started with the story (I'm not much of a writer, but I like to think I'm quite good when creating the basic outline of stories). I listed several theme ideas, both of things I'm familiar enough with to be able to make a work about and of broad things that simply could make a good game theme. To pick a theme, I'd go through each possibility and start thinking up action cards made about that. The possibility that was the most successful, the one that was the easiest to imagine a goal and actions to, was Superheroes. I was a bit hesitant to use this theme, because I've already used it on another project, but I figured it's been enough time since then that it won't seem that repetitive.
Once I chose the theme, I started laying out the rules. For that, I'd write out elements of the game (the characters, the spaces, the victory...) and then come up with possible ways they could work. There were a lot of possibilities, which we're always told is a good thing on the beginning of a project, but it's already Thursday, so I'm running out on time a bit.
Thankfully, after class I asked some of my friends and classmates (who like games a lot more than me) to help me out. The basic summary of what they said is that 1. I need to include choices in the game, because I considered "rolling the dice" as a way of deciding basically anything and 2. The first thing I needed to decide is the final goal, how you ultimately win the game. Then I went through the whole game with Fan and he helped sort out almost everything. The game ended up too complicated, though, so he suggested I went through the whole thing again later and tried to take out anything that wasn't essential, since I only have a week to make this from zero.]]> 2018-06-08 01:10:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/266216036 Day 23 - 08.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/266609044 Rules, Restrictions and Chance (Day 4)
Today I was going to refine the rules of my game, to make them simpler, easier for both the future players and me, the maker. I starting by listing ways I could simplify the already-existing game (A: no more life points, force points... just points. B: no more points-based system, each player would use only the abilities they get with their powers). When I couldn't think of anything else, I started talking to my friends. Bia, especially, gave me a great idea, that seemed obvious after she suggested: get rid of the points and make the goal to reach the end of the board, so, instead of gaining/loose points you'd walk forward/back spaces.
After that, I talked with Michael and ended up changing the game completely. I had three different ideas after our talk: 1. Instead of superheroes, the players would be supervillains, who'd use their powers to advance on the board or push their adversaries back. 2. Half of the players would be heroes, the other half would be villains, the villains' goal was to get to the end of the board, and the heroes' goal was to stop their nemesis. 3. The players are neutral superpowered people, along the game they'd make choices between helping people (and gaining points) or advance on the board. The winner would be the person who got to the end of the board the quickest and with the most points.
I asked around what option people preferred, but ended up choosing the first one because 1. it was the one I had most developed in my head and 2. the other ideas had been more Michael's than mine.
After deciding the basic structure of the game, I set to establish the actual rules and the story behind the game. I finished this early enough that, after that, I started designing the board and am basically finished.
Overall, it was a very productive day, and I finished even more stuff that I had planned on the beginning.]]> 2018-06-11 13:20:17 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/266609044 Day 24 - 11.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/266678575 Rules, Restrictions and Chance (Day 5)
With everything planned, all left was to actually build the game. I'd mapped out the basic structure of the board on photoshop during the weekend, so today I added the actual spaces and "decorated" everything [Image].
As far as the actual design goes, I'm not really sure I like it that much. I'm not very good at design, so it definitely doesn't look professional.
After finishing the board, I started on the pawns. I had to start planning them from zero, because didn't actually have any idea of how to make them. I looked through Moving Image's sculptures on their side of the room and ended up, inspired by Laura's work, deciding to make them out of hot glue. I researched if I could paint on hot glue and, apparently, acrylic paint takes, but it takes a few coats.]]> 2018-06-11 18:48:29 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/266678575 Day 26 - 13.06.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/267303047 Rules, Restrictions and Chance (Day 7)
The students' fair is this saturday so I actually took today to do everything I needed in preparation for it. So, as for the current project itself, I only managed to make and paint the pawns [Image] and print the board and rules.
The pawns went very well, more than I expected. They're practical, look decent and were very easy to make (they actually only needed one coat of paint, so that was very fast).]]> 2018-06-15 02:21:19 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/267303047 Day 27 - 14.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/267303159 Rules, Restrictions and Chance (Day 8)
Today was the last day to finish the project. It was already playable, all I had left to do was decorate the box (which I'd bought monday after class) and make it so the board could fold as to fit in it.
I had some problems with the box and it took a lot longer than I planned. I painted it with  acrylic paint, but I didn't calculate the amount needed well and ended up mixing way less paint than I needed. Then, I couldn't replicate the same colour, and ended up applying coat after coat of paint, trying to get all sides of the box the same shade. It got to a point where the paint coat on the bottom was so thick I managed to peel off most of it. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end [Image 1], but, with all the mess, I ended up missing my lunch time.
The board also didn't go well [Images 2-3]. I tried to use the technique Monique taught us, but my measurements were off and I ended up having to cut pieces of the parana paper after it was already glued to the board (not to mention the glue itself didn't take right, but I'm actually not sure of what went wrong here).
But I managed to finish everything up and even test the game and record the video.]]> 2018-06-15 02:22:21 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/267303159 Day 28 - 15.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/267303652 Rules, Restrictions and Chance (Day 9)
Crit day. The feedback I got was that the game seemed fun to play, when explained, but it's appearance didn't translate that well. Everything is grey so, while it does have a reason (in the story, the villains are stuck on a lab, so the grey represents the technology, the machines), I'll admit it does look a bit dull. One of the comments I got was that the story behind the game sounded interesting, and that it would be nice to show the supervillains to the people playing the game. This was actually my original plan, to have them in the background of the board, but I spent so much time thinking up the game, I didn't get to do it, so I just put a tech-looking texture. If I have time, either on the "Re-do" week or during our vacation, I'll definitely be coming back to it. Not only to better the work, but also because designing the supervillains sounds like a lot of fun.
As for the game itself, it was really fun to play and so far everyone who did had a good time. I definitely achieved my goal here (to make a fun game that I could play with my friends), so I'm extremely satisfied. The rules need a little polishing (short story: semantics can be used to walk over rules that were perfectly clear in my mind), but everything else about playing it satisfies me.
  • What assessment criteria can I evidence for the Part 2 assessment after this project?
1.1 (Identify and adapt appropriate methods and materials to develop ideas.)
1.2 (Demonstrate practical methods and skills for creative production.)
3.1 (Integrate research, interpretation and evaluation of information and ideas.)
3.2 (Use analytical skills to develop creative solutions.)
4.1 (Integrate and apply practical, theoretical and technical understanding.)
4.2 (Solve complex problems within a chosen art or design subject.)
5.1 (Maintain detailed, critically reflective records e.g. reflective journal or log.)
5.2 (Review and evaluate how effective own learning, plans, methods and actions have been.)
Portfolio Preparation
  • Why am I (not) happy with how my portfolio developed since the last session June 4th?
I still haven't figured out what I want to put on it. Most projects we did weren't illustration-related so I don't really have much material. I'm conflicted between choosing stuff I did this year and liked but aren't illustrations or putting illustrations I like that are a bit old already.
  • What can I do to improve my portfolio?
Research more about illustration-related portfolios, maybe talk to Jaygo or some people from B.A..
  • How and when will I make those improvements?
Most people from B.A. aren't really coming to class those past few weeks, so it might be hard to talk to them, but I can still talk to Jaygo. Depending on what I get from those talks, I might have to work, during vacation, on producing more work that is 1. good, 2. illustration-related and 3. recent.
]]> 2018-06-15 02:27:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/267303652 Day 29 - 25.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268928010 I DO; I UNDO; I REDO (Day 1)
As stated on my Research File, the project I intend to work on this week is the Self-Publish one. My plan is not exactly to "redo" it, but to finish what I'd originally planned on doing with my zine. Over the weekend, I already applied the flat colours to the then-black&white drawings, so what I have left to add to them are the backgrounds and the shading.
Today, after the induction, we divided ourselves in groups of our and gave each other feedback on our plans for this week. The comment that most caught my attention was actually Michael's. I told him I'd decided on this project because I didn't really like any others from Part 1 and he replied that I didn't have work with the same brief, I could modify it to fit something I liked better. I considered this and went over the list of projects again, but ended up not really being able to twist them into something of my liking (The Collector would take up too much time, unless I did something with dogs again - which I don't want to. Movable Type and Believing Is Seeing were about typography and photography, respective, none of which I really like. and PROTEST felt too artificial - and, as I don't really have anything specifically bothering me right now, I don't really feel like doing it).
In the afternoon, we used the SCAMPER technique again. Using Reverse, I produced something a lot more similar to the Hawkeye Initiative (seen on my original Research File for this project), that I'd actually really like to explore, but on a later date. Right now, I'm focused on finishing my zine, not only because of this week's project, but because it really bothered me how unfinished the original one felt.]]> 2018-06-29 02:21:36 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268928010 Day 30 - 26.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268928066 I DO; I UNDO; I REDO (Day 2)
I missed the first half of the class.
On the second one, I had a one-on-one session with Bea where we talked not only about this project, but also about my influences and plans to develop my work on a more long-term basis [Image].
I then spent the rest of the day working on the backgrounds of my zine's drawings.]]> 2018-06-29 02:22:00 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268928066 Day 31 - 27.06.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268928079 I DO; I UNDO; I REDO (Day 3)
I'll have to admit I didn't get much done today, only sketched-out the backgrounds I didn't finish yesterday and changed some characters to fit better with said backgrounds.
I'm spending the vacation month on my hometown and my flight is on saturday morning, so I have a lot of things to get done until then.]]> 2018-06-29 02:22:10 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268928079 Day 33 - 29.06.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268928086 I DO; I UNDO; I REDO (Day 5)
Evaluation
"The evaluative statement should address the following:
  • What were my aims and objectives for this project?
  • Did I achieve what I set out to do?
  • How has the project changed since the first time I did it?
  • Has the work improved? How?"
I unfortunately didn't achieve much of what I planned with this project. I intended to finish drawing and properly colouring all the pages until today, but so far only have the flat colours on the characters, two complete backgrounds and basic sketches of the other six. It's looking promising, but definitely far from complete.
This was a busy week for me, because there were a lot of things that needed to be done before my flight on saturday morning. So, as we're not really even having a Crit for this project, I prioritised preparing for my month away over actually working on the zine. I do, however, plan to finish it during my vacation, which I'll be using for expanding my work, .
]]> 2018-06-29 02:22:17 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268928086 I DO; I UNDO; I REDO mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268971419 Rationale
"Write a short rationale that includes an explanation of:
• the project you have chosen to revisit
• your reasons for choosing the project
• your intended approach"
For “I DO; I UNDO; I REDO” I’ll be re-visiting my “Self-Publish” outcome. Since I finished this project, my plan was always to come back to it at some point. I’ve mentioned before that my zine was something very similar to what I hope to work with in the future, so the fact that I wasn’t satisfied with it bothers me a great deal. I didn’t have time to do a lot of what I intended on the illustrations, because the lineart took way more time than expected. So, this week, I’ll come back to the original files and colour them properly (instead of the flat b&w I had to go with), add backgrounds and work more on the design of the pages themselves (mostly adding some writing). I'll also have to add a disclaimer stating that I don't own the characters shown in my zine, which is something I completely forgot to do with the original.]]> 2018-06-29 13:16:36 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/268971419 Day 30 - 02.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/271914357 Surrounding Narratives (Day 1)
Today was the first day back from the mid-year break. We had the induction for the new project and a presentation by Marcia Cymbalista. Unfortunately, I was late and arrived only in the middle of the presentation, missing the induction, so I was a bit confused as to what the project was going to be about.
The class was divided between the pathways and Ana briefly explained the project again, but, as we haven't received the brief yet, I'm still not completely sure on some details.
The basics of it is that we will have to illustrate a narrative, having the EBAC building as starting point, so, on the second half of the class, we went around the building drawing parts of it that we found interesting.
To be honest, it wasn't a very productive day, but that's probably due to the facts that 1. We're just returning from a month "off", so the tutors are probably taking it easy at first and 2. The building was occupied by the Adobe event and we didn't even have our classroom, which was apparently unplanned.]]> 2018-08-03 20:10:30 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/271914357 Day 31 - 03.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/271914375 Souvenir (vacation work) - Crit
The class started with dividing the students in half and doing the Crit for the 'Souvenir' project we were supposed to do in July.
My souvenir was a keychain (actually 3, but I only brought one back to São Paulo) that was a melting ice cream [image]. It was based on my hometown's famously high temperatures and the fact that I had two of my wisdom teeth removed and ended up eating a lot of ice cream. I decided to make them keychains was to reference the maternity souvenirs from my nephew's birth. The only big event from my vacation that I didn't reference was probably my dog's hysterectomy, and I'd like to do something about her - not necessarily the surgery - because she's such a big part of me coming home, considering she's the only of my loved ones that I can't just call when I miss.
The feedback I got was mostly questions about the story behind it, and how I combined both the place I spent my vacation on and my experiences during it, and comments about the keychain's size. It's definitely bigger than a regular keychain, but that's because the plastic cup and spoon I used were taken from an actual ice cream place, so the final pieces ended up being life-sized.
I was also told that, to make it more obvious that it was an ice cream, I should put a logo on the cup - which I actually considered, but ended up not doing for lack of time. And another thing that was pointed out was how my souvenirs looked like actual souvenirs, that you'd find for sale in a place like a beach, and I'm glad this was the case, because it was very much my intention.
  • What assessment criteria can I evidence for the Part 2 assessment after this project?
1.1 (Identify and adapt appropriate methods and materials to develop ideas.)
1.2 (Demonstrate practical methods and skills for creative production.)
2.1 (Analyse different contextual perspectives within a chosen art or design subject.)
2.2 (Demonstrate approaches within a chosen art or design subject.)
3.1 (Integrate research, interpretation and evaluation of information and ideas.)
3.2 (Use analytical skills to develop creative solutions.)
4.1 (Integrate and apply practical, theoretical and technical understanding.)
4.2 (Solve complex problems within a chosen art or design subject.)
5.2 (Review and evaluate how effective own learning, plans, methods and actions have been.)
Portfolio Preparation
I spent my vacation working on material for my portfolio, focusing especially on trying out different techniques. Yesterday, I went through my work - from July, from class and from last year - and decided what to include and what to leave out of my portfolio. But, when I started showing my work to Michael, he mentioned that there should be more original work, which threw me off, because I used references for everything I produced this month, which took up the majority of my planned pages. But, after some desperation and reorganization, I managed - with Michael's help - to re-plan my pages, and it seems like it's all going to work out.
]]> 2018-08-03 20:10:43 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/271914375 Day 32 - 06.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667017 Surrounding Narratives (Day 2)
Today we had some time to work on drawings of the building if we weren't finished with that yet, and then do some interventions on them. My favorite drawing from thursday was one of the classroom's stairs, so I started sketching them out and realized they looked like a DNA helix. So I had this idea: since we can't have people as main characters of our narrative - which is always my favourite part - then I'd turn the building into a person. So I started walking around and drawing parts of the building that, when overlapped (which was my intervention), looked like parts of the human body: a window and a sprinkler made an eye and the pipes on the "5th floor" looked like veins, so I needed something to be the centerpiece, which I decided should be the heart. It took me a while but I finally managed to "make" one by combining the numbers from each floor, which "unites" the building.

]]> 2018-08-10 18:53:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667017 Day 33 - 07.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667428 Surrounding Narratives (Day 3)
We visited Riso Tropical to do some experiments with risograph, overlapping designs made with yesterday's work by us and by a partner (mine was Sofia) [Image 1 - to be added]. It was a great experience, but this technique requires very specific equipment that we don't have at EBAC, so I probably won't be using it again anytime soon, especially because the result looks a lot like screen printing - which I have way easier access to.
Later, I started playing the actual narrative from this project. Instead of literally turning EBAC into a human, I decided to juxtapose the parts of the building that I illustrated with the human body parts they look like. As it's a narrative, I wanted something that happened to each floor gradually, so my mind immediately went to fire. But, instead of someone setting the building on fire, as I first thought of, I'll show someone dying on a fire, and comparing how it affects the building to how it affects the person inside it, when both are "dying" from it. As for the format, I, of course, want to make a comic, since it's what I plan on actually working with in the future.
From that, the panels came very naturally [Image 2 - to be added]. They start following a sort of pattern showing, on each row, the original drawing of the building, the edited one that makes that area look like a body part, and a drawing of said body part, all of this set during the fire. Then, the heart takes the spotlight, both because it's represented by the numbers from all the floors - representing the building as a whole, and because it shows the person dying, when it stops beating. The end shows a sprinkler still trying, in vain, to put out the fire side by side with one last year falling from a dying person being taken over by flames, and then, on the last panel, we finally see the building from the outside, on fire and surrounded by firefighters, giving the big picture, when the rest of the story focused solely on details.]]> 2018-08-10 18:57:01 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667428 Day 34 - 08.08.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667463 Portfolio Preparation
I've basically defined what I'll put on the portfolio, so I started going through what I need to decide and/or do to get each page ready. In the afternoon, we had a session with Leopoldo, who helped me with a lot of doubts I still had over what to include and how to organize certain things.]]> 2018-08-10 18:57:20 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667463 Day 35 - 09.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667516 Portfolio Preparation
I finally started actually mounting the pages and, after a rocky start where I didn't know how to attach original works without damaging them, it went pretty well. I've finished over half of the pages and most ones left aren't done yet because I still have to print the things I want to put on them.]]> 2018-08-10 18:57:53 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667516 Day 36 - 10.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667695 Portfolio Preparation
On the beginning of the class, Michael took a look at the pages I've finished so far and gave his input - mostly about how some works weren't set straight and some pieces he didn't feel were strong enough to be there. I worked on changing what he pointed out - plus scanned and photographed some other things - and, after the class, talked to him again about organizing some things I still wasn't sure about. Overall, I think the heavy stuff is basically done, now I really need to print the remaining works.
Surrounding Narratives (Day 6)
I've started working on the actual final outcome today - preparing the portfolio has been taking up all my time. I'd already done the basic sketch on tuesday, so I planned the pages - I decided it'll look like a small zine, so now I have to plan a cover - and started working on them on the computer (I'm copying, flipping and drawing over pictures, so it's definitely the most practical  method - not to mention the easiest to correct mistakes in). My initial plan was to overlap the drawings and colour the lines of the top one - to show it wasn't a real alteration to the area, but a fantastic one - but this ended up not looking the way I planned, so I ended up doing a silhouette of the overlapped detail. It looks like screen printing (which was actually my intention, as I've seen some really beautiful screen printing work made by overlapping the same image multiple times), and it would probably be a very nice visual if I made them using it, but the panels will be too small for it to be worth it. Maybe I'll do it with the original illustrations, once I've finished the comic and am sure I won't need them anymore.]]> 2018-08-10 18:59:19 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272667695 Day 37 - 13.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272974779 Portfolio Preparation
Printed the remaining works and basically finished preparing the portfolio, deciding the last pages I was unsure about. Also, built a folder to put the portfolio on.]]> 2018-08-14 02:29:28 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/272974779 Day 38 - 14.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/275724926 Surrounding Narratives (Day 8)
I was feeling very sick, so my crit was quite short. I explained the idea behind my planned narrative (which, unfortunately, I didn't manage to finish) and showed the panels I have finished so far [Image]. I received a lot of praises for the narrative - which I'm very proud of - and was told the panels were visually interesting, but, since the project isn't finished yet, there's not really a way to analyse it, but it seems very promising.
  • What assessment criteria can I evidence for the Part 2 assessment after this project?
1.1 (Identify and adapt appropriate methods and materials to develop ideas.)
1.2 (Demonstrate practical methods and skills for creative production.)
2.1 (Analyse different contextual perspectives within a chosen art or design subject.)
2.2 (Demonstrate approaches within a chosen art or design subject.)
3.1 (Integrate research, interpretation and evaluation of information and ideas.)
3.2 (Use analytical skills to develop creative solutions.)
4.1 (Integrate and apply practical, theoretical and technical understanding.)
4.2 (Solve complex problems within a chosen art or design subject.)
5.1 (Maintain detailed, critically reflective records e.g. reflective journal or log.)
5.2 (Review and evaluate how effective own learning, plans, methods and actions have been.)
[All of this applied to what I've got done so far. Since I haven't actually finished the project, no assessment criteria can actually be evidenced.]

Portfolio Preparation
Finished preparing the portfolio, adding the last page with what I've got so far of our current project. Made a few changes, following Michael's suggestion, on my Personal Statement, and finally actually submitted the portfolio.
]]> 2018-08-28 00:21:23 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/275724926 Day 42 - 20.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/275725092 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 3)
I was home sick for the first few days of this project, so Sofia (my partner) did all the in-site research and decided things like the place we're working on (the stair windows), the style we'll be using (stained glass), the fact that we'll build a narrative with our work, and the theme and main character of said narrative (freedom and a bird, respectively). I sketched out some stuff during the weekend, but my first actual day of work was today.
On the first half of the class, we had an invited lecturer and a workshop on "letter drawing for wall signage". I'm not usually a big fan of typography, but decorating the letters - and, specially, painting the wall - was very fun and made me more open to the subject, as I realised it could be about simply making the letters/word/phrase look pretty, instead of "clear and professional".
On the rest of the day, alongside finishing painting the wall, we worked on our respective projects. Me and Sofia decided to build a single narrative through the walls, with birds flying towards the Sun.
This idea, though, is likely having to go through a lot of changes, because, after class, we went to the shelter to take some measurements [Image 1], and found out there were actually three windows per flour, instead of two, like Sofia remembered [Image 2].]]> 2018-08-28 00:22:17 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/275725092 Day 43 - 21.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787295 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 4)
Since there's 9 windows instead of 6, we scrapped the idea of doing a single narrative. Instead, we're doing 3 separate ones - one on each floor. We decided on a theme for each - freedom, love/belonging and hope, which Sofia said are things the kids on the shelter seemed to desire, from the talk with them last thursday. Freedom is the theme we were going to use before, so we kept the birds flying towards the sun. For Hope, we used the christian myth of Noah's ark, both because of it's meaning and because the shelter is a quite religious place [Image 1]. And for love/belonging, we came up with a bird, initially alone, finding a mate and building a nest [Image 2].
We started designing the actual illustrations - I worked on the characters and the scenario and Sofia worked on the more geometric and decorative aspects of stained glass (since we're doing illustration and design, respectively)]]> 2018-08-31 01:41:03 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787295 Day 45 - 23.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787372 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 6)
We started the day with a visit to "a supplier of digital outcomes for inside and outside spaces", Insign. It was a very interesting place, which worked with techniques I'd only ever seen on the internet. And they print on adhesive vinil (the material we're planning to work with) and even directly on glass, so it was definitely useful to our project (And, on a personal level, I was very excited to find out they make things to a company I'm a huge fan of - Mauricio de Sousa Produções, the home of 'Turma da Mônica').
After lunch, we started planning our maquette. We decided that, instead of making three identical ones - one for each floor - we'll be making only one, but with removable "windows", so that we can showcase the different illustrations. The rest of the day was spent doing measurements and cutting up mock-up pieces to be sure of the proportions.]]> 2018-08-31 01:42:05 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787372 Day 46 - 24.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787413 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 7)
Today, we basically worked on the definitive version of the maquette, so there's not much to reflect about, it was just what we did yesterday but with better material.
By the end of the class, while Sofia kept doing the maquette, I worked on the final sketch "Freedom" illustration (in which all three windows will form a single image) and scanned all sketches, to work on them next week on the computer.]]> 2018-08-31 01:42:25 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787413 Day 47 - 27.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787470 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 8)
Since the windows have over 2 meters in height, we decided to do the work we'll have to print on real size on illustrator. It's the middle piece of the "Freedom" series, and it's made up by a lot of birds and a sun. So we had to, besides making the work itself, learn how to use Illustrator, which ended up taking up the whole day. Thankfully, for the rest of the illustrations - since they'll only be printed in a smaller size, unless they're actually approved by the client - we'll be able to use Photoshop, which will likely speed things up.]]> 2018-08-31 01:42:59 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787470 Day 48 - 28.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787504 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 9)
Another day of working on the computers. Again, I'm doing the scenario and characters, while sofia is doing the geometrical decorations. Today, working on a program I"m more familiar with, I managed to finish the lines of almost all 9 pieces. I"ve found stained glass-style lines to be very fun and easy to make. I can let my hand move freely, because the uneven trace is actually common on this type of art - and looks good too. Maybe I'll start doing more of this minimalist kind of illustration on my free time, whenever I feel like drawing but want to do something more stress-free. The downside is that actual stained glass - which is something I've always found very beautiful - usually has the geometric part Sofia is in charge of making, and I'm definitely not good at it - nor enjoy doing.]]> 2018-08-31 01:43:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787504 Day 49 - 29.08.2018 [Independent study day] mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787548 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 10)
Today I finished my part's lineart and most of the colouring. At this point, it's all very mechanical, so it's hard to find something worth talking about. Sofia is better at picking colours than me, always giving me some touches when I showed her my progress. After I finished (what's left are the birds and we agreed we'd colour them together tomorrow), I tried to help Sofia by doing some of the geometrical stuff, but, due to my inability of both the art style and working with vectors, it didn't really end up going anywhere.]]> 2018-08-31 01:43:30 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787548 Day 50 - 30.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787601 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 11)
We finished colouring the scenarios and characters in the morning, so, after lunch, I went to work on the maquette, while Sofia kept on doing the geometrical work. We used hot glue to keep the pieces together, so - after a failed attempt at trying to hide the excess with white tape - I had to cut and sandpaper it. Around that time, Sofia finished her lineart, so we traded places and she went to paint the maquette while I incorporated the shames she'd done on what we had of the pieces so far. The work extended itself home, but all we've got left now is to colour two of the geometrical shapes and print everything. We're definitely a bit behind (partly because of the problem with EBAC's power on tuesday, which cost Sofia a whole day's work), but I'm pretty sure we'll have everything ready on time tomorrow.]]> 2018-08-31 01:43:52 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276787601 Day 51 - 31.08.2018 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276809004 Casa do Pequeno Cidadão (Day 12)
Me and Sofia arrived early to finish our project. She worked on colouring the last geometrical shapes and I finished up the life-size print. I had a lot of trouble with Illustrator, and we ended up having to redo the lines of the part we were going to print to be able to colour it. Sofia went to print it on a place that did transparent adhesive vinil and I took the rest to Copyset.
Despite the hurry,  we had everything ready for the presentation, and it was a success. The Casa do Pequeno Cidadão staff seemed to really like it (during the presentation, one of them commented on how it was very possible to be made, and, later, when they were talking about all the projects, they specifically mentioned ours). And a lot of our classmates told us how much they enjoyed it.
I have to give most of the credit to Sofia. She was the one who came up with the whole concept when I was home sick, and, consequently, the one who talked about it on the presentation. I'm very proud of the work I did, but this project is definitely more hers than mine.
  • What assessment criteria can I evidence for the Part 2 assessment after this project?
1.1 (Identify and adapt appropriate methods and materials to develop ideas.)
1.2 (Demonstrate practical methods and skills for creative production.)
2.1 (Analyse different contextual perspectives within a chosen art or design subject.)
2.2 (Demonstrate approaches within a chosen art or design subject.)
3.1 (Integrate research, interpretation and evaluation of information and ideas.)
3.2 (Use analytical skills to develop creative solutions.)
4.1 (Integrate and apply practical, theoretical and technical understanding.)
4.2 (Solve complex problems within a chosen art or design subject.)
5.1 (Maintain detailed, critically reflective records e.g. reflective journal or log.)
5.2 (Review and evaluate how effective own learning, plans, methods and actions have been.)
]]> 2018-08-31 04:50:08 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276809004 mariaclara_pacheco https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276811527 2018-08-31 05:30:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mariaclara_pacheco/y1hthgmrbi1g/wish/276811527