Workshops and small tasks
Wood workshops
Today we were introduced to wood workshops. I learnt how to use machines with small cutting blades for bends and bigger ones for straight cuts. It wasn't easy for me to push and keep wood straight while using big cutting machines, so I quickly decided to move on to the smaller one. It also looked safer and gave me more control over the wood piece. Although I found it easier to use small cutting blades to cut out shapes, it was hard to keep the wood down on the table as the small blade made the piece I held tremble.
I've been asked to cut out a simple shape of a key. I decided to modify it a bit by changing its shape. Instead of a round shape in the middle, I wanted to try cutting out a heart that got bends and requires going through the part of a key to cut out. To achieve the heart shape I used a pillar drill and a scroll saw. It was a very interesting process for me to experiment with various machines. It wasn't easy, but it helped me taught me how to control the blades.
My favourite process was sanding the wood with a sander as it didn't include any sharp blades. It also got rid of any imperfections left from wood cutting.
As much as I like wood as a medium, I didn't like working with the machines. It is because sometimes the cuts were unpredictable and hard to control. Cutting a few centimetres too far or too short is not something I would like to repeat in my work.
Metal Workshops
After wood workshops, I had a rough idea of what to expect. However, this time things went quiet the opposite way. I liked using some of the machines, such as metal guillotine or drill. The only thing that I decided not to try was a machine for cutting bends called a bandsaw. It was in a small closed room that gave me fear of small spaces. I wasn't able to use the machine to cut all the curves in my metal plate, so I decided to do it the hard way with metal cutting scissors. It gave me more control over the shape I was cutting out. After using scissors a metal plate bend a bit, but I fixed it with a hammer.
I think cutting out metal turned out visually better than wood. However, I realized I do not enjoy working with loud, dangerous machines in small rooms.
Screen Printing Workshops
Today we were introduced to various equipment in the screen printing studio. Also demonstrated a step by step process on how to create a screenprint by applying a special emulsion and using the light exposure unit to make the emulsion harden.
I liked the range of materials such as clay, metal, glass and more that we can print on. Although I am not sure what I would like to do with this knowledge or how to incorporate it in my project yet. I would like to try printing onto some transparent material in the future.
Illustrator workshop
The task was to create a tree in Adobe Illustrator for the laser cut. I used a curve tool to draw half of a tree and then used expand appearance option to add another half. These techniques helped me with drawing the tree without the use of a drawing tablet fast as well as making it symmetrical, which was necessary for the tree to be able to stand after a laser cut.
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Laser cut workshop
Today my class and I had a lase cut workshop where the teacher demonstrated to us how to cut trees out of cardboard. The first attempt didn't go very well as the flowers didn't show up. I was a bit disappointed because I thought a laser was a very powerful tool, turns out that it all depends on the settings.
The second attempt went a bit better, all the details on my tree showed up. However, some of them looked better and some of them worse. The laser didn't cut in the small flowers as deep as it did in the big ones.
Although a laser is an untrustworthy and unpredictable tool, I enjoyed the process.
Print Bureau
Today we were taught how to print a high-quality print through photoshop on either gloss or matt paper. We were asked to prepare a picture that we would like to print, I chose a character design from my other project. I thought I made sure there is no mistakes as they would be visible on a high-quality print. I was surprised when I printed it because there was a lot of colour going outside the line that I must have missed. The glossy paper looked indeed great, the quality impressive. However, it was really hard to miss obvious mistakes that came out on the print.
The quality of my work it's something I need to improve in my art overall. I still got a lot to learn to become a comic artist.
Photography workshops
Today's workshops were all about photography. I learnt how to manipulate light with a special screen to light up the city. I used a camera to take a few photos, which I'm going to use as a reference for my comic. For the compartment, I also took a few pictures with my phone. Today's technology allows us to take high-quality pictures with our phones, which defeats the purpose of buying a camera.
Unconventional story telling
Today's task was to take photos around the campus and then use them as a layout for a story. Inspired by repeatable patterns of the plant's leaves, I went around the campus and took some pictures of nature.
Next, I picked one of the pictures and used tracing paper to transfer the shape into my sketchbook. I decided to create a splash page with characters I designed for The Little Mermaid Project.
I liked the idea of creating a splash page with characters swimming out of or around the underwater flower. I tried to fit all of them into the shape of the leaves, and it turned out interesting.
It definitely needs some further adjustments in terms of poses, but overall I think it is a good idea.
