IDE1602: First Submission

I share an interesting love/hate relationship with this unit. I love it because it's purely learning how to draw and aiming to master the skill using common Industrial Design Drawing techniques.

The Class it taught by Pete Elliot who used to work for Ford. His mastery of the skill is brilliant, and I'm honoured to be his student. But at the same time, the amount of homework that he gives us per week make me absolutely dread this class. Not only is it held in the first 4 hours of monday morning, but with a requirement of 10 A3 pages of drawings a week is an absolute hell-bender! Also not to mention the price in which the drawing materials! Markers! Bleedproof Pads!

But all in all, the time and money spent on this unit, to me is most rewarding. It's perhaps the most rewarding unit under the Design Faculty that I've undertaken.

We were told to use drawing in pen and pen alone. The aim was to make us comfortable with our skills and to be conscious of every mark that we make. Learning to control the rip apart the 3D image we have in our heads, and to display it upon paper. We were also told to render with professional markers which come at a hefty price of approximately >$7 each. Worth the price I think, for it allows me to bring form and depth to a line drawing extremely quickly

A few days ago was the First submission of all the work that we had done for this unit. >70 pages were required. I had 75. But in the last week, I drew about 30 pages. It was absolutely hectic, though enjoyable.

Elliot reviewed everyone's work and critiqued them in private. His comments about my work?"Your colour schemes are odd, perhaps have someone to pick out a combination of colours that work out for you and for others.

Your style is very graphic, almost comic book like. Try not to make your line work as dark, let your markers bring our the form of your objects. I can see that you're most comfortable in doing character and fantasy designs, but do try and draw something more akin the Product Design as it is essentially the aim of this unit.

Oh, and I have to say that I was surprised at the level of your work, I think I gave you one of the highest grades"

Pride Sculpture

Assignment 2: "Sculpture by the C...block"

This brief we were presented with the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. In groups of 4, we were to pick one of them, and construct a sculpture emphasising form and dynamism out of Card. The group of people I was with decided to choose the word "pride".

It was difficult assigning an emotion to an animate object. It was a lot harder than I expected. But I soon realised that these verbs that we tie to inanimate objects has it's roots in the common human perception of the body language in others. With a solid starting point, I rushed to finish this week long intensive assignment.

I immediately jumped on the theme of Hubris, and took on the old German tale of "Doctor Faustus".

I had aimed to creature a proud looking figure (depicted by a general tapered shape) but I wanted to show the side of regret and remorse that comes after an act of hubris. So the expressions of the figure tend to be sad, the lines slow and fragile looking. His head is completely hollow, with a demon (Mephistopheles) occupying his consciousness. In his long fragil arm coming out from a hunched posture, he welds an axe, a symbol of the brutality that excessive pride can evoke. /bullshit.

Spreads

This is my 2nd year. Fourth semester.

My university timetable for this semester isn't too bad. 6 weeks in now, and I've learnt a fair bit, gained a few new skills in drawing, a few more insights in all sorts of design philosophies as well as the intricate analysis of stresses in various objects.

I truely do love this Double Degree that i'm undertaking at Monash. I'm receiving all the joys and excitement from the world of Industrial Design. Manipulating form, applying emotions, speed and various other verbs to completely inanimate objects. On the other hand, I'm getting all the explanations into the wonderful book of practical laws. Learning about how things fit together, how things are work in terms of maximizing it's strength without comprising the constant constraint of minimum cost.

All these things are good and well, but these days I've begun to doubt. I see the brilliant mathematical and analytical minds from the Engineering Department. They throw out these extremely elegant solutions and precise calculation from their concise knowledge and understanding of mechanics. Then I see the wonderful, fluid designs full of thought, deep process and profound philosophies. The amount of work that goes into a simple design is most admirable and fascinating.

Then there's me, doing this double degree. Who's torn between the thought processes of both. Engineering for maximum practicability, Designing for the most appealing aesthetics. My fellow double-degree-rs do just fine though. And probably don' share the same insecurities of being spread too thin, and being handicapped in this course (in comparison to those doing the vanilla courses).

Earlier this year, I ran into a fellow doing his Industrial Design at Monash. I found out that he was also a graduate of the same double degree that I was doing. I asked him, "As I'm taking more Engineering units, and gaining more knowledge in that area, I find that...the Industrial Design side just feels so superficial, frail and just fake." He chuckles and replies, "You're feeling that it's bullshit now? Oh man, it only get's worse from here."

That stuck with me.

Actually, he further went on and explained the course outline, and how it's inevitable for you to feel that way. Since you'll be always taking engineering units a level ahead of the units taken under the Design Faculty. Essentially, your course will dictate that you're knowledge in practicality will be so much more advanced in comparison to your skills in controlling aesthetics.

TL;DR: I think I'm spreading myself too thin, and I'm feeling like everything that I know is half-arsed. I'm complaining that the work load means that I don't have enough time and energy in the day to invest general knowledge and research into either degree properly.

"Jack of all trades, Master of None."

Solution: Work harder, be more efficient