ASS 1 - Project 4 - Visual space

Research point

Find examples of illustrators who have designed wallpapers, fabrics, wrapping paper or on other flat surfaces that you find interesting. How do their illustrations play with the idea of flatness?

Amy Reber

http://www.amyreber.com/gift-wrap

      Amy's work is well suited to use for wallpaper, textiles and wrapping paper. Her style is bright and powerful she illustrates a lot of botanical elements in her work. Her work looks flat but is very creative. She overlaps her drawings such as leaves to look in front of and behind each other which creates a view of depth on a flat surface.  She also makes the leaves different colours to make it clearer that they are overlapping. On the one with the pink flowers, she has used a dark purple background. Using a dark colour created depth behind her plant illustrations, this is another way to create depth on a flat surface. 

Abigail Borg

https://www.abigailborg.com/

      Abigail is another illustrator who likes to draw botanical designs. Compared to Amy's above, Abigail's patterns are more detailed in the line drawing aspect of them. She has also chosen very quirky colours that actually work well together. The orange plants with the white background make her illustrations stand out. Again she like Amy makes the plants overlap creating depth in a flat.design.  

Micklyn  Le Feuvre

https://www.facebook.com/micklynartist/

     I really like Micklyns designs they are full of character and there is a lot to look at in her work. As pointed out in Abigail's work, Micklyn also uses dark colours as backgrounds to add depth to her designs. The top design with the dinos shows depth by overlapping the plants making it look as though the dino is in-between them. As you can see above, these patterns are also good to use on a lot of things such as mobile cases. 

    By looking at these designers and their work, I can understand and see that you don't need to use perspective to create depth - by using dark backgrounds and overlapping items in your designs you can still create a sense of a flat depth to your work. I think this style is very modern and attractive.  

 Exercise: Visual Depth 

Task: Produce three drawings depicting a room in your house using one-point, two-point and three-point perspective. This is an exercise to develop your understanding of the principles of perspective. Find places that can exaggerate these different viewpoints. For example, you might need to look up (or down) to show three-point perspective. Produce a fourth drawing using isometric projection to represent the room. Produce a fifth drawing of the room in which you deliberately break the rules and draw the space with its own visual logic and, finally, do a flat drawing. By definition these drawings will be less observed and more imagined but try and use the room and objects as in your perspective drawings. The exercise should focus on how you visualise depth and what strategies you use. You don’t need to produce finished illustrations for these pieces, though you can if you want to. Write around 200 words analysing how these different approaches affect the ‘meaning’ of the visual space being represented. When you choose to draw with or without perspective what is this saying?

This exercise is something that I fear, it is one of my weaknesses as I have struggled with perspective numerous times. I hope that by doing this exercise and with practice I do eventually understand the logic and rules of perspective. 

I have decided to just give myself a bit of a recap and create simple objects using one point, two point and three point perspectives here they are below:

     As they are here simple objects it is easy for me to understand the concepts between one two and three point perspective I find it difficult when put in these rules into situ for example a room or a landscape with objects in. I find that I struggle to understand what angle and where objects are placed using vanishing points on the horizon line.

Here I've had a go at drawing my hallway in a simple way I tried to use one point perspective but was confused where the stairs were in the room as they slant downwards which does not hit the one vanishing point.  I followed the lines and realised that they follow to another point which would make this image a two-point perspective drawing. I still don't quite understand as the dot is not on a horizon line but looks correct as to what I was looking at. I think further practice and knowledge will help me understand this more and improve the way I draw in perspective.

     For this exercis I have to do various different types of perspective choosing one room I have decided to do my dining room because it is simple and I feel I need to start off with something simple to understand the basics here is my attempt at one point perspective of the room:

As you can see above I have followed every line going towards the one point on the horizon line I think this is true to the rule and is correctly drawn. I also think making it more simplified I can understand now that every angle line are all aiming for the vanishing point and that vertical lines are kept straight.

    Two point perspective is where I start struggling I find it awkward and I think from doing this exercise I have understood that two-point perspective is made when you have a certain angle in a room such as the table above I am not looking at it straight as in one point perspective, I am looking at the corner of the table to create two point perspective. This creates two points in the perspective and by keeping to the rules and following these two points helps you build the rest of the room up in situ with the first objects you are drawing in the room. Again I think I've drawn this quite well it is still basic but I think it shows that I've understood the rule of two-point perspective.

   Three-point perspective is something that I thought was going to be very tricky and it was tricky! There is a two-point perspective but then also you're looking downwards or upwards at the scene, so there is a third vanishing point. This either above or below in the centre of the area you're looking at. This helps drag downwards the length of objects such as here with the table legs and the cupboard behind it I think this kind of three point perspective is great for constructing landscapes of cities and using this perspective to make them look larger and taller.

     Now that I have looked at one two and three-point perspective I think that I do understand it a bit more now it is broken up into three separate attempts. I still feel there is a long way to go as I have only drawn here a simple room, not like a huge city with all the buildings coming out of the ground or a landscape with different angles but I will keep practising.

     The next one I had to do was an isometric view.  The isometric view is where lines are parallel to each other, there's no vanishing points and nothing ever goes into the distance it is more used for drawing out layouts of rooms and houses by architects, room designers and garden landscaping. I think my attempt came out very well, again it is still very simple but I feel that I have learnt how to do this as this is my first time of doing an isometric view. All my lines are parallel and are accurate as can be of where the objects are in my dining room.

      I have also done the above drawing where I have broken the rules of perspective. 

       As you can see the dining room is still there, however, there are no vanishing points as such and my walls on either side do not follow the rules of perspective, neither does the shape of my table it does not go to a vanishing Point instead the lines are parallel each side and it does not look like it is on the ground on the other side of the table. Also, you can see the back legs of the table which really if you looked at it properly they look longer than the front legs and not on attached on the edge of the table like the front legs are.

    The last one I had to do was again look at the room and do a flat drawing of the room without no angles and no depth here it is below:

        As you can see it's very flat and everything looks like it is just drawn on one wall, I find that this is another way of drawing illustrations instead of using perspective it is quite a modern way of drawing a room that keeps simplified, but also I feel has a fun look to it and an interesting way of viewing a room.

Here below is a final illustration of a flat perspective of my room. I have done a proper line drawing and used photoshop to add colour.

I found this really fun to do without feeling stressed and frustrated by using the actual rules of perspective. I now understand it, I'm not a fan of it but I would like to practice this to improve on it if I ever need to use it in my own work. 

How these different approaches affect the meaning of the visual space being represented 200 words

Visual space is the space we perceive through vision and as above there are many ways to show the spaces we are looking at. Each perspective affects the visual space. 

One Point perspective shows the space of an area looking straight on. For eg train track below:

As you can see one point perspective can make things look as though they are never ending and the track goes on and on on the distance. I think one point perspective helps to creat a space showing a far distance from the viewer.

Two point perspective - this now gives space some volume adding angles to show corners of buildings or items in a room. it gives the viewer sense of three dimensional from a horizon line. 

Three-point perspective - This now gives the viewer a linear view which is three dimensional but is a real true view using all angles and heights,.This perspective also helps to use the space to enhance height. It can show to the viewer buildings crowding over the top of you like the image below.

 

     The isometric view is great for architects to give a sense of space around a building, room or garden area. It helps them to see the space in the room clearer and as it is isometric which is great for getting the sizes of objects in a room correct and placed in the right positions. It can help to get the room accurate in the design stage. 

      The breaking the rules view is more of how I see it as an abstract perspective, I think using this style can confuse the viewer it can show space with lots or little room. It can be complicated without the rules of perspective. Its shows an untrue aspect of a room and also the way it has been drawn can confuse the view in what they are looking at and what objects are in front of what.

     The Flat view is a modern style, It shows lack of depth and space yet with overlapping objects and colours used you can create a sense of depth even on a flat surface.

     By looking at these Perspective views, each has their unique view and are all important for different aspects of rooms, buildings and landscapes. I think it all depends on what the artist wants to show and is looking at to decide on what perspective style they will use.