BENV1010 Week 1
Sketching in the Studio
In our first Studio for BENV1010 we practiced sketching. We explored how to achieve a 3D effect using light and dark shading as well as drawing a chair from different perspectives using both our dominant and non-dominant hands in quick 1 minute sketches. The left handed drawing was challenging for me but I enjoyed trying this for the first time. Being able to use both hands for drawing in the future is a skill I wish to develop and will allow me to be more nimble when capturing quick drawings on site.
We also tried blind drawing, this allowed us to practice taking down the key shapes without looking down at what we were drawing.
  | ||
|
  |
Image 1: left handed and blind, left handed and right handed sketches of chair.
Image 2: Chair from alternate perspective right handed and
blind sketch of two people sitting across from me.
Sketches by Author (2020) |
Allocated Group Site
Upon being assigned our group site, we worked as a team to take measurements of the site. We also spent time taking sketches of key aspects of the site and making observations of how the site was used by people in the area. Key background shots were also taken for the group photoshop compositing exercise and we each selected a background image to work with.
 |
| Measurements taken of site Sketch by Author (2020) |
 |
| Key observations noted on use of site Notes and Sketches by Author (2020) |
 |
| Blind sketch of pathway along side concrete wall with ferns Sketch by Author (2020) |
 |
| My background shot selected for our group compositing image. Photo by Cassandra Whatson (2020) |
Photograph of site on UNSW by Author (2020)
Photograph of site on UNSW by Author (2020)
Buildings on site:
- 2 key buildings on site situated roughly 8m apart - main building is a 5 story residential building for students and the second building is a hall (1 story only)
- The hall is estimated to be 11m x 7m and the residential buildings is estimated to be 39m x 11m
- The length of the residential building runs south to east facing north
- The entrance to the hall is not located within our site, however the residential building has two main entry/exit points located on either side of the building in the centre
- The residential building has small windows evenly spaced apart, many with grating over the windows for security/privacy
Natural elements on site:
- There is a green space on site of approximately 14m x 10m
- A mix of small shrubs and ferns line the outside of the student residential building
Materials used:
- The student residential building is constructed mainly from concrete and steel with small glass windows
- The hall building is constructed from bricks
Use of the site:
- The site is mainly used as a thoroughfare for students, faculty and security vehicles moving between areas of the university
- The pathway on the northern side of the residential building is used more frequently than the pathway on the souther side between the hall and residential building
- The green space is not frequently used, and the wooden stairs situated between to concrete pathway to the grass does not seem to be used, I noticed pedestrians just walking straight down the mild slope onto the grass
Compositing Image
I chose the Lockheed Lounge image for the compositing exercise in photoshop. This proved fairly challenging as the metallic lounge is quite shiny in the original image, however my background shot of our site was completely in the shade. I had to decrease the luminosity drastically to reduce the shine reflected off the lounge and make the metal appear more dull. I used a bluish hue to manipulate the tone of the metallic grey to match the shade of concrete pathways and pillars. Minimal shadowing was used to ground the lounge in the already shady background.
 |
| Image by Author (2020) |
