The Essence of Felicia

Since I experimented on different types of papers for my concept illustration studies, I settled on parchment paper to do my Felicia face. The way the marker settles on the paper brought a lot of liveliness to the illustration, which definitely works for Felicia who is a character inside and out. I did some small thumbnails to the side before doing the final 4x4. It's fun to see how someone's face can be morphed when drawn multiple times.

Techno Studio

With the Sci-Fi inspiration from my earlier posts, I decided to do a fun sci-fi redesign of the second year studio based on the above picture I snapped. It was interesting finding ways to bring the studio to this new realization while maintaining its character. In the future, facebook status is displayed at the desk... no work ever gets done.

Concept Art Emulation

The above illustrations are studies I did based off of concept illustrations (artist unknown) for Mass Effect 2. It was fun to explore someone else's creativity and rendering style. Though I did marker my, replicas came out pretty similar to the originals.

My Design Happiness

I have to admit, I am a big video game nerd. One of my dreams is to be a concept artist. My favorite game is Mass Effect (1 and 2). Unlike most games, the game-play isn't the only novelty as Mass Effect features a fully realized sci-fi universe complete with real characters and back stories that crowd my dreams and thoughts. I would love to take this final project as an opportunity to explore concept art and the idea of providing a glimpse of an entire universe, story and atmosphere with one scene. First I would like to take a cue from Tracy Wright (and her Van Gogh recreations) and perhaps copy to my best ability some of the concept art of my favorite developer Bioware.

Design That Makes Me Happy and Design I'd Like to Improve

This house/villa from Freshome.com is well designed and makes me happy. As I live in a finished attic apartment I have angled walls and window wells. Light coming into a space in this way has a lot of character and unique atmosphere. From the outside the structure is stunning as well. I can imagine playing soccer, or grilling outside underneath the structure's dramatic overhang. It's like being inside, while linked to the outside, and just as well being outside while feeling a sense of interiority and placement.

Everywhere we went in India, we saw these little Yellow and Green Moto-Taxis. They always made me happy when we saw them zooming in between traffic. They scuttle across the road like roaches with their bulbous shape and their small skinny wheels. I would like to redesign them so they are safer, more accessible, more efficient and sustainable, while still retaining thier distinct personality. I chose to do a water color to capture their personality.

Presentation Board

Karen and Sarah's Apartment Views

Case Pieces

Interior Elevations

Lighting and Furniture Specifications

More Sketches

Programming

Multi Plans

We drew lots of plans in class and since I hadn't even looked at my plan yet this exercise was very beneficial to me.

Piecing It Together

I had to make sure that my dance floor area and kitchen was open enough with the harmony I am making my way towards. So why not explore the possibilities with another set of sketch perspectives. I feel like I also have a close to finalized color scheme as well.

The Pieces To The Puzzle

These sketches illustrate individual pieces for Karen and Sarah's apartment. Walls can be built out to house some functions and storage of the space. though this truly compresses the space, it creates a psychological exspansion of space, as there is less busyness and visual clutter.

Case Piece Models

These models illustrate what I plan to do with my ceiling area as well as how Sarah's instruments will be displayed.

Design strengths of My Classmate Megan Kaufman

Above is the "hero shot" from a kitchen design project Megan Kaufman created last semester. Her strengths are many, as Megan's casual modern style features definite forms that seamlessly blend together. Her designs are never predictable but still familiar. Megan often incorporates furniture peices into walls, and even the ceiling. She seems to design with entourage in mind as furniture and storage pieces display art, cookware, and seating in a creative and thoughtful way.

Warm and inviting atmospheres are often created through Megan's soft color use. Her hard work and dedication has has brought her to a very refined and definite rendering style. Her attention to texture is always successful as she never "over textures" an object. Wood grains and granite sit in the space rather than stand out, bringing her renderings closer to reality. Megan and I share an affection for drawing scale figures as well. Her scale figures are often shown engaging the space, effectively illustrating its purpose and harmony.