Author: scharett

Shelby Charette

GDES 2313

Tuan Phan

December 13, 2016

I would consider over like 35 hours of practice per week would be excessive as a student because we have other classes going on at the same time as well as work. Obviously it would take a lot of time to make extremely sophisticated work, but I believe about 25-30 hours would make sophisticated work. It would give you time to create, as well as continuously revise. I believe I make good work, although there is always room for improvement. I usually do about 15 to 20 hours of work each week.

Sophisticated work is well revised, it is better than the work  you did before, and it grows in strength. I definitely think that in the maps, I did a lot more illustrations than I have before and that required a lot of trial and error. I also believe I had to work outside of the box a lot of the time. In the end, I believe that I grew because a lot of my designs had illustrations which I never usually do on computers, and believe that my work definitely became more sophisticated with this project.

I believe that all feedback is helpful, but there were some helpful hints that really helped in my designs. I really need to keep in mind the context that I use that are boundaries for my work to follow. In my graph map, I did not keep in mind that my spread was going to be used in a book. I learned that I need to be more meticulous and pay more attention to detail. Also, I had a comment on my map of the campus to change my colors, in order for it to be a more powerful design.

It was challenging at some points because there were so many things to keep in mind, that I got side tracked a lot of the time. Some what like there was too much to process, I would be all over the place. I would be designing one map and think of an idea for the other maps and then go do that idea, and then forget what I was doing on the other map. I definitely learned that time management is very important, and that I need to improve my focus, that was probably the hardest part. The easiest part I believe was coming up with good ideas for the maps, because we had free reign with our choices, it made coming up with ideas so much easier. I really enjoyed making the illustrations, it was challenging, but I really enjoyed it!

I went to Zine Fest, which was art related, and I really enjoyed it! I really liked seeing how people come together and sell their art, and it was really interesting seeing such a diversity in art. We all came together for the same reason, but it was all so different. Also, I went to the Andy Warhol exhibit opening party, which was amazing and a really new and exciting experience. I also go to a lot of museums on my free time. I definitely love involving myself in the Austin art community.

 A lot of things outside of school impact school work, although I make it a point to keep school as the most important aspect in my life, and I really try not to let things distract me. I believe I am a rather focused student. Although I do have some family issues I have been facing lately, I’ve been trying to keep focused.

I believe our TH108 classroom is an ideal classroom. The students, the teacher, the environment, and the vibes. In our classroom, people are comfortable sharing their work, we receive very good and constructive criticisms, and have all the help we need in order to grow as designers. I believe that the relaxed and welcoming environment really effect how we approach class. To me, it is not a normal class, to me, it is a comfortable place to learn, create, and critique work. I’m never not happy to go to that class.

This map is a financial status of Tony Pierce. When looking at the data I was given, I saw that Tony Pierce spent so much money on bills and a small amount on fun for himself. It is important to treat yourself, so I decided to show Tony Pierce how much he needs to treat himself. I chose fun, very vibrant colors to represent a fun feeling. Altogether, I feel like the work is a very successful piece.

I did this map to help out the bikers on campus! Since we live in Austin, where practically everyone bikes, I felt like doing the students here on campus a favor. On my map, you can see the places with the best shade, so when you get out of class your seat is not hot, or where you can park closest to your class, or even how many bikes each rack holds, so you can know if there is a possibility it could fill up.

For my flow chart, I decided to do a map to help me choose what shoes to wear since I struggle with the choices. The map is not just for me, I also made it because on Pinterest, I always see these little maps that show you like what to wear or the best makeup to use, and it gave me the idea for this map. I want to be able to help someone choose what shoes to wear when they are indecisive.

I made the icons for some of the points, because I did not want the flow chart to be too word heavy. I believe it balances it out pretty well.

Shelby Charette

October 15, 2016

Mid Term Essay

I believe that my practice time needs improvement.  I would say I fall between the categories of consistent and uneven. I do a lot of practice work outside of class, obviously I have to work a lot on homework, but I do work on my own designs whenever I get inspiration or time. I do need to make more time for my design work, which is a goal I am setting for myself.

My work sophistication varies on different adobe programs, but all together I believe I am in the medium category. I have a lot of knowledge and experience with Photoshop, since I started in high school. Last year I learned to use Indesign a lot in typography, and seemed to grasp it very well, very fast. In Visual Studies we learned about Lightroom and Bridge, but only briefly. Before this year, I had never used Illustrator, so I am new to it. Although I am a quick learner and seem to be understanding it pretty well. I do have a lot to learn, but that also means that I have a lot of growth in my work in the near future.

The feedback I receive on my work is absolutely important to the development of my work and furthers me in my design career. The critiques we have in class, really help me in seeing different ways of doing my work, it helps me look at it from different perspectives, and problem solve in a lot of my work.

I like to challenge myself a lot. I love to learn new things, and when I see some intricate work my peers produce, I always ask how they did these things, so I could learn to better myself! My peers challenge me in a way, because I believe we are a competitive group. In  a way, we always want to be the best, and push each other and ourselves to be better.

I do a lot of expert experiences outside of school work. I work on a lot of designs for our on campus organization, Topper Radio, such as posters, flyers, etc. I also work with Command G, which helps me learn new things, and I do posters for the organization as well. I also worked on an internship last year for an up-in-coming app company, and helped give feedback on the designs for the app.

 For the social emotional development I would think I would score myself a mature. To me, this touches on my development along with my classmates, and my growth as a student. I have experienced great growth I believe in the classroom setting. Critiques and work days definitely aid in this growth. Everyday, I come into class gaining more experience and learning new things from my peers and professor.

The classroom climate, I feel is all together very warm. I feel extremely comfortable with the surroundings of the classroom, and the energy in the room feels inviting. I believe everybody contributes to this feeling of welcome. The comments we give are all very helpful to the development of our work. I always feel like our class gives extremely good critique comments and improves other’s work by helping them see what the designer has not yet seen. Overall, I would like to think I personally contribute to the climate as a warm feeling. I feel like I get along very well with everyone in the classroom, I usually give helpful critiques, and I appreciate any comments on my work.

Shelby Charette

GDES 2313

September 5, 2016

Current and Projected Expert hours

Throughout my life I’ve taken many art classes since I was little. In elementary school, art class and arts and crafts time was required and I would assume that took up about 30 minutes a day for 4 years including summer, since I loved to work on arts and crafts.

In middle school, I took drawing and art classes. Those took up about an hour a day for 3 years, including summer.

In high school, I took a general art class, a pottery class, and a graphic design class. Each was during a different year, and including the outside work I did drawing everyday, it took up about 2 hours a day for 3 years.

My first year in college, most of the courses were every other day, so I took a drawing course that was an hour and 50 minutes long, a Visual Studies course that lasted an hour and 50 minutes, and a Visual studies seminar class that was about an hour long. Outside of class, I would assume that weekly, I would work about 25-35 hours on my school projects and personal work.

I would assume I have a good start on my projected 10,000 hours. College is in for about 30 weeks, 15 each semester. I would guess that I have about 4,000-5,000 hours done for my 10,000 hour goal.

My final product ended up being a completely handmade paper lantern. I used black paper, my final drawings, a silver sharpie, and silver thread to create this. It was extremely labor intensive, but turned out exactly how I wanted it. I got the idea to make a lantern because of my love for decorations, and I have a handmade paper lantern at home in my room, and I really admired whoever made it because of the time that person put into it. I spent about 20 hours making it, because the stitching was tricky, but it was worth the time. Below are my first drafts for the circle project, when we had to draw the 54 different ways to draw a circle, and also the second draft, along with my final picks for my final product.

Shelby Charette

Yenesis Moreno

Alex Pesina

Elements

Lines:  A mark that connects two points.

Shape: A figure that represents images.

Texture: A physical or implied pattern through repetition.

Value: Variation of dark to light in color.

Color: Hue and saturation within value.

Plane: A thicker dimension of a line.

Volume: Dimensions of an object.

Mass: The density of an object or figure.

Space: The area an object takes up and how it takes up the area around it.

Light: Source of brightness in a composition.

Time/Motion: Conveys movement.

Principles

Unity/Variety: sense of togetherness/difference.

Balance: When the elements of an image are properly distributed.

Scale/Proportion: Overall size of the project or elements.

Rhythm: How elements compliment each other.

Emphasis: When one element is more dominant than the others. What the artist wants you to see first/focus on.

From the readings, I have developed the idea that designers are more focused on a main product. Designers have less freedom, because their work usually has to do with meeting client’s needs. A designer not only creates to try to please aesthetically, but also functionally. An artist has more free guidelines, and their work draws in the clients, who pay to see more of the work they admire from that artist. I believe I am both an artist and designer. I work with side projects for my friends, such as a music album art work, and I give them the chance to decide whether or not it is good the way it is, or if something needs to be changed. But also, on my free time, I make art because I enjoy doing it, and if someone likes it, they can expect that unless they are paying me for my art, that I will not change it for them.

My Line Project started out with the 75 line drawings. I love to use lines, so this was very easy for me to do. In the first, I used mostly straight lines, and used what I was comfortable with, but in the second I started to experiment more. After, we had to draw a gesture drawing of an object. I chose to draw my sunglasses. Then, we had to do another gesture drawing, using 4 angels of an object while in class. I drew a chair outside of the Fine Arts building. I liked the chair drawing more, so I decided to use the chair drawings to influence my sculpture. I built my sculpture out of straws and hot glue. I then used my sculpture to cast shadows upon my poster board, and outlined the shadows. Then we used the 75 line drawings and combined them with our last step, and drew the different patterns and lines within the shadows from the sculpture. I was very happy with my final product. I believe it takes up the page nicely, and I liked contrasting the wavy lines with the straight  lines. Overall, I think my final draft was very neat and interesting.

Shelby Charette

Part 1:

Kim Garza

Kim Garza is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design. Kim works a lot with companies and app creating, but also does not limit herself to only making work for her job. For the past 6 years, she and her husband have been remaking a classic old film with new music and re-arranging the shots into  very psychedelic phenomenal aesthetics. Kim shows that it’s very important to make time for your own projects.

Tammie Rubin

Tammie Rubin is a ceramics sculpter, although she takes on a whole new view of ceramics. She started taking waste, and things that were created for little to maybe one time use, and makes it into these sculptures that make them more important and vital than what their initial use was. She finds a way to create a connection between realism and imagination with her pieces.

James Shurin

James Shurin is a very interesting photographer, because his main focus is very unique. He finds beauty in “unintentional aesthetics,” which basically means he takes something mainly ordinary or over-looked, and finds a way to make it into something great. His photos are between both abstract and literal, but he does not confine himself to one focus.

Part 2:

I find this class a very interesting, because it has all three courses, combined into one. Although I am a graphic designer, I do find joy in learning about the other classes, and it makes me want to explore more than just working with graphics. It allows me to combine graphic design, photography, and art to make a work.

Shelby Charette

November 17, 2015

David Blaine Ted Talk

The David Blaine Ted talk was extremely intriguing. He took something so vital to our health and survival and challenged his body in order to go with out it. He challenged the world records and ended up, after months upon months of trial and error, finally figured it out. Blaine did his fair share of research on the subject. He broke down the process into steps, and went from there. He took all things into account, and tried to mend them in a way that would prove successful without leading to brain injury. It turned out really successful because of how devoted he was to breaking this record, and pushing himself to win. Through his hard work, dedication, and research, David Blaine successfully held his breath for 17 minutes.

Shelby Charette

November 17, 2015

Radio Lab, Beyond Time

In the interviews, extremely thought provoking discussions are held. I find the concept of time very thought-provoking, because we all know it exists, but does it really? Time could be controlled, or manipulated and morphed, but we would never know. The theory of destiny is a harsh concept, because just like time, we don’t know for sure if it is real or not. We could go through our lives with every second, and every movement and choice be predetermined for us. Its a sad thing to realize, because as a human being, all we want is to make our own decisions, such as where to eat for lunch, who to marry, what kind of ice cream, should I go to the bathroom? It all could be put into our “destiny.” For all we know, even the choices we make are already what we would have chosen, so where did the idea of free-will come from? Time and destiny are two things that will never, in our lifetimes, be fully explored, because for all we know, none of this is real anyways.

Shelby Charette

November 17, 2015

The Way Things Go Reflection

The video was of a Rube Goldberg machine. These machines are created to be over-engineered which uses many levers and contraptions, in order to complete a simple task. Just by usually starting the machine at the beginning, you start a reaction and then let gravity and the machine do the rest of the work. These brilliantly engineered machines are usually so complex, yet the endings tend to be uneventful. The whole idea of the machine is to start from the beginning and build upon the machine until the very end. It is all just a process of working step by step. In the beginning of the video, it was not so exciting. It kick started, and the chain reaction was merely just simple techniques to move along. Although, I believe the middle towards the end of the video was the best part, because the inventor started including more extravagant transitions, and started using fire in the contraption. Unfortunately, the end was somewhat disappointing, only to dump a solution into another un-indentified solution in order to make dry ice (I suppose).

Personal Reflection

This project, along with the critique, showed me that I need to be more adventurous with my creations. I really enjoyed putting my work together, and I believe it came out really well. The pieces were very abstract, although it allowed the viewer to interpret it themselves, such as a spaceship for example (Joseph Vitone), or nature vs. and constructed uniformity, which I found very interesting. I strayed away from my usually very colorful works, and worked with more monochromatic, and darker colors. I find the critiques extremely helpful, because it allows us to see our own work in different ways, and helps us learn from mistakes, and further our success. This project allowed me to get out of my comfort zone of using primarily photoshop, and pushed me to explore the hand-made side of collage.