rEapiNg wHat yOu sOw?

As usual, spent the whole weekend thinking about the assignment. Starting to feel unfair tt the tues tutorial grp has lesser time to prepare the assignment than the other tutorial groups. It always a mad rush to complete the assignment on time, plus my weekly reflections for my other module is also always due on wed. And i have so many games to test out before i can write the reflection. Worst still, this week had to hand up another tutorial assignment on wed. Ah well, no point complaining i guess, finding a solution is more impt.

But i find that in this module, it's difficult to sit down and come up with a solution, like say, maths. I need an idea to strike me. I believe people who are creative will find this module, not a breeze, but so much easier to handle. My friend, who so loves drawing, keep complaining to me why I didn't recommend such a gd deal to her, regardless of my constant effort to remind her that this module isn't her essential and she wouldn't be able to win the bid, given the mad amount of points needed get it. I, as a CM major already find it diffuclt to bid for that i need to appeal for it, what about her? =)

It was monday liao and im quite desperate already. Talked to my friend (a different one) about it and she gave me brilliant idea -- a keyboard, a computer keyboard. How fitting, since i am a SoC student.. haha.. but i was worried that many people would use it cos I thought it might be a common idea. The only difficulty to it was to write in the letters.. took a great deal of effort to squeeze in the letterings, esp the rough sketch on A4.. almost gave up.. hah.. Drew a rough sketch of it, then draw nicely on A3 paper in preparation for tmr's tutorial/critique session.

a4 rOugH skEtCh

aSsigNmeNt prOpEr

When I went up to present my work, I was surprised by the class's response. Everyone seemed impressed by my efforts. Finally a good assignment.Luckily I was the only one who came up with the keyboard idea, at least within the class. I found Chris's drawing of a handphone quite interesting. Maybe I liked it because it was something similar to mine? Hahaha...

fiNaL syMboL

tiReD~

Went to lecture on a tiring fri. Alot of assignnments are coming in and I find it difficult to handle already. Probably taking 2 non examinable modules in a sem is really not a very good idea. Anyway, we learnt representational techniques in class today, and Julian briefly touched on the Shannon-Weaver Model, which was very familar! In just learnt that in my nm2101 lecture a few weeks ago! haha.. think i really take more interests in things which i find familar. Hmmm.. wonder if other people learn in the same way... I believe prior knowledge plays a big part in a learning process.

Then we came across the 3 types of representation: iconic, indexical and symbolic. I found it confusing initially, as it was just a thin line that blurs the distinction between the 3. However, after we broke up into groups for the class exercise and discuss more about it, i slowly found out how to distinguish them.

First, Jonathan (my partner for the class exercise) came up with the clothes and hanger example, which I thought was extremely fantastic. Then after awhile, I came up with the clock and hour glass example, which Julian thought was quite good, but i didn't think it was tt fantastic because the hour glass example is quite common. Guess tts just me, low on creativity, don't know how to survive this mod. My tutor keep asking me to come up with something different, something tt can make him rem the design, but i just cant start to be creative at the age of 23.
= (

Anyway, quite happy tt my designs were praised by Julian.. at least it movtivated me to do well for this upcoming assignment.



delightful!
some ideas as i was queue-ing for my turn

tHe diSappOiNtmEnt

I went away from tutorial thinking about the Christmas design. It feels like it would be kind of "forced" if I used presents to illustrate one letter, lightings to represent another. So i decided to change the whole design. What I shall replace it with I hav no idea, but i knew I had to keep thinking about it. In a way, it was like my java programming, only when i constantly think about the problem will ideas and solutions pop up in my head. I didn't hav to wait long when the idea of using chess came across my mind while i was reading an article about chess itself.

I knew i couldn't just use the chess pieces to make up my name as it would be the same design problem as my soccer balls design. So, i decided to illustrate gameplay and in the meantime, showing my name. After much difficulty, I digged up my old Chinese Chess set and started to
place the pieces to make up my name.

One difficulty i faced is the lack of pieces to make up my name, but immediately i had a solution, that is to use the hand to make it look like a letter of my name. That would solve everything. But then, there was the lack of space on the board. To solve this, I made my letters be readable in an anti-clockwise direction so people viewing it wouldn't have much difficulty identifying my name. I took many pictures of the actual Chess set to ensure that the name was visible.



oNe of my earLiEr expErimeNts

























fiNaL iMagE



After several days of sketching and drawing, I finally came up with my design on A5 paper.

rEjeCted cHeSs dEsigN

I was extremely satisfied with it. Not only because I put in many hours of work into it, but also because when i showed people my design, they had no problems identifying my name. I was well aware of the fact that friends will find it easier to recognise my name, so I did ask people whom didn't know me. Although it wasn't as straightforward as my friends, more than half were able to recognise the name.

So, i was very disappointed in tutorial when my work was rejected outrightly. I felt that the tutor was critising it for the sake of criticising it only. Many a times, he rushed through presentations and it just seems to me he rejected my work because he wants to rush for time. Countless hours of hardwork just down the drain with a single sentence. Basically, throughout the tutorial I was very quiet. I was too demoralised to even make a single comment.Not once did the 20% tutorial participation bothered me.

fiNaL soCcEr dEsigN

After some thinking throughout the week and thought i was pretty dumb to feel that way. In many ways, my tutor had much more experience than me, or anyone whom I hav shown the design to. What he feels is probably right, and if he says it isn't good enough, then it probably isn't. He's a teacher and I don't think I should doubt his professionalism in conducting classes.
Think i got too emotional.. But no matter what, I still had to come up with another design and i decided it was best to stick to the Christmas theme. I worked on it, and finally came up with this piece of work which I feel is good enough to be handed in.

Anyway, the other assignments are coming in thick and fast.. I really don't have anymore time to dwell on it.. but a thought lingers on in me.. "why bother to put in so much effort.. when you don't get rewarded for it?"

Well, not everything's bad. The important thing was that I didn't exactly fell so in love with my initial concept that I wasn't willing to change it. At least that's one postivie I can take from this assignment.

No~~ firSt aSsigNmEnt's hEre!

Assignment 1 is out! I can feeling my excitement slowly seeping away.. The assignment seems difficult.. ok.. maybe people will think im exaggerating, but for my a person of my standard, I think im not. Well, the assignment requires us to come up with 4 rough sketches each of something we love, or hate, and try to incorporate it into our names. Once again, I find myselfstruggling for ideas. But i was very enthusiatic about it and came up with a few ideas during lecture that day.(puzzle)

My initial idea was to have one love theme and one hate theme because I wanted to challenge myself.But i had real difficulty in coming up with 4 designs each. For both themes, I could only come up with at most 3 designs each before I find myself coming back to very similar designs. Hmmm... I wonder if it's just me or...

In anycase, I went away from lecture and had various ideas popping into my head whenever i went. Be it walking around in sch, driving, eating, I was constantly on the look-out for potential ideas that might give me enough design drawings. But nothing really materialise in the following couple of days.

Then i realised I was on the wrong track. All along i was thinking of "cheating". In a sense, I wanted to have a theme that gives me enough designs and then I will just write that I "like" or "dislike" that particular thing. But what i should have been doing is really think about what I really like or dislike and play around with the elements or things related to it. So, on Sunday night, I brainstormed and came up with several things that i especially love or hate. In the end, I picked Christmas and Soccer as my love themes.

Suddenly, I was very excited about the prospects of this assignment. I feel that,"hey, mayb I can do well for this after all."I played with a few ideas and came up with a total of 6 designs for my Christmas. But because of time constraints, I could only draw 4, leaving out my best 2 designs... I guess it's my way of working.. I always like to leave my best to the last.. think in future I should draw my best designs first.

my first christmas design

the other 3 designs

Because I had to have something of the other theme too, that's why I left them out too and began drawing my Soccer theme. I got inspiration from one of the images Julian showed us during lecture. The image was a few stick figures skating around, forming the student's name. So I thought I could do something like that too, just that I would use real comic drawingsinstead of stick figures to make it more realistic. Immediately, I researched a few websites to find the best image I could find and trace them out. But there were only limited postures that i could use, so I felt it was abit "forced".

My only other design for the soccer theme is the one where my name is made up of several soccer balls. I spent a total of 5hrs just drawingthe balls to form my name. But even though i put in quite some effort, it didn't turn out well because I ran out of space on the page. On hindsight, I should have done it landscape instead of portrait, or mayb I should have draw the balls smaller. I wanted to redraw them but tutorial was looming in under 2hrs. Anyway, it was only part 1 of presentation.. it wasn't going tobe graded there and then, so I thought, "I have done my best I could, let's just go and see what are the feedbacks first before modifying anything ba"

the bad balls design.. = (

cute rite? hEe~

Upon see-ing other tutorial mates work, I feel that my work is really rubbish. But i was still one of the first few who presented because i fear that, if i don't present fast, I may lack the courage to present when the tutorial is going to end.

As expected, I had to abandon several designs because the concept wasn't right. I used many exernal objects for my Christmas theme and just write my name on the objects --- which is wrong! They said the letters in christmas hats were ok, but I was rather skeptical about it. I wasn't pleased with it.. I feel i can do better than that.

Our tutor pointed out to me that the design with all the soccer balls making up my name was very loud and too obvious. It should be more subtle and make whoever reading it think abit. He mentioned the need for variations. If i want to use a soccer ball, one is enough, there was no need to use so many of them. But by then i had already decided to use the comic figures design, so I guess i won't try to modify the design with soccer balls.

In anycase, I liked alot of my tutorial mates design. Ying's night and cat design was so natural and the drawing is very nice as well. I don't understand why when some people say they cant recognise her name. Wanting also had a night theme, which i think is very nice too, especially the cat which she used to illustrate the 'g' in her 'ting'.

The most cartoon-ish one was Chong's Batman. I think the wordings are very alike those used in Batman and he was able to integrate the theme well. Shuhui's reading figures were by far the most natural, with them in various reading positions and spelling out her name. But throughout the tutorial I had a hard time looking at the work of others, because I was sitting in the row they were standing up and presenting. I make a mental note not to sit in that row in futuer. I find that I cant contribute much in tutorial because if i cant even see their work, I cant comment right? and as what our tutor says, 20% is allocated to tutorial participation and I certainly don't want to do badly.

fiRst pOst!

Yay! The blog is finally up! Been really occupied these 2 weeks with my game design module.. had to come up with the concept and meet up and do protypes.. Anyway, this blog is supposed to be a learning journal for NM2208: Principles of Visual Communications.. so I shall stick to mainly writing about it..

I remember being rather excited even before the first lecture started. Well, of course not because it is a non-examinable module.. haha.. but because all my friends who had taken this module in previous semesters all mentioned that it was really fun and enjoyable.

When i arrived at the "submarine" tutorial room at AS1, it was packed with people I felt abit intimidated. But at least there were a few familiar faces, including our lecturer Dr Julian! or Julian as he would like us to call him. In my first year in SoC, he was my tutor for CS1105 and it was something about see-ing familiar faces that made us less nervous.

In the opening lecture, he brought us through some admin stuff about the module as to what we are to expect in the coming semester and it seemed pretty intensive. But i guess it's only normal for a non-examinable module to have a heavy workload.He introduced to us how the human brain makes use of previous knowledge or experience to make decisions by showing the class
a catalogue of images. Also, he illustrated to us the power of communicating without words, for example comics, and I was really impressed by it.

But the difficult part soon came. As a exercise, he ask us to design a poster without words, to convey to him our name, our interests and what we aim to achieve in this module. I struggled to come up with a concept, to come up with a method of communicating.. and drew till almost 6pm.

In the end, I managed to scrape a piece out work out. I did my best, but as I was leaving the tutorial, I had a feeling that my best wasn't going to be gd enough. The module seems really interesting, but I was quite bothered by the fact that my art is lousy and my drawing isn't up to scratch.

I really want to do well for this module because as what my friends had mentioned, it seemed really interesting, something I have been looking forward to, but the fact that I am artistically-challenged, and my lack of creativity seem to trouble me.Nonetheless, I have decided I will put in the extra effort to draw more sketches, put more thought into the design thinking
process.. and hopefully I can do well. =)