Design Principles task 1/Exersices

 Design principles -  week (1-2), Exercise 1

Lectures

lecture 1.1 elements and principles of design

This was a short lecture by ms jinchi, It was a basic introduction class to understand the elements of design (point, line, shape, form, texture, space, and colour) 

lecture 1.2 contrast and gestalt theory

This is an interesting class that allowed me to understand how contrast can entirely change the aesthetics of an image. The lecturer showed us the six gestalt theories (continuity, closure, proximity, similarity, figure/ground, symmetry, and order) these principles taught me more about designing with shapes and structures.

Contrast

Contrast is a major principle of art, contrast manipulation on an image can almost change the whole visual characteristics of an image. It can make a picture look better if used properly

For my contrast design, I wanted to show two characters with dark and light contrast, so I drew a  mushroom girl hiding behind rocks from a big black cat

I drew a character named Eren Yeager in a different art style that shows black and white contrast.

I also drew other portraits with light and dark contrast of the same subject

Gestalt theory

Law of symmetry and order

The law of symmetry and order states that the elements that are symmetrical to each other tend to be perceived as a unified group. similar to the law of similarity, this rule suggests that objects that are  symmetrical to each other will be more likely to be grouped together than objects not symmetrical with each other

I got this idea from lecture 1.2 'gestalt and contrast theory' taught by Ms jinchi.

I designed a person riding a bicycle in a vast environment to show this.

The upper half of the first tire of the cycle shows the sun associated with the blue sky in the background. The lower half of the second tire shows the moon in the dark night sky behind it. These elements are symmetrical and can be perceived as a unified group.

Week 3 - 4 

Balance / Emphasis / Repetition / Movement

Balance

Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, textures, and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable.

There are two types of balance, symmetrical and asymmetrical

Rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is a composition guideline that places your subject in the left or right third of an image, leaving the other two thirds more open

Emphasis

Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer's attention

Repetition

Repetition means simply using the same element over and over again. Often, repetition is a great way to add texture to the piece. Not only does it create an element of unity within a specific piece of artwork, but repetition can also help create texture and bring the project to life.

Movement

Movement is the path the viewer's eye takes through the work of art, movement can be directed along lines, edges, shape, and color within the work of art

The lecturer instructed us to choose any two of these principles and create one design for each.

I chose Balance and movement

Symmetrical balance was pretty interesting to me. First I drew some shapes and patterns to see if anything interesting idea came up. But I didn't do any visual research. So I looked up some stuff to light up any ideas in my head, Turns out seeing the yin and yang here popped up some new ideas.

So my initial Idea was a teenager standing atop a skyscraper staring down at the city to end his sad and miserable life.

                                                                                                  1st outcome

After creating this, I felt like the sun behind the characters was a bit disproportionate. I got the feeling to change the proportions and the background as well

 Further in designing this scenario, I chose a gradient background to portray the city much better I also made some other changes to the proportions and the colours.

This shows symmetrical balance very well. If you look at it closer, you can understand that the person looking down can see his afterimage as a mirror in his mind of whether he should actually kill himself or not.

Balance feedback-

The lecturer told me that Balance is quite effectively portrayed and this design is good to go

Updated feedback: try showing black and white moon for the last design

Movement

I drew a cute little watermelon crying to show movement, but I couldn't express any movement in that, so I drew a chef trying to cut it down with a knife.

I wanted to express more with this watermelon so I tried something else (This is a work in progress but I just wanted to show this to the lecturer)

Movement Feedback

The lecturer told me to add more lines to the knife to portray the movement of the knife coming down. So I used some thicker, darker lines for it.

week 5 - 6 exercise 3

Harmony / Unity/ symbol / word and image

Harmony

Harmony is the visually satisfying effect of combining similar or related elements. Adjacent colors. Similar shapes. Related textures

Unity

Unity refers to how different elements of an artwork or design work come together and create a sense of wholeness

 Symbol 

a symbol is usually a solid, recognizable thing. an animal, a plant, an object, etc that stands for something that would be hard to show in a picture or a sculpture

word and image

Choosing the right words to pair with the imagery is of high importance as it would deepen the meaning of the design

I chose to design Unity and symbol

Unity

For this design, I wanted something like a connection between two species. I explored a lot to get an idea to draw something like this

For this, I first drew a rough sketch of a woman and a fox to show unity like this

Feedback :  The lecturer told me to use more references to design

Now I had to redraw this with a few more colours and details.

Final design

This artwork took a very long time to get right, It still has a lot to improve and can get much cleaner than this. The design can show a unique unity between the woman and the fox on her chest. I chose to draw it less similar to real life and gave the characters some distinct colours, plus I made look like it has an extraterrestrial aura

Symbol

For this, I wanted to create a symbol representing the game red dead redemption 2. It's the story of a man in the 1800's living his life as a cowboy. It's an aesthetically pleasing game with a good story.

I used illustrator because a vector would be more appropriate for a symbol 
I wanted the symbol to be a man on a horse standing on top of the world.

Feedback: One of the legs of the horse is showing flaws in the symbol so reduce the size of the man and horse and cut the circle a bit more.

Alternative version

Final design