I thought it would be nice to share the work that students are doing in their sketchbooks. Due to the suspension of face to face teaching and adoption of remote learning, we are working mostly with the sketchbook, with weekly assignments which help to develop skills of visual representation and thinking. Feel free to try these assignments for yourselves. You can find earlier sketchbook prompts by clicking in the Sketchbook Prompts page in the navigation bar to the right. Scroll down for earlier prompts.

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Week 3 -4/6 -4/10

This isn't actually a sketchbook assignment, even though its done in the sketchbook. This was actually adapted from a longer project for remote learning. I love the direction that students took this in, some referencing the current situation. (pm)

To be done in your sketchbook on a single page

Compose a short  love note or a ransom note that is humorous in its tone. Please make sure that what you write is appropriate for school.

Use found letters cut from magazines and newspapers, as well as any other found imagery and media you have access to (marker, colored pencil, paint*etc), to create a visual note (see examples below). The majority of the letters in the message should be different 

The letters should be the main focus of the work, but the other elements can enhance the overall effect and meaning of the work.

PROMPT:

Use only one single page for this prompt: Find a favorite coffee cup or mug. Set it on a surface in front of you at about eye level, and do a simple contour drawing that fills a large part of the page. Next try drawing a "birds eye" view, then draw a "worm's eye" view. After that try isolating and enlarging a portion of the cup/mug, for example the handle or part of the curve of the top rim. These different drawings will overlap forming an interesting new composition. Use all of the page. 

PROMPT:

Draw the exterior AND the interior of a mechanical object. This could be something as simple and common as a pen, or as complex as a car. In either case it should be something that you can actually see in front of you.  Focus on details. For the interior drawing, you must imagine the interior - you can't open the object to reveal its workings. You could approach this in a very practical and realistic way, visualizing, to the best of your ability,  how the object functions. Or, you could approach it in a more fanciful and imaginative way. the choice is yours. The drawing should fill the majority of the page.

Paul Clemence: I look around your office and models are everywhere! From miniatures of entire buildings to blown-up structural details. Considering the integration of 3-D modeling software in architectural practice over the last decade, are models still essential to the preliminary design process?

Renzo Piano: Doing one of these rough models is the same as sketching. The model is three-dimensional version of a sketch. With the computer you need to tell it exactly what to do; where to start, where to stop. When I am doing the sketch, I don’t have to tell the sketch where to start, where to end. It’s instinctive. Sketching, like the model, has the quality of imperfection. Neither has to be precise. It gives you freedom. It gives you the possibility to change. The computer is perfect in the moment when you cannot be perfect. Making models and sketches is very important in this early part of the process, because in the beginning it is never precise—if you have to be precise you can get trapped in the shape, in the form. And you have to remember that the model is just a fragment—the only place where it all comes together is the mind, even with things like proportion and scale.

Building a Strong Sketchbook

Sculpture and 3D Design sketchbooks

Graphic Design Sketchbooks

Fashion and textile design Sketchbooks

The Sketchbook Project

Your Sketchbook…..

 Is where you document your process.

PROCESS is as important as the PRODUCT.  Your sketchbook is a valuable tool. YOU MUST BRING YOUR SKETCHBOOK TO EVERY CLASS!

The sketchbook is mandatory and is provided to you at reduced cost. However, if you lose it, you must replace it with the same size and format as the original at your own cost. Please see me if you need to replace your sketchbook.

Your sketchbook is:

•  The place for your notes from lectures, videos, critiques and class discussions.
• The place where you compose your end of project reflections (which are then posted to your e-portfolio).
• Where you record your brainstorming/ideating for projects.
• A place for any specific assignments (such as drawing assignments).
• A place for any other explorations, research, random thoughts, and notions that have to do with the content of the class, or subjects related to the class.
• A place for you to record the QUESTIONS that you have about the content of a unit or about a project.

Sketchbook Criteria:

• Each entry or page should have a clearly written title and date. You can expand your sketchbook by pasting in additional pages, pockets etc.
• Your sketchbook should be relatively neat and well organized, while still allowing for creativity, expression and exploration.
• Make the maximum use of each page (front and back), while not being overcrowded or indecipherable.
• Include all of the items detailed in the section above.

Grading :

I will ask to see your sketchbook periodically throughout the course. The sketchbook will be formally assessed at the three points during the class: At the interim reporting periods and at the end of the course. The sketchbook is worth 25% of your final course grade. 

Goal of the Sketchbook:

To develop the lifelong practice of maintaining a sketch/journal as a valuable creative resource.

The sketchbook is your place to explore, play, practice visualization techniques, record events and thoughts, do research for projects, engage in the design process etc. I will check the sketchbooks periodically and assess them during the semester.

Things that go in your sketchbook:

Sketch/journal Prompts:

You will get sketchbook prompts on a regular basis. Label each assignment with the assignment number example:  sktbkprompt#1 and the date.

Project Work Class Activities:

These may include any drawing, brainstorming, research or other activities that are parts of specific projects or class assignments. This includes notes from videos that are part of the background information for many projects. They should be labeled with the name of the Unit Activity or Project and the date. On occasion, I may require you to scan some of these materials into your e-portfolio.

Notes from Presentations and Critiques:

Any time that there is a presentation from the instructor, or feedback from critiques – those notes should be written in the sketch/journal. Include a title and the date.

Independent Work:

I encourage any additional image-making (drawing, collage, photography etc), thoughts, observations, research that you wish to do, as long as they pertain to the general area of art/design. You will receive credit for any other additional work that you do. The more you use your sketchbook the better it (and the grade) will be.