Assignment 8- Equivocal Space

McKenzie Dempsey
Assignment 8 - Equivocal space
30 April 2015
111-01

Reflection: In all honesty, this project was extremely difficult for me. It was probably a culmination of the task at hand and the fact it's the end of the semester. Regardless, I believe I am satisfied with the way it turned out. The best way I was able to show equivocal space was through the line I created using the edge of the transparent shape and the edge of the triangle. I believe my project could have been stronger had I had a clearer direction of where I wanted to go when we started this assignment. As well, once again my craftsmanship began to fail me at 2 am as I was wrapping up this project. But overall, I believe it was successful in beginning to understand the elements of equivocal space.

Assignment 7- Vibrating/Disappearing Edges

McKenzie Dempsey
Assignment 7 - Vibrating/ Disappearing Edges
14 April 2015
111-01

Reflection:
This project presented a nice challenge for me. The first part of the project, the vibrating edges problem, was the more difficult of the two - it took some time to find colors that were very close in light intensity and saturation. I added the light circle overlay to the bottom left of the design because I feel it added more dimension and movement to the project. The second part, disappearing edges, was fairy easy to find colors for, but wasn't as easy to complete. The last time I used this design I used black magazine paper, which was a lot easier to cut curves and bends using an X-acto knife. However if I could go back I maybe would have used different designs. With work and school I felt crunched for time and rather would have spent my class time towards the effectiveness of the edges rather the design that encompassed them. It is fun, though, to see these same designs in so many formats and to compare there effectiveness in each project.

Assignment 6- Transformation

McKenzie Dempsey
Assignment 6- Transformation 
2 April 2015
111-01

Reflection-

Part 1 of the project (the top design) wasn't very difficult. It was a quick solution after organizing my colors by hue and then shade. The second solution was much more difficult. Even though I organized my colors and followed the same steps (move one hue towards yellow and up one or two shades), I still can't convince my eyes of the illusion I tried to create of a yellow sheet over the colors. Perhaps next time if I budget my time a bit better I could double check my solution using Photoshop to make sure my colors are as close to the real colors they would be to help this illusion.

Assignment 5 Transparency

McKenzie Dempsey
Assignment 5 Transparency 
24 March 2015
111-01

Solution #1- Easy

Solution #2- Difficult

Reflection:
This has been my favorite project to date. The topographical illusions that were created in this project are even stronger than the last, and I believe both solutions look very pleasant. The better solution is probably the second solution simply because of the higher level of difficulty of transitioning from a dark blue to a light pink. Another reason for my satisfaction with this project is that my craftsmanship has improved again - I have a better eye for measuring and a steadier hand when using the X-acto knife, and I think that confidence in using these tools has continued to grow with use of them in every project.

Assignment 4 - Color Interaction

McKenzie Dempsey
Assignment 4 Color Interaction
12 March 2015
111-01

1. Bully/Pushover (1 look like 2)

 

 2. Parent/child

 3. Making friends (2 look like one)

Reflection

This assignment has really been a great help strengthening my eyes and my awareness of color. For the most part, I really enjoyed experimenting with colors. The most rewarding part of the project was finally finding color combinations whose transformations wowed me. To see the magic take place was definitely fulfilling after all of the time that was spent on this project. My favorite of the three groups (and the most successful I believe) was the bully/pushover exercise. I pushed the purple to two different colors - on the left on pushed the purple towards blue, and on the right I added more purple into the square using the green background. Once again, my greatest struggle was found in my craftsmanship, and seeing as I was limited to one sheet of color aid paper per color, I had to keep working with the mistakes I made (I had difficulty in placement of the backgrounds which I had to keep repealing to line up). I also believe using a t-square would have been a great tool to use to make sure I'm getting 90 degree angles on all of my corners. 

Assignment 3 -Light Intensity

McKenzie Dempsey
Assignment 3 Light Intensity
24 February 2015
111-01

Project A

Project B

Reflection

This project was definitely very enlightening, and I think though it was difficult, the result is worth the work. The most difficult part of the project had to be finding the right shades that weren't tinted too much with other colors. A close second in the level of difficulty was preserving the pieces once they were coated with rubber cement. I need to find a more sure fire way of laying them out so I don't have to try and peel them up again because of misplacement or because a piece has been scuffed up and needs to be replaced. Perhaps if lay out all of the pieces first, take a picture of the work, and then glue everything down at once, they would help preserve the piece.

Assignment 2 - Exploring Occult Balance

McKenzie Dempsey
Assignment 2 Exploring Occult Balance
9 February 2015
111-01

Project #1-

-attitude

-movement

-tension

Project #2-

-figure/ground reversal

-closure

-continuity

Reflection:

I believe I have experienced much growth since the first assignment, and that growth I would attribute to the extensive exercises.  Being reintroduced to the elements of art and finding new ways to highlight them really helped me to structure my projects and give them more life. I am especially pleased with project #1. I loved adding movement and attitude by warping and bending the triangles to point towards the focal point of the piece. Tension is also incorporated in the spacing of the lines between the black figures. Project #2 I reworked several times before scrapping my original idea, trading in my simpler shapes for warped and rounded figures. My new focus became figure ground reversal, and the elements closure and continuity easily followed. Closure is found in the completion of the rounded shapes, and continuity is seen in the repetition of curves.  Again one of my greatest weaknesses is my precision in cutting – I need to find a better way to transfer my designs onto magazine paper so I can make cleaner cuts.  All in all I can tell that my effort in the exercises paid off greatly in this project, but there are still many areas where I can improve.

Formative exercises-

Diagonals, horizontals, verticals, attitude

 

Tension and connections

Gestalt grouping, proximity and similarity

Closure and continuity

 

Fracture
 

Dominance/subordinance

 

Rhythm
 

Combinations
 

Unity/Variety (edited projects)
 
 

Assignment 1 - Balance & Symmetry

McKenzie Dempsey
Assignment 1 Balance & Symmetry
27 January 2015
111-01

Reflection:

I believe this first assignment (along with the informative exercises) were a great introduction to the course. After Intro to 3D design I was hoping for some more freedom with the shaping of art (in terms of developing a more organic style). Working with magazine paper as a medium was much more difficult than I anticipated it to be, with the most difficult part being the availability of excess black clippings of magazine paper. And even with the experience I gained using an X-acto knife all last semester, I still found it difficult to keep edges rounded and to not tear the paper so that the white under layer was exposed. I expect that as I gain more experience with this medium that the process may become a little less intimidating. Overall, I thought this project was a great beginning to the semester and I look forward to the next challenge ahead.

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Exercise 1

Exercise 2