[Assignment 2] 'Monograms' Painting Attempt 1

I used acrylics for the first time ever that day. And it wasn't a great start.

First object of sacrifice was not too bad. I sprayed gold paint for the logo but I'm planning to get black tape to replace the red one. I'm going to add a little more touch to the little triangles on the side too.

Second object of sacrifice failed miserably. I sprayed a container with spray paint, but it just turned a very faint color of sick gray. Then I tried to paint acrylic over it, but the desperate measure was futile as I could peel it off as easy as mosquito legs.

I have no words left for the T-shirt. I used acrylic first but then it was quite hard to paint on because the shirt material is those for sportswear. Then I tried using fabric pastel, which was more practical, but yielded poorer results. Afterwards, I used Sharpie fabric marker, which unfortunately, ran out of ink a minute afterwards. Thank goodness one of my classmates lent me her little sponge and fabric paint, which saved my life, because that little beauty did all the work in not more than 3 minutes. There are little smudges, but it was better than what I expected after the few previous fails.

The best part was...

... My phone cover case was spray painted.

Which was not an intended sacrifice, but just for a little bit of fun. I'm just hoping in won't discolor in my jeans pocket. Or crack when I drop it.

I'm now left with the tote bag, a dust cloth and a little pouch to paint on.

Oh, wait, there's still the container left.

Noooo.....

[Assignment 2] 'Monograms' - Stenciling

When I was doing this, I thought about the paper cutout assignments.

We are going to print our monograms on six different mediums tomorrow! Yay! So we got our stencils done today so we can use fabric paint, acrylic or spray paint to do it afterwards!

It was a very wise move not to make too many complicated designs, or this assignment will be known as 'paper cutouts' again.

Cutting the shape out of graph paper

Tracing the outline on drawing paper as stencils

Individual pieces

[Assignment 2] 'Monograms' - Finalizing

I sketched a couple more of the shortlisted monograms from last week by editing and changing styles, shades and positions of the current design.

Ms. Lisa liked this one best, so I started to work on it. I drew it on a piece of graph paper to measure the length of the sides correctly. Then I photocopied it and adjusted into different sizes. Since we are printing this onto six different mediums, I needed to see which size fitted which medium best.

Then I experimented with different colors.

I find monochrome colors to be more attractive. So I'm going for black and possibly, grey. 

[Assignment 2] 'Monograms' - Sketching

We get to sketch our own monogram by using our own initials. It is actually pretty exciting to do, like we're making our own brand. It's just that we do not have a product yet.

My initials are 'V', 'A', and 'L', so these were what I came out with.

Triangles, which kinda make sense.

A large sized pizza for a person with a small appetite.

Old school font.

Connecting letters together.

Vertical version.

Making letter orientation around a circle.

Constraining letters in a space.

Typical small letters.

Applying subjective contours.

Blinds effect.

Reverse blinds effect.

It is not easy thinking of new monograms. My perception towards logos or symbols, even if it are simple, has changed. It takes a lot more than one or two sketches to make a good logo or monogram.

[Assignment 2] 'Monograms' - Introduction

Another round of assignment is piling up!

This time, we get to create our own monogram logos using our own initials. Talk about creating our own branding!

Ms. Lisa showed us a few examples of monograms:

We were asked to head to the library to find books and references. In two hours, we need to get examples of fonts or designs that we like and suits our personality best. Then we returned to class to have a class discussion to show what designs we like and exchange opinions about it.

I chose a few fonts that are strong, solid with the black and white color scheme. It is simple, striking and bold enough to attract attention. Swirly and flowery fonts did not suit me well and I did not have any liking for them.

Ms. Lisa gave each of us a keyword that would represent our monogram.

Mine was "SOLID"

We were assigned to sketch out the logos, discuss them with Ms. Lisa, and then start print making them onto at least 6 mediums. They can be T-shirts, bags or even umbrellas. Afterwards we need to use it to make it into a pattern and also a poster about our logo.

Lots to do :D

[Assignment 1] 'What's Your Square?' - Closure

After weeks of non-stop planning and cutting, Assignment 1 finally came to a closure. We displayed our cutouts on chairs propped on tables.

I bet if we do this at home, some of our parents would ask us to get the chairs down at once! :P

Each of us presented our cutouts as best as we can, explaining the story behind the details and design, and at the same time, also showing a little more about our personality.

Ms. Lisa was very interested in what we have got to say. She gave good feed backs and criticism, so we know what our strong points are and what we can do to improve.

We paid our utmost attention towards our classmate's artworks.

It was a very fun assignment. At the beginning, I was skeptical that I could not get mine done because it was very difficult to cut the details out, but in the end it was worth it. And I bet everyone else felt the same as well, that they have conquered what at first seemed impossible.