Apowers' Design School Journey

Aaron, I agree with what others have said, great stuff! Especially on those digital ones (black textured + white matte form studies) if you are newer to the digital stuff. It can be a big jump to go from paper to digital but it doesn’t look like it was for you …

Thanks Robbie!

It definitely took some getting used to, especially doing the line sketching on photoshop just seems to take longer.

Here’s a few from this week:

Air Purifier:

Backpack:

Camera:

Glasses:

Lamp: I blew the perspective and proportion on this sketch!

Overall I’m pretty satisfied how my sketching has progressed, I’m going to continue to strive to improve but I have come to realize how bad my model making skills are. Not necessarily the finished surface modelling type of stuff but the general rough mockups. I never really built anything growing up besides computers and seeing someone like Eman who can make a killer chair or really anything makes me feel weak as a design student. I haven’t decided how I’m going to tackle this weakness yet but I’m sure I’ll be sharing with the boards when I do!

Hey Aaron,

I do a lot of lurking around here, but rarely actually post.

I just wanted to log in and say that this thread is incredibly inspiring. I’ve read every page and hope to see a lot more, as it’s given me the kick I needed to improve my own sketching.

Keep it up! :smiley:

Thanks belm it means a lot!

When I first started I felt it was impossible to gauge how long it took certain people to become great at sketching, most of the work I found from the top Art Center transportation students showed only their best work starting around term 4. Hopefully my progress gives a somewhat accurate representation of how long it took for me to progress and how many thousands of sketches it takes to get there. And there’s always more room to improve!

Also, I highly encourage you to post your work here on the boards, it has helped me greatly!

Aaron

great work dude. i like them pretty much

the progression is real, i especially love the digital sketches and your cars

Thanks Crit and Kurt!

This last semester has been really interesting. I’ve been really trying to push myself away from the normal way that I sketch. In my studio class I was working in and out of 3D and sketching over a package and also trying to boost my skills in 3D modelling which have been hampering my final executions.

To keep my stress levels in check I’ve been picking up a pen and sketching anything, and really trying to work on my discipline with lines while using a high flow pen. Here’s some of those sketches:

I’m looking forward to sharing some more improvements in my skill-sets!

Animal anatomy studies (A lot of reference from Peter Han/ Jon Kuo demos)

Sketchwars wetsuit ideation:

New Sketchbook:

My CPAP project ideation:

I wanted to update my post with some stuff from Summer, it’s been a bizarre semester.

On the last day of class I was offered an internship at Enlisted and started the next day after. I’ve learned so much, and I’m sketching and designing more than I’ve ever been before. The pace is quite fast, but I’m happy to see my strengths and weaknesses come out in a more apparent way. I’ll be Full-time at Enlisted for the rest of the Fall and taking a few classes.

Here are some sketches within the past month or two, the main focus for me was to improve my loose ideation sketching as I felt that when I needed to loosen up and be creative I was presenting illegible sketches. I’m glad I focused on this, because it has paid off when working in the studio already.

Lately I’ve been feeling like I’m missing that aspect of freshness in my work, and most of what I’m putting out is “expected” whether that’s just sketches or in my design work. Does anyone have advice on how I can improve this aspect of my skills?

First off, congrats on your internship! Pertaining to your question about staying fresh, I would revisit what first drove you to I.D. What was the spark that ignited your ambition? Sometimes, switching mediums, styles, or making fine art might help. Maybe you have been so busy with I.D. that you forgot your needed happy time, hobbies, that awesome music playlist from several years ago, friend time or a good old fashion nature hike. Ultimately stay hungry and remember the progress you have made. Cheers. :sunglasses:

Wow apowers, this is a very inspirational thread. Your improvement and commitment is astounding. Keep it up!

Thanks for the advice Jboogie and thank you TSE2!

Currently I’m balancing interning and school and I’m taking one of my favorite sketching classes again to sharpen my skills.

We’re working on pencil sketches first and then will advance to pen and digital, I’m thinking of mixing mediums as soon as possible. Any scribbles or scratches are marks from the critique.

Here’s some week one stuff… The assignment is plugs and sockets. My goal with this week was to explore shapes and forms without stopping and diving into details and fun compositions.

Week 2: Topic is speakers, the goal here was to have some more dynamic compositions and get looser.


Week 3: Lamps/lighting - goal was to get even looser and have a focal point on the page and use some color to pop things out. I still struggle with using color in an effective manner and I’m hoping to improve for next week.

More soon!

Great work. I like to see these types of detail explorations.

You need to work on your hand writing though. Make you lettering guide lines much lighter and your letters heavier. Work on developing an intentional lettering style. When done right it becomes almost textural.

Thanks Michael!

I’ve been really trying to work on it lately, but it’s still hideous I agree. No excuses from me, I’ve been putting it off for too long! I have a lettering assignment I’ll be doing once a day from now on.

Aaron, it isn’t totally hideous :slight_smile: Like anything, it takes practice and thought. Benchmarking is good. Focus on consistently repeatable strokes. Short, straight lines and slight arcs are easier to repeat than loops and curves which is why you see such similarity in the “architect” style of hand lettering.

Here is a quick practice page example I just busted out.

Awesome, thanks Michael! I’ll be sure to get some practice in on this.

Awesome sketches Aaron. I just stumbled upon your thread and love your work. Keep it up!

Thanks Aaron, I really appreciate it!

Last weeks sketches were earbuds and I was trying to have more dynamic compositions and use color better. The color here still felt overpowering to the sketches and the level of detail still wasn’t there.




And here’s this weeks work.

My focus here was on building up more value and blending the color into the products better. I’ve also been doing a handwriting exercise every day so I hope that it gets better soon.

I think these are the best sketches I’ve done so far, I’m pretty excited with how they came out.

Love your ideation. That’s the kind of ideation that sparks conversations and additional ideas from other designers.
Some of the pencil shading is starting to look smudgy.
I remember back in the day we had to do 18" x 24" sheets of just lettering. Why don’t you try doing Michael’s sample multiple times on a 8.5" x 11" sheet. Make sure you pay attention at the letter construction, don’t let your brain do what it thinks it should do.
You may also want to draw a couple of faint lines on your drawings so that your lettering is straight. It will help you to keep your letters the same height and in a straight line.