FOUN 110 & 111: Foundation Drawing and Design

As a student with a prior background in drawing, the course material was relatively straightforward for me. However, it was precisely during this class that I developed the idea of building my personal website, and Professor Roberson give me help and support throughout the process.

In this course, I explored core design methodologies and mindsets, learning how to plan, structure, and execute creative projects. Additionally, I acquired foundational printmaking skills, learned the complete workflow of relief printing, and gained hands-on experience with essential Adobe creative tools, including Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Color, Adobe Express, and Adobe Illustrator.

Printmaking was an incredibly engaging experience. After iterating through several rounds of drafts, I began carving my block. My design was inspired by the Time Tunnel from Doraemon and the fluid, sweeping motion characteristic of Van Gogh's paintings.

The pattern is composed of three distinct layers: a woodgrain texture for the base, a swirling vortex in the middle, and a clock face on the top layer. A minor flaw occurred during carving where the number "10" was accidentally mirrored. This was primarily due to the preliminary sketch on the block becoming smudged and blurred over long hours of work.

Printing the blocks was equally fascinating. I mastered the entire process of inking, pressing, and cleaning the printmaking tools. If too little ink is applied, the print turns out faint and blurry; if too much is used, it bleeds into the carved grooves. Consequently, controlling the ink coverage is quite a delicate task for a beginner. After practicing with single-color prints, I experimented with printing using multiple colors.

Following the printing phase, I experimented with vectorizing my engraved artwork.

Also in this course, I challenged myself to create a paper sculpture as an exploration into 3D design. In practice, planning an abstract model presents a high level of difficulty. Since the materials allocated to each student for this project were strictly limited, I had to minimize any material waste.

After completing the initial concept renderings, I thought a triangular tower would not be overly complex. However, when drafting the flat layouts on paper for cutting, I realized that producing a large number of precise prisms required highly accurate nets. Since drafting templates for irregular pyramids is exceptionally challenging, I ultimately adopted an iterative approach—cutting and defining the shapes simultaneously to resolve the template as I went.

In addition, I recorded a stop-motion animation documenting the fabrication process.