In this project, we delved into the study of lines and the relationship between them.
For the project, we had to sketch out create ten 5×5 inch black squares and then cut strips of white paper in varying thicknesses and glue them on top. Our teacher gave us a few limitations that we had to abide by.
They included;
- All the lines must be parallel (none can cross each other)
- The edges of the stripes must touch the edges of the black square (meaning at least one side had to be 5 inches long)
- The lines must be straight
However, before that, we had to create a few thumbnail sketches that gave us some time to experiment for the final squares.
To prepare the ten 5×5 inch squares, I used an Olfa knife, cutting mat, and t-square. I measured the squares using a pencil and then used the t-square as a guide to cut with the Olfa knife. Below are a few images of the process.
Once all the things were cut and glued, I compiled the ten squares in preparation for class.
One thought I’d like to delve into is how I felt about the level of complexity and detail that were present in my squares. It did not occur to me until after I was done that the squares I created were visually simple; in other words, I did not think that they had much to offer. The reason for this is probably because I was uncomfortable with how limiting the assignment was. It cut down on the organic shapes and motifs I usually like to work with. In all, I completed the assignment and 6 of the ten squares can be seen below.
And some snapshots of the other students’ squares and how we all decided to arrange them.
At the end of class, we were instructed to choose three squares and then recreate them on illustrator. This was at first a little difficult as I had very little experience with illustrator. However, our professor taught us some of the basics which made the process of recreating them much easier. Such difficulties included: how to change the size of shapes, how to check that the vector lines are aligned correctly, among others.
Moreover, the parameters that we were mandated to work in relaxed; allowing us to shorten the white lines if we would like to. However, the rest of the limitations still applied.
Chosen 3 Squares
Recreated 3 Squares
Above are the final squares I created with this newly found digital freedom. As you can see, I greatly changed the squares that I originally chose to remedy the feelings of boredom. The next step was to choose two of these squares and bring them to transfer paper. I decided to choose the second and third squares as the two harmonize with one another better than the first square. The reason for this harmony is mainly due to their more robust lines and contrast with the background.
On the tracing paper, we were tasked with creating a composition. Not just any arrangement, we had to think about how each piece was going to interact with one another. Moreover, we were allowed to change the orientation and flip the colors if we felt it necessary. For my composition, I wanted to create a circular motion so that the piece had some compositional harmony. However, this proved to be very difficult as the second square I chose from the recreated three was very rigid. This resulted in the squares being disjointed.
The next step was to take the transfer paper sheet back online and choose one square to complete the composition. We were also asked to create one new exception for ourselves. This could be changing the colors, creating curved lines, etc. For my piece, I decided to alter two things, the squared edges of the white lines and the size of the finished piece. This allowed me to explore the piece more intuitively. It ultimately led me to design something very dynamic.
In this rendition, I decided to use the first square I created and multiply it a few times resulting in the creation of two things. One being a skyline reflecting on the water. This can be seen by the negative space created by the composition of white lines. The second being that if the orientation changed from landscape to portrait, the piece begins to look like a floral pattern. Listening to how my professor mentioned that the piece seemed very enclosed and it had the ability to go beyond the page if I wished it, I decided to turn this piece into a pattern resulting in the final piece below.
Final Piece:
