WL
Module 4: Frame vs. Field
Fig. 4.01 Final annotated isometric drawing
Module 4 involved an exploration of perspective as a tool to convey the narrative of a city. It challenged me to work across a variety of programs such as Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to realise two perspective images.
My given city, Leonia, is characterised by immense wealth. Its opulence is demonstrated through its inhabitants’ excessive consumption and disposal of goods. The inevitable ramification of such consumerist behaviours is the build-up of debris on the city fringes.
The central themes explored in the passage includes the tension between the ignorant decadence of the upper-class citizens and the systematic cleansing of the city by the street sweepers, as well as the idea of rubbish as symbolic of the city’s past, and accumulating in the permanent form of mountains and fortresses despite Leonia’s desperate attempts to reject it.
Fig. 4.02 Plan view of notated quad
Leonia is narrated in my isometric as having an ordered, almost hedonistic core and a disintegrating, threatening outer fringe. This idea is illustrated through the placement of radial direction arrows which indicate that the mountains of debris are threatening to collapse inwards onto the city. These arrows are perpendicular to the contour of atmosphere fills and the landscape.
The fills are divided into two parts, distinctly marking the divide between Leonia’s citizens as the street sweepers. The glance arrows mark the position of people in the scene, which a general direction towards the core of the city. The gaze arrows belong to the children, whose observations of the city are perhaps the least tainted with the city’s debris.
Time is notated through dashed lines, which run through the city. The lines gradually curve as they approach the edges of the city which depicts the warping of time caused by the accumulation of rubbish - which embodies the city’s past.
The ceiling was initially exploded up so to not distract from the rest of the notation.
With feedback from my tutor, I made significant changes to the vault structure of the quad and added more complexities to my texture application. The flower columns for example no longer display an obvious repetition when mapped onto the surface. New textures are also included in the second perspective in the distance to communicate the quad's physical disintegration which echoes the breaking down of social morals.
Fig. 4.03 Initial visualisations of perspective
Fig. 4.04 Final Rhino background rendering
Fig. 4.05 Final perspective 01 with tranquillity wash
Fig. 4.06 Final perspective 02 with tranquillity wash
Fig. 4.07 Final isometric drawing
Reflection
In this module, my visualisation skills were challenged as both three-dimensional and two-dimensional ideas needed to be collapsed into single perspectives. I was constantly switching back and forth between viewing methods to curate two compelling perspectives that communicate my narrative. I learnt about how to set up cameras and to save perspectives in order to find the perfect framed view. This module also encouraged me to think laterally. I began to think about the two perspectives not just as what is contained within, but also what occurs outside the frames - both geographically and temporally.
Looking back, I believe I could have emphasised the idea of desolation in the second perspective by adding more debris and grime on the ground.
I find it fascinating how an entire world can be encapsulated in two perspective snapshots and one isometric drawing. The rest of the city is up to the viewer's imagination stimulated by the framed images.
My own experimentation revealed the immense creative licence this module allowed. Creating my own artistic vision through digital modelling and collage was very stimulating as it made me realise the possibilities of visual representation across multiple programs.