ln Design Studies 1, my students have studied Principles of Design?But that is just learning the concept and not the real application.l did observed that many students look bored making artworks about 'concepts in art'.They just wanted to move further as fast as possibble and test their creativity. Well, the time will come soon.
l am sorry to borrow examples of the typographic creative works as shown above from other sources.There is no intention of making any profit from this act of borrowing but it is just for learning purposes only.ln Art,looking,observing and appreciating is a form of learning process.
What does the above examples show?We can still see that typography are used to an extended form.ln this case,some experimental ideas in using letters are being exploited to create a good design fit for certain purposes.In fact many good design did use typography or selection of good lettering to create an interesting atmosphere thus giving a good message.
Can we do more in our future design using creative Typography?
l am aware that i am not active in writing and posting new ideas in this blog for quite sometime. This is due to heavy workload which demands much of my my time.However, i did not forget that i must write something in order that the readers of my blog have something to think about. The year 2009 will be closing soon. l still remember that i first started this blog at the end of 2008.Its almost the same time now in 2009 that new ideas keep coming to me to continue writing.The reason is simple.At this time of the year i am always on my annual leave and nothing is on my shoulder where work is concerned.So ,i have the time to think.
Beginning 2010, i will spend more time on the new Art Programme at UBD.We are about to finalise the programme structure and the nature of courses in this programme.We realise the importance of this programme either to UBD and the public as a whole.l hope i can use my blog to deliver some important things in this programme.Basically, this programme is to educate the students to become a professional artist and designer.
ln last semester (Aug 2009 -Nov 2009), my students in this programme was taking Design Studies 1 with me.ln this course, the students were introduced with the knowledge and skills about the basic elements of art and design.Students are required to know about the basic concepts of art elements and the skills in applying the concept to visual ideas.
ln the coming semester,students will be continuing to Design Studies 11. ln this course, students will have the chance to be more practical about things that will happen in their future career i.e the real skills in design making ,be it in Graphic Communication or Product Design.
ln this post, i only wanted to introduce about the importance of learning Typography and its impact on Design.l have already started discussing about Typography in my earlier post in this blog.Today, i just wanted to show a few example of how fonts and different kinds of lettering and sizes can produce a good design plus giving a direct information about the message it carries. What do you think about these examples? What do you learn?
Many of my students are taking Visual Art as an elective subject.Art is not their major option in their programme of study.In an elective classes like this,these students are either not taking art in their previous public examinations or even during their entire secondary education.A situation like this is interesting because it raises the question of what should be taught in an art subject for 'non art minded' students. l have always tried many experiments in teaching art for this kind of students and i found that they can do.l always tried to devise activities that make them think and manipulate many ways of making things look interesting.l know that these students are not having the skills that art students must have but everybody can think.So art and thinking is the best option for these students plus some psychomotor skills in handling art tools and materials. Take for example in the study of shapes.Why study shapes?Because shape is one of the important elements in Visual Art.The recognition of shapes,the identification, selection of shapes and the manipulation of shapes will contribute to the creative process in art.Take for example a student need to do a logo in his/her assignment.Logos are shapes.So,studying the process of emerging new shapes according to certain context is vital in making a good logo. In this post.i have attached photos of shape making process as an activity in this elective art class.
Every week i am now teaching the Design Studies class of the new B.A Art Programme.This is a shift of focus in the way i have been teaching at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.All this while, for more than seventeen years ,i am involved in teaching art for education programmes like B.A Primary,B.A Education,PGCE,B.Ed Art, etc. Art courses in education programmes are more of learning the suitability of a certain level of art making for different grades of pupils in schools, the means of promoting creativity through art lessons, knowing different media and process in art making.Whereas now, in this new B.A Art Programme, i am no more teaching art for education programme.This new B.A Art is meant to produce artist and designers, professional people in this area.So the approach of teaching must change. Anyway ,what is the relationship of me writing about the new programme to the topic of 'sketchbook'.?lt is quite simple to answer.In order for students to become professional artists and designers,they must have and able to bring out good and original ideas.But how?Can we as teachers and lecturers develop a way so as pupils acquire the habit of looking for ideas,recording any instant ideas in a systematic way?The answer is 'yes'.The old and traditional habit of recording any idea in a 'sketchbook is a proven method of gathering ideas for any great art piece.Just study any great art masterpiece,What do we get?Those masterpieces were all developed through ifferent process of study by the artist and can be seen in their sketchbooks.So,sketchbooks are important elements in art making because it is a mean of recording processes before the final great idea emerged. As i am now training pupils to become this so called artist and designers and no more art teachers, i realised that,SEARCHING,LOOKING,RECORDING,RESEARCHING visually is very important.This is where 'sketchbooks' will come into place in the pupils learning process.In order to create good and meaningful paintings or good and suitable designs,the creator must have the' search for ideas' habit because good works does not come instantly.
What is Typography?ln simple word Typography is the art of doing good lettering.But what for? Must we study Typography?ls it simple?ls there a way to study? All these questions must be in the mind of art student or art teachers.Put it this way,we all loved to see things arranged in a artistic way.Although the objects are simple but arrangement can make it very pleasing.So are the letters or alphabets that we see each day.l must say we must have that skill of making good lettering in our project or assignment. This is another subject that l would like to discuss in my blog.l hope many will become interested in this subject.l will write more.
Gaming Industry is a big business.Many people love to play video games.But have we questioned ourselves that 'can we participate in this industry? l mean not as a player but as the CREATOR.If we think a moment about this question,i am sure the answer will be positive.l am sure there is an INTERESTING CAREER lying ahead of us.l am sure many young people will love to join this industry.
One of my son is now in this business.He is now studying and researching at a postgraduate level.l would like to share this thinking of mine to others so that more will join and necome interested.First, read what i gather:-
Have you dreamt about working with the game developers on the next version of Halo?
Would you like to become a video game designer working on the Playstation 3, XBox 360, or Nintendo Wii? Well, you're not alone. Read a bit further, and we'll show you that you might not be that far away from your dream career. Learn how to become a video game designer.
What is the outlook for the video game designer?
Video games are big business. We're talking about a multi-billion dollar industry that has now outgrown many other industries in a very short period of time. Video games are no longer looked upon as kids entertainment. Walk into any video games outlet, and you will see 20-30 year olds checking out the latest versions of Grand Theft Auto or the Sims. With the recent releases of the Xbox 360, the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii, producing games will be harder and a lot more involved. Video game designer teams producing these games have ballooned in size to meet the demand of a next gen experience.
So what does this mean for you? Basically, there are a load of opportunities to get into the video game industry. Video game popularity and complexity is exploding, and so are the opportunities at game companies and studios.
What qualities do I need for game design?
There are some qualities that game companies will be looking for when hiring someone into their fold.
First off, you really should like video games. You should be the kind of person that hears the theme song to a game in your sleep. These companies want to hire someone who knows what makes a game good, and what makes a game bad. They want someone who knows good level design vs poor level design. The only way to do this is by playing, and playing AND playing video games over and over again. There are a load of people who spend all their time playing these games. Why should they hire someone then that hasn't put their time into gaming, and doesn't have the same passion for games as others?
Secondly, they are looking for someone with good problem solving skills. There are so many bugs and potential problems when designing a game. This ranges from collision detection to making things look convincing. You need to be the type who is willing to solve a problem even if it kills you. Hopefully this will not happen. ; )
Finally, they are looking for someone who can do things in a crunch. The gaming industry works at a torrid pace. Yes, you need to be patient, but you need to be awfully efficient in what you do.
Can a subject Character Design be taught in s systematic way so that anybody who is new will acquire the knowledge and skills of doing this interesting 'artwork'. We have seen many comic,cartoon and games character being exposed to us through the media. Children or even adults loved to see the characters moving or acting.Many people have tried to do or copy their favourite character.Maybe 'copying' is easy but to create one character of your own is damn difficult.My question is--can we learn to do Character Design? As i gather more information about this subject, i will write in this blog.Anybody who is interested can contribute their idea in this subject
What i know at the moment? Character Design is a study about many aspects of a Character.Before we could sketch or draw any character we must be sure what the character is all about.lf we are given any assignment to do a character we must gather information as much as possibble about the character.But, what kind of information?Where do we get the information?How to compile the information?These are the basic questions that we must ask ourself.So i think,the first exercise or assignment in a Character Design course is 'to be able to gather the character info and describe the character and the situation.What skills are needed here?Searching for info, writing the info,analysing the info.
This drawing was done after i watched Kecak Dance in Bali
About Me
KHALID OTHMAN
First started my career as an Art Teacher.Later was involved in the art curriculum development group and part of the team that developed PENDIDIKAN SENI and later changed to PENDIDIKAN SENI VISUAL(VISUAL ART EDUCATION) for Malaysian schools.
At present, still involved in art education as a Lecturer at a higher institution.
Welcome to DIARISENI.This blog is about the daily happenings in the teaching of art and design.It will focus on the feelings and perception on the side of the teacher, descriptive information about student's work, student's behaviour and attitude,nature of the student's work, etc. Information about art related to the work given will also be provided wherever possibble.
ln Design Studies 1, my students have studied Principles of Design?But that is just learning the concept and not the real application.l did observed that many students look bored making artworks about 'concepts in art'.They just wanted to move further as fast as possibble and test their creativity. Well, the time will come soon.
