Any time Charlie! You truly deserve it. I always look forward to seeing your progression and detailed illustrated notes as well.

22nd April 2022

1-Point Perspective - Drawing A Room

Perspective 1 - Assignment 3 - Drawing A Room Using 1-Point Perspecive

Notes taken from the Perspective 1 Video on drawing a room (@ 59mins in):

1. Create project > 3840 pixels x 2160 pixels (4K resolution).
2. Place your horizon and vanishing point. (For the assignment the horizon is placed within the canvas to keep it simple.).
3. Create a new layer > Name it 'Guides' (This is the layer with the horizon) > Choose a colour and draw a line for the horizon close to the upper third of the canvas (PC Shortcut: Hold 'Shift' then click & drag horizontally to create a straight horizontal line - this shortcut helps lock the lines drawn in place).
4. Draw a dot around the centre of the canvas on the horizontal line created to mark the vanishing point .
5. Create the boundaries of the room - To do this, draw lines to each corner of the canvas from the vanishing point. With this we can now draw the back wall of the room.
6. Create a new layer to draw the room. (You can use a different colour pencil)
7. Create a rectangle that connects with the convergence lines of each corner. (This is the back wall)
8. Design the room using simple shapes like cubes/rectangular prisms learnt from previous assignment.

Things to think about when designing things for a room:

• Use simple shapes as guides to make it easier for yourself - you can add details to it later.
• Try to have the correct sizes for objects to make it believable, especially for things that people use like beds, chairs etc, other objects like storage cupboards etc don't matter as much.
• Rooms are typically 2.5 metres tall. (8-9ft tall).
• If you split the height of the room into thirds, an average person's height will be close to the upper third line.
• A person is on average 8 heads tall

24th April 2022 (Continued)

Perspective 1 - Assignment 3 - Drawing A Room Using 1-Point Perspecive

This is a simplified version of my apartment living room.

Drawing a Circle in Perspective

1. Draw a square box (The circle will be drawn inside of this)
2. Find the centre of the square - You can do this by drawing diagonals to each corner to form an X.
3. Divide the square into four quadrants or a plus sign (+).
4. Divide the entire square again but into a grid of 8 by 8. The grid will make it easier to mark the edges of the circle.
5. Make a mark at the centre of each side of the square (North, East, South, West) - these will be the circles edges and are the first 4 points to help guide you.
6. This part is hard to explain without an image reference, but when you draw the circle you want to pretend there's a small triangle in each quadrant, those triangles will be the other 4 points of reference (So 8 points altogether). (Refer to the image down below)
7. Then you want to draw a curved line from one dot to the next to form the circle.

Note: Although my drawing down below is facing straight-on, the same steps can be applied if it was on the floor following the perspective lines/convergence lines. You just have to remember that when you do the small triangles and the curve of the circle, that the triangle/lines drawn closer to the horizon line should be smaller.

This is the circle I drew following Marc Brunet's guide:

25th April 2022

How To Think About Line Weight (To be continued)

These are notes I took from a great video that was linked by @luke.buersgens on @charlieodow 's page. Scott Robertson goes into detail about how line weight can be used in drawings to makes things look more realistic and more 3-dimensional/pop out. This is the link to the original source video. And this is the post where @luke.buersgens listed his awesome resources on line weight that I definitely recommend checking out.

• Thicker lines in the foreground and lighter lines the further back the objects are (background)
• Things that are far away are lower in contrast (not as bright and not
  as dark) and the things closer are brighter and darker.
• This is due to 'atmospheric perspective' - here's a googled definition:

'Atmospheric perspective refers to the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of objects when you look at them from a distance. You see objects further back into the distance less clearly and their color changes in value, saturation and hue.'

• For figure drawings, the lines in front get the dominant line
  (thicker/darker)

• Scott tends to give thicker lines to larger elements/dominant shapes to create a strong silhouette.

• He also tends to shade the underside of shapes a little bit more than the ones across the top.

• Thick lines to faded lines can also lead the eyes around an object (it's like highlighting or giving the spotlight to an object)

• Scott tapers his lines so that it goes from thick to thin. (Looks like the corner of his objects usually have the dark edges that taper off (like a 'U' or 'V' where the bottom is the thickest and the edges go thinner - 'snaps away' as he would say)

• There are also times you may not want to emphasise the lines of something that's in front - this could be because you want to emphasise something else like the edges of it instead so that the shape looks bigger (It mostly depends on what you want to emphasise)

• Scott writes notes on the details the object will have and how it works (the configuration) e.g. for his aircraft he wrote down cargo pods, search lights, fuslage hoop etc. and how the wings come down etc.

TL;DR: Emphasise overlaps/Atmospheric Perspective

This is a gesture drawing I did playing with line weight (the far right gesture is where I applied thicker and darker lines to try emphasise her action and to show which limbs are in the foreground)

27th April 2022

If You Can Learn to Doodle You Can Learn to Draw

My friend Lachlan showed me this neat drawing technique on Tiktok where an artist named Mark Liam Smith teaches you how to transform a doodle into a drawing (In this video he draws a hand) - Link To Video.

These are the notes I took from the video:

• Draw light scribbles of lines and circles that form a rough shape of what you're trying to draw
• When you find a line you like, darken it.
• Once you have your lines set, you can start shading the scribbles.
• Make sure the direction of light is consistent (This will help
  give your shape more form/3 dimension)
• He recommends not erasing the scribbles as it can give it a looser free look/style.

This is what I drew trying this technique - I felt like it opened another part of my brain by trying to connect things together and I think it's the repetition of moving lines that helps a lot. I felt this technique was harder for me for when I drew the model compared to drawing the fist. It might've been because there were so many small details in the model which made it hard to see the small faint scribbles I had.

28th April 2022

Perspective 1 - Assignment 4 - Drawing Street Corner Using 2-Point Perspective

For this assignment I struggled with overlapping buildings as it got quite complicated with all the convergence lines. I had lots of mixed feelings while working on this haha - it was fun yet frustrating...I think I started over like bajillion times. When I have more time I'll come back to re-do this assignment - next time I'll have more details too, but for the time being I just wanted to keep it simple just to get the feel for it. A bit disappointed with the end result to be honest, but onwards!

Thanks Locke! Appreciate the encouragement! I'm definitely keen to try it again (After I get a taste of a few of the other units) It'll click eventually haha =]

30th April 2022 - 1st May 2022

Learning Photoshop & Using A Drawing Tablet

These are my notes taken from Marc Brunet's Term 1 - Photoshop for DIgital Prod 1 and my takeaways from this experience. Note I'm a Windows PC user so the shortcuts mentioned will be different on a Apple/Mac - Use CMD key instead of Ctrl. I'm also using Adobe Photoshop 2022 as I'm doing this tutorial, so some names may be slightly different if you're using an older version.

Things needed:

• Computer or Tablet Computer (like an iPad/SamsungGalaxy Tab)
• Adobe Photoshop (Or Photoshop Alternatives, I've provided a list below)
• Drawing Tablet (Wacom etc) - The ones with just a pen and board and no display screen - If you have a Tablet Computer you won't need this.

These are alternative Adobe Photoshop options my brother Walter suggested (Mainly for those who are students or are on a tight budget and can't afford the subscription:

• Krita - This is a free and open source painting program.
• Clip Studio Paint - This one is paid, but it's a one-time purchase. My brother highly recommends this one and suggests waiting until there's a discount on the EX version - apparently they have sales a few times a year (So I'll be waiting for this).

If any readers have any other recommendations, I'd be more than happy to add it to this list.

Setting Up A Photoshop Project

Step 1. Open Photoshop App
Step 2. File > New... | Ctrl + N - This will open up a 'New Document' window

New Document window (This is a list of the details)

• Name: This is your project file name.
• Document Type: This doesn't exist on Photoshop 2022, but Marc chooses Custom.
• Width and Height: Set both to Pixels | Width: 1920px & Height: 1080px (This is the standard HD (High Definition) - 1080p)
• Orientation: This lets you choose between a Portrait or Landscape canvas (Vertical or Horizontal)
• Resolution: This is for printing on paper - He sets this to 300px/inch (You won't need this if you're only doing digital art)
• Color Mode: Default RGB Color 8 Bit is good for the standard digital art. (CMYK Color is for printing and you would go higher than 8 bit if you're working on e.g. a video game where it may compress the colours)
• Background Content: This is the colour you want as the default for your canvas. White is the standard (Transparent is another good option).
• Advanced Options/Color Management: This is for printing, and may be useful in the future, but not necessary for the time being.

Step 3. Press OK / Create

Setting Up Photoshop Windows

This is Marcs Default settings for the panels displayed on the side.

Go to Window > Tick the following:

• Color
• History
• Layers
• Navigator

Setting Up Photoshop Preferences

Step 1. Go to Edit > Preferences | Ctrl + K
Step 2. Go to Interface

• Color Theme: Lets you choose what colour UI (User Interface) you'd like - There's only grayscale options (I like black or white). Marc prefers the darker colours as its easier for the eyes.

Step 3. Click Workspace > Marc has only two things ticked: 'Auto Show Hidden Panels' and 'Large Tabs' ticked. The rest are disabled. He explains that he prefers no tabs because it's visually easier to see each window and they're accessible to move around. It's mostly preference, so just try teach option out and choose what you like (I prefer tabs as I find the windows a bit distracting, but it depends what you're drawing etc. I can see it being useful if you've got a reference image on a separate window).

Setting Up A Drawing Tablet (Wacom)

Turn off your pens right-click, as it's left on by default.

Step 1. Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Pen and Touch

• In the Pen Options Tab > Go to the 'Press and hold' Settings
  and untick the 'Enable press and hold for right-clicking'
• Note: If you have the Flicks and Touch tab, uncheck their
  settings too. (I didn't have these tabs on my PC running Windows 10)

Step 2. Click OK.

Step 3. In your Wacom Tablet Properties (In the Control Panel) keep everything in the middle (default) unless you have a specific preference.

Photoshop Basics

Actions used the most are:

• New... | Ctrl + N - Create a new project
• Open... | Ctrl + O - Open a project
• Save | Ctrl + S - Save current project
• Save As... | Shift + Ctrl + S - Save a new project in a specific place
• Undo | Ctrl + Z - Goes back one action ago | Ctrl + Alt + Z to go back more actions.
• Redo | Shift + Ctrl + Z - Brings back the last action that was Undo
• Toggle Screen Modes | F - Windowed, Full Screen with Tools, Full Screen no Tools)
• Hand Tool | Spacebar or H - Lets you move around the canvas.
• Brush Size Adjustment | { to make brush smaller and } to make brush bigger or alternatively you can Hold Alt + Right Click then drag left or right to adjust the size. (Marc changes these in the settings to C and V as they're closer to Alt which is a function that is used a lot in Photoshop)
  Color Picker | Hold Alt then click on a surface of the colour you'd like.
• Keyboard Shortcuts...| Alt + Shift + Ctrl + K - Access to all the keyboard shortcuts that you can adjust to fit your needs.

Saving A Project

Step 1. File > Save As... | Shift + Ctrl + S - This will open a Save As window
Step 2. Choose where to save the project
Step 3. Name the project in the 'File Name' section
Step 4. Select a file format in the 'Save as type' (The options are described further below)
Step 5. Edit > Preferences > General | Ctrl + K
Step 6. Go to File Handling on the left side > Tick 'Automatically Save Recovery Information Every' and choose 5 minutes.

Save as Types/Formats - Popular options are:

PSD - This is the default photoshop file or photoshop work in progress file - For if you plan on continuing with the project, as it'll keep all of your progress i.e. layers and adjustments you made. (Can only be opened in Photoshop)

JPG - Good for regular images - Tip: When saving as this file, never go to the maximum. Quality: 8 (High) is Marc's recommendation - It looks great and doesn't take much space. (For Online/Website)

PNG - Good for images with transparent backgrounds (For Online/Website/Compositing Programs)

GIF - Good for animated images (But very compressed i.e. might pixelated and missing colours)

Targa/TIFF - Good for video games/photographers where you want the image as close to lossless as possible. It's a very big file size.

Quick Tips:

• If nothing is showing up when you draw make sure the Mode is set to Normal and the opacity of the brush is set to 100%.
• You can increase the number of your History actions in the Preferences (Performance > History States: 1000)
• Hovering the mouse on top of the tools for a couple of seconds will tell you the name of the tool and give you the shortcuts.

This is an image of the Photoshop Shortcuts provided by Marc in his video:

1st May 2022

First Time Using A Drawing Tablet - Gesture Drawing Test

I've recently bought a Wacom One (Medium) Drawing Tablet to follow along with Marc's videos. I bought the most affordable drawing tablet I could find (it was discounted and had pretty good reviews). Before this, I was borrowing my girlfriend's iPad Pro to do my drawings on Procreate.

It felt really awkward at first, but after doing maybe 30-40 random strokes, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. The most awkward part was trying to match where you were drawing with the monitor. Definitely harder in comparison to the iPad Pro where it felt like you were drawing on paper. But after slowly getting used to it, it's starting to get fun. Here's the gesture drawing I did today (30s and 3min sketches).

3rd May 2022

Photoshop for Digital Production 1 - Assignment 1 - Digital Pen Control

Oh man was this hard. I had just bought the Wacom Drawing Tablet a couple of days ago, so this was still really new and foreign to me (I had been using my girlfriends iPad pro before this, which has a completely different feel). I've only been testing the Wacom on Gesture drawings, so this was my first time having to do consecutive proper straight lines.

I was actually surprised at how straight my first line was, but then I suddenly lost that magic touch afterwards haha. Towards the end I think drawing the straight lines eventually clicked a bit. Doing it hundreds of times probably helped.

Few tips I discovered when practicing to finally draw decent straight lines (you can see my lines improve at the very end in the pressure practice):

• Have a firm yet comfortable grip (as if you're drawing on paper) - My mistake was that I kept changing the position of the pen into weird angles that I thought would help - but it made it worst. As they say - stick to what you know best.
• On my Wacom, there are dots on the drawing mat - looking at these dots really helped guide me. You can do the dot-to-dot practice like this too - these dots should line up vertically to your monitor if you want to draw straight.
• Start with small lines, then as you build confidence, increase the length of the lines.
• Use your whole arm, not your wrists.
• Don't give up and just do it. We're only human.

I'll definitely be doing this once in a while - great practice! Also keen to see how much I improve - will be fun to see a comparison of the before and after.