This month in Maker, we have been working on improving our creative communication abilities through a project called Constructing Creative Communication. The driving question was “How might I use technology to create and communicate?” The class was first split into two groups. I was in the group called Carr which was all about improving our drawing abilities. In a few weeks I will be posting my blog post for Herzog which focuses on improving our photography abilities. For the Carr portion we focused on learning a new skill every week and then applying each skill to an individual drawing.

The goal of this project is to expand our creative thinking and storytelling. We are focussing on improving our media production skills and storytelling using still images as well as layout and design for graphics and images. Our aim is to understand that complex tasks require multiple tools and technologies. We also want to have deeper answers to the driving question.

When we started out we learned about all of the tools in the app Sketches Pro which we used as our main app. Then we worked on using pressure to make block letters and other types of text. Using this technique allowed us to show emotion and story through lettering. We applied this skill by writing our name and making it unique to us. Here is mine:

We then learned about how to make quick and simple doodles that could be used in something called a sketch note. A sketch note is a quick and simple form of taking notes that can benefit learning even more than normal note taking. This gave us a new way to take in new information. We then applied this by making a sketch note about anything we wanted. Here is the one I made about sketch notes:

After that, we learned about how to make objects 3D by making some 3D shapes using shading. This taught us to create more relatable and recognizable objects. Using this skill we made a robot. This is mine:

After we finished that we learned how to break objects into shapes in order to recreate or replicate that object. We also used shading in this skill. This would help us create more realistic objects in a quicker form and communicate the perspective we had when drawing that object. We then drew anything we wanted using this technique. I drew this banana:

The next time we met, we learned how to create a realistic perspective when drawing point of views. We learned some of the techniques that artists use to communicate their perspective. We then drew one of our favourite landscapes we have seen in our lives. I drew this beach I visited in Nosara, Costa Rica:

The last skill we learned about was colour. We learned about which colours bring up which emotions and what colours go well together. This would help us communicate emotions through colours, We then made a logo for anything we would like. I came up with a movie studio called Quiver Studios:

The final thing we did was have a conference with a professional graphic designer named Chloe Devine. We made a “know, wonder, learned sheet” and asked her a few questions. She helped us create a deeper understanding of what a graphic designer does.

I think that in this portion of the project I was good at learning new skills and processes. I was also good at applying my own personal drawing style to these skills. I could improve on my ability to incorporate new styles and techniques into my drawing. I also had a hard time adopting new apps to draw with.

In the end I am proud of what I have learned and how I have improved. I have a deeper understanding of how drawing can be used as a strong form of communication. I think that many of the things I have learned so far will be useful in my future artworks.