Unit 09: InDesign

The final unit of LA 280 focused on the Adobe program InDesign. I really enjoyed using this program because of the many different tools and features it has to offer. Every time that I use InDesign I stumble upon a new tool, which makes it exciting and fun to use. For this final unit, I had to select a project and make a portfolio template; I selected the most recent studio project to be featured in this unit. I was Excited about this project because I was planning on over-hauling my portfolio over the summer and this gave it the kick start it needed. I kept the overall design quite simple with no extra graphics to clutter the page. I also tried to keep the text down to a reasonable level as to not clutter the pages and be too much of a burden to actually read. 

Unit 06: AutoCAD

For the final phase of the AutoCAD portion of lessons, we were instructed to create a package of boards, each showing different aspects of the site and related details. This projects combined all that I have learned throughout the AutoCAD lessons and brought them together into one cohesive project. The first two boards that are featured show what I have been working with throughout the AutoCAD lessons, the site plan and site survey .dwg files. The last board shows the more recent parts of this project. I found that the wall section to be particularly enjoyable to make in AutoCAD. Since it was the last part of the project that I worked on, the wall section was one of the easiest because I had already spent time and effort figuring out what to do on the earlier drawings of Unit 06. Overall, AutoCAD was an interesting and exciting tool to learn how to use. I look forward to working more with AutoCAD on future Studio and other LA projects as well. 

Unit 06: AutoCAD

For this unit of AutoCAD, we primarily focused on board layout and other small details that are vital to the production of work in AutoCAD. In this unit, I learned how to dimension drawings, add labels, and cut sections. I particularly enjoyed this unit because I was able to see and make an AutoCAD come from the beginning to a completed product. I feel that I am more confident with the commands that I had struggled with on the first part of this unit have discovered many new, useful commands to use in future projects. 

Unit 07: SketchUp

For this unit, we learned how to use and implement many different tools and effects found on the SketchUp program. Some of these included the simple and easy to use push/pull, line, and move tools. I used these primarily to construct the house found on my site as well as to build the topography model, which has been featured in a previous blog post. The other main tools that I used were the more difficult tools found under the Sandbox tools including smoove, stamp, and drape tools. These tools were not difficult to use and understand; however, it was difficult to use them and to make something that ended up looking decent instead of jagged and awkward-looking. I eventually got the hang of them and created something that looks decent, but it was not without a lot of trial and error. 

Class Demo: SketchUp

Today we began learning how to use the different tools featured in SketchUp. It is a simple to use software that is very powerful in being able to quickly create both 2-d and 3-d digital sketches. I believe that having and knowing how to use this program will be a valuable tool when creating preliminary designs or studies for studio projects in the future. My favorite part of today's demo was the Add Location tool found on SketchUp, which brought in Google Earth imagery and "warped" that image into the topographic forms found at that location. 

Unit 06: Auto-CAD

This is the final copy of the site plan for the Unit 06: Auto-CAD project. It took some time to figure out what I was supposed to be doing for this project since I had never worked with this program before. Starting off was a slow process; however, I became more comfortable with the program as I used it more and watched tutorials on how to do certain functions. Overall, this was one of the most difficult projects that I have done so far in part because I had no previous knowledge of it. I have learned a lot about this program in such a short period of time and I am looking forward to seeing what else Auto-CAD holds in store for the projects coming later in the semester. 

Unit 05b

Unit 05b combined many different techniques that I have learned so far and combined them into one project. On the first board, layers from GIS show different analytic information about the Delaware County Fairgrounds. On the second board, pictures taken from Street View were used as bases to make section-perspectives diagrams that show the current state of the Delaware County Fairgrounds and proposed changes for it. Board three represents perspectives of the proposed site. These show both a daytime and nighttime rendering of the site, in which I utilized the many Photoshop tools that I have learned throughout the semester. 

Class Demo 2/26/2013

Today we learned how to make sections in Illustrator using lines and polygons. In addition to this, we also learned how to use the Gradient Tool to make blocks of fade out. In addition to this, we also learned how to make nighttime scenes in Photoshop. It is a somewhat simple process, beginning by adding two new layers. Once these have been added, one of them needs to be filled in with black and then have the opacity reduced. Next in the other new layer, convert it into a clipping layer and then used the Polygon Marquee Tool to section off areas that you want to have some light. Next, use the Brush Tool to lightly add white to this area and then just touch up the edges to get a softer glow. 

Class Demo

Today we learned more about things that can be done in Illustrator, specifically making sections and and adding patterns. Making sections is a multistage process involving Google Earth, Photoshop, and Illustrator. First, you take a few pictures from Google Street View on Google Earth, then piece them together in Photoshop, and then finally add analysis like roads, dimensions, and labels in Illustrator. 

LA 280 Unit 05

The Delaware County Fairgrounds were the focus for these analysis diagrams. Using a combination of GIS data layers and layers created in Illustrator, I created several diagrams detailing things such as soils, vegetation, and and circulation. While in Illustrator, I edited the GIS by cropping and changing the colors. In addition to this I also rotated and flattened the layers to get them into an axonometric view by using the Rotate and Reset Bounding Box tools. 

Illustrator: Perspective & Image Tracing

Today, we learned how to make perspective drawings in Illustrator using the Perspective Grid Tool. This tool was really useful to construct one, two, and three-point perspective drawings. It also made it easier to add text or other objects such as lines and planes to existing photographs such as what was demonstrated in class today. 

In addition to the Perspective Grid Tool, we also learned about how to take a raster image and convert it into a vector image using the Image Trace tool. While it was a cool tool and will be very useful in the future, it was a bit too powerful and the image lost much of the original line work. 

Before

After

Fairground Diagrams Illustrator

Following the Adobe Illustrator lecture, about layer management, inserting and editing the stroke of lines, making polygons, layer management, color swatches, and flattening things, we were assigned to have the diagrams for this unit to be at about 75% completed. In doing this exercise, I became more comfortable using and navigating the Illustrator program. It was not too bad to get used to though because of its similarities to Photoshop and InDesign.

GIS and Illustrator

Today in class, we learned how to create topography lines in GIS and other techniques relating to the displaying of topographic features in GIS. To this particular map, I also added data such as the Delaware County Fairground, trees, trails, and the White Rive. 

Once I had made this map in GIS, I then exported it into an Adobe Illustrator file. Next, I opened up the file and went to work making it into an axonometric. First, I selected all of the layers and rotated them 30 degrees. I did this by hovering the cursor over a corner and then rotated it. Once this was complete, I went to Object, Transform, and then Reset Bounding Box. Once this was selected, I clicked on the center square on the blue box around the layers and dragged it down until the layers looked more flat. After this, I selected each layer individually and then dragged them towards the top of the artboard/canvas. 

GIS Unit 04

This GIS map, as well as the one below demonstrate some of the many possibilities of the the powerful GIS software. In them, they show trees, schools, wetlands, recreational facilities, and trails in the center of Muncie. It shows the off-site influences and context of the Delaware County Fairground site (in red). In order to create this map, I added a series of data layers, each representing what is shown on the map. Buffering and Clipping were some of the most common tools that I utilized while creating this map, in addition to the Editor tool. 

This map shows a more detailed view of the Delaware County Fairground site. It shows trees, schools, wetlands, recreational facilities, and trails. In addition to these, this map also shows soils found on the site as well as off-site influences such as the floodplain. In the process of making these maps I realized just how far I have come with using GIS. When this unit first began, I did not really know what was going on, but now I feel like I have a decent grasp of this program. It is no longer the intimidating program it was a couple weeks ago, but is now a very beneficial tool that can be utilized in many aspects of the landscape architecture profession.  

GIS, continued.

Through these various exercises, I have used and experimented with several different tools and techniques found in GIS, which allows people to create maps similar to the ones showed above. Some of these include the many tools found under the Geoprocessing feature including Clipping and Buffering. other tools found else ware including the Editing tool which allowed me to build points and polygons and then also edit the attributes table and information that is attached to them. More than anything else, these exercised have made me somewhat more comfortable using GIS and navigating its many many options. 

Unit 04: Analysis & Design Process (Assignment 1)

At first I was a skeptical about GIS after hearing the stories from the afternoon section of LA 280, but once I was in class and working with the program, it ended up being a really enjoyable experience and was one of my favorite projects so far. After learning how to add layers from the   catalog and edit them, GIS was not that difficult to pick up. After adding the same layers that we had added in the class demo, I went to the Indiana University website and began downloading various data layers to include in my map. For this project I added, wetlands, bike paths, brownfields, fire stations, schools, and libraries. These data layers only represent a small portion of the data that can be utilized. I was amazed and the different possibilities that can be achieved using GIS. I look forward to learning about the new possibilities of GIS. 

Unit 03 Concept Visualization: Photo-montage

The photo-montage of Unit 03 was by far the most enjoyable part of the unit. It allowed me to explore more options and tools in Photoshop that I did not have much experience using. My photo-montage is set in the area west of Noyer. Before starting the montage, I first went out an took a photograph of Noyer, once I had uploaded the jpeg into Photoshop, I began the process of separating the building from other elements in the picture. This was a multistage process of cutting out different areas with the Polygon Lasso Tool, Magic Wand Tool, and Quick Select Tool. Once I had the building separated I placed it into an other Photoshop file which I had already created and had placed a desaturated sky picture. Next, I placed textures for the ground-planes into the composition. Using the perspective of Noyer as a guide, I use the Transform Tool to warp the ground-plane textures into the paths and grassy areas of the composition. 
Once these were in place, I began adding trees to the composition, scaling them and arranging them in an appropriate way. Next, I placed scale figures into the composition, again scaling and arranging them in an appropriate way. After this was complete, I began to add shadows to the trees and scale figures. This process included duplicating the layer, increasing the exposure, then lowering the opacity. Once this was complete, I used the Transform Tool to warp the shadow. 

Class Demo 1/29/2013

Today in class we learned more about creating photo-montages. Similar to the previous photo-montage demonstration, we went through a myriad of tools to create a photo-montage using Photoshop. This exercise was particularly helpful in combination with the brief introduction to these tools and techniques shown quickly in the previous class. 

Unit 03 Concept Visualization: Composite planting plan

This part of Unit 03 was also quite enjoyable. It helped me to better understand the process involved with creating a digital plan of a design. To start off, I first opened up Google Earth to retrieve an image of a site. For this exercise, I used the grassy area between Noyer and the Whitinger Business Building. I saved the image to my computer and then opened it up in Photoshop. Once in Photoshop, I cropped out the Google logo and the Street View/ Zoom tools from the image. I then duplicated the layer and went to work on creating a planting plan. I desaturated this layer and began to map out paths and connection points using the Line Tool. Using the lines created with the Line Tool as a guide, I used the Polygon Lasso Tool to crop out areas I wanted to become grassy areas. Next, I found an image of grass from Google Images and pasted it into my planting plan to represent the new grassy areas of my design. I placed this grass layer between the duplicated Google Earth layer and the background so that the grass would show through the holes that I had created using the Polygon Lasso Tool. Once this was complete, I put in the paths. I created a new layer for the pathways, then using the Polygon Lasso Tool, I traced the guide line that I had created earlier. Once this was done, I colorized the selected areas using the Paint Bucket Tool.
Once the ground-plane elements were in place, I added trees and scale figures to the plan. I used the Ellipse Tool and trees on the Google Earth image (to get an scale of how large they should be) to create circles that would represent tree. Once the circle had been formed, I added color to it using the Paint Bucket Tool and then lowered the opacity. Next I used the Fx feature to add an inner shadow to the trees. I felt that this gave them a greater sense of dept. Also in the Fx feature, I added a "dropped shadow" to the trees to also give them a sense of depth as well. Once the trees were completed, I used the same process to create scale figures. 

Unit 03 Concept Visualization: Image Enhancement

The image enhancement portion of this unit was the more interesting part of the Photoshop unit. Being able to bring to life a dull and lifeless photograph was quite enjoyable. I started off with a scanned photograph of the Boathouse at Prospect Park. The first thing that I did was to crop the unnecessary parts of the image that got scanned in addition to the photograph using the marquee tool to select the area of the photograph that I wanted to used. Next, I duplicated the layer and went to work on enhancing the photograph. I messed around with the Brightness/Contrast, Levels, and Exposure features until I found the best fit for the photograph. After this, I began the process of adding color to the photograph. This part of the process was particularly fun and interesting because I have never attempted to add color to an image that was not already in color. I used a combination of the Magic Wand Tool, Quick Select Tool, and Polygon Lasso Tool to go through the photograph and select the different areas that I wanted to colorized. Once a particular area had been selected I used the Color Balance feature to adjust the hue of that area. Much like using the Brightness/Contrast, Levels, and Exposure features, this too was a process of trial and error until I found a color that worked. 

(I did not add the texture that appears to be added to the photographs. Uploading them onto the blogger page must have changed them somehow. I'm not sure how to correct this.)

Class Demo 1/24/2013

Photoshop can be an amazing and powerful tool while creating digital-renderings. One way of creating such renderings is by creating a photo-montage  a sort of collage of different images placed together to create a sense of space and the atmosphere of a particular space. Photo-montages are created by layering  various images which have been trimmed down to only include a specific figure or by adding .png files. For example, someone could separate a scale-figure or a tree by using one of several different tools (marquee tool, one of the different lasso tools, the magic wand, or the quick-select tool) and cut the figure from the photo and place it into a new photo-montage  Once that figure is in the photo-montage  a shadow can be created by duplicating that layer, transforming it into the desired shadow shape and then dropping the opacity and adjusting the exposure. These techniques as well as other can be used to transform many different photos that can then be combined to create a photo-montage of a particular space.

Isolated Tree

Photo-montage

Class Demo 1/22/2013

Unit 03 was introduced to us today and we learned a little about photograph correction (which forms part of Unit 03) by changing the contrast, gray-scale, and other tools to make an existing photograph better. We also followed along with the demonstration on how to make planting plans in Photoshop. We learned various techniques on how to make trees, paths, and ground textures by adding and manipulating layers.  

Class Demo 1/17/2013

Today, we learned about saving photos from Google Earth and then manipulating them in Photoshop by adding multiple layers, changing the gray-scale and  hue/ saturation levels

Unit 02: The web we weave

For this project we were asked to investigate the different possibilities that exist between the many different programs that exist and how they interact with each other. For mine, I looked at several different programs, but mainly focused on Rhino (Rhinoceros) and the Adobe programs Photoshop, In Design, and Illustrator. Reading left to right, my web takes one from a simple hand sketch through Photoshop, In-Design, and Illustrator and then onto various destinations such as internet website, emails, and the plotter. Or it could take a much different path through Rhino and from there onto Illustrator and the laser-cutter or into 3ds Max and onto V-Ray. Throughout the web the  paths become intertwined and circle back onto other programs showing the non-leaner and often complex process of computer based design. 

Unit 01: Who are you?

This was the first assignment of the class which required us to investigate the various possibilities of computer-generated design. I chose Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, NY to research. Brooklyn Bridge Park is public park space built on disused industrial land and piers along the East River. It was designed by Michael van Valkenburgh Associated Inc. The park was built on old piers in the East River. They imported materials such as stone and dirt to raise the land in certain locations to create a more divers topography and placed stone along the river to allow for a more naturalistic appearance.

Plan:

Section:

 Collage/ Photomontage:

Diagram of a system: