ART 1114 - THREE DIMENSIONAL DESIGN – Spring 2012
INSTRUCTOR: MARLIN ADAMS
GORDON COLLEGE
OFFICE: Room 234 - Fine Arts Building
PHONE: 678-359-5301
E-MAIL: m_adams@.gdn.edu
WEB URLs: http://www.marlinadamsart.com
http://www.gandynet.com/art/Marlin/index.htm
http://www.gdn.edu/faculty/m_adams
http:www.hellomacon.com/art/marlinadams.Cfm
http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2034925&id=1132495937
DATE OF FINAL: Thursday, May 3rd at 1:30 – 3:30 PM.
________________________________________________________________________
TEXTBOOK: None. SUGGESTED READING: Terracotta by Bruno Lucchesi
CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION: A continuation of design I with emphasis on
three dimensional concepts. Elements of design will be explored in a variety of methods
for three dimensional construction.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: (1) To give the student an increased knowledge of the
fundamentals of design and their relationship to three dimensional form. (2) To give the
student an opportunity to improve his own design skills and creative thinking processes.
(3) To provide the student with a vocabulary of design terminology and techniques. (4)
To provide the student with information about design vocations. (5) To encourage
individual practice and self improvement through problem solving and research in design.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION: (1) Lectures (2) Audio-visuals: Power points, DVDs,
videos, slides, and photographs
(3) Demonstrations by the instructor. (4) Individual instruction and supervision by the
instructor.
(5) Class critiques and evaluation of design projects. (6) Exhibition of student work.
EVALUATION: Student work will be evaluated using principles of design including:
composition, proportion, line quality, rhythm, balance, movement, etc. Student skill
improvement is so varied that grading must be based primarily upon ATTENDANCE,
EFFORT, EXECUTION AND COMPLETION OF ASSIGNMENTS, AND THE
FOLLOWING OF INSTRUCTIONS. Your projects and attendance will be given a point
value and the final grade in the class will be an accumulation of project and performance
points. The class will be graded by taking the available point total of assigned projects,
attendance and classroom performance and assigning grades on a percentage basis (90%
and above=A, 80%=B, 70%=C, etc.
ATTENDANCE: Regular and punctual attendance is required. Students wishing to drop
a class for any reason must report to the registrar's office for an official drop of the class.
I will take roll only once at the beginning of class. If you are not there when your name is
called, you will be counted absent unless you get me to mark you tardy. Three tardies
will count as an absence. More than 5 absences will be an automatic 5 point deduction.
More than 7 absences will drop your course grade one letter. Ten absences will be an
automatic failure. Perfect attendance will be rewarded with an extra 5 points toward your
final grade.
OFFICE HOURS: The office hours of the instructor will be posted on his office door.
The instructor will be available for student counseling during office hours or by
appointment. The art student should feel free to discuss art projects with the instructor
during the labs.
RULES:
1. No radios or headsets in the classroom during class.
2. Students must clean their work areas before leaving the lab. That includes putting
away stands, tools, cleaning equipment etc.
3. Keep your floor space clean so that clay doesn’t get crunched, powdered, and spread
throughout the building.
4. No excessive talking.
5. Students assigned cleaning responsibilities must not leave the classroom until your
assignment has been checked. Cleanup will begin at 7 minutes prior to the end of class.
Cleaning assignments will be rotated weekly. Students assigned cleanup duty must also
call “cleanup” at the end of class to facilitate their responsibility. Failure to cleanup the
assigned cleanup detail will result in the loss of points from your grade at the end of your
term of duty.
6. The classroom is not a storage facility. Work left behind after the term ends is not the
responsibility of the instructor. You relinquish your property rights by leaving your
work behind.
GRADED PROJECTS:
1. Clay head: Due by Feb 23rd. 30 point value. The first project will be a life-size clay
construction of an anatomically correct human head. It may be copied from an example
in the classroom or be done from a collection of photographs brought in by the student.
The head will be hollowed to a thickness of about 1" for firing in the kiln. The head will
be evaluated on basic anatomical form and finish. If you are not finished with your head
by the end of the fifth week you must work on it outside of class and get on to the next
project.
The student must provide at least 5 clear photos of the person you wish to do in clay for
your Idea File even if you do a generic head from samples provided or a self portrait from
photos.
These photos will be due at the beginning of the second week
MIDTERM EVALUATION - OCT 8TH
2. Abstract or Realistic Clay Relief – On box or vase : Due by Mar 20th. 30 point
value. The student may use realism or an abstract design in relief to apply to a slab no
smaller than 12” square or in diameter for round pieces. If you choose to do a box it must
be at least 12” in length and decorated on the top and sides with a fitted lid. If you choose
to do a pot it may be a coil construction or a wheel thrown pot supplied by the instructor.
3. Decorative Mask or Marine form on vase or bookend: Due by Apr 5th. 30 point
value. The student will do an imaginative mask relief with surrounding designs.
4. Final Project: Due May 5th. A repetition of a previous project or a small free
standing figurative sculpture.
5. Idea file: Due at the beginning of each project. 40 point value or 10 points per
project. Each project will require visual planning before it is begun. The bust requires at
least five reference photos. The relief will require a drawing including dimensions and at
least three internet photo research evidence. The remaining two projects will require the
same drawing including dimensions and photo research evidence. No project should be
under 12 inches in length or height. If you do not have your drawings when called for or
by the time you start your project, half credit will be given if they come in later.
1. Your class syllabus and any handout samples provided by the instructor.
2. Five clear images of the person you sculpt for your clay bust. Due at the beginning of
the second week. – the clearer the images the more points
This will allow you to develop pictures if you need to.
3. A drawing including dimensions and 3 photos from the internet or from magazines, or
photo copies from books etc. that you may use for ideas. Drawing possibilities for your
relief design.
Any abuse of library books will forfeit all points for your Idea file.
4. A drawing including dimensions and 3 photo copy images and drawing due for the
decorative mask or marine project. The same as the previous project.
5. A drawing including dimensions and 3 photos for the final project.
Grade Breakdown - will be a percentage of the following point total. Extra credit is
available.
Clay Head ----------------30 pts
Clay Relief---------------30 pts
Arch. Mask Relief-------30pts
Final Project--------------30pts
Idea file-------------------40 pts.
Total
160 points
SUPPLIES:
1. Armatures (Supplied) - appropriately engineered for the project.
2. Set of sculpting tools - tools of various shapes necessary to sculpt a project.
3. Spray bottle - for keeping your clay projects in working condition.
4. Plastic bag - to cover your project to keep it from drying out.
5. OPTIONAL -Smock or protective covering - to keep yourself clean in a clay room.
6. OPTIONAL -Tool container.
7. File folder for your Idea file. Should contain a pocket for photos etc.
The above materials are due by the second class period and will be checked.
CLAY HANDLING TIPS:
1. Clay should generally not be left thicker than 1 inch in order for the clay object to dry
thoroughly for firing purposes. Greater thicknesses are sometimes possible depending on
shapes and surface areas. Very small projections will have a tendency to dry quicker and
break off if not protected or wrapped separately to keep from drying quicker.
2. Clay should be pressed together very well when parts are connected or be connected
using clay slip on scored surfaces to insure that the parts will not separate during firing.
3. Air pockets or foreign matter left in the clay body may cause the piece to explode
during firing.
4. Clay should always be left wet enough to remain pliable during the creation of the
project.
Large variances in the dryness of connected clay bodies will cause them to separate
during firing.
5. Projects should be tightly covered when the work is not in progress to avoid drying
out.
6. Be sure that your piece has a stable center of gravity and a base sufficient to stand on
its own when the piece is completed.
7. ALWAYS COVER YOUR CLAY TIGHTLY BEFORE LEAVING CLASS!
CLEANUP ASSIGNMENTS: Six people per week will be assigned a week of cleanup in
alphabetical rotation.
Two for Floors
Two for Tables and tools
Two for Sinks
A point may be deducted for any assigned person who leaves class before his cleanup
duties are done.
PROJECT EVALUATION FORM
Creativity - (Originality of form)
1
Composition:
Harmony (Cohesiveness of design)
1
Rhythm, proportion, balance,
Variety - (Differences/interest)
1
Movement, focal point, contrast
Linear quality - Harmony of line 1
Elements
Craftsmanship - (Quality of finish)
1
Total Points-
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
1&2. UNITY AND VARIETY are complimentary concerns and the crux of good design.
Unity is the appearance or condition of oneness; variety provides diversity and a
counterbalance to extreme unity.
Design is a dualism or balancing of HARMONY or UNITY against VARIETY. There
must be enough similarities (repetition or rhythm = harmony) to unify the composition
and enough variety (differences in size, space relationships, emphasis and subordination,
etc) to make it interesting.
3. BALANCE is the achievement of equilibrium, the condition in which acting
influences are held in check by opposing forces. Balance generally comes in two forms;
symmetrical and asymmetrical.
Symmetrical balance is the near or exact matching of left and right sides of a three
dimensional or two dimensional composition.
In Asymmetrical balance, the two sides are not the same. Instead, various visual
phenomena are balanced— according to their visual and referential weights— around a
felt or implied center of gravity. Asymmetry is the more relied upon method for creating
visual balance because it inherently has more variety or interest than symmetrical balance
though symmetry is often used successfully.
4. EMPHASIS AND SUBORDINATION is used to draw our attention to an area or
areas. If that area is a specific spot or figure, it is called a focal point. Position, contrast,
color intensity, size and complexity can all be used to create emphasis.
Through subordination, an artist creates more neutral areas or areas of lesser interest that
keep us from being distracted from the focal point or areas of emphasis.
Emphasis and subordination are ways in which an artist balances and controls the
sequence of our seeing and the amount of attention we pay to the various parts of any
work of art.
5. DIRECTIONAL FORCES are paths for the eye to follow provided by actual or
implied lines. Implied directional lines may be suggested by a form’s axis, by the
imagined connection between similar or adjacent forms, or by the implied continuation of
actual lines.
The object of controlling directional forces is to maintain the eye within the picture plane
and direct the eye to the desired focal point.
6. CONTRAST is the juxtaposition of strongly dissimilar elements. Dramatic effects
can be produced when dark is set against light, large against small, bright colors against
dull, etc. Without contrast, visual experience would be monotonous.
Contrast can be seen in the thick and thin areas of a single brush stroke. It can also be
seen in the juxtaposition of regular geometric and irregular organic shapes, or in hard
(sharp) and soft (blurred) edges. Contrast can provide visual interest, emphasize a point,
and express content.
7. REPETITION AND RHYTHM of visual elements give a composition unity,
continuity, flow, and emphasis.
In the visual arts, rhythm is created through the regular recurrence of elements with
related variations. Rhythm refers to any kind of movement or structure of dominant and
subordinate elements in sequence. We generally associate rhythm with temporal arts
such as music, dance, and poetry. Visual artists also use rhythm, as an organizational and
expressive device.
8. SCALE AND PROPORTION: Scale is the size relationship of one thing to another.
Proportion is the relationship of parts to a whole.
Scale is one of the first decisions an artist makes when planning a work of art. How big it
will be. We experience scale in relation to our own size, and this experience constitutes
an important part of our response to works of art.
Proportion gives us a sense of belonging because we relate to it in terms of past
experience with the world around us. When actual objects are represented in the proper
proportion to one another as they occur in life, we feel the comfort of our own elements.
When objects are presented out of proportion to one another or in any degree of distortion
it can give us a feeling of disorientation.
3D Topics
Materials
Design is a dualism of Rhythm and Variety. Get Rhythm and Repetition first then vary it.
Look to others for solutions on how to do eyes, hair etc. How did other artists solve those
problems?
Sculpted head steps:
Concentrate on profile first – If you can draw the contour edge you can sculpt it.
Contour lines on the sides of the face next – Don’t rush to the details – contour is
most important.
¾ view next – back up to look at the effect of your work.
ART WEBSITES WORTH LOOKING AT
http://www.marlinadamsart.com
http://www.classicalrealism.com/art/Marlin/index.htm
http://www.artrenewal.org/
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/atelier_list.asp
http://www.williamwhitaker.com
http://www.robertliberace.com
http://www.lipking.com/gallery_Paintings_Room_1.htm
http://www.morganweistling.com/
http://www.anderszorn.info/
http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/guerlain/289/index.html#cabanel
http://www.richardschmid.com/
http://www.nelsonshanks.com/
http://www.johnpence.com/visuals/painters/index.htm
http://www.burtonsilverman.com/index2.htm
http://www.stevenassael.com/drawings.html
http://www.pinakoteka.zascianek.pl/Malczewski_J/Index.htm
http://www.tonyryder.com/a-drawings.htm
http://www.liangstudio.com/galleries.html
http://www.gandynet.com/
http://www.portraitartist.com/
http://www.asopa.com/foundation/
http://www.portraitsocietyofatlanta.org/overview.htm
http://www.1art.com/
http://www.angelartschool.com/
http://www.pinoart.com/
http://www.eslawrence.com/Pino/index.htm
http://www.uga.edu/gamuseum/
http://www.moregallery.com/
http://www.representational-art.com/frames.html
http://www.artistsmagazine.com/tam_board.asp
http://www.jeffreyrwatts.com/
http://www.arcadiafinearts.com/artists_index.html
http://www.davidkassan.com/
http://douglashofmannfineart.com/?q=taxonomy/term/6
http://www.myunitlink.com/sites/kcoombs/index.php
http://www.willwilsonstudio.com/selfport.html
http://alexeysteele.com/
http://www.onejoseph.com/index.html
http://www.richardmacdonald.com/
http://www.joseismael.com/