AHopkinsBlog: My Sketchbook

As part of my Architecture in Context module in term 1, I had to create a sketchbook by following weekly seminar tasks. I decided to use an A5 sketchbook to gather my sketches and ideas and received a Low 1^st for my efforts. I produced a lot of drawings during the time period and I believe my most successful drawing is the pen study of the Nottingham Council House. I believe this is the best outcome as it is a realistic resemblance of the building although it has a rough and scribbled style. I was able to capture the depth and size of the building by using different sized pens and showed good use of shading to produce the 3D effect. This image also stands out by me as I enjoy creating this piece due to the fact I was interested in the building itself.

On the other hand I was disappointed by some of my work as I was unable to achieve the result I wanted, I think my least successful work is the section on Georgian Architecture as I failed to produce high quality sketches. Looking back at them I can see the lack of detail and design as I have produced simplistic sketches of the features. An example of this would be the Large Chimney Stacks and the Sash Windows, I can now see that I didn’t spend enough time on the artwork and have lowered the standard of the overall sketchbook.

Moving on from Georgian Architecture to Gothic Architecture which was the style of architecture I found most interesting. I really enjoyed studying this style and being able to see first-hand examples around Nottingham which I was able to include in my sketchbook. I was very interested in the design techniques used to decorate the walls of the buildings and create large dominating buildings, which I tried to capture in my sketch of St. Mary’s Church.

Throughout my sketchbook I preferred to use pencils and pens to create my sketches and ideas, this was due to my ability to produce quality drawings that fulfilled the objective and I was confident in using them. Now that I have completed my sketchbook I regret that I was not more experimental with the materials that I used. I believe I could have greatly improved my sketchbook by using alternative methods such as watercolours, acrylics and collages. I will learn from my mistakes and break my trend of using materials that I am confident in and explore other methods.

Although our sketchbooks are “complete” and marked I will not stop using it. From last term I have learned how useful and handy having a sketchbook is. It is like a diary in which you can record your ideas and sketch something that interests you. Due to this I am going to constantly add to my sketchbook and build up a collection of design ideas, architectural styles and information that will help me in future projects. I will hopefully keep my sketchbook during my whole academic career and continue to produce high quality sketches and develop my skills in using new mediums that will become a book off all my ideas and interests that could influence my future works.