Category Archives: Construct

How To : Adobe Illustrator Geometric Art

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You may remeber my  preview posts of geometric renditions of Audrey Hepburn, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, and Twiggy; well today we are going to learn how to create a geometric-art-form of any picture!   The process is quite simple if you’re willing to invest time in creativity. I practice Adobe Illustrator concepts (such as this one) while watching movies with Rachel and Maddie (just to keep my hands productively busy!).

You will need Adobe Illustrator (CS3-CS6 will do) and a favorite image of yours.  As you can see, the picture I chose was one of Wall-E.

1. First step: place your picture into Adobe illustrator.  File > Place > (choose picture).

20130510-Betty-8

2. Once you have your picture into Illustrator, zoom into the spot that you will be starting with.
-Choose the pen tool and make the stroke color white with a weight of 1.
-Start creating a “jigsaw” of geometric shapes on top of the picture (these shapes should surround an area of the picture where the pixel color is generally the same).
If you would like this to be a very detailed and precise rendition of the picture, then create smaller geometric shapes in order to get more clarity.  If you would like your picture to be more rustic/abstract,  feel free to make your shapes larger and cover more shades of color.

~I went for the more detailed geometric look for this particular picture.
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3. Whew!  took longer than you expected right?  Well this next part is fun!
-Now that you have all your geometric lines drawn, use the arrow to select all the shapes (make sure you do NOT include your background picture).
-(with the shapes selected) > Live Paint > Make.  Now that they are “live paint” you may fill each shape according to the instructions below…

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4. Now you need to use the Eyedropper tool and the Paint Bucket tool interchangeably to get the general shade of color from the shape’s picture underneath.
-To be more specific: For each shape use the eyedropper to collect the color (from the picture underneath). Once you’ve collected the correct shade, use the Paint Bucket to fill the shape.  Repeat this step until you have filled every shape. ( Doesn’t this just bring you back to your “coloring book” days?)
– Now delete the background image to check if you have filled every space- if not, click ‘edit undo’ and complete filling the geometric spaces.

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5. Now selet the whole picture, click Expand on the top tool bar (so it is no longer a Live Paint Object) and make the stroke color transparent (the white lines should now disappear). You have now competed you’re very own geometric design!  <Add a background and some text to “spruce it up” if you’d like>.

As you can see from my previous geometric creations I usually create the whole picture, including the background.  However in this example I only rendered the face to highlight message.  Enjoy!

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From the Studio: Chinese Calligraphy Acrylic Cut

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Studying architecture can be difficult at times: the work load, the hours, the complicated models and tedious drawings. I often get very frustrated, but there is one thing that I am thankful for in it all. I am so thankful for the things that architecture has taught me. Yeah, yeah, it taught me about diligence-working with others.. bla, bla, bla..

But who really cares about architecture work ethics? I am excited about the representational styles and visual communication skills it has taught me.

If I went through all of this and only learned this-I would be happy.

This is the Chinese New Year season, and a friend commissioned me for a project to do with Chinese calligraphy work. He wanted name tags for some of his friends in China. (And I decided it would be fun to make my own name as well!)

First step was to draw the outlines of the Chinese calligraphy on the computer so that we could laser cut the 5mm acrylic board. I used Adobe Illustrator and then cleaned everything up in AutoCAD.

Next step was to laser cut-I don’t have my own machine, but a local architecture supply store has machines for rent (by the minute). We grabbed a USB drive with our file and started the cut… it took 30 minutes (and at 4HKD/minute that comes out at about $15 USD).

Next step is spray paint… we used a perforated plastic sheet as the pattern for the spray paint. (Painting on the back of the character..)

My Chinese name is: 韓睿忠 (hán ruì zhōng). Above you can see the 韓 being sprayed, and below a detail of the 忠.

Here is the final product of the 睿忠.

From the Studio: Architecture Analysis

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It has been an interesting semester thus far in my second year of architecture. We are working on Architectural Urbanism, exploring how architecture effects the city, and how a single building can change a certain site.

Our first step was to analyse the site-Monkok, a highly dense area in Kowloon that hosts a range of programs like street markets, book stores, live-work lofts, illegal structures, and big box malls.

The analysis of tenement housing in the site led us to the discovery of the eventual reclamation of the whole area.

I am excited about the next step of design and finding interventions that will change the city’s fabric.

Here is the full analysis with textual description and other drawings:

[issuu width=550 height=275 embedBackground=%23000000 backgroundColor=%23222222 documentId=121120034802-e12c4e783b3245b29f08118ef8eb2e33 name=finalprintmichaelllywelyn username=connectfour tag=analysis unit=px v=2]

I’m Lovin’… Gold

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My third post from the collection, I’m Lovin’ Colors, is here!  This week I went bold and picked GOLD! The color gold always seems to make me smile and that is exactly why I picked the color.

I don’t know about you guys but I just get excited when I see things that are gold like this dress. I think one reason I adore the color gold is because its so different, it can glitter, sparkle and gleam and never seems to get old to me. Just think about it, what is gold that isn’t amazing? I can’t help but feel somehow exhilarated when I see that perfect Gold dress, necklace, or iPhone case laying in front of me.

What color excites you?

This post is a part of the collection I’m Lovin’… Colors, check out my others I’m Lovin’… Turquoise & I’m Lovin’… Yellow.

Sources: { 1,  2,  3,  4,  5}

Air Quality Monitoring

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Michael and Rachel:

Maddie and I have been hard at work on our air quality monitor! Our goal is to use an Arduino board and low-cost gas sensors to monitor the quality of our air. We definitely met challenges with the technical part of this project; and lets not even get started on calibrating the sensors! After it all, however, we have made some interesting “discoveries” and our hard work is really seeming to pay off!

Take a look at this magazine of all our research!

Take a Look: Engineering Notebook!

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Michael, Rachel, and Maddie:

A huge part of this semester for me has been this course in Robotics! Among all the construction of our actual robot, we are also expected to keep an engineering notebook. We were taught that every “true” engineer keeps a notebook to protect their ideas. I have really taken advantage of this notebook to express my artistic side.

Hope you like how my notebook is turning out so far!

Tumblr Finds #2

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So I was feeling inspired to share a post and thought to myself,  why not just make a 2nd collection of tumblr finds? And guess what I can.

Hey, you can never have too many inspirational photos to look at right? So here you have it tumblr finds #2 enjoy.

P.S. Don’t forget to keep visiting my tumblr blog, Tall Buildings!

This post is a part of a collection called Tumblr Finds, check out my other post here.

Tall Buildings

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I did it! I actually created my very own Tumblr photo blog and to be completely honest I think it’s pretty successful so far…

When I first had the idea to create an account on Tumblr I thought of the name Tall Buildings because of all the tall structures around me in 天津 (TianJin). The more I discover the vast world of photo blogging, the more I realize that searching for inspirational photos will never get old for me!

I’ve always had trouble not knowing exactly what to spend my free time on (hobby-wise). You see, Rachel bakes, Jessie is obsessed with Adobe Illustrator, Michael is artistically gifted in everything but I never had anything in particular that I enjoyed. Yet, now I’m pretty sure I’ve found my passion in photography, and not only just taking pictures but sharing them as well! The inspiration you can find in photoblogging is incredible, from old timey photos to vibrant modern ones, the flow of inspiration never ends!

Office Project 05

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This will be the last update on office construction for a while as the curtains were the last “major” installment. I picked this fabric out myself at a fabric market in downtown Tianjin. Maddie, my Dad and I spent nearly 7 hours picking through fabrics for curtains and chair coverings. Dad says that fabric is the type of thing in which the individual choosing the pattern loves it, while everyone else is left wondering “why in the world that color?!” (very similar to wallpaper…). I hope, in this case, Dad is wrong because these teal and gold curtains give the office such a refreshing glow. 

Tumblr Finds

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Let’s face it, would you rather read a Tumblr photo blog or a Biology text book? It’s pretty much a no brainer… If you’re ever looking for some way to relax (or procrastinate) this is the way to do it! Although I sometimes spend hours (oops did I just admit that) on these photo journals, I always close my computer lid with a smile. The endless pictures, quotes, and gifs are a “spoonful of sugar” for gray day. Next time you need some inspiration just refer to Tumblr, the never ending slideshow of heartening photos.

Sources: inspiration,   As for Me I’ll Always have Hope