Back to the Drawing Board

So yesterday we had a chance to put our new drawings up to be marked, this was it, no more chances.  After a day of waiting around we were allowed back into the room and I found to my amazement I got a C+, which at this stage I'm very happy with.  I keep looking at the final exhibition stuff from last year and have to keep telling myself that the work which is on show is  the best that last year's students produced and that hopefully by the end of the year we will be producing work of similar quality (that's what they told us anyway!).
I decided to abandon all hope of computer rendering, after spending about 6 hours on Photoshop cutting people out and putting them into Indesign, and went for the watercolour pencils that my son was given as a birthday present and some pastels.  I thought it looked quite vibrant and 3D ish but others seemed to be brighter.  

There's still a way to go (including writing up a new document) but at least we're in the final term.  I will have been studying for 8 years when this finishes (I did 5 years with the OU to get to a level where I could get into Hadlow and Greenwich), so I'm desperate to get out and have my life back...

Feedback

Well that went well then!!!
Not quite the reaction I would have hoped for from the tutors but then I guess that's their job and they're only making us become better at all of this.  Another day redoing work that I thought I had finished, seems to be a bit of a trait in third year, you do your best, its not good enough then you do even better (hopefully!).

Calverley Grounds Masterplan

 Masterplan

 1:100 Section Elevations

 1:50 Section Elevations

Sequential Sketches

After weeks of work, and lack of sleep, I've finally finished my masterplan and related drawings for Calverley Grounds in Tunbridge Wells.  I looked through the examples of rendering techniques that Jamie our tutor had sent us and was pleased to see that there were a few examples which were scratchy and heavy.  I was pleased to see this as it is clearly the style I have. 

A trip to Willmott Ford, Garden Designers of Distinction, a couple of weeks ago helped me with a quick confidence boost and a swift kick up the arse.  Also, yesterday we had a day in the company of Andrew Wilson, top designer and all round good egg, and he said that their style of rendering was with watercolour pencils and pastels.  I remembered I, or rather my children, had some water colour pencils given to them as a present and Miss Willmott had given me some pastels the other day.

So, armed with knowledge, equipment and confidence I began rendering after about 3 hours of putting it off.  And the results are there to be seen.  I am very pleased with them, I think looking at the final photos of previous Year 3 students work isn't always beneficial as different people use different techniques, and computer work looks fab, but some of us are a bit old fashioned and prefer hand drawn and rendered!