A very interesting research task, looking at how other designers have used storyboarding as a tool. I found it really useful to look at how other people draw to show how a person moves around a space. I have so far lacked confidence in my drawing ability but over time and through this research I’m actually ok with my interpretation of a person moving around a space. This research has helped me create a storyboard for the next exercise, where I have sketched seven different tasks taken from a list.
From my storyboard sketches of the bedroom, I have made rough sketches of different elevations.
I have estimated the size and shape of the space that my occupant would need and have drawn in Plan and Section at a suitable scale, adding dimensions to show the extent of the space.
I found this particular exercise really enjoyable. My confidence has grown so much with sketching and technical drawing. I’ve spoken with my tutor recently about section drawing and she gave me so much good advice. I have also researched other architectural drawings drawn in section, which has helped immensely. So besides taking time with drawing in scale it has taken me a long time to photograph my drawings and upload them to adobe as I wanted to start presenting my drawings in a professional way, at the moment I quite like the black background, I will spend some more time learning the adobe package and I’m sure become more experimental, but for now I’m happier with the presentation.
In my A2 sketch book I have drawn seven squares, each measuring 100mm x 100mm, these are my storyboard frames. In each square I have sketched out a part of my occupants’ journey taken from this list below.
The occupant’s journey:
- The occupant enters the space
- The occupant changes out of their day-clothes
- The occupant changes into their night-clothes
- The occupant gets into bed and goes to sleep
- The occupant wakes up
- The occupant gets dressed into their day-clothes
- The occupant exits the space
During this sketching process I have tried to identify and illustrate how the occupant would move their body in a space.
(1) The occupant is entering the bedroom walking over the threshold and I have shown movement by drawing the knees bent.
(2) I have shaded the window to show darkness outside and sketched the ceiling light with emphasis on the light bulb shining bright. The occupant has nightclothes on the bed ready to put on.
(3) The occupant is bending over the bed to reach for the nightclothes, with the curtains drawn as if it were nighttime but with the ceiling light on.
(4) In this sketch, the figure is bending over the bed as if it were climbing into bed to go to sleep, I have also drawn the curtains closed and the light bulb not emphasised, showing that’s it time to sleep!
(5) I have sketched the figure sitting up in bed stretching arms up, showing them waking.
(6) I have sketched the figure standing in nightclothes in front of the open wardrobe choosing day clothes.
Lastly in sketch (7) I have drawn the occupant leaving the bedroom walking over the threshold, showing movement forward.
In all seven sketches I have shown the minimum space needed to perform these tasks with just enough space between the wardrobe and the bed to get changed. Below are images of the sketches, the first image is my first attempt at sketching the occupants journey. The second image I have tried to tidy up the lines and create a more professional look. The next step is to sketch in plan and section to a suitable scale and I will add dimensions to show the extent or overall size of the space.
Looking back at exercise one, I sketched a bedroom which contained a double bed and a wardrobe and showed how my occupant would make the moves necessary to enter the room, undress, get into bed, wake in the morning and leave the room.
From that I have created a storyboard showing how my person occupies that bedroom and more of their living space. I have designed the space with the Parker Morris minimum size requirements and have drawn my occupant moving around the space from the bedroom to the living room area with the hoover, they open the cupboard doors to put the hoover away. They then stand in front of the bay window to open the window before sitting on the on the sofa. Lastly, my occupant is entering the space in the kitchen, where they bend down to the oven door and then stand and open the fridge door.
Firstly, here are my initial storyboard sketches, drawn in mechanical pencil, followed by 10 rough sketches of each scene, then another with a black border to define each square. Finally, an annotated storyboard describing what the occupant is doing in each square.
Having now defined the spaces within the apartment, I then put a sketch together which shows a rough floor-plan. Within this floor plan I have indicated using arrows how the occupant moves into and out of the rooms and the living space, as described in my storyboard.
Images
Fig. 1 – Walker, T (2021) My initial storyboard sketches [pencil on paper] in possession of: the author: Stoford
Fig. 2 – Walker, T (2021) Storyboard sketch showing how the occupant moves around the space [pencil on paper] in possession of: the author: Stoford
Fig. 3 – Walker, T (2021) Storyboard sketch showing how the occupant moves around the space [pencil on paper] in possession of: the author: Stoford
Fig. 4 – Walker, T (2021) Storyboard sketch where I have coloured over the pencil lines in black fineliner [fineliner pen on paper] in possession of: the author: Stoford
Fig. 5 – Walker, T (2021) My final annotated storyboard showing the occupant doing domestic tasks around the apartment [fineliner pen on paper] in possession of: the author: Stoford
Fig. 6 – Walker, T (2021) A rough floor plan of my apartment showing the direction in which the occupant moves around the space [pencil on paper] in possession of: the author: Stoford
After reading the Parker Morris report document dated 1961 where they set out the minimum space standard required to build homes for today and tomorrow, I have sketched out a plan of a 2 bedroom, 1st floor apartment. I have sketched to scale 1:50, my first attempt was almost spot on without using a ruler. Whilst drawing a plan I gave some thought as to who might occupy the apartment. After a few attempts at changing the layout of the space, I’m confident it would suit a variety of occupants.
I have designed the space to accommodate a few different occupant scenarios. Originally I had drawn one double bedroom and a slightly smaller double bedroom. After careful consideration I have made the smaller bedroom slightly larger, reducing the reception space but because the space leads through to the kitchen, it doesn’t feel too compromised as there is space for a dining room area in between.
This exercise was interesting, before I put pen to paper I thought I would never be close to the measurements but I surprised myself. When designing a small space I feel it is important to cover areas such as keeping the water pipes and waste along one side of the building, this does restrict your plan but would make the build easier, especially if you are building on a tight budget. For the size limitations I believe you can really achieve a decent size home for a young family, two adults sharing or a retired couple. By adding storage into the hallway gives way to slightly larger rooms and wall space for free standing furniture. My final design has two double bedrooms, both with windows. A bathroom with a large walk in shower, storages space in both bedrooms and an open space living room, dining area and kitchen. The reception room has double doors, a Juliet balcony with a railing, for safety, which sits just outside the doors, this is needed because it is a first floor building and you can open the doors to let the light flood in on a sunny day. Between the reception room and the kitchen is a bay style window giving the idea of more space. The kitchen area is in a horseshoe shape, giving plenty of workspace, storage and a window view, the whole space will have lots of natural light flooding in which I believe is an important factor in a smaller home.
Images
Fig. 1 – 9 Walker, T (2021) My sketch plan journey [pencil and fineliner on paper] in possession of: the author: Stoford
Fig. 10 Walker, T (2021) My final sketch plan [fineliner on paper] in possession of: the author: Stoford
Wednesday evening turned out to be a very different one for me this week. I took part in my very first virtual life drawing class, a quarantine art club where models pose nude for you to draw. Organised by 2bornot2bcollective and the Open College of Arts via zoom call, our model was a beautiful lady based in New York, she posed in different ways and at different stages, a few one minute poses, a few 5 minute poses and then a couple of 10 minutes and then 15 minutes. I have to say this class was so liberating, I would recommend it to anybody and everybody. I have added my sketches below.
Virtual Life Drawing Class
My tutor has encouraged me to draw in lots of different ways, drawing people I believe will help me with proportion and perspective, which I can use in my spatial design drawings.
Reflection
My tutor has noted improvement in my work due to spending more time on each exercise. I have been approaching each exercise with more determination to produce better results, and thankfully it’s paying off! I have been drawing much more lately and so my drawing and presentation is also improving which my tutor also recognises.
My research tasks are reasonably thorough which is good as it shows that I am interested in reading ‘around’ the subject, but I must remember to then take all of that research and put it into my own work in a creative way, by taking ideas, developing them and making them my own.
My tutor thought my storyboards were charming and informative, which I’m so pleased about as I did spend a lot of time drawing and re-drawing, it was noted that my tutor would have liked to have seen examples that I found to understand which elements have inspired me to make my own in that way. My research into storyboards took me to images online of cartoon style stories, I then put together my own interpretation.
I will revisit a few exercises and try to be as accurate as I can when doing my technical drawings, I must remember to place furniture on the floor rather than making it look as though it is floating, that was not intentional but when I look back on those particular drawings I can now understand what needs to be changed.
Working through my drawings and storyboards in a careful way, my tutor is pleased that my work looks much more authoritative than some of my previous work. I am recognising that by spending more time initially on planning and design that the other important parts fall in line much more easier than trying to race ahead.
Although my tutor has noted that my drawings have improved there is still room for more, I must remember to look at every technical drawing as a finished piece, again making it look and feel more professional, I will add a checklist each time I do a technical drawing, that way I should remember wall thickness, line weights, dimensions etc. I honestly think that I get carried away with how my drawing is looking in terms of scale, size and content more so than remembering if I have added all the important details, I am sure that with more practise this will become second nature.
My tutor was pleased with how I presented my character’s daily journey, communicating simple and clear information.
I have recently taken part in a virtual drawing class which was the best experience ever in terms of drawing, very liberating and I highly recommend to anybody to give it a go! I have also been chatting more to other ID students, both on zoom and via facebook and WhatsApp, this interaction and communication is helping me stay motivated and on track with my study deadlines.
my Interior Design Journey 