FIDM Student Blog: Joshua Davis

Class Projects Update from Student Blogger Josh

I'll start by saying that time has flown this past quarter. I am just starting the third week of my third quarter and have transitioned to the L.A. campus. I will get another blog out in the next day or so with some pictures of my second quarter work but for now I thought I'd talk a little bit about starting up classes in L.A.

    The campus is much larger than San Diego. Not quite as new, but a cool campus just the same. I am taking Lighting Techniques, Props, and Digital Imaging up north with a Professional Practices class still in San Diego. In the props class, the final is a miniature model of a building. You keep with a theme or style that is selected at some point in the quarter, but all the models look awesome and I'm looking forward to working on my own. We started off the class by constructing a small open box with a scene inside. The assignment asked for a figure, a chair and some other accessory with the option to add as much as you would like. I decided to use a western theme after hearing someone else talking about a similar theme and this is what I came up with.

    I messed up a little bit and had to work through my second class of Lighting Techniques so I'm not totally current this week. We started off by talking about some basic terms related to lighting and touched on the physics a bit. The teacher knows a grip about lighting and it's nice to have such a great reference for the next seven weeks in a quarter where I'm trying to come up with as many portfolio pieces as possible. More will have to follow on this class though due to my being behind.

    Digital Imaging mainly focuses on Photoshop, which is new to me. Being new to the program I struggle from time to time but just the first two sessions have helped tremendously. It's enough like Illustrator that the transition between the two complement one another. Above is an interior I came up with for one assignment.

    The professional Practices class I have in San Diego with Felena Hanson is cool. Most of the work so far has not been mandatory but all of it is geared to help you find out about yourself. The class covers resume'  and cover letter building, also focusing on professional development and the interview process. It's one of those classes that's great if you make it that way.

    That's about all I have related to school now but I'll have a follow up here soon with some more pictures.

Student Blogger Josh on the Difference Between Vis Comm and Graphic Design

Q: Quick question, I'm interested in going to school for Graphic Design. Visual Communications is basically the same right? --Angel

A: I would say that Graphic Design is a form of Visual Communication. Visual Communications is a broader subject and wouldn’t focus on print media specifically. The Graphic Design course at FIDM stays closer to that discipline specifically with the option of also specializing in either the branding or entertainment aspects of graphic design. Basically you could say a graphic designer is a visual communicator but getting a degree in Visual Communications doesn’t make you a graphic designer. The skills are there but there is a definite difference between the two.  It breaks it down pretty well on this website under the perspective students – majors tab.

Vis Comm: What I'm Studying This Quarter

          The first week of my second quarter is almost over and I’m pumped. I started the week with a computer rendering class and have drafting, concepts for visual communications and professional practices the following day. On Thursdays I have a trend analysis class, but I’m playing catch up because I missed the first day. It’s always awesome showing up to class and the lights are off in one room while people are exiting the class next to it: where I should have been. I lucked out though and a spot was still open thankfully.
            My first quarter computer class was not my favorite. I was totally new to illustrator and struggled to make anything look even close to what I thought was satisfactory. After one day in my rendering class I picked up at least to tricks that would have made my life sweet last quarter and really gave me some confidence for what is possible in the next ten weeks. I’m a moped nerd and am drawing some frames in illustrator for a window display that will be due in a couple weeks.
            Drafting is rad. I’m not usually amped about drawing freehand and love when I can use rulers, stencils… whatever to help get my piece to look right. Drafting is where it’s at as far as I’m concerned. Everything is super accurate and there are more tools than I want to list. It’s tedious and slow, but the end result the super clean and very professional. I’m not sure why but it is really satisfying to me.
            Last quarter I finished a drawing class called ideation (is that even a real word BTW) sketching and my current concepts class is a continuation of that. We are building basic sketching skills at the moment and will be focusing on problem solving methods in visual communications. We have a new teacher for the class and she’s real rad. Just like all the lovely and talented teachers down here at FIDM San Diego… wink.
            My professional practices class is one that most people take as they are nearing completion of their studies at FIDM. We go over interviewing, resume building, job hunting, networking, portfolio development as well as a host of other skills geared toward graduation and beyond. I almost took this class online and am glad I did not in the end. Having attended the first session now I feel that an online version of the same would not serve me as well as sitting in class. All in all I’m looking forward to the next ten weeks and hope they are successful. Thanks again for reading.

Class Project: Hussein Chalayan

With my first quarter complete I thought I'd touch on some of the projects that came up in my Survey of Visual Communications course. The first day we choose a designer we identified with and were told that this person would be the focus of several presentations and projects throughout the quarter. I asked for suggestion from my professor and she told me to look up Hussein Chalayan. If the name doesn't ring a bell take a look at his site. He's very "out there" at first glance, but read up on him a bit. Very interesting upbringing and he blends the worlds of fashion, architecture, and technology very well. Rihanna and Kanye West wear his stuff a lot as well as Lady Ga Ga.

    Our first project was to make two collages using various pictures relating to our designer. It was one of the easier pieces to work on, kind of a familiarization practice. I used pictures printed from a basic color printer, magazine clippings, sharpie, and rubber cement on a blackboard. I did my best to show what my designer does, the colors he uses, his logo, where he comes from, and what inspires him. The collages go with an in class presentation where you cover the areas I just mentioned.

    The second and third projects assigned to us were a fashion flat along with a sketch of a bag in line with something our designer would come up with. The fashion flats were simple. It was more a practice in getting the scale correct than anything else. We were instructed to pick clothing resembling out designers look, but by then it was easy to pick out different pieces from various publications, trace them and throw it all together in a way that worked with the parameters we were given.

    For the bag sketch we originally came up with three rough drawings, and then decided on one to develop into a full scale model. This is my final sketch which turned out being very different from my model (basically our final). I tried to keep the themes of technology and functionality in my idea and decided to go with a messenger bag that would have l.e.d.'s on it both for safety and because I thought it would look cool. It was interesting just sketching this thing and not really putting too much thought toward the construction side of things. In the end it was a great learning experience and I will approach future projects with a better head on my shoulders. Think about the smaller projects created by the ideas you initially have and list them. Knock those bad boys out before you realize how many problems you have made for yourself with not enough time left to do as well as your vision had entailed.

    The last project I will write about is our fashion show model. It must fold flat, have decorations on the sides and center, include fashion models for the runway and your designer’s logo. People made this model a bit more of a production than it had to be and didn’t follow the guidelines. That is one thing that I saw a lot of this quarter. Most of the projects make themselves happen if you just move down the checklist of requirements. It drives me crazy when people try to argue their way out of plainly not doing what was outlined clearly. Following the grading sheets is a really easy way of getting A's and not being a dork in front of everyone.

    I'll post some pictures of my bag model soon but I just moved over the break and still have some unpacking to. I hope everyone’s holiday season was relaxing and I'll look forward to getting some more blogs out there as soon as possible. Thanks for reading.

Introducing New Student Blogger Josh Davis

    After high school I joined the Navy for no good reason. It just felt like the right decision. I didn't have a lot to brag about in my life as far as personal accomplishments went. I felt like the Navy was a good opportunity to find out what it was like to be on my own while having enough of a safety net behind me making it hard to mess up that bad. I had a blast in the Navy and still miss being out at sea. I spent ten months in the Persian Gulf doing supply runs for ships participating in Operation Enduring Freedom. Once I returned from deployment I took a bit of time off and was fortunate enough to receive orders to Gaeta, Italy for my last two years of enlistment.
    My duty in Europe was beautiful. I did more and traveled further that I ever imagined possible. I made lots of money and spent all of it on trips, food, and whatever else I wanted. I met five of the most amazing people I have ever had the privilege of sharing my life with and still remain close to them after years of separation. There were hard times while I was away from the states but I can't really remember them now.
    I finished up my Navy experience in Italy, was discharged and moved to San Diego to live with some family for a while. I started school and got a job working on boats in a very amateur facet. It was a good transition and I worked hard, going to school and working full time. Somewhere in the middle of all this I decided that I didn't want to do any of the things I thought I wanted to do. It was probably the hardest time I have experienced in my life, but I focused on what I thought I was good at and how I wanted to make money. I have always wanted to work in the motion picture industry and happened across FIDM through a family member who was attending. In speaking with her I became very interested in some of the programs available, and decided to stop by and see what was up. I landed on Visual Communication as a major because of the opportunities in set design for theatre, television, and movies.
    So far FIDM has been a perfect fit for me. For my first quarter I'm trying to sit back, perform well, and see what interests me. I have almost no experience with art in any way, which really doesn’t make me happy sometimes, but I'm getting there in small increments. I'm definitely stressed with the work load. I absolutely hate painting. It's not my thing and I keep having to do more and more with it. People would think I'm a crazy person if they could hear some of the stuff that flies out of my mouth when I'm at home trying to paint swatches. All things considered though I really do love this place. I know I should say that because this is a blog for FIDM but I really mean those words. You can use the skills from FIDM for anything. It's not just an art school and the facilities are top notch. This is a place that can really set you up sweet if you play it right. Inspiration is everywhere.