Hort 332: Landscape Graphics

Courtyard Project

Process

For our big project in Hort 332, we were tasked with designing a courtyard landscape for a hotel. There was no location given, just a plan view and a rubric instructing us to make an altered plan view, section, and one-point perspective. After measuring out the space, I was able to form a concept of what I wanted for the space. I decided I wanted lots of colors, a butterfly statue resembling the one featured in the garden at my elementary school, and pollinator friendly plants which would work well in East Texas. My main goal being to create a space that would be highly functional, last a long time, and be a space that would make people choose that hotel over another one. In picking my plant material, I not only had to fulfill the directions of the rubric and the physiological needs for an East Texas plant, but also keeping in mind the different textures, heights, and colors that I could make with the plant materials. The most limiting factor was space since I did not want to block off any pathways or windows. I was less concerned about physiological factors for the seasonal planters since the soil is curated and the plant only needs to survive for that season. Otherwise, I tried to keep sustainability and maintenance in mind as well in picking relatively drought-tolerant, low-maintenance plant material. We were also tasked with picking a statue and water feature to put in the courtyard. I chose to add a butterfly statue which would be made of galvanized steel and stained glass to draw back to the plants pollinator friendliness. Since I wanted this butterfly to be the focal point of the design, I made the water feature in a circle shape which, from the front of the courtyard's walkway, would encapsulate the statue. This water feature would rain down water and slowly open up to show the butterfly every thirty minutes giving a serene, yet entertaining design.

Process

In this project, I created many different rough drafts whether that have been of a full plan view or of a plant symbol. All of this enabled me to practice and continue to improve little detail that I hadn't noticed in the previous step. One of my favorite parts in this process was figuring out how I would draft the seasonal planters. At first, I was unsure if I wanted to do an overhead or front-facing view. Since this is a landscaping project, though, I though overhead would fit best.

Lab Assignments

Each week we had a lab in which we would practice skills such as creating a section, plan views, timed drawings, grading, and even lettering. This extra instruction helped much more than had I done it on my own as I was able to get some of the one-on-one help I needed to understand things, especially when I was working on my first sectional. Lab allowed us to put what we had leaned in lecture into practice with projects such as those on the right.

In this lab, we learned how to make a section based on a plan view. At first, it was difficult for me to understand and I took a long time to simply draw the lines down from the plan view. However, after some practice, I began to understand what I was making which really helped in my section view of the Courtyard Project. Although technology has streamlined this process, this skill will enable me to better read a paper version of the plan and make one if the technology is not an option.
This lab focused on one-point perspectives and color rendering. I was able to play with some alchohol-based markers and see how vibrant the colors are. I enjoyed the color but understand how it can be overwhelming at times. This was the second time I was able to do a one-point perspective and it took me far less time than the first. I was also able to see how different shapes such as the roof line and trees would play into this perspective.
For this lab assignment, we were asked to color render a pre-made landscape with up to five colors we were not comfortable with. I do not tend to go for such bold colors but still thought they looked nice together. When completing this, I was in a time-crunch but, next time, I would like to take more time to add texture with the colors. I think color pencil, although time-consuming, is a very nice way to render and gives more freedom than the markers do with regard to pressure and blending of colors.
This assignment required that we learn how to read a plan view and are able to effectively translate how to make it into a section view. Although difficult at first, this exercise helped me become a better plan reader and aware of how to make a section from my head, a pencil, and paper.

Sketchbook Assignments

As a class, we would be assigned sketchbook assignments which would be due each Sunday. Below, I have selected some of my favorites. Looking back at them, I am able to see the progress I made in such a short time as I was finally forced to practice my drawing skills after a long hiatus since my high school art class. Not only did my drafting skills improve but my ability to communicate by drawing in a short period of time which I had previously struggled with. I tend to be a perfectionist which can get me in trouble when it comes to time-management. In this class and with these sketchbook assignments I was able to practice sketching and being ok with communication vs perfection. This will be a very useful skill as I go into the workforce as it will allow me to work on more projects and, therefore, generate more revenue.

These tree sketches were made to practice quick communication. It is based on a YouTube video we were assigned. I found this very useful and quite the step up from the classic bubble tree that I did as a kid yet still quick and easy. This is another way for me to speed up my communication and work on more projects.
Further practice of the tree sketches
This sketch was my introduction to one-point perspectives. Althought I knew how to make a simple cube structure, this exercise helped me realize the logic behind it and increase the visual accuracy of the image. It also gave me a new, simple, quick design for a figure.
For this assignment, we were supposed to draw something that we appreciated the form of, I picked the monstera due to its beauty and the practicality of its design. It has developed its lobes as a way to let in the sun to its lower leaves and defend itself from the harsh winds that can occur in its natural habitat in the tropics.
In this weekly sketchbook assignment, we were told to create a garden or landscaped space. I was very excited to do so and took a lot of time to plant things out, thinking about flow, plantings, materials, and usage. It was a good excercise to get my brain thinking about landscaping layouts and how to use the key elements of design when planning it out.