The Beginning of My Sketchbook

Well, I am just now getting to the point of installing my scanner drivers and scanner program onto my computer and so now I have scanned the few pages I have taken up in my sketchbook. I will try everyday to scan my pages from that day and upload them here and talk about them but I'm not going to make any promises (haha). Hopefully, this will not only help me document ideas and observations but may also provide some opportunities for others to view my pages and come up with ideas of their own!

This image is just the front and back cover of my fancy-schmancy sketchbook (haha). The paper label on the back says, "This journal cover is handcrafted by artisans in India.

The technique is to head discarded bicycle spokes and burnish lovely patterns onto handmade paper."



This is the first page. I wrote this when I attended the lecture on "Designing Your Portfolio".

Your portfolio is what people will see of your works. It is your "business card". People will see your portfolio before they will see you, for instance when applying for a position at an architecture firm. Popular programs for creating your portfolio are Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator .

THE GRID: Use it, know it. It makes things easier.
CONSISTENCY: Randomness will only hinder you. Create a graphic idea and stay with it.
WHITE SPACE: Don't be afraid of it. It is your friend. Just because it looks empty doesn't mean it has to be filled. INTERESTS: Don't put them to sleep. Open and close with well documented projects.


HINTS:
TEST PRINT: This is a necessity. The screen can be deceiving.
ORGANIZE: Gather all of your information and move it to one location.
TYPOGRAPHY: Compose something clear, clean and easy to read.
QUALITY: Photos, drawings, graphics- These should be of the highest quality.
NO PIXELATION IN YOUR PICTURES: MAKE SURE that all of your pictures are crisp images. If there is some pixelation, use Photoshop to sharpen it up.
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Here I was just drawing a curved wall to get an idea of what a curved wall is supposed to look like and to jump start me toward designing one.


While trying to design a wall, I had seen a building which had metal beams from the outside protruding through the wall on the inside. The beams were used for structural purposes, but were also used for an aesthetic purpose. I searched Google and found images of similar buildings which had the same "beam design." Here are two images that I found. The first is an example of beams protruding through the wall to the exterior and the other is an example of beams protruding into the interior of the building.
I liked the idea of seeing the structure from the inside, since most of the time the structure of a building is hidden by the walls and ceilings. I imagined having a wall which would use metal beams but one would be able to see the beams from the inside of the wall by using a type of transparent plastic to create the facade of the wall. The plastic would allow a person to see the curvature of the wall while allowing them to see through the facade and observe the structure and connections that made the wall become what it was. It would be both a visual and a learning experience for the viewer.

This is just an idea that I had for a building design that came to me before I went to bed one night. The building would be symmetrical in every direction and would consist of two stories. The curved-t shape in the top view is the second floor while the curves joining each part of the t is a roof covering for possibly a balcony of some sort. With four balconies on the second floor, one could observe everything around the building, a 360 degree view, if they walked to them all. The first story would mainly consist of 4 arcs with the darker lines being straight walls. The four arced pieces on top of the roof of the first floor would be windows extending out of the roof letting sunlight into room from the ceiling. I'm not sure what purpose this building might serve. Maybe a house? Maybe a town hall? Maybe a club?
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These are just drawings helping me figure out what our second wall design would look like or how it might be connected.

Who is Eric Opperman?

I am a sophmore architecture major at Texas A&M University. I am 19 years old and am from Nacogdoches, Texas. My family consists of my parents, Jeff and Ginger, my brother, Case, my dog, Dan, and myself. I also have a great girlfriend, Meredith, who attends Rice University in Houston.

What inspired me to be where I am now?

Ever since I can remember, I have been very artistically and technically minded. While admiring objects for their beauty, I would also figure out or imagine how they were put together. From my observations I would build things at my dad's workshop or even out of cardboard boxes and use my bedroom as my playground. When I got older I began looking at objects at a bigger scale, mostly being architecture. Realizing how my mind worked and my interests I was able to see which direction my life would be heading. When it came time for me to start looking at colleges, Texas A&M was already high on my list because my older brother was already a sophomore civil engineering major there. I liked the city and the campus so that was a step in the Texas A&M direction but with some research and conversations with older friends, I learned of the strong architecture program that was offered there. That pretty much sealed the deal and before I knew it I was driving to College Station to stay for my 5 or 6 years of college that lay ahead of me.

Where am I heading?

Currently, I am a sophomore architecture student but as is everyone else, I am trying to figure out what I see myself doing in 5 years or so after college is through and I am thrown into the work-world. Some people are set on what they want to do, but I am having trouble finding my niche because I am so interested in everything! I like straight architecture but I also like landscape architecture and construction. I plan to get a masters in architecture so I can get licensed as an architect, but if the opportunity comes I would love to study landscape architecture or construction science. Similarly, ever since a vacation to Germany in 2004 I have has somewhat of a fascination with Germany and the German language. This also presents another direction that I might want to go in. Of course, a minor in German will not provide too many opportunities here in the US but depending how I like my study abroad, I might want to find a job as an architect in Germany. I don't know how how much of a chance that might be, but it is a possibility. As for now, I'll just worry about being a sophomore architecture student.