Up And Away

as of my last post i have been officially attending Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco. ive gone to each of my classes at loeast twice now and i can honestly say i will enjoy this semester. im not saying it will by any means be easy, because it definitely sounds rigerous and challenging, but at least it is relevant to what i want to do as a career and it will indeed be fun. my classes are as follows:

Perspective for Industrial Design - this class begins with a drafting style drawing that i didnt expect. so... we drew simple objects (box, pyramid, cylinder) from top, side and front views. simple enough, i took drafting in high school, so this is a breeze. but now we are begining to get into actual perspective, which means we will be drawing objects that appear 3 dimensional because their sides seem to converge on vanishing points along the horizon. like so:
in fact, that is exactly like my hw for tonight. i need to take plan (top) and elevation (side) views of an object and make it 3D by giving it perspective.







Model Making - in this class i will again be using my drafting skills to sketch out and design objects (3 in all) and actuaally build them from materials that we have on hand. our first project is a box. or more specoificly a display case for something. we will have wood and acrilic (clear plastic) to use for this build. we have to design the box EXACTLY to the specifications (and scale) as we will want the finished product to look. and then, build it. i forget what our second project is, but our final project will be a teapot. sounds simple but they are built to look real and finished like something you would buy. but they are also artisitically designed like this one done by a student:
so yeah, thats made of foam i believe and painted to a professional finish using industrial grade equipment. i took a tour of our shop last night. its state of the art with full size paint booths and a complete set of the best automotive quality paint, which is likely what was used on that teapot.







Computer Drafting - this seems like the most un-interesting class i have, eventhough it is probably most related to what i want to do for a living. in this class we use a program to do our drafting for us. so basically all the drawing i do in the above classes, with a mouse and keyboard. the worst part is that we use a program that NO ONE in the industry uses. it is similar to AutoCAD, but its different enough to be frustrating for me to use. it is fairly intuitive but its not the same. it would be like using Paint Shop Pro in a class about graphic design while EVERYONE in the industry uses photoshop. *sigh* plus its super boring watching a screen as the teacher does demos. im gonna need lots of caffeines.

Design Problem Solving - this class is very interesting. on our first day we were told to build a cantilever out of spaghetti. for those who dont know what a cantilever is, it is a structure that extends outwards from another but is supported only on one side. the best example i can give you is to outstretch your arm. that is a cantilever. supported at your shoulder but otherwise free or any other support. my group did... ok. actuaally ours was the shortest only because i wasnt finished yet. other groups' were longer but had arched down to the floor. in this class we will be doing McGuyver type stuff. our first project will be to construct a water pump out of simple objects such as a funnel, soda bottles, a dowel, super balls, a foot of vynil tubing and as much adhesive/sealant as we want. its alot harder than it sounds, and it sounded impossible.

so yeah, thats a rundown of my classes, in other news, ive been staying at my aunt's house in South San Francisco with my dad. i sleep on the couch most days, and get my dad's bed when hes out of town. my back hasnt been much more sore than usual, so i think its working out ok. i am currently using their computer to type out this post. its in the boys' room, which is actually a basement. so... i have NO cell phone signal here at all. so if youre trying to get ahold of me, im sorry.



last weekend we finally replaced my poor truck. with its twin. the new one is identical to the old one in every way, except that it has a different brand camper shell and has several other upgrades that i had only dreamt of putting on the old one already installed. and what it doesnt have uypgraded i had already upgraded on the old one, and saved. so.. by next weekend, it will be pretty much done. here are some pics (of the new one):

and last, but certainly not least, rene left for Japan monday, we sent her off friday night with dinner at Bucca Di Beppo, a family style italian restaurant in San Francisco. i had a blast. i hope she enjoys herself there in Japan, cuz we'll certainly miss her. im glad that i got to see her before she left, at the very least.

and speaking of "up and away" i got 2 parking tickets on consecutive days for not curbing my whells while parked at nathans house. *sigh* cuz i have money. and the police department is busy.

thats all for now.