Design sketch teaching

Author: Xie Peng
Editor-in-Chief: Li Dan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features:
Section: Basic Characteristics of Design Sketching
According to the previous discussion, it is clear that as a design sketching that differs from general painting sketches and emphasizes practicality, it naturally exhibits its own characteristics in many aspects. These characteristics, we believe, are both internal and external, both visible and invisible, both static and dynamic, and so on. In summary, we believe they are primarily reflected in the following two aspects:
1. Thinking Characteristics
As a unique spiritual activity of humans, thinking reflects in design sketching in a distinctive and characteristic way. If general painting sketching primarily adopts artistic thinking, then design sketching mainly adopts design thinking combined with artistic thinking. This means that compared to general painting sketching, design sketching is more complex and diverse in terms of thinking methods and the composition of its components.
Artistic thinking, simply put, refers to the intuitive understanding and reproduction of life. It is reflected in general painting sketching, where the artist primarily employs a thinking activity and approach closely tied to intuition and imagery, i.e., artistic thinking. Undoubtedly, artistic thinking plays an extremely important role in general painting sketching. The characteristics of artistic thinking are specifically reflected in the following three aspects:
(1) Artistic thinking is entirely dependent on sensory perception. It not only requires the use of sensory organs to directly engage with the objective external world and gather rich sensory impressions but also consistently uses sensory phenomena as the material for thinking and ultimately presents the results of thinking in a sensory form.
(2) Artistic thinking is a way of observing and grasping the objective external world from an aesthetic perspective. Compared to abstract thinking (i.e., logical thinking), it has a more acute, vivid, and intense sensitivity to the objective external world. Artists trained in artistic thinking can quickly be moved by a subject and anticipate its meaning and effect, nurturing it through conception and expression to create artistic images. This entire process is an aesthetic thinking process.
(3) Artistic thinking is sensory in appearance but incorporates rational content, achieving a unity of sensibility and rationality. This means that while artistic thinking is entirely dependent on sensibility, it can, through artistic generalization, reflect the essence of life in a concentrated and typical manner, elevating it to a rational understanding. From this, it is clear that artistic thinking is a way of thinking dominated by sensibility (i.e., intuitiveness, imagery, and typicality).
Design thinking (also referred to by some scholars as craft thinking), simply put, refers to an indirect, generalized, and comprehensive reflection of objective materials and perceptions in the design process. In other words, this design thinking is a way of thinking dominated by rationality. The characteristics of design thinking are primarily reflected in its thinking process, which relies on concepts, judgments, and reasoning.
It is worth noting that both artistic thinking and design thinking must involve the participation of inspirational thinking to achieve creativity or creative reflection, otherwise, creativity would be difficult to imagine.
So, what are the reflections or characteristics of the thinking of design sketching, which combines design thinking and artistic thinking?
1. Combination of Intuition and Indirectness
Intuition is a specialty of artistic thinking, while indirectness is a specialty of design thinking. Combining these two aspects constitutes a characteristic of design sketching thinking. For example, the modeling in design sketching often requires in-depth analysis of the internal structure to clarify its relationships. At this point, relying solely on intuitive reflection is not sufficient, but indirect reflection, i.e., reasoning from the outside in and from the inside out, is feasible. This shows that design sketching thinking requires both intuition and indirectness.
2. Combination of Particularity and Generalization
Particularity is a specialty of artistic thinking, while generalization is a specialty of design thinking. Combining these two aspects constitutes another characteristic of design sketching thinking. For example, the objects of modeling in design sketching are various, and the artist must achieve an understanding of them to model. This means they cannot be limited to "particularity," i.e., the sensory material of specific images, but must recognize the underlying basic forms and structures behind them in a generalized manner to achieve this. This shows that design sketching thinking requires both attention to particularity and attention to generalization.
3. Combination of Typicality and Comprehensiveness
Typicality is a specialty of artistic thinking, while comprehensiveness is a specialty of design thinking. Combining these two aspects constitutes another characteristic of design sketching thinking. Design sketching modeling must be both typical and designed, and the content of design is very broad, including economic, practical, creative, or production, advertising, decorative, and practical aspects. This shows that design sketching thinking requires both attention to aesthetic typicality and attention to all aspects of design, i.e., comprehensiveness. To achieve this, thinking must be a combination of these two aspects.
The above three aspects are the main reflections of design sketching thinking and its basic characteristics. It is worth noting that these three aspects are interrelated and interact dialectically in the process of specific thinking activities.
2. Modeling Characteristics
Distinctive thinking naturally brings distinctive modeling. The characteristics of design sketching modeling, in our opinion, are primarily reflected in the following aspects:
1. Diversity of Modeling
In a certain sense, the main task of design sketching is to draw shapes or model. However, we believe that the concept of modeling is not limited to depicting objects but also includes the creative construction and representation of objects. Therefore, its modeling is diverse, including realistic, representational, creative, expressive; or concrete, imaginative, abstract; or observational, memory-based, imaginative; or line drawing, shading, collage, spray painting, and so on.
Postscript:
Postscript Two years ago, Mr. Zou Minne, associate editor and deputy director of Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, invited me to write this book. At the time, I accepted without much thought. However, the manuscript was not completed as scheduled. After more than two years of arduous effort, I deeply realized that writing teaching-related books in the field of writing must have the spirit of teaching reform, a scientific attitude, and a realistic approach. Therefore, the "Design Sketching Teaching" book now presented to the readers is the result of nearly three years of hardship, and I still feel that it is not yet mature, with many issues still under consideration and being continuously revised.
Perhaps writing a book is different from writing an essay, especially when writing a book on art education, there are too many problems and it involves too broad a scope, making it difficult to avoid omissions and undeniable textual responsibilities, which is not easy. Putting down the pen, it is not as emotionally relieving as handing in an essay or a drawing manuscript.
Perhaps as teaching and research in this field deepen, the more I see and think, the less excited and happy I feel about the completion of the manuscript, and instead, it becomes heavy in my heart.
Given this complex mindset, I felt it necessary to take the opportunity of writing the postscript to briefly supplement some issues that are not suitable to mention elsewhere but must be addressed.
This book, titled "Design Sketching Teaching," is my first monograph as an individual author, but it is not a research work created out of thin air without a background in relevant art and cultural education. Nor do I have the ambition to stand alone in the realm of art education and establish a new discipline or course. These things have, in fact, been done by predecessors both in ancient and modern times. For example, design sketching courses have already been offered by design art schools abroad for many years (though whether their teaching systems are well-constructed and is another matter). Even printmaking sketching teaching (see Guang Jun's "A Discussion on Printmaking Sketching," published in "Art Research," Issue 1, 1981) and imaginative sketching teaching (see Sun Yisheng's "Imaginative Sketching," Huazhong University of Technology Press, 1986) have been explored by domestic scholars many years ago.
Therefore, when writing this book, I remained humble and knew my limits, and could not take credit for others' knowledge. Thus, the "design sketching teaching" here refers to some practical insights and understandings I gained from examining and researching the situation of this course being offered in my institution and other universities. It is about how to construct and build the system of this course, not about establishing a new discipline.
Of course, this "design sketching teaching" is also different from the design sketching teaching in foreign countries. In other words, this "Design Sketching Teaching" is based on the fact that the basic teaching of sketching in design art education in China is already and is constantly undergoing new differentiation and integration in teaching reform.
It is extremely important to recognize this from the beginning, because the entire history of art is not a history of technical proficiency but a history of changes in concepts and needs (as stated in "The Story of Art" by E.H. Gombrich, translated into Chinese, page 7, Shaanxi People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 1987). This is also the basic starting point and basis for why I wrote this book.
Second, currently, in design art education, there are researchers exploring how to improve and reform the existing basic sketching teaching models, and opinions vary widely, with much controversy. However, from the existing research achievements, many researchers are still stuck at the level of sensory perception, and even those with more in-depth research results only focus on a local or partial aspect of teaching, without any major breakthroughs in a comprehensive sense. Based on such a research situation and the great difficulties encountered in teaching, I began researching this course and attempted to preliminarily construct a system for it through a series of teaching experiments.
Of course, based on the current state of the book, I do not believe this teaching system is a scientific or optimal teaching system. I only feel that given that the improvement and construction of this course have not yet received enough attention from peers and necessary discussions have not been carried out, this teaching system is relatively reasonable, scientific, feasible, and beneficial to the development of the course, representing a relatively optimized solution.
Going further, I believe that constructing a sketching teaching system suitable for modern design art education is a long-term process, and breaking through the old sketching teaching model and proposing a new sketching teaching system with broader inclusivity is only the first step in this long-term construction process. Naturally, the publication of this book and the introduction of this teaching system still need to be continuously tested, revised, supplemented, improved, and perfected in real teaching and teaching reform practices.
Third, it is worth mentioning that the design sketching course, as a basic subject course in design art education, is still a new course in the process of formation. Therefore, no textbook or monograph on this subject can provide readers with a fixed teaching model in all aspects.
Therefore, what I have tried to do in this book is only a preliminary synthesis of the research achievements I have learned about and mastered both domestically and internationally. But I believe that as long as this synthesis is scientific and appropriate, meets professional needs and teaching realities, then this synthesis itself is a valuable research and teaching achievement and creation. I firmly believe that with the development of design art education, this new discipline course will be continuously improved and developed in China.
Then, let this book serve as a stepping stone to provoke further discussion.
The above is a necessary supplement I made while writing the postscript. I think it is worth saying a few more words as long as it is beneficial to the readers.
In addition, during the writing of this book, I received guidance, support, care, and cooperation from many people, which needs to be specially mentioned here.
First are my teachers, Professor Zhu Hui, Dean of the School of Art, Hunan Normal University, and Professor Nie Nanxi, former Dean of the School of Art, Hunan Normal University. Professor Zhu Hui greatly encouraged me to write this book and provided specific guidance on my writing outline; Professor Nie Nanxi not only helped me revise the writing outline but also wrote the preface to encourage me.
Teacher Duan Ling helped me find materials and provided various conveniences and assistance.
Next are Mr. Zou Minne and Mr. Li Dan of Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House. Without Mr. Zou Minne's enthusiastic guidance and support, I would not have been able to write this book. As the chief editor of this book, Mr. Li Dan proposed many reasonable suggestions on the quality of the manuscript and the logical structure of the chapters, made meticulous revisions in punctuation and wording, and even took some pictures for the book, spending a lot of effort to help me write it well.
Then are the students of Class 93, 94, and 95 of the Department of Fine Arts and Design, School of Art, Hunan Normal University. It was due to their active participation and cooperation that my teaching reform experiment was carried out smoothly and obtained valuable hand-reference materials.
Furthermore, during the writing of this book, I referred to some published research achievements and materials by other comrades, but due to space limitations, I could not list them all. Here, I express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone.
Finally, the reform of the basic sketching course in design art education in China is still in its early stages, and it is very difficult to explore teaching reform from the perspective of the system. Therefore, there are certainly many shortcomings in this book, and I look forward to the corrections and suggestions from experts and a broad readership.
Xie Peng
September 12, 1996
School of Art, Department of Fine Arts and Design, Hunan Normal University