Group 41
SKETCHY BUSINESS

In partnership with Manchester Society of Architects, our team will explore different sketching techniques along with post production editing in Photoshop. Through a series of workshops students will develop sketching and post production skills and exhibit individual and group compositions in an online gallery. Reflection on what makes the workshops engaging and successful will enable the end of the project to cumulate with live workshops put on by our group. These will connect people through sketching and enable the online exhibition to become a place to display all art created from the workshops. Online tutorials will remain accessible after MSA Live to enable others to continue adding to the online exhibition.

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Alina M / Adriana-Stefania T / Eva F / Rodica Teona E / Elliot F / Karolina V

Elliot F
Meet the team!
Elliot Flynn

Hey, I’m Elliot. I’m a 5th year student at Manchester School of Architecture – where I also studied for my BA. I’m currently in USE, designing with a focus on the stories that buildings tell during their lifetime – investigating in particular how architects can design with respect for a building’s past, and do so sustainably. I love drawing and have worked as illustrator for several small publications; I feel the utility of hand-drawing is unparalleled in the industry and I can’t wait to share this idea with a wider network of students.
Posted 1 Mar 2021 20:46
Karolina V
Meet the team!
Karolina Vachalova

Hello! My name is Karolina and I am currently a fifth-year student at MSA, where I also finished my BA studies. I am part of the same USE Atelier for two years now. I have always loved sketching and together with model making it became my key skill during my architecture studies. Beside drawing my hobbies also include rock climbing and surfing. I can’t wait to meet you all!
Posted 1 Mar 2021 20:48
Adriana-Stefania T
Meet the team!
Adriana-Stefania Tomeci

Hello! I am Adriana and I am a fifth-year MSA student in Advanced Practice. I enjoy drawing every time I get the chance and I always carry a sketchbook around with me. I have worked on projects from architecture to fashion design, brand design, book illustrations and animations, and I am eager to meet you all and create something exciting through MSA Live!
Posted 1 Mar 2021 20:50
Rodica Teona E
Meet the team!
Rodica Earmacov

Hi there! I’m Rodi, a fith year Archi student from the Advanced Practice atelier. I did my BA here at MSA and I was part of PRAXXIS. I found drawing and sketching to be my number one approach when it comes to design and problem-solving. Apart from drawing, I enjoy playing tennis, hiking and watching funny dog videos. I’m eager to do this project with you!
Posted 1 Mar 2021 20:55
Alina M
Meet the team!

Alina Marinescu

Hi, I am Alina, part of the Sketchy Business team. Currently a MArch student, I have also completed my bachelor studies at MSA, so I had the chance to experience a few editions of MSA Live as a student myself! I am currently working part time at RBMP, a Manchester-based landscape architecture firm. For my hobbies, I enjoy yoga, reading and anything drawing and art related! I am happy to be part of such a passionate team and have a lot of confidence in our project!
Posted 1 Mar 2021 20:56
Eva F
Meet the Team!
Eva Filose

Hi! I am Eva, a fifth-year in Urban Spatial Experimentation Atelier. I studied my BA at MSA before doing a year out working for AEW Architects in the residential team. I am interested in sustainable design and passivhaus to build a more resilient future. I have always loved art and particularly enjoy graphite portraits, my other hobbies also include running and yoga. Look forward to meeting you all!
Posted 1 Mar 2021 20:57
Alina M
We are glad to announce our collaboration with the Manchester Society of Architects! This thriving community of both architects and students represent our past, present and future architects and artists of Manchester. Just like us, they are eager to get pen-to-paper and beautifully lay out their ideas. Let's talk through art!
Posted 1 Mar 2021 21:48
Elliot F
As part of Sketchy Business, we’ll be engaging in activities centred around international networking through sketching. From time-constrained drawing exercises to help loosen our individual styles (physically or digitally in illustration software), to the curation of an online exhibition & live workshops with involvement from industry collaborators (using the Adobe Suite & Livestreaming platforms), this project is for those who love to draw at every opportunity. Photography and digital networking skills will also be developed throughout the project. Anyone who wants to learn more about the power of illustration as a powerful means of communication within the architectural industry is more than welcome here!
Posted 1 Mar 2021 22:08
Eva F
Social value is a key driver of Sketchy Business. The aim is to connect people from all across the world through sketching. During the pandemic, it is especially important for our well-being to have the opportunity to express ourselves through art. This is an amazing opportunity to engage and connect with like-minded individuals who share a passion for sketching.

After a series of online workshops where individuals will meet, there will be an online exhibition where everyone’s work is displayed together. This will unite urban landscapes, as well as their occupants, and enable a space where societies across the world can share their passion for sketching!
Posted 1 Mar 2021 22:12
Alina M
Follow us @msa_sketchy_business!

We have created an Instagram account where we will be frequently posting and sharing our journey through the project! Stay tuned for a great series of sketches and drawings!
Posted 1 May 2021 12:15
Alina M
The schedule for the first week of MSA Live!

We have a lot of fun sketching activities planned for the week as well as a few workshops with industry professionals!

Keep an eye on the blog for more updates!
Posted 8 May 2021 10:18
Adriana-Stefania T
MSA LIVE 2021 starts tomorrow!

Get your pens & pencils ready, as we have some very exciting workshops and activities coming up this week. Keep an eye on the blog to see what guest speakers we will introduce and don't forget to follow @msa_sketchy_business on Instagram, where we will post daily updates on the work produced by our students.

We can't wait to get started, see you tomorrow!
Posted 9 May 2021 13:27
Alina M
WE ARE LIVE!

10 AM: Brief outline
10:30 AM: Meeting the Collaborators
11 AM: Pictionary
1 PM: Lunch Break
2 PM: Sketching Workshop
3 PM: Short Break
3:15 PM: Sketching Workshop
4:30 PM: Wrapping up for the day
Posted 10 May 2021 10:24
Alina M
GETTING TO KNOW THE TEAM

We thought we would start off the day with a fun game of Pictionary for the students! It was a great way to get to know each other and also warm up for the sketching activities in the afternoon!
Posted 10 May 2021 13:52
Alina M
THE MECHANISM OF DRAWING

In the following short exercise of today, students were asked to sketch their mouths with their eyes closed. The purpose of this task was to explore how feelings can send signals to the brain and how that information can then be reproduced on paper. By having their eyes closed, the students had to resort to relying only on their tactile senses, which showed them a different way of how we can experience drawing.
Posted 10 May 2021 15:28
Alina M
SKECTHING OUR WORKSPACE

For the first sketching exercise of the day, we have asked students to look at their surroundings and pick some of their object from their workspace to draw. The aim of this task was to show how even everyday objects can have meaning behind them and details which we might not always notice, as they become part of our routine.

More drawings can be found on our Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/msa_sketchy_business/
Posted 10 May 2021 18:29
Alina M
PERSONAL CONNECTIONS

For the second task of the day, we have asked students to think of a place that has a special meaning to them and draw it for the rest of the group. This was a great way of not only learning more about each other but it was also a way of conveying meaning to the sketches.

More drawings can be found on our Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/msa_sketchy_business/
Posted 10 May 2021 18:32
Adriana-Stefania T
JIGSAW DRAWING

The first exercise of this morning will be a group one, where our students can showcase their personality and art style. We have prepared a collage and each student got assigned to work on one piece of the puzzle. The aim of this exercise is to allow collaboration between the BA and the Masters students, while creating a unique and eclectic art piece!

Keep an eye on our instagram page @msa_sketchy_business where we will update the process!
Posted 11 May 2021 11:02
Adriana-Stefania T
JIGSAW DRAWING

This morning, our BA and MArch students were given a puzzle piece of a bigger composition and were asked to draw it in their own style. The end result is an unique composition, where complementary drawings enhance one another. Afterwards, we have asked the students about the experience and they shared some insight into the preferred art technique with the rest of the group, such as materials used or creative process. The resulted composition will be shared on our social media as part of the final workshop exhibition!
Posted 11 May 2021 14:20
Adriana-Stefania T
PERSPECTIVE WORKSHOP

Following this morning's successful drawing experiment, MArch student Eva Hughes Filose has presented a workshop on different types of perspectives. The students were then encouraged to try sketching themselves and we have seen some very ambitious attempts for 3, 4 or even 5 point perspectives! The general feedback of this exercise was positive and it encouraged both BA and MArch students step out of their comfort zone and try their hand at some complex architectural compositions.
Posted 11 May 2021 15:27
Adriana-Stefania T
COMPOSITIONS

To wrap up the second day of MSA LIVE2021, our students were asked to create compositions out of random household objects. The aim of this practice was to encourage creativity, especially considering how the current Health Crisis situation has restricted access to model-making materials. With the use of books, kettles, pens, flower pots or even fruit, BA and MArch students created some simple compositions which were later manipulated in post production in Photoshop.
Think outside the box!
Posted 11 May 2021 17:16
Rodica Teona E
COMPLETE THE SKETCH

Welcome to our third day of MSA Live! We are thrilled to kick-start a new day doing what we love: SKETCHING!
This creative exercise consists in giving everyone a page with only a few lines, leaving it up to them to complete the composition with their own drawings! We encourage any type of media and the brief is easy – draw ANYTHING you imagine. This is an excellent way to push your creativity and we invite anyone to take part in this exercise!
Let’s start drawing folks!
Posted 12 May 2021 11:13
Rodica Teona E
COMPLETE THE SKETCH

It is fascinating how our brain creates an image out of a few lines and this is what we explored in our first exercise today! This was a great method of pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones and draw something we imagine, rather than replicate an object we can see and analyse. We are so proud of everyone taking place in this quick experiment!

Check more sketches on our Instagram page! https://www.instagram.com/msa_sketchy_business/
Posted 12 May 2021 11:43
Rodica Teona E
DAVID CONNOR//WORKSHOP

We are excited to announce David Connor, a distinguished architectural designer and tutor at the MSA will be joining us for a live presentation and a drawing workshop at 11:30!

David Connor is a British interior and architectural designer, who, in the early 1980's, was one of a few pioneers who changed perceptions of what design could be. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Connor began his career as an interior designer before branching out into architecture. His clients and collaborators include Vivienne Westwood, Anish Kapoor, Malcolm McLaren, and Adam Ant.
Posted 12 May 2021 11:49
Eva F
COMPLETE THE SKETCH

Welcome to our fourth day of MSA Live!
We kicked off the day with a final 15 minutes of 'Complete the Sketch'. This creative exercise consists in giving everyone a page with only a few lines, leaving it up to them to complete the composition with their own drawings!
Todays prompt was more challenging than yesterday as there were fewer lines which encouraged a more creative approach. This was a great way to warm up in the morning before our speed sketching workshop with Jason Boyle. Stay tuned!
Posted 13 May 2021 11:28
Eva F
JASON BOYLE //WORKSHOP

We are so excited that Jason Boyle, an architect, mentor and member of the Manchester Society of Architects was able to join us for a live presentation and speedy drawing workshop. Jason has more than 20 years of experience as an architect and has spent the last 11 years of his career in the Nuclear Industry.

After the presentation students are given an hour to sketch a building taking photos/ videos of their progress. These will then be turned into a short progress video of each individual drawing! This is a great way to see the journey and story being told through sketching.



Posted 13 May 2021 14:48
Eva F
JASON BOYLE // WORKSHOP

COMPETITION TIME!

After the speedy drawing workshop, Jason selected a student to win three mentoring sessions with him! So a big congratulations to Jessica who won! This gave students a first taste of entering an architecture competition.




Posted 13 May 2021 16:08
Eva F
Great day today with really amazing sketches produced in Jason Boyle's workshop!

This workshop was an amazing opportunity for students to become fully emersed in their sketches and then reflect on the journey or their drawing by documenting it with photos and videos.
As a group, we then discussed the sketches and reflected on the constraints and opportunities presented with the 1-hour time frame.
Creating progress videos allowed us to see the unique process and journey of everyone's sketching styles.

Big thank you to Jason Boyle for his amazing workshop! Looking forward to our next workshop with Ewen Miller!





Posted 13 May 2021 16:51
Adriana-Stefania T
DAY 5

MORNING SCHEDULE - Sketching Workshop with Ewen Miller
Workshop starting at 11:00 am

Our team was very pleased to welcome Architect Ewen Miller from Calderpeel Architects as a special guest!
He discussed hand sketching and visual communication as essential elements of designing Architecture. As he showed a series of sketches he included process drawings similar to yesterday's activity. The workshop aimed to allow our students to express their thinking process through sketching and learn how to produce images to comprehensively explain their design concept.
The students were then asked to work for one hour on designing a concept for a chosen site in Manchester, having the opportunity to discuss their work with Ewen Miller at the end of the workshop.

Make sure to follow our instagram page @msa_sketchy_business, where we post daily updates of our students' work!
Posted 14 May 2021 11:39
Adriana-Stefania T
SKETCHING WORKSHOP WITH EWEN MILLER
Site Location : 39 Hilton Street, Manchester, United Kingdom

Prior to this morning’s sketching workshop, the students have been asked to look at the site on 39 Hilton Street and produce atmospheric responses, site analysis and discuss about their observations.

During the presentation this morning, Ewen Miller discussed about some of his projects, with an emphasis on the design process and final result. The talk was very insightful, showing that producing fast sketches or even tracing on top of Digital Models and Photographs allow a clear communication of the design concept!

After the talk, the students were given some time to produce a series of sketches showing their initial proposal for an intervention in The Northern Quarter.

Posted 14 May 2021 14:14
Adriana-Stefania T
Big thank you to Ewen Miller for joining us today and encouraging our students to produce some amazing hand sketches in his Workshop!

After developing the site response drawings for one hour, the BA and MArch students have presented their very different design concepts. This activity was a great opportunity to practice their drawing skills and make use of tools such as inks, markers, tracing paper or watercolor!

Keep an eye on the @msa_sketchy_business instagram page to see all the work produced today!
Posted 14 May 2021 15:10
Adriana-Stefania T
It's a wrap!

We were happy to finish the first week of MSA LIVE 2021 with a workshop on post production techniques in Photoshop. Our students were quick to learn new skills and apply them to enhance their previously created sketches. The activity was interactive as the MArch students took turns in sharing their knowledge and tricks for digital rendering and post production.

As the BA students have expressed interest in learning Photoshop and Indesign, we are considering doing some more similar activities in the following week.

We are very excited for the upcoming workshops and can't wait to see what work our students will produce as final outputs of these sessions. Until then, don't forget to follow us on instagram @msa_sketchy_business, where we showcase all the sketches!
Posted 14 May 2021 20:12
Alina M
STORYBOARDING

We have started off the day with a short creative workshop coordinated by MArch student Adriana Tomeci! Based on her experience with Ray Lucas' Research Method module from this year, the task from today focuses on identifying the atmosphere and showcasing the points of interest in each scene of a chosen movie, analysing the camera movement, sounds and lighting. This is a useful observational exercise in which students will learn how to make informed decisions on how they want to visually communicate their ideas, applicable to all of their work.
Posted 17 May 2021 11:55
Alina M
STORYBOARDING // RESULTS

We have had some amazing work produced by our students in their storyboarding task! They each had to choose a film to analyse the movement and atmosphere of each scene.
Posted 18 May 2021 10:49
Alina M
STORYBOARDING // RESULTS

We have had some amazing work produced by our students in their storyboarding task! They each had to choose a film to analyse the movement and atmosphere of each scene.
Posted 18 May 2021 10:49
Eva F
STORYBOARDING JOURNEY

Today we began with an exciting new storyboarding exercise! We started by going for a walk taking and photos to document a chosen journey. Students were free to choose whatever journey they liked - to the shops, through a building, ANYTHING!

The purpose of this is to enable unique storyboards to be drawn of individual journeys. This is a great way to practice storytelling through sketching!


Posted 18 May 2021 16:11
Eva F
STORYBOARDING JOURNEY RESULTS

This afternoon we created storyboards from the photos we took of our journeys this morning. Some storyboards focused on landmarks along the way and others focused on people or specific details on the journey.

It was great to see everyone's drawing styles used to show their individual journeys! Telling a story with a drawing is an amazing skill and something which will help prepare for the final outputs.
Posted 18 May 2021 17:19
Rodica Teona E
DRAW YOUR WORKPLACE // 1

This great exercise aimed to push everyone to "go crazy" and do something new in their composition: perhaps a pop of colour, a collage or a different type of perspective. Trying new methods will always help you develop your style and gain experience in various types of media!

So let's keep drawing!
Posted 19 May 2021 11:58
Rodica Teona E
DRAW YOUR WORKPLACE // 2

We are so proud to see that the techniques and tips that were presented within these workshops show through the compositions created. We are glad to already see results!
Posted 19 May 2021 12:05
Rodica Teona E
Dr. RAY LUCAS // GUEST SPEAKER

We are thrilled to announce Dr Ray Lucas, Reader in Architecture and Senior Lecturer in Architecture at Manchester School of Architecture, is joining us for a live presentation at 12:00! He is interested in the means by which architectural knowledge is produced; whilst most of this research is into architectural drawing, he is working on a chapter for Liz Hallam’s forthcoming book 3D Modelling with Scott Miller & Jim Backhouse as co-authors.
Posted 19 May 2021 12:29
Rodica Teona E
Dr. RAY LUCAS // GUEST SPEAKER

Our guest's presentation is titled 'A Graphic Anthropology of Sanja Matsuri: axonometric drawings', an artistic demonstration of Architecture and Anthropology which emphasizes the various ways that atmospheres and events can be translated into drawing.
Posted 19 May 2021 12:37
Karolina V
TIME FOR A FINAL DRAWING!

Because of the success of our last jigsaw exercise, we decided to do it again! But this time students had to choose one building that would represent them in the collage, which was subsequently divided into 12 pieces. In this exercise, students can showcase what they have learned during the 2 weeks of MSA Live, as well as their personality and art style. The aim of this exercise is to allow collaboration between the students with a visible result in the time of Zoom meetings.
Posted 20 May 2021 14:23
Eva F
THE RESULT!

Here is our final collaborative jigsaw collage! It is an accumulation of knowledge and skills learned over the past two weeks.

Go to our Instagram page to have a look at the full-size image! That's also where you can find our exhibition of all the other work we have produced.


Posted 21 May 2021 13:05
Alina M
IT'S A WRAP!

Thank you to all the students who participated in our MSA Live project for the past two weeks! The engagement was over our expectations and we are extremely happy with all of the work that was produced, some of which you can see on our Instagram!

https://www.instagram.com/msa_sketchy_business/
Posted 21 May 2021 16:30
Download Final Report