Interview with Mark van Huystee

Mark van Huystee is an independent visualizer and in this video he will discuss images with different levels of complexity. He will also show some techniques to bring more clarity in images, without losing on style and content.

* In module 4 we discussed the difference between clarifying and simplifying complexity so you would become aware that there is actually a difference. In practice, the two terms are often used interchangeably and you will note that Mark did so in these videos.

Style in Architecture Scale Figures

We found a very interesting blog by Noor Makkiya, in which she shows a collection of human figures from architects’ drawings. This shows some of the large amount of styles that are possible to use in a picture.

She writes: “Human figures are typically used in an architecture rendering to provide a clear scale for the common eye. Thanks to new technologies like Photoshop we have lost our “ontological dimension”, and the copy paste method we use makes it easier for us to fill architecture renderings with a desultory crowd of figures.
True architects since the early centuries used human figures not only to describe the quantity and the quality of the environment but also for deeper purposes of study and expression. Some used it as means of architecture inspiration, demonstrating the divine power of the human order. Other architects use human figures to emphasize on the activity within the space, sometimes it is important to depict the spatial properties of a design. Architects project themselves into the human figure. So if we compare drawings from different architects, we frequently find differences in body shape and body activity, for practicing architects often represent their own ideologies as a reference for understanding the human physical condition.”

Exercise: look at each picture and try to ‘figure out’ what techniques and styles were used. Ask yourself if you like or dislike the style, and if you could copy the style for your own work. If you like, choose some pictures and try to mimic the style in a small drawing.

If you are interested in architecture, you could also try to find out what is the relation between the drawing style and the actual architecture style.

Here you find the 21 figures and the name of the architect / artist.