Month: February 2020

Body Augmentation

| hildebrand.99

EXPLORATION

My partner and I decided to do research before anything, to get our ideas flowing and to get an idea of what we wanted to create. To begin, we created a list of dualities that we found interesting, and started there. Our original list is shown here: OriginalNotes . With this list in mind, we began thinking about the first things that came to mind when thought about those things, along with the synonyms/antonyms of each of those words, this is also shown under each of the terms listed in the photo. Along with the written notes of these ideas, we created quick sketches, picturing what they could potentially looked like in our minds, this is shown here, OriginalNotes2 OriginalNarrative . After a lot of discussion regarding our favorite idea of the height and depth using a pointy nose vs a long, droopy nose, we realized we needed to look deeper into the synonyms and antonyms that we listed. After more research and discussion about our topic, we decided that the terms “peak” and “valley” worked better for what we pictured. with this in mind, we talked with our peers and professors and came to the realization that we were focusing on the wrong part of the body. The nose doesn’t necessarily have peaks AND valleys, but a woman’s chest does. With this in mind, we talked about how there are unrealistic expectations for how a woman’s chest should look, and there are also the more realistic and natural ways a woman’s chest can look. This led us to the idea of creating a type of “bra” that would reveal the realistic vs. unrealistic aspect, along with keeping Mother Nature in mind for the other side of the attachment.

EXERCISE

For our exercise, we were told we had forty five minutes to construct a 3d model of an extension of the body with Bristol. Keeping our original idea in mind, my partner and I decided to create our ideas of the noses with different shapes and sizes. We were still on our first idea when we did this exercise. I started the pointy nose and sketched out the template, Exercise , and then eventually cut it out and assembled it, Exercise2 , Exercise3 , Exercise4 . At this point we were a little over the halfway point of our task, and I was beginning a new template to try and make the scale larger, when we were told to switch projects with our partner. I took over my partners new template as she also started creating a second one, and began working with it, Exercise5 . This exercise taught us the importance of creating prototypes without worrying about them too much, I learned to create one, then stop and create another one with what I wanted to fix about it without thinking twice.

PROTOTYPES

Our first set of prototypes were early in the process of this project, and we decided to create prototypes of the way we could construct and build the sizes and shapes of the bra we were envisioning. I created a few small scale prototypes out of Bristol, Prototypes2A , PrototypesA, I had the same mindset making these as when we were creating the prototypes for the exercise. I created one, then just started making another version with a slightly different technique. I found myself proud of the results and how versatile I was with the materials I had. My partner used another technique that we were interested in trying, paper mâché. She created a few with different natural and organic shapes/sizes, PrototypesB Prototypes2B Prototypes3B Prototypes4B BraPrototype .

We ended up creating even more prototypes for our project in different colors and sizes. We knew we wanted an effect that revealed the realistic vs unrealistic aspect of a woman’s chest, so we thought of the idea to incorporate origami with what we wanted to portray. With this in mind, we knew for the realistic side, we wanted something that resembled a slinky to show what gravity and time does to a woman’s breast, SlinkyPrototype SlinkyPrototype2 SlinkyPrototype3 . After completing this smaller version, I created a larger scale version that I thought we would use for the final, Slinky2Prototypes Slinky2Prototypes2 Slinky2Prototypes3 Slinky2Prototypes4 . After some thought with my color choices, I decided that it would be important for my work to be more inclusive of all skin tones, so for the final I will be creating another version of this, with varying colors of different skin colors. Along with the slinky idea with the realistic side, we needed something like this for the unrealistic side. While thinking of this, we thought about how some women feel pressured into breast augmentation to make themselves look how society wants them to look, so we decided to use this idea as well. My partner constructed a cone that would collapse, resembling how females increase the size of their breasts, ConePrototype ConePrototype2 ConePrototype3 ConePrototype4 ConePrototype5 . I tried this as well in the beginning, and my template didn’t work as well as planned, ConeTest ConeTest2 ConeTest3 .

CONSTRUCTION

The construction of this project worked better than I imagined it would. The only things along the way that paused our production were to fix any messy areas or to revisit an idea and change what we wanted to do in the end. Here is a photo of how the one side of my piece looked before I fixed the left side, CloseUpBefore . The right side clearly has softer lines and curves, whereas the left had sharper edges, which did not convey the message I wanted to give off. The one part of this construction that I struggled with was finding a way to keep the “slinky” inside the side that opened up while it was just closed. After a lot of tests and small models, I came up with a “wall” that would slide under the first layer of the slinky and connect to the top of the “bra” to hold the slinky in place. The right side of the bra is representative of the valleys, this includes the knowledge of depth, going from light green to eventually dark blue (water) in the middle, where the deepest valley is on the body. Keeping in mind the idea of Mother Nature, I included the grass around the edges to make it feel more at nature. With this is the stacking/layering of paper to create a sense of height and depth in the middle.

FINAL

Shown here is the final photos of my part of the project, and my partners, Final1 Final2 Final3 CloseUpFinal Final4 Final5 Final6 Final7 Final8 Final on – closed Final on- open . I am very happy with how our project turned out. It gives off the message that we wanted, while using the elements and principles to create an abstract version of just that.

 

Narrative Style

| hildebrand.99

ORIGINAL STORY

My original story started off in the genre of horror. It was a short story about a couple going on vacation to Costa Rica. While there, they went zip lining in the forest and shortly after found themselves in a dangerous storm, resulting in a death. The full story is here, OriginalStory.  I originally thought that I wanted to end up with the genre of my story being horror, but I feel that this was a good starting point to develop my story into what it would be in the end. While writing it, I wasn’t thinking of the art movements or color yet, but what I pictured while writing was bright colors in the beginning, leading to dark and depressing colors. Starting with the genre of horror, for our exercise I decided to switch it to romance, comedy and sci-fi. I was more comfortable with writing comedy and romance, mostly because I am more familiar with them. I knew sci-fi would end up being a challenge for me, but I was curious to see where it would take me. Linked here are the changes I made for each genre, GenreChanges. After switching the genres along with some minor details, I ended up going with Sci-Fi for my final genre. I have seen some sci-fi movies before, but not a ton, so I was a bit worried, but excited for how my story would turn out.

ART MOVEMENT

Before this assignment, I knew very little about the varying art movements that we were to choose from. However, the exercise that we did with the wheel of art movements helped a lot. I began to test a few that I was interested in, Fauvism, Futurism and Bauhaus, shown here, ArtMovementTests. After researching each and playing around with the art styles, I found myself liking the way Fauvism turned out the best. I thought it was be too obvious, and easy to use the futurism art movement, and I wanted to change it up and add my own twist to it. I wanted to keep the large brush strokes in each frame, along with the high contrast between the colors. I think this takes a spin on the classic sci-fi style that you would typically see in movies and I wanted to challenge that.

SKETCHING

When I started sketching, I knew we had the option to find inspiration from other works, as long as we weren’t copying any of it or making it too similar, but I wanted to sketch everything from my own ideas and what I pictured. Along the way, I knew it would be easier to find inspiration for these complex scenes, but I wanted to challenge myself with this. I have struggled in the past particularly with sketching people, so I took this opportunity to keep practicing, and I am happier with the outcome than I thought I would be. I began with very light, non detailed sketches, and then took each frame at a time to change some things and add the smaller details. Shown here is the beginnings of my rough sketches, RoughSketches. I found this very productive because when I went to add the details, I already had something to work with and wasn’t starting from scratch.

FINAL

During the process of creating this story board, it is difficult to imagine how it will all turn out when all of the frames are completed. I struggled during the process to see how it would all come together in the end and create a harmony in each frame. Right when I finished and was cleaning up each of the frames, I was very happy with the outcome. Shown here is the final story board: Final. I purposefully used the darker colors all leading up to the climax, and created a big light in the center of the climax frame. From the climax to the end, I used lighter colors to show the change that occurred. I think the art movement of fauvism worked in my favor. When you look at all of the frames, you see the unity with the technique used in each of the frames. Along with the final, linked here is my final story and the points I used for my frames: FinalStory.

 

Hidden in Plain Sight

| hildebrand.99

EXERCISES

ExerciseAbyss

ExerciseJelly

ExerciseCosmos

ExerciseManatee

ExerciseOurselves

Exercise2a

Exercise2b

Our first exercise for this project was to find five words per table group of the parts of speech and find a font that would accurately show the meaning behind that word. To do this, we had to be trained for the laser cutter, which also would help us in the future with this project. Our second exercise was to use the gestalt principles to select a letter of our name and create something that represented us, by using the negative space. I wanted mine to be more abstract, so the wave mimics the negative space of the bottom of an M without being too representational.

FINDING THE SPACE

Spaceidea1

Spaceidea2

Spaceidea3

Vent1

Ventangle

While going around Hayes Hall, I knew I wanted to find three options that were all very different from each other. This started with the ceiling of the elevator, mainly because I found interest in how no one usually takes notice of the ceiling, and the pattern was interesting. My second option was a window sill on the second floor, because I liked the natural light that was available and I thought it could be interesting to incorporate that light. My third option was the space that I ended up choosing, and this was the stairwell in the basement. The darkness of this area intrigued me. I originally had the idea of using the corner of the space, with the idea of creating light in the space. After revisiting the area a few more times, I decided to go against this idea. With my original idea I was adding to the space that it didn’t have, and I decided that it was more important to use what the area already had and create something using those elements.

MODELS

Prototype1

Prototype2

Prototype3

Prototypeideas

NewPrototype1

NewPrototype2

NewPrototype3

NewPrototypeidea

RiddleNotes

When we were told to create models, I was still stuck on my first idea. The first 3 images shown above are a representation of what I imagined this object to look like, but scaled down a lot. I also inserted an image of a few sketches of my various ideas of how I could create this idea. After I had changed my mind about my project idea, I created a scaled down version of what I was picturing my project would eventually look like (photos 5-8). This is also shown above along with the sketches I created of my vision of this space. Also attached is my notes for how I wanted to incorporate the area around the vent into my installation.

CONSTRUCTION

Construction

CinderblockUsedForLetters

Vent

Bottom

The first thing I noticed when I began planning my construction was that the size requirements are 24in in any direction. While I knew this was a “rule”, I chose to go against it. This is because I feel that if I were to stick to 24in instead of my full 48in x 5 3/4in x 7in box that would sit on the vent, it wouldn’t convey the concept well enough. If I were to make it smaller, it wouldn’t cover the entire top of the vent and would ruin the way that my project hides in plain sight. Also, with the rules stating 24in in any direction, that would be 24+24+24+24, equalling much more than the dimensions of my project. I chose to take the risk of breaking this rule to enhance my project. I had some issues with the construction of this. My biggest issue was finding out the best way to attach the plastic to the box so it would be flat. The first method I tried was to use clear tape to attach it to the inside walls. This method was not successful, even after multiple tries, the plastic would get all wrinkled and wouldn’t attach right. So I began thinking, and made a frame that would have the middle cutout and would connect the plastic to the back of this, and this worked perfectly.

FINAL

Almost everything with my installation turned out the way I imagined it would. The box aligned exactly how I wanted it to and the colors blended good together. The only thing I had issues with was the feathers. I figured that because I used a very light paper (tissue paper) that it wouldn’t be an issue of them not moving. When I first put my box on the vent, there was very little movement of the feathers. I took the box off and began getting out as many feathers as possible and began cutting them to make them smaller, hoping the decrease in weight would help them move. I also cut out larger vents in the back so that the air would circulate more. This helped a little, but it honestly didn’t work as I imagined it would. A few things that I thought about that would make this happen is that the air might be a lower power than I thought, and the air might come in at an angle, making the air not circulate the way I wanted. In the end, you can still see movement from the air and I am happy that it could display that.

 

Dynamic Page

| hildebrand.99

EXPLORATIONS

Mindmaps1

Mindmaps2

Mindmaps3

Mindmaps4

Mindmaps5

While exploring what I wanted to focus my project on, I had the theme of Life vs Death stuck in my head. I had so many ideas of how I could make this come to life and I only had that option in my head. I came up with a few more to try and get my ideas going, but I really wanted to go with life vs death. After talking with classmates and professors, I decided that this was too vague. I needed something more specific that I could give a voice to.

VISUALIZE

Livingvisualizations

ExistingVisualizations

Visualizations

In this stage I began to think outside of what I previously imagined how I wanted my project to turn out. I started thinking how when you are “living” you are taking risks, and doing things that make you feel happy and alive. Whereas when you are just “existing”, you are simply just going along with your life, not getting much thrill. After getting more feedback, I got the most positive responses to my quick sketch of the dog looking alone and sad. I chose to go along with this, I have a strong support for getting dogs out of shelters and having a good life so this felt like the best option for me.

PROTOTYPE

Prototype1

Prototype2

Prototype2a

Prototype2b

PrototypeIssues

After figuring out what theme I wanted to go with for this project, I had an idea of what mechanisms I would want to use, but not the clearest idea for some of them and how to make them. After some research, I began to test pull tabs as my main idea for these mechanisms. I felt like I needed some variety, so I also tested a “waterfall” paper craft that gives the illusion of something moving while on those pieces of paper. I struggled with the prototype, but after creating the mechanic a few more times I had mastered it. I had the idea of making the illusion of a ball bouncing , so I found one video of the combination of a piece of paper with lines creating a circle, with a sheet of paper with small slices in it, to create the effect of a ball looking like it was bouncing. After many attempts at this(links 2-4), I decided that I was better off using a different mechanic, but I was glad that I challenged myself to try and make it work.

IDEATE

Ideas

MechanicsNotes

CloseupPart3

Part1

At this stage, I knew what visuals I wanted to go with each mechanism, but I needed to figure out how they would all go together. One of the first things that I needed to do to cleanup my project was cover my pull tab mechanism on my very first section of my project. To do this, I decided to make an abstract looking hole around the dog and the ball. I feel that this would also subtly showcase the dog, the main focus of this part. This is shown in the link labeled “Part 1”. Another part I would like to explain is the middle waterfall part. My intention with the blue was to slowly make the blue appear more as it got closer to the sky of the bottom section of my page. This was meant to create an “ombre” effect.

FINALIZE

Shown above is the final product of my dynamic page. I originally imagined that my project would be horizontal, but I thought about making it so the ball falling transitions into the final piece and I’m so glad that I decided to make it vertical. I decided to add a supportive material underneath all of the paper to make the project more stable and I am happy with how much more sturdy it made my page.