The first, quick exercise was writing down the best gifts we have ever gotten to help us learn what made them the best gifts.
I listed a couple of gifts and really had to think about why they were the best
To create better ways of thinking about how to tackle the gift project, we started off with an exercise where we chose a random object and had to create a container to hold it. Another classmate and I decided to group up and create this container.
We randomly selected the screwdriver. And decided the container could be a box that holds the screwdriver and then unravels to be used as a tool belt to hold the screwdriverWe started by making it the right size and testing the dimensions and how much material we would need so that it would function as a belt.We then decided to market towards children since they would most likely to use the belt. We added a tag to the screw driver reading “my first tool”
Here is the loop that I had woven through the belt to look more clean.On the extra tabs that help hold the box together we added pictures of tools that children can us to make them feel lie they have a whole set of tools.We titled it “the Belt Box” and realized after words that we could have also made it look like a tool box when i was closed up and used the loop as the handleDescribes what is includedList of directions for how to make it a beltAge range
Getting to Know my Mentor
I started by selecting my mentor from a list of names with interests and found Jackie’s name with interests very similar to mine. I looked trough social medias to try and understand her better and maybe a certain color pallet to choose from. I began texting her and asking her questions to gain more knowledge and understand her better and dive deeper into her interests.
I had planned to ask her in person along with information I gathered through texting.Meeting in person led to many helpful insights to interests and what she is really like. Here are some topics we talked about and things I found out about her.
I wanted to create a puzzle box since she likes a challenge. The finger is an object in a show we both like that gets eaten so I though I could hide a key inside so only she would know what to do with the finger.I changed to a new idea because i was stuck on only thinking about the finger. I then wanted to create a stick shift and a mechanism so that once the shifter would reach 6th gear it would unlock the box.I then tested my shifting mechanism. I knew I needed three levels to get the movement and pushing part working correctly.Here is what they look like when they are in the right position with the shifter through them.I then learned that I would need two rings to keep the shifter steady when movingHere is how it would make it more secure.I then came up with the idea to make the shifter a sword, and model it off of her favorite character’s sword from a show. I took out the unlocking mechanism and kept the double wrings and wanted the sword to fall in to be the gift and then have the quote be wrapped around the handle of the sword like the traditional samurai sword.I then quickly realized that creating my own mechanism is not always the way to go. I learned of the automata and wanted to incorporate that into my gift while still keeping the sword stick shift. I could create the spinning parts to look like a cam shaft and disguise the quote as one and have it been pulled to spin the camshaft and have it raise and lower the sword.I knew I needed to hold up the box since you would be able to see through it and it would be flimsy so I planned to make a small deck the walls would slide into. I also knew the sword would not stay straight so it would need another support with a second slit to fit through.I realized that the box itself was going to look very plain on the sides and I thought to put the Japanese gates on the sides, since Jackie has been wanting to go to Japan, to help decorate as well as help with stability for the walls and for the top to fit snug.I experimented with different sizes for the sword.Cutting out the silhouette of the sword.After sanding it to the correct shape.I then added the paper around the handle to give the tradition samurai sword look. And added the hand stopper that is modeled after the character’s sword she liked from the show.I then measured and cut the pieces out that i needed for the small deck.I hot glued the deck together and cut out slits so that the walls of the box could slide through.I then added the wholes n the walls and slid the dowel rod through and made sure it could spin smoothly.I had to line up the holes of the sword so that it would glide straight with no resistance.I then started working on the lobes to the camshaft.I then made sure that the holes for the dowel rod would fit through smooth but tight.I created a net for the five ones I would need and had them cut out on the Cricut.I then drew a stencil of a Japanese gate to cut out and glue to the sides of the walls.I then added the the gear icon to the top of the box and had the shifter whole be located in the middle.I glued all of the pieces together so I could then glue the cam shaft cylinder (lobes) to the dowel rod and feed to through to the last wall. I made sure everything lined up and the lobes were in all different places so that it would like a real spinning cam shaft. I added the quote wrapped around the dowl rod as well.
Production
The final part to getting everything to work was making sure that the walls were glued at a perfect 90-degree angles so that the lobes could spin freely without scraping against the walls. I also had to make sure that the whole box added underneath the top of the larger box was perfectly aligned with the whole above so that the sword would both glide smoothly and the tip of the sword would touch the middle of the lobe in the middle which was harder than I thought because of the curve of the blade. I believe I did a good job at bringing multiple interests of my mentor together to come up with a gift. The fact that the sword being the gift could come out ended up working very well because when she was given the gift she could not put the sword down, she mentioned how much she loved touching and messing with things and how perfect the gift was since it needed to be activated. I also believe that I did a good job at creating my piece with the limited time I had to ideate a new gift, and that it turned out well for cutting almost all of the parts by hand. I learned that trying to create my own mechanism isn’t always the best idea and I should research to find one that already exists to learn from it. I also learned that I need to schedule far ahead of time to book time in the laser cutter because there were no spots available early on and I had to cut everything by hand except for one part. I could improve upon some craft especially with cutting and some gluing. Cutting the chipboard by hand was difficult for the number of cuts I needed, and the corners are not perfectly clean and would have been much better if they were laser cut, I also would have liked to find another way to make gluing the closing side of the lobes cleaner so that glue would not show. I also believe it would have helped to make some sort of washer in between the walls and the lobes to assure an even smoother spin, and lastly I felt I could have designed something to make the coiled up quote look more neat and not just rolled up paper.
Here is the Link to the video of her receiving the gift.
I was put in the group of three, and we began researching by thinking of the board and what it looked like. I felt that it was more difficult to come up with an idea because it could not be a simple answer of two contrasting ideas, so we were researching famous trios and categories that had three strong subjects.
Exercises
Here I practiced making 3D forms with slits to create a cube, cone, sphere, and a car.An exercise we tried was having two people create a form not telling the other how they were going to approach it and see if we could get it to fit.Then we tried a harder form that we approached differently and gave both of us new ideas of how to make objects
Chess and Board Research
After receiving our board, we noted that the board looked like some tech, a 3-D cube, and illusion. Our top ideas are written down and some other ideas that I had that I thought were interestingI then found this description from Madhu Dath, describing what the chess pieces represent in battle including why they move the way they do.LinkLinkLinkLinkLinkLink
Concept Statement
This chest board and it’s pieces were inspired by disco looking board which inspired the idea of a school dance and the cliques in high school, and how they all show up to school as a group and mix together overtime throughout the school day and at a school dance. The kings are created to be something that the other two groups are jealous of and would want from the other. Each group was created with pieces that tailor toward their stereotypes. For the Jocks they are protecting their King, the trophy, since it is the most important thing to them and is desired by the other two groups.
KING: We wanted to make the king something desirable to the other groups and is most valuable to the Jocks so I came up with a trophy.
QUEEN: The movement of the queen in chess is very fast and aggressive and can move in any direction, so the Cleat made perfect sense.
BISHOP: I used a protein shaker cup because of the movement of the bishops and how shaker cups are always moving diagonally when shaking them.
KNIGHT: It took a while to find the right piece for the knight but when i researched and found the post about how knights are used in a battle it stated that they attack with a sword and only attack from the side. I then related the sword and the motion of hitting something from the side to a baseball bat.
ROOK: The point of the rook in chess is to block and protect and the pieces usually are used best to sneak through gaps to steal a piece. I couldn’t think of a better blocking piece then a football helmet, similar to certain football positions.
PAWN: I thought of how abundant pawns were and the movement to come up with dumbbell weights. In a weight lifting room there’s always a large abundance of weights and I order to gain muscle the weights must be lifted, going up, which represents the rule that pawns can only rise on the board.
Iterations
The three of us decided to go with the Jocks, Nerds and Skaters, we originally wanted to do stoners but decided it was not appropriate. I used the explanation of how the characters would be used in battle to come up with my pieces and help one of my group mates come up with theirs.Because we were put in a group of three, we were given a difficult board. We had to figure out how to fit all of the pieces on the squares that varied in size unlike other boards. We also wanted to make them increase in height as they got to the larger squares in the middleThen we used these boxes when sizing the pieces to make sure they fit the height we wanted and width of the boxes on the board for each piece.I then proceeded to work on my pieces and find how I wanted to make them 3D forms using multiple cut out shapes. Most pieces ended up changing to be simplified.I created a shape that followed a line that flows through to the front like a real helmet. I created all these lines to make sure I could show that continuous line when they are in place. I ended up taking the top face guard out since the slit for it would not be able to hold the piece in the test piece.I learned after the trophy test that the bat would have been too top heavy as well. Like the trophy I took out unnecessary pieces, which i also did for cleat and the shaker cup. But for the bat I had to also add a stand to keep it up to show the diagonal movement of the knight.Another change to the cleat i had to make was giving it an extra horizontal support to keep the piece propped up. I used a sharp shape to show the swiftness and danger of the queen piece.Here is the first iteration of the pawn piece, where the stand to hold it up was much too small and week but I made it that way so that I could fit one of the plates for the weight on the bottomHere you can see the change to the bottom plate where I had to get rid of the plate and replaced it with a stand that would be the same size and shape of the weight it replaced.
We also iterated with different materials such as Bristol paper, chipboard and finally ended on a white plastic material that was firm and made the pieces sturdier. We were worried that with using the other options that they would rip when being cut out using the cricut.
Production
Some of the final deliverables were taking away shapes that were unnecessary to simplify the pieces and for some to make them less top heave to help with sturdiness and stability. I also changed the bottom shapes and stands of some to better fit the object ad help with stability. The last deliverable was adding red to the pieces since the red it a more energetic and aggressive color, where as the others were blue and green. The colors are subtle but are applied in a way to make sure that you can tell the pieces apart when playing the game. Things I felt that I executed well are how I made the basic shapes into forms and are able to be identified in other viewpoints other than just the straight on silhouette view. I learned that not everything will go to plan when cutting things and transferring over files sometimes doesn’t work. In my case I could not figure out how to cut out my pieces because whatever I did my files would never transfer over the right way which cause many setbacks and made me have to use the laser cutter which took a while to so what figure out and ended up making burns on the other side and there was nothing that could be done about it. I could improve upon making the pieces even more stable and make them more complex having the secondary shapes be connected to a tertiary shape but because of set backs I did not have time to test and iterate more complex pieces. I also could have thought of different ways to put the pieces together to make them more clean.
It can be difficult to pack up everything and move on to a new life, but it can also be grand and exciting. You spend half of your time reflecting on what once was, remembering all of the happy memories of your former life, but the other half of your time you are excited to discover something new, all of the possibilities that are out there that you get to create for yourself. The journey is going to be difficult, but it’s easier when you have a crowd to back you up and support you. After taking that chance, leaving everything you’ve ever known, you will feel so gratified that the journey has just begun. Our design focuses on two parts; The preparing and packing up for a big journey, and the leaving and discovery of the journey itself. The first part is more mental. It’s light and airy and the subjective aspects of it are created to spark interest and curiosity in the viewer. What are they looking at? Maybe it’s mementos or stamps or letters collected by the person embarking in the journey? The second part is physical in it’s representation of the journey itself and ready to start a new life with the world in front of you.
Research
I visited an exhibit at the Ohio State Thompson Library that showcased books with moving elements. this is one of the examples from a book that i wanted to explore, although i do not have the name or author of the bookthe was the first exercise where we learned how to do a pull-tab to reveal an object behind.
Me and my group partner decided on the song “Coming Back Around” by John Powell from the Dreamworks movie “How to Train Your Dragon”this was after an exercise that we had in class to get me thinking more abstractly
the song made me think of rising up and so I wanted to depict clouds and have them move. I tried drawing from the idea of the book from the libraryAfter we came up with the idea that the song feels like its about leaving and exploring to find a new world and see all that the world has to offer i mocked up some sketches for my section of the song.
I then chose to simplify the idea and came up with this scene to have the ‘world’ spin around the character and then have a stick attached to the character and have a string spun around it to the character would also spin and would make it so that it would look like a drone shot in a movieI then came up with the new idea to iterate the clouds idea and rising above them and also having them spin.
After the activity where we learned how to be more abstract, I decided to work more on this idea of rising and a group allowing the subject to rise.I then worked ion sprints activities and quickly came up with a concept statement
The second sprint was the next iteration where I decided I wanted ta background that I planned on having for my first iteration
I began testing how I wanted the mechanism to workI worked on testing out how to get the sliders to work smoothly and not fall out
I then added a push tab to push the sliders up and then be able to fit between the two sliders and continue to push up the middle part higherI switched to the idea of using a pull tab. I used strings and wrapped them around pins and tried to figure out how to move the middle piece
I decided to use two separate pull tabs that so that once the first tab stopped pulling the diagonal sliders, I could continue pulling the middle one, and then cut the middle of the pullies out so that there was space for the middle slider to riseThis was the beginning of the final production.
Final production of the tabs for the strings to go around with pins on top so that the string wont come offhot glued a glob on the end of a pin for the string so that it would not fall off
After getting all the mechanisms working, I started finding what shapes and colors to use for the moving piecesI went with brown to show a feeling of lower class and circles to represent a crowd. I then decided on the smaller white square to match the size of the circles
I then made a background with different layers and colors of green to show distance (even a little lake). so that it could be pulled through the black frame i made and give the idea that the whole world is ahead of the subject piece.
Production
I decided to use brown circles to represent a crowd of a lower class to help emphasize the white diamond shape that is the subject who is a higher class and is rising above and reaching the top in deciding to become independent and realizing that the entire world is in front of them, leaving their old life behind. I wanted to make a solid frame so that the skyline could be guided smoothly in the background. I think I did a good job tackling complex movements and being able to make them move smoothly together and at the same time. I learned how to make pully mechanisms work and ways to make do with the materials I had to get them to run smoothly. Some potential improvements would be to try and stir away from the narrative and try to make it more abstract. The other thing that I wish i had more time to do that made the project a hassle would be to add more guides in the back along the pulling tabs so that after pulling they would not come undone and be a little difficult to put back together to be ready to pull again.
It’s hard to understand what is factual when it comes to what we have been told about Covid-19 during the pandemic. Information being thrown at the public about the pandemic and the virus are riddled with lies, which distort the minds of the public and cause the lies to spread and make the public lie to one another. This project focuses on three stake holders in the pandemic; the government/media, those who have to lie to others to hide their true beliefs, and those whose minds are distorted and corrupted by believing everything they hear through the government and media. The mask for the government/media resembles a polygraph test that detects lies, to show those pushing misinformation regarding the covid-19 pandemic. The mask of the liar depicts a shield-like material that tells lies to others around them acting as a shield to protect their own beliefs and opinions surrounding the disease and the pandemic. Finally, the mask for those who consume and believe all information, resembles a worried robotic like face to show that it is overwhelmed by everything learned as they consume the lies being fed to them through medias.
Research
The group started by making an origami balloon to get our heads in the right-thinking spaceOur first group exercise was to draw our heads and the profiles. We found an interesting dynamic and that two of our profiles were facing away from the other group member. This helped us come up with some ideasAfter having trouble coming up with a solid idea one of the other group members and I used this prompt for our own exercise to brainstorm.Here is the outcome of the brainstorming exerciseHere were some brainstorming drawings of masks that we were considering before we found our concept. The bottom right was our original concept with different masks for different social classes and they would all layer together
For our first iteration with this exercise, we started with this other concept and wanted them all to be able to be used as individual masks for based on affordabilityThe plan was to be able to have them all together and the highest class could afford all three and would wear it as if they were showing offAfter the written exercise we did, we came up with the idea of changing our concept to the lies that go on during the pandemic. This was my idea for my mask to act as a lie detector and pull wires behind acting as a polygraph and leaving scribbles, which then changed to ripping paper, and instead of real wires I would use yarnI then began making iterations of how I wanted to create the head piece and how I should get the wired mask around my face to work, as well as the connectors for the temple and how I wanted the wires to leave the head piece
This was the first iteration of the head piece before making the switch to the drawings I made. I started cutting out strings for the mask, but it wasn’t going wellThis is the iteration for the censors that would attach to the fingers and have the wires (yarn) coming off of them. I wanted to keep it simple similar to the real thing.I then decided to change the mask so that it would be a printout of wires on a piece of paper to give the illusion, and create an actual mask with that printHere is final and third iteration of the mask. I used my Nik’s (my group member) mask design so that it would be a more geometric and neat design, as well as help to tie them together.Here you can somewhat see the new design of the head piece, but more clearly you can see the ‘wires’ that will come down and hold the ‘censor’ up to the temples. I used pipe cleaners so that I could give it the effect that they were attached to my head and dangling wires. It uses the hexagon shape since in each mask we iterated a hexagon into them to help connect them
I experimented with a couple ways of making a hexagonal prism but having a flat topI decide on this form to make it the cleanest and connected and added tabsThis was the final iteration; I left the tops open so you could see into the censors which read “LIES”
This was y test to see how the yarn would work to rip the paper away to reveal the words underneathFor the head piece I printed out a texture that looked like an elastic fabric to cut from. I then cut the front band section and added elastic through holes so that i would seem as if it had real elasticity
Before I had planned on having the bottom head strap wrap around the face mask, but I wanted to show the wires more and I cut slits in the sides of the mask and fed the straps through and bent them back to lockHere is a view of the head strap as well as how I attached the yarn so that it looked as if the ‘wires’ were connected to censors within the head piece
I then found quotes about the pandemic from media that were all lies and ended every sentence with “LIES” and increased the font. I kept the font normal so that it read like an emailI then added the chest piece with the same textured material paper to look like the real chest censor on a polygraph test.I then added the sheet of paper over the papers of lies and glued the yarn from the head piece to the piece of paper that I had cut to start the ripping. Along with the finger censors and wires attached, which I did not have attached to show some contrast, and because they would fall off my fingers if they were attached
Production
The project ended up working well as a performance and I was very happy that the one shot I had for the ripping from walking away turned out perfect. I believe that I did a good job at showing the concept the group came up with of lying during the pandemic and representing the lies told by the government and media. I learned how to work within a group and work around a difficult group mate to work with figuring out how to incorporate others’ ideas that are separate from the others and find ways to tie the altogether. I struggled with coming up with a solid concept for a while with my group since there were so many ideas, making it hard to select a good one and expand on it. I believe that my part of the project good, but I wish that I had more time to work on and it decided on the idea sooner so that i could get more materials to be able to make the mask to look more like an actual product.
This piece was created to tie in different aspects and groups within the car community, the first being those who want their cars to look as good as possible by buying the best parts for show, which would be the Toyo Tires and the rays volk racing wheels. The second community is the group that wants to make as much horsepower as possible and buys parts for more power, shown by the massive turbo that is the largest part and the base of the artwork. The last community represented are those who just want to have a good time and drive their cars to their limits, shown by the car drifting with a large angle. My goal was to take these smaller groups in the car community who are separated and look down on each other based on their opinions and help to bring them together to be closer as a single community. This was meant to show that even though there are separate groups, everyone in the community is there because of their love for cars or other automotive vehicles and that they all work together to create the car community. The piece attempts to show this through not only the collage of groups but through the balance of the piece as a whole, to show that not one group can stand out and take over the community but that they all have to be kept equal.
Research
I knew I wanted to make my project around cars and the car community. I began by learning about using gestalt to create an image out of my initial.
I started with brainstorming with the idea of fitting a car into the “G”I found a font that worked and added detail to the car, and I really liked how that looked but it would not cut out right and the silhouette and the “G” was not that understandable.I started tackling ideas at a different angle. I started drawing the pictures I wanted and then after I drew the letter around the picture so i knew what type of font to look for. I started with new ideas other than a car.
The turbo is a big part of the community and it already looked like a “G” so I thought that would work well but it ended up not looking at all as I had hopedI then landed on a font that looked very similar to the one that I created around the helmet in my sketch and came up with my final iteration after taking the shape from a popular racing helmetI then made the “G” just an outline so that it could be cut out on the laser cutter
I then started looking for other pictures for inspiration for the final part of the project.
linklinklinkTaken from class lecture slidesI then made notes on the pictures of the aspects that I liked from each that I wanted to try and incorporate in my piece.Then for the exercise I practiced with making multiple layers to help better understand how to go about the projectHere is a view of the inside. I have a car drifting down a spiral road with the smoke getting larger and the road expanding through multiple layers. I messed around with the idea of using making the viewer have to look through a hole in order to make it look like there was more depth.
Iterations
I started by using the “g” from the exercise and putting other aspects of the car community inside.Here is my first iteration after not using the “G”. I wanted to use aspects from the car community and make a collage that would use parts from one object and transition into anotherI kept the idea of the smoke because I knew that I wanted to use the smoke to show a lot of layering, but I made it less busy, and I stopped trying to incorporate every picture I had as my inspiration in the collage.I then arrived at my final concept where I made it much less busy and was still able to incorporate a few things that as a collage. I could understand how to make the piece much easier through layers than I could in the other ones.I started by thinking of the layering process and began making the depth of the barrel that replaces the fan on the turbo. I then made the edges of the face of the wheel and the bolt pattern with the actual face on top so that it looked like a real wheel with some depth in just the face. I then made the turbo to be the outer lip of the wheel as well so that it would all look smooth.I discovered that the best way to get the turbo shape was to keep the inner line on one layer and the outer silhouette as the next layer to frame the shape, you can see in the first two boxes. I then separated the layers into their own cutout boxes so that I could cut them out on the laser cutter and have them all line up.Here is what it looked like after being cut out and pieced together
I then made an outline of a car on a layer and then made a separate layer for the detail, being the windows, headlights, etc.I changed my original idea about layering the smoke as small sections heading back since I didn’t want multiple layers around the edges of the turbo. I made the base layer of the smoke and the car attached to the silhouette of the turbo. From there I added more layers on top in different shapes (similar to the hair example) to give the smoke more movement and depthHere is some testing to see how it would look. I was experimenting with the type of cutouts trying to show a swirling and billowing of the smoke. I was making the layers overlap and having the cut-out spots cross each other to get a more realistic effect while still adding height for depth. I attached the car to the second layer so that the car would pop off the page but not as much as the next layer of smoke that would be added.
Here I realized cutting certain edges would cut the car from the smoke, so I combined the two layers and decided to have the etchings cut out as well to show more depth in the car as if looking through the glass. What is in read is the section of the car I that had to be etched in order for the car’s shape to be completed. I also had to reduce the size of the cutouts and move them inward to lessen the chance of the cut burning through.This was the finished product of the smoke with all of the layering on top of one another. I added the bracket on the end of the turbo as well as the tire treads of a very popular tire along the turbo to help with the effect of the car wheel and to add some balance.I instantly did not like the look of the treads, since all I could think of was a coiled-up tiger tail. I then changed it to have the logo of the popular tire company to look like words written on the racing tires, and to have it cut out of the inner turbo layer.
Production
I believe that was successful in creating a good sense of depth, both in pushing back and pulling forward, also that I was able to adapt to problems that I didn’t like and think of solutions such as how to deal with the car and its smoke, how I separated the layers of the barrel, and coming up with a better solution to tire tread marks. I am very proud of myself as a car enthusiast and as a designer to be able to bring my passions together to create something that the two sides of me really enjoy. I learned through this process how to work with the laser cutter, how to work with the layering process and small tricks that I would not have thought of originally to create visuals, I also learned how to make layering show more depth and have movement through a having cutout to be able to see through to other layers below, which works much better for my idea than just laying one layer on top of the other. Some improvements I could have made would be making better spacers for between the layers so that the paper would not have that small curve in it, the gluing process since it lead to the paper warping in areas that are visible, test cutting so that I don’t end up with a messed up piece that is not the wrong size dimensionally around the sides, and a mistake which I couldn’t really help but not losing small pieces in the laser cutter vacuum that I needed, which ties into the part about scheduling more time with the laser cutter so that I could cut out more pieces and have backups.
After putting the layers together, I was originally going to use the same accordion folds as the exercise but that would have bent the pages and curved them. So, I made wedges with layers of paper and glued them between multiple layers in the barrel of the wheel to gain more depthThis is the final iteration to show the shade selections for each layer to best show depthAfter completing the assignment, I practiced with adding color and learned how to correctly add the right color to match the contrast from the original.
This was the first exercise where I made our own mini sketchbooks and then created mind maps to help show the thought process and reasonings behind them to certain questions asked which I would later use when deciding what I wanted in my own final sketchbook.This was the first steps of deciding what I wanted to create for my sketchbook. The must haves, and ideas that I really liked and hoped I could iterate into the book. Integrating what is the most annoying things when using books to write and sketch for me.
This is where I found the idea for how to keep my book together.
After brainstorming I started sketching my ideas and some of the mechanisms I wanted to use and how I could use them, to help with visualizing my goals easier. I wanted to make sure that the book would lay flat, connect using a flexible material that can come undone and open to allow for more paper to be added, and be heavy and use a material to help not slide.
This shows my first experimentation with using a flexible connector to test and see how it would work with holding the two pages together as well as figuring out the distance of the hole from the edge of the paper and how it would affect the slack in the connector when all together versus opened up.
These three images show the first big step towards the final book where I decided to place the holes on the outside edges instead of the inside the middle like a traditional book. I found that having the holes closer to the edge makes for less of a difference in length needed for the connectors which would help to make it smoother. I also found that using elastic material would work well for the connectors. By having only two holes it allows less taken up room and a better continuation of the spread-out pages. The pages can then close from both sides and fold up like a traditional book.
I then tested the idea of using leather instead of my original idea of rubber around the edges to be able to grip surfaces better. The leather ended up looking much better than my original idea and it looked very sleek and worked well for the utility part of gripping. I started testing how to make the hard cover that I wanted that would also be heavy and how to cleanly wrap it with the leather.Here is one of the final iterations where instead of going with my initial plan of using sheet metal I went with recycled laminate, since it was easier to cut and less likely to warp and bend. I then experimented with dimensions of the leather so that all of the lines would meet neatly in the corners. I then added extra leather on the bottom so that I could have a pocket.
Here is the final iteration of what I covered with the leather so that it would all be black when the pages are closed for a sleeker look. as well as the pocket and which is lower and has a corner because of a lack of material and having to use a previously cut edge. This also shows the surprise element of the paper that is for measuring and cutting out new pages to add with holes to make sure it fits like the other pages.This shows the final materials I decided on for the connectors. I used black elastic and very thin necklace clasps that screw together so that they can come apart to add more paper and they won’t pull apart easy if it were to be a magnet. There is excessive slack here and protrusion of the connectors since the paper had not yet been added and I had not yet tightened them.
I then added an element to keep the book closed and the hard cover from sliding too much that also acts a holder for your pencil and weaves between the two layers to keep it tight. You can also see the tightened connectors in their final form.
Production
I feel that with making this sketchbook I have achieved a much better understanding using machine techniques as well as good practice in material studies and experimenting outside of my comfort zone. I believe that I was successful in meeting my requirements that I had set for myself that I wanted the book to have and that I was able to create reach the goals well and that the book ended up being very sleek and clean like I hoped for. Some of the lessons I learned are that I should always buy plenty of extra material so that I can test and experiment with, also that I should test more and jump into the testing process to gain more momentum when creating, I also learned some small things like the way material reacts and how much I can alter it until it breaks or doesn’t perform the way I want. I also learned that I should also constantly be checking settings before every cut to make sure that all settings are correct with the laser cutter. Some potential improvements could when making the leather cutout, to make it more of a net like when making a cube so that there are not just a bunch of pieces that are separated and glued which would make it look much less sloppy, also being able to cut the leather on the laser cutter would have helped a lot with making straight edges. The last thing that could use some improvement is the area around the spine of the book. I am not sure how to fix the problem where the spine occasionally tucks under the larger flaps of the book and upsets the way the book should lay. I’m not sure if there was a technique that I could have used to solve that problem, but I could not find a solution.
This was the activity and lesson where I was learning about how to drop letters in isometric formAfter just learning isometric, I did an activity where I was given a letter and an adjective and I received “E” and “hot” and created thisAfter learning how to physically make letters in isometric I started learning how to digitally. With the “g” down below you can see the progression
Then I started brainstorming words to mash up as for the projectI chose my top words that I had created. My two favorites were created using Latin words because I started feeling that English words seemed too boringThis shows some of my brainstorming for what I would do with each word
This is my attempt at putting some of my written thoughts down and experimenting with using sketchbook.This is showing my practice with trying to use my word in adobe illustrator.
Iterations
My first iteration was to make most of the word represent the stairs into heaven, and have the shadow of God in a chair as a silhouette behind clouds being casted down the steps. Then meet the final two letters of the word that literally represents us as humans and that we are in his shadow.I then started brain storming colors that I wanted to use. I looked at the religious colors in the Christian church to help represent God more. I started with green and purple because of how often the colors are used. I also felt that it looked a little blank so I tried adding in hand rails to help with the idea of stairs.
I then tried a completely different approach, trying to go back to one of my ideas I did not think would turn out right. I tried making the sitting body of God with the letters. And integrating the beard of God becoming the middle line for the ‘E’.I then changed the ‘U’ so that it would just be the torso area and I started trying different things with the ‘M’, I first tried this arrangement to show his legs being the long parts of the ‘M’ until I realized the shorter stem of the ‘M’ expressed something I didn’t want to, so I scratched that idea.I arranged the ‘M’ upright which I liked much better and tried using the ‘B’ and ‘R’ as feet, while still using ‘us’ as being the shadow. I kept the same colors but this time I had a blue background to put it in the sky so that God could be sitting on a cloud and I messed around with seeing what it would look like to make his body cloth like a robe.
Here I second guessed my word and I took out the ‘M’ which I later put back in. But this shows the first though of taking the one letter for the legs and making them a clothed object and having the next letter be used as a step and drape the cloth off the sides.I realized that the ‘M’ was supposed to be there and used it as the legs again and had it clothed. It worked out perfectly because I could use the dip in the ‘M’ as the cloth drooping in between the legs. I also changed the colors. I changed them to be purple and white but I thought the white looked too plain so I went with purple and gold, two very strongly religious colors. I also wanted to use the ‘BRUS’ as the stairs to God that I originally had planned so I had them getting increasingly lower as it even became negative. I made God’s head larger so that the ‘D’ would stand out more to be more readable.
I then started the final part of the project by using Adobe Illustrator to get the letters as neat as possible. I started with Times New Roman font because I knew for the head and the legs I wanted a roman sculpture type of feelI changed the font because I thought this font would be easier to translate into my idea. I started positioning the letters in the arrangement that I wanted them.There was multiple different iteration of how I had the ‘U’ and the ‘E’ set up but I was to concentrated to make them work that I forgot to take screen shots of the work. After the ‘BRUS’ I finished the rest of the work in sketchbook including the ‘M’ and the cloth and the ‘E’, ‘U’ and ‘D’ I had to do in order to get them to come out right.
Here I have almost everything in the final stages. The noticeable things that I decided on making that I hadn’t before are that I made the beard and hair shimmer with gold highlights rather than making a gold outline around the beard. I felt it gave a more God like presence. I also added a light ring around the ‘D’ to be the halo to help express who He is. I also calculated and made sure that the descending staircase letters descended the exact same value each time
Production
A few decisions that I made to wrap up the project were to make the cloud les circular to look more realistic, add the shadow of God over the remaining letters, add orange highlights to the yellow letters that make up the body to create a more gold look. I also added the word, its pronunciation, and multiple ways to understand the word to help define it similar to a dictionary.
The final details that are important are to the piece include that it is a mas up of the Latin words ‘ deus’ meaning God, and ‘umbrus’ meaning shadow. It is important to note that the ‘BRUS’ acts as the stairs to Heaven and to God and that the ‘US’ are the only letters that are in the negative space and push down, which represents us as God’s creations to realize that we are not on the same level and will always be in his shadow.
I researched different types of natural and humanmade objects and how to create abstractions from them including abstractions of scale with shape, direction, components, and value and color. I then learned what a mandala was and how to use abstractions to be able to create a mandala using the principles of design, in my case I chose movement. Finally, I learned how to use value and translate to color to help better my design principle.
Exercises
This was the first exercise where I selected the natural forms to create my abstractions from.This was the second part to the exercise where I selected the human made forms to create my abstractions from.
This shows one of the exercises where I was taking abstractions from the images that I knew I wanted to use and worked to make them into shapes in Adobe Illustrator and trying to make them perfect.This also shows part of the exercise where I was initially creating my abstractions in Adobe Illustrator, but also the continuation into the next exercise which was to make a pattern with that shape. From the beginning I knew that I wanted to work with the principle of movement, so I started testing with the first pattern.After creating the final mandala and experimenting with changing the values I then learned about color theory and experimented with color harmonies to help my principle in the mandala come forth more.Combining of two abstractions
This was my first iteration of the mandala following the circular grid that I chose, adding to the wheel spoke mandala that I had before but I included all 5 abstractions. I wanted to have the repeated pattern especially with the outside ring because it worked as an illusion and started to spin. I also wanted to make the other abstractions tilted to show movement and that they were not static but spinning too.The next major iteration I made a couple big changes. I made it so that it did not look like just a bunch of rings. I added the new combined abstraction that I made from the fire and leaf abstraction, created a more interesting center that showed more movement like it was wrapping around the center, and I added arms that I had going out and weaving through the rings like the abstraction is from, a weaved basket. I also started messing with the value to show the weaving movement.I continued to make more changes. I took every other spoke and increased the size to take the place of the weaving arms and have the spokes cut through the outer rings, but i would later change that because it did not add much to the composition. I also brought the combined abstraction inside the spokes and had the positioned to continue lines to relate the sections to each other. I added a second outer ring layer to show contrast to hopefully make the illusion stronger, and I really started experimenting with value.
This is what I thought would be the final value iteration. I took off the tips of the larger spokes and had the end blend in match shapes with the outer ring to help relate and join the layers together. I also decided on the number and arrangement of the outer wheels as well as the value to show the most movement.After finding what I thought was my final value mandala I started applying color with new knowledge of color theory and started testing. After testing the colors with my current value mandala, I realized that my values were too dark and that the only way to really change the colors of the mandala to be as bright as I wanted was to alter the values.
This is the final production of the Value version of my mandala. Because of how dark the colors were before when I applied them, I had to change the value of the entire mandala to brighter values in order to show the vibrant colors I wanted. Every layer is connected in some way to relate each part to one another which helps to express movement and the illusion the entire piece is spinning.The colors applied help to show movement with the secondary principle being contrast that is clearer with color. I chose the warmer colors with the primary color being red and to mostly show warm colors because of what we learned in color theory that the color red shows energy and movement. I made the colors in the middle more vibrant and outlined to bring more attention to it so that it is balance with the rest of the piece and not overwhelmed by the large spokes and their depth.This shows the color pallet I chose for the last mandala, based on a square color theme, on a grid to show the different possible brightness levels I could have chosen to use based off of the brightness levels on the value mandala. It also shows levels of brightness where at least one of the colors have their saturation manipulated in the mandala.The colors applied to this mandala also help to show movement with the secondary principle being contrast that is clearer with color. I chose to use more cool colors with the primary color being a very vibrant light blue because cool colors have more range when altering brightness and look more like different shades of blue which helps with the large spokes to unify the mandala. Again, I kept the inner layers more vibrant to balance the mandala.
This shows the color pallet I chose for the last mandala, based on an analogous color theme, on a grid to show the different possible brightness levels I could have chosen to use based off of the brightness levels on the value mandala. It also shows levels of brightness where at least one of the colors have their saturation manipulated in the mandala.
The final deliverables for reaching the final production include the cutting down of the larger spokes and matching up with the outer ring so that all layers of the Mandala will be related and flow together. Also changing the value of almost every shape in a mandala in order to be able to have vibrant colors to help express movement, as well as choosing the right colors for the different layers in messing with saturation in order to be able to make certain shapes stand out or perform a certain way such as the outer rings making the illusion. The last final deliverable was adding in a border around the shapes in the middle of the mandala to help them stand out and balance out the mandala and not be overtaken by the large spokes with the increasing brightness.
I learned how to walk while slow looking and what slow looking was. After practicing in class how to identify different ways to slow work I then found a spot on campus that was interesting to me and kept in mind the route to get there. I walked this route multiple times while slow looking to take in as much information in different types of ways and how it made me feel. Research and Activities : Here is a pdf link to the photos and descriptions dealing with the Research process.
Iterations
My first iteration was just going to be based off of this collage, making the route change the intensity of the colorthis was my first iteration of the buildings and how I wanted to align them to have the vantage point be at the starting location.This shows my iteration of trying to show the narrative of an exam and experimenting with different texture ideas for each sectionThis shows my experimentation with different textures further and brainstorming more ideas.
This shows my first ideas of trying to incorporate the idea of making the buildings into schools supplies and adding trees and roads to make it more like a mapThis is my final iteration before adding the color and pen.
Concept Statement
The process of studying for an exam always begins with you being the lazy lazy vine. As you continue the process leading up to the exam, you leave through the tunnel to escape to reality and abandon the laziness. Everything is of chaos, anxiously trying to gather information to be learned, you reach the mass amount of content and suddenly stumble on your mind, nervous for failure when your step drops at the corner. Stay focused and inherit as much information as you can, keep your head down surrounded by the sections around you. Near the end you exit the tunnel of trees and building to be enlightened and gain confidence becoming aware of your minds power. Realizing your strengths, focus once more for the last Time, all or nothing. Enter into a new world, the stakes are high with taking the exam. Cross under a bridge which others fly. Continue to walk under the second bridge to finish proving to yourself your success. With the exit comes comfort with comfort comes more anxiety as you turn wait for the results of your strengths. A chilling surprise.
Production
In the finished product I believe that I did a good job in taking one of the later iteration to the next level by making it more abstract and creating the buildings and keeping aspects from the real buildings and making them into school supplies. One example of the way that I used school supplies and made it similar to the building is that one of the buildings had many columns aligned that were flat and I used multiple books lined up to represent those columns and the dark exterior of the book is like the dark windows in real life. I think I did a good job with adding objects around the path to help with the ideas and the feelings I wanted to portray as you follow the route such as the car conjunction around the path where the feeling has to do with chaos. The other ways that I showed structure was by using the multiple chapter books lined up, and trees following the entire walk path to show segments and progressing to resemble the chapters and material being studied, when I got to the path of enlightenment I push the trees back and used the Street Lamps and turned them on to show the idea of enlightenment, I continued to use the school supplies to help the ideas along the path. I also think that the textures I used to show the intensity of feelings are strong and relate the ideas I want to portray well. I believe the use of the buildings being school supplies and also the use of trees, streets and cars makes it so that the map is nicely in between realistic and abstract. Something I could work on is maybe making the path more abstract by using techniques so that I do not have to make the path itself highlighted to make it able to follow. Another thing would be giving myself more space to show the starting and ending point more so that I could put more detail around them and make them stand out more.
I learned how to construct 3D forms out of a 2D shapes with precision by creating an orthographic view to understand the form and than creating precise templets that would allow for the form to be put together as neatly as possible.
Exercises
I started by working to create a perfect cube to practice the skills necessary for constructing a perfect and clean form.I then learned how to create an orthographic view and created one for the cube.I then practiced with a more complicated shape starting out with the orthographic view.With the orthographic view giving me a better understanding of the shape I then cutout a template and put it together.
I started by taking the final composition from the Shape Grammar project, and found a shape to make into a 3D form.I made a template to make a 3D form out of a shape I found in the negative space of the composition.After making the template I was able to cut it out and put it together very neatly.The next exercise was to take that same form but add onto it to make it more interesting and do not let the additions alter the plan view.
The final exercise was to take that form that I had perfected and further my study by adding a new concept to the form. I chose to continue with the idea of negative space since I already had used it.This shows another addition I made to the last exercise showing more negative space creating a window in.This shows that final piece of the last exercise with negative space that I implemented creating a tunnel through that is used to look through to be able to see the construction inside when but when you look for the most interesting parts, they are blocked off.
Iterations
Iterations 1 Here is a pdf link to the first iteration finding and creating the base shape.
Iterations 2 Here is a pdf link to the second iteration and how I found the form with the addition.
Iterations 3 Here is a pdf link to the iterations to reach the final form with negative space.
Picture of the final form.
Statement
My first 3D construction is different from my optioned, negative space form because there it takes out a large mass from the inside and makes the shape not seem like a solid object but when you look inside you get teased by not being able to see the major constructions aspects when that is what the viewer will be looking for. the two other negative spaces on the two sides make the shape overall much ore complex looking.
Production
For this project I had to create a 3D form from a 2D shape from a previous composition, which went well. I feel like I had a good understanding of how to make the template and drew inspiration from the skyline/F model in class on how to make the sides fit back into shape. Then I had to find a way to add onto the object without the main view obstructed. My next big challenge was figuring out a way to make the addition on top be completely closed in with using one piece of paper, which was very complicated, which I came up with the idea of folding the paper back on itself which worked well and allowed me to make a template that worked, I was proud for being able to come up with a solution that was somewhat thinking outside of the box. The next big challenge was being able to figure out the order of putting the form together which took a couple of tries to make it easier. The addition of ore negative space was enjoyable and somewhat challenging but was not hard to understand after practicing so much with the 3D form. The last challenge was just making sure that everything was nicely cut and measured and glued together as tight and perfect as possible which I believe I accomplished well with the last two iterations.
