Statement of Intent
Concept Statement:
For our group project, the theme we chess set is nautical/ Fisherman VS Seamonsters. We wanted the pieces to have a rustic style so we kept the wooden look of the MDF. To fit the aesthetic we wanted the pieces to be very detailed and realistic. I had the mermaid and prawns as the pawns, the lighthouse as the rook, the Loch Ness monster as the knight, and lastly, the shark and spearfisher as the bishop. We used the laser cutting machine to etch and cut all of our chess pieces. We constructed the pieces using slip-form methods. The other pieces of the chess set are made by my partner Anthony Gil. More information on his pieces can be found here.
Ideation
Exercise #1
For our First Exercise, we practiced making 3D Images from paper slip form mechanisms.
Then we started to brainstorm some ideas for our chess pieces.
- Music
- Food
- Picnic
- Fishing
- Movies
- Pizza Toppings
- NYC
We discussed and thought that Fisherman V.S. Seamonsters would be a good idea to explore. We began to brainstorm what each piece could be on the chessboard.
Then I began to make all the pieces in Adobe Illustrator. I took images found online and used them as a reference to make the pieces in my chess set. I made sure to make the etch and cut lines on separate layers so it would be easier to cut in the lasering process.
First I made my prawns and lighthouse. I traced the Prawn and made the shells that lined the back of the shrimp using slip-form methods. I also made the lighthouse 3D using slip-form methods. I also started to work on the boat for the spearfisher.
Prawn and Lighthouse
Then I made the Shark Bishop, I wanted to make waves at the bottom and a fin coming out of the water.
Shark Fin Coming out of the Water
The MDF we used was approximately 1/8th of an inch. At first, when I made it a 1/8 gap, it turned out to be too loose. For the next print, I made them 1/11 in thick so they ended up fitting together perfectly. We decided to make the bases round and have the creatures stick up vertically connected to the holes of the base.
The Base Pieces
Then I made the Lock Ness Monster and the Mermaid. I wanted the Lock Ness Monster to be partially coming out of the water. For the mermaid I wanted her to be laying on top of a big boulder/ rock so I laser cut different-sized rocks to glue on top of one another to create a solid 3D boulder.
Lock Ness Monster Reference Picture
Lock Ness Monster Chess Piece
Mermaid Cut and Boulder
After I put everything into Illustrator I sent it into the laser machine. I began to cut out all my pieces and assemble them.
Iteration and Production
Some of the pieces were a little loose so we used wood glue to hold everything together.
Assembling the Pieces
Reflection
Through this project, I learned a lot about working together as a team. The best part of the collaboration was brainstorming and coming up with creative concepts. I liked how we got to bounce ideas off of each other. There was a lot of trial and error to get the slip forms to fit but we figured it out together. I learned a lot about making 3d forms through slip-form methods.
Final Product
Anthony’s Pieces
My Pieces
The Board
