Papercraft Object Exploration

In preparation for an upcoming papercraft project some research was needed to explore the medium of papercraft and to look into some cool and interesting paper art. The work I decided to investigate was by Hari and Deepti, who are known for their "Illuminated Cut Paper Light Boxes".

This work as I understand is a long and complicated process with a very simple yet effective and stunning outcome. The work involves the drawing of the objects/shape silhouettes then cutting them out with an X-ACTO knife. Once all the elements are cut out, the frame in which they will be placed in is backlit so the artists can start to piece together their composition. 

I believe probably the most complicated part about this type of work is not the cutting the objects out of paper but the creation of the objects themselves. This process involves the proper scaling of objects in order to convey the sense of depth the work creates. Alongside depth the idea of negative space and overlapping of layers needs to be kept in mind in order for the objects to be spaced properly and fit well inside the whole composition. 

I selected these artists and their work mainly because I just love the pieces they created and how unique they are. Their craft and the amount of time, thought, and preciseness they put into their work just amazes me. The silhouettes of all the elements in the frames are minimal and bring a clean look to the whole piece. The way they created depth with paper, turning a 2D composition and converting it into 3D with layering really brings the audience into the scene and gives the pieces a lot of atmospheric qualities. 

I also love the way the light combined with the layering brings multiple variations of the yellow and orange colours that gives the normally plain silhouettes some colour. The last thing that really knocks these works out of the park is that they took a simple idea and took it to the next level. They could have just done this on the computer or made the objects on one layer, but they didn't and that is what makes this an awesome collection of papercraft artwork.

Article on this work can be found here: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/03/illuminated-cut-paper-light-boxes-by-hari-deepti/

Adobe Illustrator Geometric Patterns

This project was to create a 5x5 grid of black and white patterns using the tools available in Adobe Illustrator.

Remixed Object Final Result

The Building Blocks

Lamp: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:217280/#files

Bird: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1198389/#files

Saucer: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10152/#files

Thingiverse Entry

For some reason Thingiverse thought it would be funny to orientate it like this.

Link: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1800709

Response to Feedback

I received a lot of good feedback on all my objects. My classmates in the discussion all agreed this object was one of the better of the three objects so I decided to run with this idea. The feedback I gathered on this "Genie Bird" was positive, with simple suggestions for building upon my object. The main suggestion I got was to add wings and make it a bit more "bird-like" but to not add too much as to loose the lamp features. One of my group members proposed the idea to add saucers for wings, as it would make it look more like a bird but stay true to the look and feel of the lamp/teapot. While I didn't get this as a suggestion from my colleagues I felt the need to smooth out my object especially in the neck region of the bird and did so in Meshmixer. I felt these were good decisions and I feel it came out nicely.

Remix Culture

My creation relates to remix culture because it is combining multiple objects and is creating something entirely new. I first got the idea for this object while browsing Thingiverse and its huge array of creations. I found the first object for my creation, the genie lamp/teapot (whatever you prefer). When I first saw this object, its spout, the round body, the handle, the shape of a bird came to mind. After finding the other parts I assembled my object in Tinkercad which I found out is a great and easy way to remix and mash objects together. 

After finding the other parts I assembled my object in Tinkercad which I found out is a great and easy way to remix and mash objects together. The object I created is a good example of a remixed or possibly a juxtaposed creation. It combines multiple objects that are entirely different like the lamp and saucers (both inanimate objects) versus the bird, a living animal. By mashing these things together creates somewhat of a unique juxtaposition between a an animal and a regular object with similar forms compared to one another. 

 

Thingiverse Objects Mashed and Remixed

Remix culture is important and valuable to our society. When something is remixed or mashed up with something else, entirely new creations and ideas come about. Remixing helps new creative ideas come to realization faster when you have something to build off of.  A great example of remix culture being successful is in the gaming community with modding. New really cool mechanics and concepts emerge when game developers let their audience modify their games. This can lead to a game becoming better or a whole new and different game being made and available to people. Remix culture should always be embraced by creators of all kinds, this will lead to new designs and ideas in the future.

Took the buffalo horn and changed it into something less menacing... a banana.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:137557/#files

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:73659/#files

I thought the shape of a gazebo and a rocket would fit nicely together.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:45316/#files

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:582462/#files

Took the idea of a skeleton key and combined a key and a portion of a jaw from a skull.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:40445/#files

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:717727/#files

A top hat wine glass combined because of the cup like form of the hat.

 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1719972/#files

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:47/#files

Dolphin combined with an airplane because of the streamline nature of both of their forms.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1767488

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1561885/#files

The pointy end of a pylon combined with the shaft of a pencil because none of the pencil models were sharpened.

 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1183643/#files

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1597925/#files

An owl with gear parts; made because I heard an owl a few days ago and the gears make it look steampunk.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:841175/#files

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:104129/#files\

Car with spaceship parts and rocket engine on the back to make it look fast.

I thought the shape of the genie lamp looked bird-like so I added a bird head and feet.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:217280/#files

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1198389/#files

Not quite sure why I added the fan on the end of this spanner/wrench, I think it fit well and makes it more dynamic.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1061102/#files

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1761330/#files

The Creation of a Tinkercad Chair

What inspired me to create a chair was the segment in Objectified with the two designer brothers Ronan Bouroullec and Erwan Bouroullec. This part of the movie really connected with me because I have a younger brother who is creative like me, similar to the movie. Both Bouroullec brothers have different personalities yet they still can work and design together and worked on creating many objects including chairs. It made me wonder if my brother and I could work together creatively in the future and possibly be design partners like the brothers in the documentary.

What inspired me for the design of this chair was a certain IKEA chair I own. The top headrest cushion of the chair is half a cylinder, this is what I decided to base my whole chair off of. I decided to extend this design down the backrest of the chair and the arms to give the office chair a cushiony yet supportive structure.