"Is that for an art project or for recycling?"

"Both! :D" I replied to the lady inquiring about my 3D design project. The goal of this assignment was to demonstrate density. Our form had to be made up of objects that had a theme. The theme I chose was a recycling plant, hence all the plastic bottles... but I can actually spin a second theme if I wanted to: water/drinks my household consumes in the span of a couple weeks.


My professor wanted us to create a form that looked as if it had its own gravitational field, or a central point that is pulling everything into it. The photos don't do it justice, but the sculpture looks as if it is floating and that there's a central point sucking in all these plastic bottles and crushing and compacting them the closer they get to the center.

This project was challenging because my sculpture would fall apart in between working sessions, so it was like taking 3 steps forward and 2 steps back every time I would go back to work on the sculpture. Hot gluing plastic bottles together is tougher than it looks... I actually don't know it the sculpture will hold together till monday... hopefully it does.



Now I just need to figure out how to get it to class in one piece.

EDIT: So it turns out my sculpture wasn't able to hold itself together until monday. I've been checking up on it every once in awhile, but upon closer inspection today I discovered that one of the supporting legs broke. It was tough, but I was able to fix it and even add more bottles to it.



Oh yea, my Teefury shirt arrived a acouple days ago! I was really impressed, but I have to make a note not to make my designs too detailed, or at least make the details larger. Some of the design's finer details were lost because they were just too small when it came to printing.

update #10 (the world)

So I had a group project in my 3D design class and the assignment was to create an inflatable demonstrating volume. The form didn't have to be intricate, but it did have to be interesting to look at. I was surprised at how well my group worked and how everyone did their part. The initial idea was achieved as a group, but I found myself leading the group later down the road and coordinating what had to be done, making the key decisions, figuring out how things would work out, drawing out plans, and so forth. I might have been the mind behind the creation, but I wouldn't have been able to complete the project by the deadline if it weren't for my team.

It was interesting working on the inflatable in my garage due to the limited space and constantly having to walk around the van whenever I wanted to look at the other side since it completely blocked the garage. The inflatable wasn't even able to reach it's maximum size. This is probably the largest thing I've ever worked on.




The world, to-go! This is the inflatable strapped to a box fan and a bottom stand. According to the plan I had in my head, the box fan would lay flat with the inflatable strapped on top and when the fan is turned on the inflatable will balloon upward and out; The fan will be totally hidden under the inflatable, thus making it more aesthetically appealing. I have yet to test it out though... so... yea, not 100% sure it will go as planned.

UPDATE: It works!!!!!


I like how it sways and slightly rolls on its side in the wind; it looks like it has a life of its own.

update #9 (multiples)

Here's my completed 3D design project I did with the plaster! I just recently found the time to re-set up this sucker so that's why it took me awhile to post pictures.







I decided to incorporate all my broken figures into the whole composition. A total of 51 figures. I think it looks nice :)

update #5 (plaster casting)

I've been really busy with school lately, but now I can finally relax and get some art done! So basically I've been working on my 3D design project non-stop. Remember that little four-legged bugger I made out of clay? I made a silicone mold of him and have been casting copies out of plaster for about two weeks now.

My work station/garage

(1) pour wet plaster into mold and wait for it to set

(2) gently take top mold off

(3) gently remove both bottom molds and then
touch up figure by trimming off seams.

(4) wash mold. Put mold back together and repeat.

Making the mold was a pain, and a lot of my little plaster buddies got destroyed or amputated during the first few attempts of casting and perfecting my mold. I ended up making a three part mold, which works fairly well. The only trick I faced was waiting for the plaster to set. Take apart the mold too soon and your casted figure with crumble or break. The only draw back with waiting too long is that you waste time, but its better to wait out that extra 10 minutes than to open your mold and have the figure that took you 15-20 minutes to set break. Since most of my figures were casted at home, I was able to give 40 minutes per cast, sometimes I would get too preoccupied with something else and let my plaster set for an hour.

this is only a handful... I have more.

update #4 (new 3D project)

I haven't drawn in so long, and I mean actually DRAWING. Sketching and doodling don' t count. So many ideas, yet so little time. I found some time, though, and I'm actually drawing right now. My grandma's birthday is coming up this weekend and my parents wanted me to draw her something nice. I liked the idea because now I HAVE to make time and draw. I like how the picture is turning out. It kind of looks too much like godmachine's illustration for the Architects because of the subject matter, so I tried to make it as unique as possible. I'll post it when I'm done.

I'm working on another project for my 3D design class. This time around we're working with multiples. Here's a little critter I made for the project:



This little guy is a little bigger than an inch, so he's pretty tiny. I made a silicone mother mold for him today in class, but I have no idea how the mold with turn out as I'm waiting for the silicone to set. Hopefully nothing goes wrong with the mold :/

a couple articles I found interesting/amusing:
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/snakes.html?npu=1&mbid=yhp

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4927224/Pink-dolphin-appears-in-US-lake.html

"It looks like a decapitated dog"

This is my sculpture project for my 3D design class! Took me forever to complete. I spent 20 hours working on the last phase (the biggest sculpture) on last saturday and sunday alone... I lost track of how many hours I spented working on it on thursday and friday, so I put in way more than 20 hours!

Anyways, the assignment was an exercise in exterior and interior space. The assignment objective was to create three sculptures, having the first sculpture demonstrating outer skin, the second sculpture being twice the size of the previous step and demonstrating interior planes, and the third and final step being twice the size of the second step and demonstrating a combination of outer skin and interior planes.

My first step. We had to create five shapes with bristol board/poster board and glue them togethor to create an interesting composition. I used two eight-sided diamons, a triangle, and two other random shapes. I just created a random form, and was happy when I realized that my final product looked like a talon or claw... in my opinion. Kevin thinks it looks like a giraffe, and my professor said it looked like a decapitated dog. lawl.


The second phase. The same form of the first phase, only twice the size and displaying only interior cross sections. The picture doesn't do it justice... you really have to hold it in your hand to really appreciate the planning and work that went into creating this piece. The whole thing is slot-contructed, so there's no glue holding the planes together. You can basically take apart the whole entire sculpture if you wanted to. Each plane works with one another and combines the shapes into one solid form; I didn't just make five different shapes and glue them all togethor, this thing is one piece except for the two diamonds in the front.

My third and final phase, demonstrating the combination of interior planes and exterior skin. Extremly challenging. The whole sculpture was created using slot-contruction, but then I had to use hot glue to attach the exterior planes. The shapes are more solid and can't be taken apart to their slot-contructed pieces, but the main shapes (excluding the top shape) can be removed from the main spine of the sculpture, allowing you to break down the sculpture for transportation. The class was in awe when I took apart and reassembled my sculpture in front of them :p


This is one of the main planes in the lower-rear shapes being prepared for slot contruction. A lot of measuring, but a lot neater than just gluing the whole thing.

This is the main plane, or spine as I like to call it, of the third phase's sculpture. this is the most important piece in the sculpture since all of the other shapes are attached to it.


Contruction of the third phase sculpture.

Slot construction in progress.


Gluing of exterior planes to the back shape.

Final products. Hey look! a family of giraffes! or decapitated dogs, whatever.