3D design

Throughout the week of doing 3D design with Geoff the reoccurring theme was to be able to make something with limited amounts of materials which would be able to hold something else. As it was a very 'hands on' week I quickly realised that this would be my favourite week from the exploratory stage. The tasks set out ranged from in some cases being able to create very flimsy constructions to in other cases having to have very dense constructions.

Day 1

Morning

On the first day of doing 3D design the task set out in the morning was to make a structure which would be able to hold an anonymous quite heavy object. In order to create this we were given a piece an A2 piece of paper, two A2 pieces of card, and a small amount of tape. We were also encouraged to include decoration to allow the sculpture to transform itself into something which resembles a more life-like object. 

Authors own

As can be seen from this photo I decided to make my structure have geometric form as a common theme. Therefore when I decorated it I cut out these shapes in order to create this theme. Although this made it more aesthetically pleasing it did come at the cost of practicality and may not have helped structurally. 

Authors own

Having created the prism I had to stick paper on top in order to create a platform for the object to rest on. Although the top pattern is not particularly in keeping with the rest of the structure I think it fits well as geometric shapes keep being used.

Authors own

Photographing my work using a light and plain background adds to the piece of working by making it have no scale, and taking it away from any specific purpose. This therefore allows your work to transform from being something possibly very small to being able to transform into something with scale with a simple small cut out of a person say. 

Authors own

As can be seen from this image my structure failed to hold up the anonymous water bottle. Although my structure failed to fulfil its purpose I am not upset with how it turned out as I think it looked aesthetically pleasing.  

Afternoon

In the afternoon Geoff gave us another task of creating something which would be able to hold our own weight at least 30cm off the ground and would work as a 'flat-pack' structure. We were told that at the end we would be given a thirty second time allowance to put together our flat-pack piece of furniture from scratch. For this we were given five sheets of A1 card, and as much masking take as we wanted. In order to create this we had to think of way's in which we could use the card in order to allow it to support our weight.

Authors own

I decided to make a set of steps. I did this because I wanted to make something which was not simply a platform to jump up and down from. Also I wanted it to have some vague relevance to an actual object, as I assumed we would be making things which did not have such characteristics towards the end of the week. Or at least not obvious ones.

Authors own

I started by rolling up the sheets of card into smaller 15cm cylinders and larger 30cm cylinders. Once I had finished I came to realise there was a way in which I could have saved alot of time and that would have been by rolling them into much larger cylinders. However having smaller ones most likely did add to the strength of this structure. Also as we were asked to make something which could be used as flat pack having smaller ones would have allowed packaging to be even smaller, had this been going on sale any where.

Authors own

Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the steps when they had been disassembled. However I can explain that quite simply. Both of the bits of card which sat on top of the steps either slid off or lifted off. All the cylinders would then slide out of the top, then a bit of card moulded to fit the bottom of the steps could be taken off just by taking the tape off. All of this could be laid very flat and i'm sure fit into a box no larger than one which you may find a computer monitor in.

Authors own

I was pleased with the end product as it fulfilled all the criteria. This being to be able to stand alone, work as a 'flat-pack' product, I was able to build it in under thirty seconds. It also worked at holding my own weight. However despite this I feel it was a little bland and did not stand out against the rest of what the class had produced. If I were to do this again I would try to make something more bold. If i was to carry on with the step theme then possibly making a plinth may look better. This could be done by having it circular in shape with a much larger bottom step encasing the smaller top step.

Day 2

On the second day of 3D we were given the task of making a structure using only 20 pieces of spaghetti which would be able to hold three ball pit balls up in the air. We were allowed to use a glue gun as well. There was also an incentive as the highest structure won a prize. We soon found this to be a packet of spaghetti. 

Authors own

In the morning Geoff asked us all the draw out simple structures in 2D form which would be able to hold up the three balls. As all of us were not being adventurous enough he then told us simply to draw lines and then make them fit to have a space for balls to rest on them. This was a useful excersize as it allowed us to see that it is possible to make something from something which may originally be vastly different. 

Authors own

Although it would never have been possible to bend the spaghetti as much as I have drawn here in areas I did manage to bend the spaghetti. Although I do not know this categorically I think this was an interesting technique as it may possibly have helped to strengthen the structure. These basic drawings also helped me find certain ways in which I could create platforms for the balls to rest on.

Authors own

This picture I think is a great example of how something can be transformed simply by using light to make a shadow along with a plain background. Here scale is not a factor and this could be an enormous sculpture. The great thing about having this evasiveness about the image is that then you can really start to focus on aspects other than what the actual image is showing. For example shape becomes more prudent. Also contours start to stand out. Expanding on an image like this to possibly try to create a building could help give a very original outcome.

Authors own

In this image I like the way in which many of the pieces of spaghetti are transformed in the shadow to look as though they have been severely bent. This again could be inspirational if I was trying to create something original which was represented by using an outline or trace of this photograph.

Authors own

If I were to be asked to do this task again I think I would have spent more time planning what I was going to do. Moreover I did not make any experimental models using blue-tack to stick the spaghetti together, I just went straight in and started building. This meant that my piece turned out very simple in design. I like the way in which it is very planimetric, however I think if I had planned more I could have made it look even more organised and structured. 

Day 3

On the final day of 3D we were told that we would be split up into groups in the afternoon and would be making bridges. But for the first part of the morning we were asked to design small bridges in our sketch books which could possibly be inspirational when constructing our actual bridge. This task allowed us again to be experimental and as we were told to build across the spine of our book using only paper to make them look aesthetically pleasing we had to be diverse. This is because I did not add any colour to mine I just used simple sheets of paper, therefore in order for it to be eye catching the actual structure on the maquettes had to be diverse. 

Authors own

I liked the way that this bridge seemed to come towards you like a wave. The reason I liked this despite it being unintentional is because say it were to be used as a bridge to cross over a river, it would be very in-keeping with the area as water creates waves. If I had managed to make it so that the masking tape was not showing this would have made it look more chic.

Authors own

This was again another unintentional creation. Once I closed my book on one the the bridges I had made it gave this beautiful crease all the way down one side of the paper. Although this may have made it loose its function it could have transformed it to have another function, eg. as something like a barrier for a major river this could look quite eye catching. 

Authors own 

This was one of the most simple bridges I made. Although its simple I do think it looks nice as a modernistic, and minimal piece. However if i was to do this task again I think I would have added to this piece of work. Moreover I would have started experimenting with closing my book on the bridges as this did completely transform one of my structures. Therefore in being widely experimental it can clearly allow you to create something completely original if you manage to find a process by which you can transform something almost by accident.

Authors own

In the afternoon we began making the group bridge. It had to span between two tables probably about eight meters apart. We were given to do this 20 bamboo sticks, 10 sheets of card, and 2 rolls of duck tape. We were told that the bridge may only touch the floor in two separate places other than the tables. We may have been seen to be either a cheat or cunning here as we really had six points where the bridge touched the floor, however by adding the sheets of card at the bottom it just made these six points into two much larger points. Our process of working was extremely unorganised and as a result is why our bridge came out so versatile. We started by making those two points where the bridge touched the ground, then placed them so that the bridge would have to bend to make it more interesting, and then split our group into two and started building so that we would meet in the middle. Although we did end up having a bit more structure in our construction process we still ended up with a wonky yet functional bridge.

Authors own

From this task I learned that often you can make something which is extremely eye catching by not necessarily planning and measuring every last detail. If I were to have done this on my own I would have been probably very meticulous. However doing it in a group made me see that it can not only be more fun to be quite lose when designing something, but also can create something which may even be more eye catching than something which is an original plan. Throughout the week of 3D design I have learnt that finding ways of creating something which represents one thing by doing something completely different to get to that outcome can often make the outcome more interesting and possibly unique. Although much of what we designed would never sell on the market place this way of working did help to create original ideas.