Papercraft Objects: First Phase

Papercraft Objects: Phase 1

So I'm finally nearly caught up to the rest of the class in terms of where we are at the moment, the digital sample objects is still nearly complete (because at this point, I've probably had enough half-grade deductions that that post of the week isn't going to be worth anything, so I might as well panick about homework that is still worth marks first.)

So the object I chose to prototype was the old root beer bottle, which I have a special place in my heart for being the first pop I've ever had. (I don't go 24 hours without a can of root beer at this point.) The teacher suggested the old root beer bottle instead of the newer pop can/bottle of the A&W brand that I'm more used to drinking, which, given the symbolism involved, I gladly accepted.

So since I was sick all week, (starting to get a lot better now, certainly able to work extended periods without nausea now) I nearly forgot all of the Rhino commands I learned from last week, which is why I'm finishing this blogpost at 2 in the morning. (Feels great when you forget you can make a curve parallel to the ground by holding shift eh?) 

So my rendition of the pop bottle is actually not bad, I managed to stick the entire A&W sign onto the bottle, and also split the sign down at the corner where the bottle is supposed to bend. I also simulated the cap and the bottom of the bottle, so it looks more realistic.

I managed to split the pop bottle into it's 2D components (which for previous reasons took ages to do). I finally managed to perfectly align all the sides by adding a rectangle to the base of the bottle (the bottle was slightly below the X plane) and using the perpendicular osnap function to align the shapes in a perfect 90 degrees.

I paid close detail to how the designs and the bottle were laid out. I found it pretty easy to lay it out in a formation where I wouldnt have to make repeated folds along a single line. 

The bottle and the labels spread outwards from the base of the piece, so I could have multiple paths of folding lines.

So I managed to complete the design, and then I rushed to school at like 11 to print it out, because thats when I was finally satisfied with the thing.

It turns out that  the pop bottle was a lot smaller than I expected it to be .-.
It's so small I couldn't graft the label on the bottle

I think I'll have to reprint it tomorrow on bigger paper...

The good thing is that I'm confident that the entire structure is going to hold out, so I wont be in the situation where the paper doesn't fit in with the form.

(Now I need to finish an essay and start working on my 30 inch self portrait... I guess that's what I get for losing my social health card...)

Remix Culture: Selection and Refinement

Remix Culture: Fini

I finally got my computer back! Yes! So now I had to select (which I already did) and refine (partially did that too) one of the mesh mashup pieces that I've presented on week 2. 

And the one I chose was my Tzaravak piece.

I actually went and re-fixed some areas that I didn't like, like the fact that the wings were in a super wonky position in my original screenshot, and the positioning of the body managed to confuse the hell out of some of my fellow students.

 I've attached a top view of the mesh in case people are still confused about it's anatomical structure, since that was the overriding concern my group had for this mesh in group reviews. Again, that is to be expected, because the mesh is supposed to look queer.

Actually, originally my group decided to vouch for my Cubone     T-rex mesh, but I really didn't like the balance of that piece and I didn't feel like I could make many adjustments to it so I decided to go with this mesh instead.

But What is Tzaravak anyways?

Tzaravak is the name I gave to the main antagonist in the story I'm writing, It's my favourite character (and I actually pay homage to it in a large portion of my major art pieces) because of the philosophy revolving around the concept and name of the character. Tzaravak is derived from the latin word "tzaravash", which roughly translates to "evil" in english. Hence the creature refers to itself as the "God of Evil" throughout the story. 

Original renditions of Tzaravak that I've made

This name is actually dramatically ironic, (and here's the spoilers to my nonexistent book) since there really can't be a definitive method to measuring what "evil" is throughout the story. The entire lore confronts the concept of what true justice is, and how there really isn't a correct side when it comes to conflict. What's more ironic is when your so called heroes finally do kill Tzaravak, the action of the killing ends up triggering the destruction of the universe. 

(spoilers for my nonexistent book end here)

So I actually originally designed Tzaravak with the "remix" concept in mind, except instead of mixing other people's artwork, I was remixing creature parts. Because I wanted the creepy/unknown effect (people fear the unknown and as such view it as a threat to themselves) I mixed a Ram skull onto a dragon body, with a centipede's body from the waist down, and mantid-like forearms. I figured the centipede body would have given a creepy feeling while the dragon and mantis parts would make it look menacing. The ram skull is predominantly a symbol of death, so that is what I chose for the head. That was the concept I came up with four                         years ago.

Therefore, I thought it would be greatly interesting if I ran it for my mesh mashup project because I still remember me mixing and remixing ideas and concepts around to create the character when I first began the piece, because back then I had inadvertently dipped into remix culture already.

Papercraft Introduction

Papercraft Introduction

This week I was re-introduced to the concept of paper-craft as a form of art. Paper-craft is the creation of two or three dimensional artwork using cut paper as the primary of only medium of the artwork. 

Generally, people who have not extensively studied this field of art will think about origami when asked to consider what paper-craft is, and I was certainly no exception. Therefore, I was incredibly impressed by Cybèle Young, a world-renowned artist who uses paper-craft as her primary medium. Cybèle has published several books with illustrations made with paper, as well as having shown work at galleries around the world, like New York or Japan. 

                        Cybèle's work seems to revolve around the concept of change, which is seemingly paradoxical theme for a art form such as paper, being such a difficult and fragile material to handle. She makes use of everyday objects, slowly abstractifying and then redefining the object into an entirely separate entity. In her own words, "Engaging with abstract and familiar motifs, I juxtapose sculptures to create a sense of dialogue of play between them." She's done this with several objects, changing a violin case into a Starfish, an umbrella into a jellyfish, and even earphones into a caterpillar. 

The 'finished' product is always some organic form or mass as well. Some of her transformations don't always take on a species of animal or plant, sometimes the form is completely abstractified into an unrecognizable state, yet still seemingly organic. And when Cybèle does create structural shapes and everyday objects, they look frighteningly like the real thing. It is almost as if the paper could be a substitute towards the actual object.

The blogpost on Cybèle caught my attention immediately, since I tend to be drawn to any imaginative creatures or monstrosities that artists can conjure up. Originally I was slightly disappointed that I wasn't going to be seeing any weird Lovecraftian creatures in the blogpost, but I was really captivated by the detail and depiction of creatures that aren't often seen in your standard art gallery. The sculptures that were intended to be seen as another creature had a sense of life in them, as if one could imagine them as an actual creature if you weren't looking properly.

Going through her website I was astounded to discover the variety of art forms Cybèle had worked on, ranging from lanterns to small mills, all the while keeping her original theme of "forming new relationships". In this age where art is able to take so many different forms, I find Cybèle is able to hold onto the core ideals of her sculptures, and is one of the few 'sincere' artists in the valley of artists I find are more and more focused on making money with their pieces rather than genuine art. It gave me breath of fresh air, and a sense of optimism about the direction that the art industry was headed towards. 

Update on Last week: 

Just to let everyone know, I finally managed to get my computer back early Sunday evening, and I really wanted to make some parts better, so I will upload it by the end of today.*

*right, i can't download rhino... Guess i'll finish the blog and the piece and put the pics on tommorow...

Computer Broke Down

Computer Taken in for repairs

This past week, we were requested to completely render and show one of our remix culture pieces from last week in a completed form. 

My computer was taken in for repairs on Sunday after it unexpectedly crashed and could no longer start up on Saturday evening, and I had most of my homework done on it, the piece I was rendering and fixing on Meshmixer was my “Tzaravak” Piece. It was around 70 percent complete. 

I decided to make this post because I recalled the teacher pointing out that if a student could not finish a blogpost, they should point it out in their blogpost, along with the reasons for such failure to complete the project. 

I’m not sure when I’ll get my computer back, as the problem is apparently worse than the initial diagnosis (reported to me on Monday by the Genius Bar) but when I get my computer back I’ll be finishing and updating the blogpost.