Tag: 3D design

Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling Part 3

Welcome back! Part 3!

Lets make a “free-standing” variation of this project that works “in the round”. 

This post is part 3 of 5 parts from the Paper, Light & Storytelling Project.

*Be sure to read Part 1 first – go HERE

*and don’t miss Part 2 – go Here

*then jump to Part 5 (trust me!) – go HERE

The short video below is a series of snippets taken from various aspects of the project that will help you technically.

 

Let cut out some pieces, parts, shapes and fragments to compose with. Yes, they are “planes” again, but rather than working on the wall in a relief format, lets create a free standing composition that functions on table surface. As you can see in the video above, leave space at the base of each form so that you can bend and curl it over to create a right angle. This angle will allow for the piece(s) to free stand as you glue them down.

 

If you follow my examples above and below, notice that “spacial distance” plays a role in how the pieces create entrance ways for light and shadow to play a role. Working with forms that are cut in various heights and widths will also play a role in the overall visual aesthetic.

 

Below, you can see an example of how you can create “an environment” for your piece to exist in. Perhaps this give a bit more context to the design itself? In this case, I have simply created a gallery simulation by adhering 2 pieces of thick paper together and placing an additional piece on the table surface.

 

A thicker type of paper works best for this, Im using bristol paper above (11″ x 14″ inches) The nice part about this idea is that you can now use the viewfinder of your capturing device to “crop” the forms into the “gallery” as you take photos of the piece as a whole. See below.

 

Here is the composition of vertical forms glued down onto the surface of the table, and placed into the gallery simulation. The image directly below is a bird’s eye perspective with the natural light in the room hitting the piece. My ambition is to share the space and spaces between each free standing form.

 

In this example Im using the same light sources from the previous 3 tutorials (links above). Im a big fan of using light sources to create shadows, effects, filters and moods. These flashlight light sources can also layer over each other and create secondary colors. 

 

a series of colorful flashlights with their lights turned on

The next series of images below are a mixture of my light source set up, process and final outcomes. Please share your feedback and work via URL in the comments section below! Feel free to hack and remix this assignment and its guidelines. 

 

Generating New Forms with Household Items & Multiples

Generating New Forms with Household Items & Multiples

New forms are always awaiting entry here onto our planet! Its your job to participate in the process. Lets investigate a few news ways to see, create and explore forms using a common household item like transparent tape. The works in this tutorial are simply one way of executing the project. Im using transparent tape as a medium because it happens to be handy in my immediate space. Other types of tape can work just as well, but the idea with this project is to discover and leverage the application of multiple units. Im going to unify my forms by their material, shape and their size. From there I will create a few different compositions. Some will be applied to a wall in relief form. Some will be on a table top place and others will free stand 360 degrees in the round. My examples are below, and yes, I had a ton of fun applying a light source when it got darker outside. I suggest that you do the same!

Materials needed:

1. A roll of household tape, this could be clear scotch tape, or blue painters tape, or any kind of tape adhesive that will “stick” to itself and other surfaces.

2. A surface to place and build your experiments on. A wall, a table top or an existing object that may have context or contradiction to the form and material, sky is the limit so lets get busy, jump down to the image below.

The technique I applied:

What you see in each image below is a 2 inch piece of transparent tape curled into a loop. I simply repeated this same form at the same size over and over. I built up each arrangement piece by piece. The more pieces (loops) that you have, the more opportunities you have to experiment. Plus, you will need to do some trouble shooting.

Artistic References / Influences: 

Tom Friedman, El Anatsui, Antony Gormley, Tara Donovan, Ai Wei Wei, Tony Cragg & Andy Goldsworthy to name a few.

 

The image above was applied to a piece of white paper and arranged on the surface of the wall. I used a flashlight to add the shadow effects coming from under the piece.

 

The image above was simply turned 180 degrees and rephotographed. I used a flashlight to add the shadow effects coming from the opposite side of the piece and pointing downwards. Even the slightest alteration of the artworks position can add a dramatic change in its visual interpretation. I really love how this came out!

 

Here is an alternate camera angle for the same piece as above (ok, but with an additional few pieces that I added). This visual perspective shows the actual height and stacking of the individual pieces (loops of tape). 

 

I applied a light source directly to the image above to capture variations of the lights glare effect. The glare effect almost makes it look like the piece is in motion. This discovery played a role in how I went about the next few attempts at this project. The next few images below are also subtle variations of the same image. What will you do to create some filters and effects using light or the placement of your pieces?

 

OK, so the image below.. I changed it up. We no longer need to use the table top plane to position our pieces stacked flat on top of one another. In the next series of examples I worked with my piece vertically. Again, light and the perspective of my photos play a big role in the capture of the artwork.

I really love this image! It makes me want to use the image itself as a reference for drawing with pencil. The image below is also a variation but I dont think it is as powerful as the image above, do you?

 

Im excited to see your results and experiments! Will you work with transparent tape or try another material that may produce a similar result? Either way, please share your work!

Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling – Lets make a Paper Sculpture.

an ephemeral paper sculpture photographed in black and white

How-to make an Ephemeral Paper Sculpture.. from Home!

Here is a fun tutorial that you can follow along with (from home) through this post. This blog post is both the assignment and the example for how you may choose to create and publish your own work. This is part 1 of the process for the creation aspect of things, I will publish a “Part 2” with another tutorial for creatively pushing the documenting of the art work in a few ways. Feel free of course to improvise with any additional materials or hack the whole project to expand your own examples and storytelling. The goal is to publish your process and narrative into a compelling sequence of events!

*Please e-mail a selection of your best final images to rseslow@york.cuny.edu – a collaborative image gallery will reside on this website.

Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling – Lets make a Paper Sculpture.

First, the essence of the project is to create and investigate 3D form through storytelling. The form(s) that we make will serve as the content for your blog post. Lets put an emphasis on making a “subjective form”. We can get great practice in by narrating and detailing our steps. We can do this with some pretty common household materials too. Lets jump in! Grab some standard typing/printing paper, tape, a glue stick, a pair of scissors, a wall or table top surface and an external light source (flashlight). Let’s ask ourselves: “self, what are the potentials of form using paper, shadow and light by generating “a new forms” into existence through our creative immediacy? In my example below Im using a relief application by adhering my pieces to the wall, but you can also work on another flat plane if you wish. Keep the word “perspective” in mind as the documentation process plays a big role later on. 

As we scroll below the images will begin to “paint a picture” of the process but we can help it along and make it more compelling by the “way” that we assert the process. Adding your personality and sense of humor is certainly one option. We can also apply accessibility and inclusion by adding text to support the images. We can do this both below the image and placed into the “alt-text” area when we “edit” the image itself. 

Notice, Im using a simple shape, a circle, and Im altering its height by applying scale variations to my individual pieces. Subtle variations go a long way. So do multiple units of one single shape. Oh, and photography plays a big role in capturing your work in progress and the final outcomes as the sculpture itself is ephemeral… or is it?

Artist references – What artists work with or have worked with paper? 

Li Hongbo, Felix Semper, Elsa Mora, Kara Walker (and many more, what did you discover?)

Jump in! (Im going to project some fun colorful light sources on this same piece once it gets dark tonight).

Have fun and be sure to publish your post here on the Commons – add your URL here in the comments section below!

*PS –*Please e-mail a selection of your best final images to rseslow@york.cuny.edu – a collaborative image gallery will reside on this website.

*Part 2 will also publish on this blog soon!

Gather your materials - image of a cutting mat (cardboard also works) transparent tape, a glue stick(bond version), a pair of scissors, an X-Acto knife and some regular printing paper.

  1. Gather your materials – a cutting mat (cardboard also works) transparent tape, a glue stick(bond version), a pair of scissors, an X-Acto knife and some regular printing paper.

Image sharing how to cut your paper into strips (as many as you would like, but think of at least 10 or more) using the X-Acto knife or the scissors, apply the glue stick to the edge of one side of the strip that you have cut

2. Cut your paper into strips (as many as you would like, but think of at least 10 or more) using the X-Acto knife or the scissors, apply the glue stick to the edge of one side of the strip that you have cut.

Image showing how to carefully fold over the paper and apply pressure to the edge as it meets the glue. Hold in place for a few seconds.

3. Carefully fold over the paper and apply pressure to the edge as it meets the glue. Hold in place for a few seconds.

Image shows the Cut strip of transparent tape and from it into a loop. (you will be repeating this process)

4. Cut a strip of your transparent tape and from it into a loop. (you will be repeating this process)

image of one of the circular forms cut from paper

5. Once the circular form is ready, place the loop of transparent tape to the same side where you joined the two ends of your paper.

an image of the tape applied to the form - and repeat the process as needed to start composing your fragments.

6. Apply the tape and repeat the process as needed to start composing your fragments.

This is an image example of the various individual pieces that I cut out and glued together - they consist of various heights and diameters, this is called Scale and it created variation

7. This is an example of the various pieces that I cut out and glued together. Notice, they consist of various heights and diameters, this is called Scale and it creates variation.

Image shares the composing process by organizing and adhering your pieces. (Your first idea is NOT your only idea so play around with this a bit).

8. Begin the composing process by organizing and adhering your pieces. (Your first idea is NOT your only idea so play around with this a bit).

image shows the additive process - keep adding more pieces.

9. Add more pieces.

image shows the additive process - keep adding more pieces.

10. Keep Going!

image shows the additive process - keep adding more pieces.

11. Looking good, add more!

the final outcome image!

12. Finished! I used all of my pieces and took this image with the natural light that was present at the time.

the final outcome image with a dark lighting effect

13. You can certainly see that LIGHT plays a role in the enhancement of the mood and overall aesthetic… what will you do?

 

*OK if you made it this far, here is a teaser from the light projection captures! Coming soon!

an image of the paper sculpture with a purple light source projected onto the piece