2/27/15
7:30-9pm
The cathedral project is on pause until the Makerbot station (specifically the program itself) in the DSC is up and running again, so tonight I started work on the pelican in the project folder, making it watertight and trying to fix the naked edges.
2/26/2015
8-9pm
I talked to Melissa who works at the DSC about how to fix the file. It seems like there was a small part that was still two-dimensional so it was having issues being sent over. Also, I separated the two pieces into separate files to print because the issue also could have been that they were slightly off the same level. When I returned to the DSC to print the files however the Maker Desktop program was no longer on the computer, and the student working there said they were having issues with the software, but he didn’t know how to fix it, and the students who monitor the printers hadn’t come in.
2/25/2015
7-9pm
Tonight I worked on printing the interlocking test piece for the cathedral. The first time I printed it, it was not successful and thus I worked on it again tonight.
I tried simplifying the hollow piece because that seemed to be causing most of the problem. I printed twice and both times the smaller solid cylinder printed fine, but the hollow piece still won’t print for some reason. The plastic keeps piling up and not making the shape its supposed to. I am going to try to print it separately and ask Ethan or Hunter if they know what’s going on.
2/20/2015
7-9pm
2/21/2015
9:30-11am
Friday night the DSC closed early and the mybucknell cas system was down, so I will be sending what I worked on to print tonight. I finished making all the pieces attached to the actual cathedral blocks. And in the morning finsished all of the test pieces of the lego inserts and prepared them to be printed.
Motivation
Dreams have been powerful creative tools for me to break off from normal way of thinking and all kinds of constraints and come up with a normal approach. Thus, I would like to dig deeper into the field of irrationality and come up with a surrealist object or artwork that based on dream and impossible objects. This has a lot of potential because the object doesn’t necessarily have to make sense and there are a lot of rooms for more warped and organic forms. I also want to take the next project to break off from my old style of using a lot of hard curves, black metals and black plastic, which starts to look cliche.
The object that I want to examine is the nail. Nails contain very interesting screw curves that can be further explored for meanings or modified into other kinds of objects. Minimally, I hope to create some kinds of objects or buildings that can represent the nails, and somehow use the curve of the nails to create some wild and elaborate geometry.
The project potentially relates to Twist and Bend command. These are the commands that I really want explore more of their potentials.
Visual images collected
Some sources of Surrealists artworks:
Surrealist artworks turned out to be plenty. Thus, I would have to figure out a unique style for my objects.
Sketches
This sketch is done by combining 7 different A4 sketches together. Takes 8 hours to complete.
Critical thinking about the project
The theme I chose is the wearing down of human’s emotion in the face of social challenges and constraint. It seems that as humans grew older over time, they start to have troubles finding sweetness for their long days. People can still buy a pack of candy, but they don’t know how to eat the candies like a child. The project aims to demonstrate the complexity of human’s emotion based on surrealist arts. Objects can be warped and modified wildly to be more expressive. My aim is not to follow the traditional style and goes for more organic materials, even though these organic materials might not fit the smooth nature of my geometry and demands more meticulousness. I also would like to use Adobe After Effects to apply some flat color into my work because as a “formalist,” I want to apply flat color so that the renders appear more expressive. Flat colors will also served to hide some of the weakness in geometry and make the final results look more natural.
Intellectual research
I am really glad that I was able to bring the model into keyshot to apply material. Initially, I resorted to my old styles which use mechanical and plastic materials. The result looks quite dull and doesn’t have that much emotional emphasis on it. I was initially very unhappy with the result.
I decided to completely overhaul my own style, switching to a more flat and comic approach. The result turns out to have a lot potential! Since materials are almost completely vanished, the focus of the picture was turned completely into form. Even though there are little edges or contour, the form are still very recognizable. The audience would take the form as it is instead of getting distracted by the material.
Several possible modifications for the final render:
2/19/2015
7-8:30pm
Today I worked on finishing up the majority of lego pieces. Then I made a separate Rhino file with just three base pieces and made sure they were watertight. Then I saved them to be printed.
The 3D printers were being used by another student today, but tomorrow I will run these test prints and if they fit well together I will print the rest of the cathedral as well.
Concept
Ancient weaponry and futuristic technology have a potential to combine aesthetically to create interesting form and functioning. This is an attempt to depict the Armored Elephant military unit in the ancient world, combined with some futuristic elements.
Models and renders
Future addition
Due to the time constraint, I was only able to render the model in a studio setting. Incorporating photo-realistic background introduces a problem of blending virtual and realistic elements. In the future, I hope to create additional military unit and construct meaningful scenes (Project 3)
For this project I designed a small sized catamaran for my mum, My mum is not the biggest adventurer but she loves extraordinary experiences as much as she can. Exploring unknown bays and seas for a long time without civilization wold be my harsh environment. I was heavily influenced by the design below due to its incredible efficiency. However I wanted my boat to be more livable with intricate negative spaces that provide both enough sun and the shade since my mum has a really sensitive skin.
I have created I livings pace hanging on top and dedicated the everything else for technical needs. I could hence plan one uninterrupted space where it has a transparent flooring to see the ocean.
Some tour boats in Turkey have glass bottoms to show antic ruins.
For this project I designed my vehicle for Jimi Hendrix. Jimi Hendrix is not the driver, but is rather the one on top of the vehicle, playing music for the crowd. The harsh environment is a rowdy crowd at a concert, reminiscent of the types of crowds that used to accost the Beatles when they played. The type of people at the concert would be those that attended Woodstock. Instead of a aesthetic unappealing fence, I chose a divergent shape leading up to where Jimi sits, preventing people from climbing up to him. The land is also uneven and difficult for a normal vehicle to drive over. To compensate I added treads to the wheels, as seen in a futuristic rendering of an all-terrain vehicle.
Jimi Hendrix is a relaxed guy. All pictures of him playing he is wearing very thin and light clothes. His biography also mentioned his more relaxed lifestyle. Therefore he will be sitting in a hammock on top of the whole vehicle, playing guitar while he sits down, the guitar resting comfortably along his body. Jimi doesn’t like interruptions to his music, therefore his elevated platform will enable this flow to maintain.
I thought it would be ideal if someone else was driving as Jimi was playing music. The person stands in a spherical module that is similar to a prison tower. The person driving uses the rectangular window to both see out to the crowd while also looking intimating so no one tries to climb up to Jimi.
I added a handrail and a flat platform to create stability to hold the tower and double as a dance floor. Also the platform that Jimi is on slowly revolves.
I plan to add a door that allows for Jimi to climb to the top as well as more developed wheels and internal components for the driving controls.
The exterior of my vehicle will combine elements of monster trucks, ATVs, and dune buggies. The interior of the vehicle will ideally resemble a man cave that Stone Cold himself would be proud of. It will keep the hot, desert air out, while keeping the passengers cool and refreshed as they enjoy the scenic canyons.
As of now, this is what my vehicle will look like. Special features I will incorporate into this design include (as of now): several types of heavy artillery, special tail fins for navigating, and a slick “space”ship” exterior. The only exterior element included in my design is the incorporation of the boat, as there is yet to be a game in the Halo series that includes any form of sea exploration. As a result, I plan on making my main individual, Master Chief, even more accustomed to battling through harsh environments.
I chose the ocean as my hazardous environment because the ocean is vast, undiscovered in parts, and treacherous at times.
I chose to create elements of a yacht in my design in order to sail the seas safely.
I also chose a spaceship design to incorporate aspects of Halo and Master Chief.
I chose Master Chief as my individual because I have always been intrigued by the graphics of the Halo series and admire his character. Furthermore, his character is strong, heroic, and a force to be reckoned with.
I wanted to create a vehicle that could survive transporting people in a radioactive futuristic hot environment categorized by frequent solar flares, heat waves, and high UV levels dangerous to people. This means that my vehicle will have to be able to reflect harsh sun rays, while having a cooling system that can handle the heat of the motor and the external heat accompanied by solar flares. The materials used will have to be reflective with a very high melting point. In addition, the vehicle will have to be able to be driven manually and self powered in case of disrupted radio frequencies that solar flares cause in addition to power fluxes.
In the future, people will need to be able to get around, and while the possibilities are endless for the average individual, they are more complicated for people with special needs and handicaps. This is why I wanted to design my vehicle to transport people with physical and mental handicaps as well as their caretakers. Specifically, the students and aids at New England Center for Children including my sister Molly. While not famous to the public, she is famous in my eyes.
The vehicle will need to have seating for 10 students and 5 aids. It will also need to be handicap accessible. In addition, safety will be a key factor. The students will have to be strapped in in a way that they can’t undo themselves during transport. The aids will need to be able to see the students easily and get to them if need be. I would also like to provide an entertainment system for the students. Molly loves music and old movies. All of which is accessible on her iPad. I would like to have a way for her to hook up to there iPad in the vehicle and personalize her entertainment. In addition, i want comfort to be a top priority in other ways such as seating, heating and lighting.
The current most common vehicles for transporting students are the school bus and the van. Both of these vehicles influenced my initial design as well as the hovercraft because of its shape and maneuverability.
I also am influenced by the cargo system in planes as a method for handicap entry. A non-vehicle, the zero gravity rides at fairs also influenced me as the sea of having the aids at the center looking out from the operating area makes sense. They would be able to see all the passengers on the outside of the center gate.
I would like to make the environment sterile and comfortable and will do so by incorporating lots of white with cushioned objects like bean bags.
SIMPLE MODEL SHOTS:
For the first project I have decided to a vehicle meant for finding Big Foot in the Northwest Territories. Ron Swanson/Teddy Roosevelt will be operating the vehicle.
For the first project, “Vehicles designed for harsh environments”, I am designing a vehicle for Michael Phelps to aid him in his adventures in the deep sea. In thinking about the deep sea, the key aspects that I am considering include the darkness, the extreme pressures and temperatures, and the dangerous creatures that live in the depths of the ocean. I plan to incorporate different aspects from various deep sea creatures in the vehicle so that it can camouflage as a defense mechanism.
When considering Michael Phelp’s characteristics that should be included in the project, I immediately thought of his various physical traits. These include his height and slender frame, his long arms, flexibility, and large lungs. Additionally, I plan to incorporate his preference for winning gold medals and swimming in the design.
The design is loosely based off of the idea of a stretch bus that is connected via a pivoting joint that allows the bus to remain flexible while increasing it’s length.
The vehicle that I plan to design will resemble a segmented bus with each segment being a round orb that can withstand the high pressures and extreme temperatures associated with the deep sea. The vehicle will include features from various deep sea creates including, but not limited to the angler fish and an octopus/squid.
For our first project ‘vehicles designed for harsh environments’, I have decided to design a powerful and fierce aircraft for the one and only Miss Queen Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter. This vessel is inspired from her own artistic vision as a strong female musician and performer, as well as a successful CEO, wife, and mother. Her story is two-fold, for she keeps her personal life very private, while her global image is iconic and constantly in the public eye. Her two facades will be demonstrated in the design of my construction, which will have a bold, forceful exterior, with an intimate scene inside separated by a partition in reference to her song, ‘Partition. In an interview about her most recent album Beyonce, she says: . “I wanted people to hear the songs with the story that’s in my head, because that what makes it mine. That vision in my brain is what I wanted people to experience for the first time. Part 1: The visual album. I feel like right now, people experience music differently. I remember seeing thriller on TV with my family, it was an event, we all sat around the TV and I am now looking back, I am so lucky I was born around that time. I miss that immersive experience. Now, people only listen to a few seconds of a song on their ipods and they don’t really invest in a whole album. It’s about the single and the hype. It’s so much that gets between the music, the artist and the fan.” Her goal in making music is to create a complete body of work in a narrative fashion that will make a powerful statement about femininity/women with power; my goal will be to reflect this in creating my own narrative through her vehicular design and its surrounding.
In one of Beyonce’s celebrated songs “Flawless” from her most recent visual album Beyonce, she samples Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED message:
We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise you will threaten the man.’ Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support. But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors – not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes”
These words inspired Beyonce’s song, and both women continue to address gender inequality in the workforce and empowering women to a higher level. We are the products of a society in a world where our ideas of gender have not evolved, and Beyonce recognizes this in her artistic vision. The harsh environment I have chosen is set in a board room meeting space filled with men in suits. Fittingly, Beyonce is the President and CEO of her company Parkwood Entertainment and she will take the seat at the head of the table after descending this fierce yet feminine vehicle. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s message continues in addressing the workplace below:
“There are slightly more women than men in the world, about 52% of the world’s population is female. But most of the positions of power and prestige are occupied by men. The late Kenyan, Nobel Peace Laureate, Wangari Maathai, put it simply and well when she said,
“The higher you go the fewer women there are.”
In the recent US elections we kept hearing of the Lilly Ledbetter Law. And if we go beyond the nicely alliterative name of that law, it was really about a man and a woman doing the same job, being equally qualified and the man being paid more because he is a man. So, in a literal way, men rule the world.”
Beyonce will be entering this scene on a hovering aircraft that informs her personal and public life and her values as a female artist. She will be standing at the one golden door of access which will be open (in reference to her philosophy on producing music with only one access point and her aversion to leaks/music theft) as the aircraft gracefully hovers en route to land. The vehicle will be placed directly at the head of the conference table so that Beyonce can descend from her private interior (life) and take her throne at the head of the conference meeting. She is often called Queen Bey (Beyonce) and refers to her following of fans/supporters as her beehive. These people who appreciate and recognize her vision and messages will be incorporated to the exterior façade which will take the form of a gold, hive-like hexagonal pattern. The wings will slightly mimic those of an insect (bee) with the intention that her life is always in motion and her work is about movement and being able to influence future generations and spread her message globally. This vehicle will be styled futuristically to reflect her goals of impacting new generations of women as well as her avant-garde approach towards feminism. The exterior color scheme and material are informed by her royal title as Queen Bey with bold, royal colors that are sharp and sleek yet feminine like jewelry or her wardrobe. The interior will be a more intimate, simple scene with a monochromatic color palette to keep her private life vague and ambiguous to the viewer. (If possible) I would also like to incorporate a rendering of Beyonce in a powerful stance as she takes charge of her sexuality, body, and capacity to be successful without fear of judgment. The relationship with space is very important in this piece for it will reflect her career and private life juxtaposed in a societal critique on a woman’s place at a table, figuratively and literally.
Images for vehicle inspiration:
And harsh environment idea:
2/14/2015
12:30-1:30pm
Today I worked on creating more “Lego” attachments on the cathedral pieces. As the pieces get smaller the interlocking parts also are changing size.
2/12/2015
3-5pm, 7-8:30pm
Today I worked on creating the Lego style pieces of the cathedral. This has proved to be a bit tricky. I’ve been approaching it as a trial & error kind of puzzle and after some experimenting with the different tools on Rhino, I’ve succeeded in making a few interlocking “blocks”. I might try to print tests of these soon to see if the design works
Tank tread is a little bit over-complicated. Consider simplifying it depending on the processor. (The PC already shows sign of slow when the tank is assembled.
2/11/2015
7-8:30pm
Today I worked in the library and went on thinkiverse to find something new to print. I found a tower-like structure very similar to the cathedral tower sculpture I’ve been working on. Like the cathedral, this tower was split into segments to be printed. I decided to print this template to get practice scaling pieces of the same object and positioning them on the makerbot software so that they will eventually fit together.
