Serial Slicing - Andrew Ward

This proved to be a fun project. Took my bust into Rhino and created the serial slices that would feed into the laser cutter.

After I received the cuts I started my assembly, which made me smile as all the pieces that were building him after the base looked like chubby bats.

 

After this, I coated the model in preparation for painting and then began using spray on the base followed by detailing in acrylics. The goal was to create a paint job that had a sketchy quality to it. When I create art I like to leave it in such a state that it isn't overly refined. I feel it loses character if it is and it doesn't retain the energy that sketches often have. 

 

 

Pepakura - Andrew Ward

So, I started with my high poly model. The goal was to reduce the mesh and unfortunately none of the methods that Professor Scott showed were working well with my sculpt so I opted to do a controlled reduction. I brought the model into Topogun, a program made specifically for reducing mesh. From here I brought the sculpt down by hand.

 

After this I reduced the mesh using an auto reducer inside of Maya and layed out in Pepkura Designer. I went through several iterations of this in order to get it print friendly.

This project proved rather difficult for me. Due to personal issues my time was limited and all the small flaps that had to be put together especially in the smaller face section proved extremely difficult due to tremors I have in my hands. Unfortunately, my whole goal was to get this together in the limited amount of time I thought I had do to those personal issues, so I didn't realize I had forgotten to take some pictures of it initially as I started. 

I learned a great deal from my first attempt at something like this, There were a lot of things I would avoid doing on a second go around throughout every step of this project. Look forward to doing this again.

ATEC 6389 Week 14 Bio Presentation (Vic Simon)

Week 14 Bio Presentation

Weeks 14 Blog (Special)    

Task: Create presentation, and tell, my CreATEC Story!

Process: Layout presentation about myself, passions and MFA work

Tools: Apple Keynote & mouth!

I had a blast doing this assignment and sharing myStory with ProfScott and my fellow Scotties!

Here is an image of whiteboard WIP that I used as a guide for the message I wanted to share.




The title of my talk was "Dyads, Triads, Quads, and One SexTuple - A Look into the SoulWorld of VicSimon".

It was a reworked presentation that I shared with ProfMetz's HUAS 6330 class.

The BigBreakThrough that I had was

IntegralCube

- a focus for my future end-of-six-year-plan MFA final project!!

ATEC 6389 Weeks 10-11 (Vic Simon)

Weeks 9-11 Serial Slice Studies

Week 10 & 11 Blog    

Task: Pick one of the two AlienArtist models and serial slice in Rhino in preparation for Laser Cutting

Process: Serial Slice

Tools: Rhino, two ProfScott tutorials, Laser cutter, dowels, Aqua-Resin



I chose to serial slice my AlienArtist (SwappO) relief. It ended up being 58 vertical slices.
Here is an in-process images of aligning slices on two wooden quarter-inch dowels as guides.




Finished slice composition with extra slice # 42 which I lost one register on, and had to go back and re-register. I used both the original and a n eye-balled version. I did pretty good on the eye-balled approx!
















After construction of the slices, the relief was sealed with a masking tape layer for form and Aqua-Resin appliqué.






Here was the useful Aqua-Resin process that TAmanda put on the whiterboard.






I was lucky to have ProfScott use my serial slice for an Aqua-Resin demo!
Finished, with three coats of Aqua-Resin, ready for paint.






ProfScott suggested augmenting the texture of the surrounding frame by using plaster bandage. I loved the idea and loved the effect. Thanks Prof!



I then spray-painted my piece with a Gloss Black spray paint.




A look at my spray palette that I accumulated. Not quite airBrush capable!




Pepa(Spray)Ron helped with with his 'patented' speckle-spray application method to simulate "Star Field"! Thanks Ron!

Here is my finished AlienArtist (SwappO) serial-slice armature study!

                                                             

ATEC 6389 Week 15 Final Presentation (Vic Simon)

Week 15 Final Presentation

Weeks 15 Blog                                                                 

Task: Present serial-slice (Serial Armature Studies) and pepakura (Planar Armature Studies) of SwappO character

Process: Serial Slice & Pepakura, StoryTelling!

Tools: Blog



One of the big themes of this wonderful survey course into ScottWorld (ATEC 6389) has been "material performativity" and the ProfScott-offered 'MaterialProcessMeaning' (MPM) trinity.

I have struggled (but learned a lot) about Materials & Processes of Digital Fabrication this semester.

I feel more @home with my StoryTeller talent of dealing with "Meaning"!


With those babyArtist insights in mindheart,

my "AlienArtist" character from MidTerm gave way to a better Story ~

SwappO - The shadowZeroMuse !

Every CreATEC shown be familiar with the Nine Muses of Greek Mythology.

What were the names of the Nine Muses?

The Nine Muses were named:

• Clio was the Muse of history
• Thalia was the Muse of comedy
• Erato was the Muse of lyric poetry
• Euterpe was the Muse music, melancholic poetry
• Polyhymnia was the Muse of sacred hymns and agriculture
• Calliope was the Muse of epic poetry
• Terpsichore was the Muse of dance
• Urania was the Muse of astronomy
• Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy

How about the Tenth Muse ~ Sappho?

Sappho (săf`ō), fl. early 6th cent. B.C., greatest of the early Greek lyric poets (Plato calls her "the tenth Muse"), b. Mytilene on Lesbos. Facts about her life are scant. She was an aristocrat, who wrote poetry for her circle of friends, mostly but not exclusively women, and like other poets of her era, she was most likely a musician and a performer. She may have had a daughter. The term lesbian (see homosexuality), her presumed sexual orientation, is derived from the name of her island home, Lesbos. The ancients had seven or nine books of her poetry (the first book originally consisted of 330 Sapphic stanzas; named for her, it consists of three long lines followed by one short line). Only fragments of her verse survive; the longest (seven stanzas) is an invocation to Aphrodite asking her to help the poet in her relation with a beloved woman. The most recently discovered, the five-stanza "Brothers Poem," was found in 2012. She wrote in Aeolic dialect in a great many meters. Her verse is a classic example of the love lyric, and is characterized by her passionate love of women, a love of nature, a direct simplicity, and perfect control of meter. She influenced many later poets, e.g., Catullus, Ovid, and Swinburne. 




I suggest Sappho might have had a ShadowYangBrother, the ZeroMuse, SwapphO !!

SwapphO is the Muse of sucking in 'neg-energy' (FEAR) through his 'black hole'/'pie-hole', transforming it, and transmitting positive creative energy out his dark eyes and gloom black luminous star field skin !!!! 

Kinda like the imagined cosmological cycle of Black Hole / Star 'nursery' model!

Here is the material performativity of SwappO expressed through serial slicing!
(Inspired by the StarField essence of my MidTerm Jungian Quadrivium composition).

SwapphO ~ "StarBoy"!




Here is the material performativity of SwappO expressed through volume pepakura!
(Ugh - A twelve hour 'all-nighter' construction project!)






Deep Gratitude to

ProfScott, Amanda, Denise, Mo, Papa(Spray)Ron! and my newest Hero, Yung'Un Michael Bradley,

for their patience, compassion, and assistance, this semester!

And thanks to all my other fellow DigiFab 'journeyors'!

Blessings & Gratitude,
Old'Un VicTricSter




Onward to SPR2017 !!

ATEC 6389 Weeks 12-14 (Vic Simon)

Weeks 12-14 Armature Studies / Volume Construction

Weeks 12 - 14 Blog                                                                 

Task: Pick one of the two AlienArtist models and prepare PepaKura (Planar Armature Studies) using several of the Software tools in preparation for Laser Cutting, and final construction

Process: Serial Slice

Tools: MudBox, Maya, Rhino, and yet another new piece of software, PepaKura Designer!, ProfScott tutorials, help from ProfScott and Tutors!

BTW, this survey course gave me the opportunity to complete 4 Lynda.com course on 3D software tools - Mudbox 2013, Mudbox 2016, Rhino and 'TheBeast', herself, Maya 2017!


Back to the computer. The pepakura planar process was a 'BearBeast' compared to the fairly simple straightforward serial study process!

I got extensive help from ProfScott & Tutor Michael, in trying to come up with a low-poly version of my Alien Artist relief 3D geometry. From back to Mudbox for mesh reducing, Maya for re-meshing, hours of manual manipulation of points, edges & faces in Maya. Using Rhino throughout.

Finally into Pepakura Designer for unfolding, organization and layout.

Proud of myself for watching all the tutorials three times and actually doing the Pepa MarkUp to standards with no outside tutoring, help or assistance!

Brought in into to PepaRon, and he decided he was gonna PepaFy and RonOPtimize my Papa files.
And he did, Who AM I to question the PepaMeister himself?

Thanks Ron for all that rework & RonOptimization !!!!!!!!

He squeezed 3 plates into 2. Amazing!

(Please make the edge number font bigger next time for Ol'Uns. 15 pt almost caused me to go blind!!!!!)

Here was my 'hot of the laser cutter' pepa pieces. Oh the smell of burnt cardboard in the evening.

Sorry, Fracis Ford Copolla and "Apocalypse Now".

My "Apocalypse Now" was the 12-15 hour marathon putting this jigsaw puzzle together!

Somewhere I had an image of my two "PepaPincer" thumbs and for-fingers in an 'OK' gesture!

BTW, that Loctite glue from Lowe's was worthless. MUST USE Loctite PRO !!!! (Like Prof directed)





Hours & Hours ( and Papa-Pincers later)
Finally went to latex gloves (I'm such a weenie)








Getting' close. Ron (after the fact) told me I shouldn't have attached the first row to the back. Yep.





OMG, this was hard to connect!!




But finally (with burnished silver Spray paint) Thanks Lowes! (and MissLionEss!!)

FINISHED !!
SwappO PepaKura!!

Michael Bradley: Serial Slice

3D Model

For this project, I used the bust model from my Reek Cast Series, based on a creature from Star Wars.  I used Rhino to slice the model every .25 inch, and lay out the pieces.  In addition, I added joints for the horn and tusks, so they could be added to the constructed model separately.

Construction

To construct this model, I stacked the pieces with two pieces of PVC pipe running through the core, and used a spray Locite adhesive to hold the pieces in place.  I also chose to run wires through the PVC, and drill holes at the layer they eyes would be, for lighting in the future.  After putting holes in the PVC, I simply poked the wires through the corrugation in the cardboard.

Surfacing

To surface this sculpture, I first encased the cardboard in masking tape.  Next, I used Sculpting Epoxy to sculpt the horn and tusks.  For the remainder of the body, I used Aqua Resin in several coats.  I tried to let the resin run thick, so I had less brush strokes.  Before the resin dried, I used a little water and my bare hands to smooth it over, as a type of wet sanding, to get the desired texture.  The bottom half of the model was given an intentional rough texture by taping the tip of the brush on the Resin while it was still wet. 

To create a better seam for the horn, I added some quick setting epoxy to the skull around the horn to make it seem more natural.

Finishing

The entire model was first primed with black spray primer.  To finish the horn and tusks, I removed the tusks, and taped off the horn, and painted them with a glossy off white color. Then, to protect them from chipping, I clear coated them with a gloss crystal clear coat.  

Before painting the body, I created eyes by hot gluing three LEDs together, and using a wet finger to mold the hot glue into a smooth form, while it was still hot.  After soldering the 'eyes' to the wires run through the head, and protecting them with more hot glue, I drilled out the eye sockets and embedded them into the head.  After the eyes were in place, I sculpted eyelids with quick setting epoxy and re-primed the area. The LEDs are wired into a single watch battery with a switch and battery pack embedded in the bottom of the model.

To paint the body, I started first with a wash of very thin grey paint, to fill all the cracks and give it a grey, dusty, dry look.  Then, I did some detail work with some yellows and greens, in cracks and crevices to add a dirty mossy look, as well as a splash of natural color.  The bottom was coated heavily in a dark green color, and then dry brushed with brown across the whole thing.  Finally the entire sculpture was dry brushed with pure white to bring out all the highlights and give it a final stone look.

The horns and tusks were given a  more natural ivory look by rubbing a dirt brown color on by hand, with a paper towel.  After discovering glue wouldn't be enough to hold them, the tusks were set into the model with screws, which were then painted over.