Week 3: Paper Cutter and Silhouette Studio

This week we discussed and drafted more 3D cubic shapes for use of the paper cutter and program Silhouette Studio. Like last week, we utilized Adobe Illustrator for drafting our shapes. Compared to the paper drafting, this was much more convenient and easier to do. These were my results of Illustrator drafting.

Composition: The materials I used to design these 3D shapes the same as last week, Adobe Illustrator and a Mac Desktop computer. Since last week, the workflow of drafting these figures was very substantially quicker but no less draining and boring. Since they had to be different in design, the challenge was envisioning how insert tabs worked and how to portray that. Personally, I prefer the insert tabs since they remove much of the hassle of interior adhesives.

Craft: The five shapes was created by first drafting the designs in Adobe illustrator by making the outline of the shapes, including the tabs, with the pen tool. With the grid of Illustrator up and snap to grid selected, I was able to accurately size the cube and other shapes. Following from that, I then used the line segment tool to make the dashed lines of the folds with a 6pt dash and 12 pt spacing by making a line and clicking the stroke icon and selecting dash. This was all created on a single layer. From then, we would export the file as an AutoCAD Interchange File or .dxf file. Following that, we'd go into the program Silhouette Studio, the program for the paper cutter and drag the file into it. Once the settings were set up for card stock paper then I would hit the cut button and the cutter would cut the design into the paper. Following the completion of the cut, I would clear the cutter and remove the cutting map, pulling off the now cut paper. After that, I would fold the design into shape. The images are below of the shape.

Concept: The concept of these pieces was to continue and better refine our drafting skills and with Adobe Illustrator as well. Being able to fully grasp the inner workings of the industry standard and of the paper cutter. It was a well received lesson and important aspect of this week and something we will continue to work on in this class moving forward.

Week 2: Adobe Illustrator Cubic Drafts

This week we discussed and drafted more 3D cubic shapes. However, unlike last week, we utilized Adobe Illustrator. Compared to the paper drafting, this was much more convenient and easier to do. Next week, we will be working on cutting these designs out using a laser cutter. These were my results of Illustrator drafting.

Composition: The materials I used to design these 3D shapes were Adobe Illustrator and a Mac Desktop computer. From these materials, I was able to draft out these designs with relative ease compared to the multiple attempts on graph paper. Since they had to be different in design, one with insert tabs and the other two with different tab placement, the challenge was envisioning how insert tabs worked and how to portray that.

Craft: The cube was created by first drafting the three cube designs in Adobe illustrator by making the outline of the shapes, including the tabs, with the pen tool. With the grid of Illustrator up, I was able to accurately size the cubes. Following from that, I then used the line segment tool to make the dashed lines of the folds by making a line and clicking the stroke icon and selecting dash. This was all created on a single layer.

Concept: The concept of these pieces was the refining of our drafting skills and with Adobe Illustrator. Being able to fully grasp the inner workings of the industry standard was a well received and important aspect of this week and something we will continue to work on, I'm sure.

Week 1: Cubes, Geometric Shapes and 3D Objects

This week we worked with physical materials and how to draft and create cubes and other 3D objects. We were instructed to design and make a 2 1/2 in cube. This was my results.

Composition: The materials we used to design these 3D shapes are as following: 
graph paper, number two pencil, straight edge (ruler), X-acto knife, and a cutting mat. The cube was made of the graph paper.

Craft: The cube was created by first drafting a design on graph paper. The cube's sides were two and a half inches in length and width with  additional tabs at 1/4 inches in length. These tabs would be later glued or tapped to their adjacent sides to lock the shape in place. Once the draft was complete (solid lines for cuts and dashed lines for folds), we used an X-acto knife and cutting mat to cut the shape out of the paper using a straight edge or ruler to  keep the sides straight. Once we cut the object out of the paper, we folded the pieces and taped them to form the cube.

Concept: The concept of these pieces was the manipulation and concept of 3D space and being aquainted with that dimension when most of us artists used to painting and drawing are confined to the 2D space of paper or canvas.

This three objects made of graph paper was created using the same process described above.

These two objects, the car and the fish are paper crafts that easily found on the internet. They have already been drafted and all that is needed is cutting them out and folding them into the appropriate shape according to directions.

Introduction

Week 1: My name is Chris Thach, a university student currently, as of Spring 2016, enrolled in 3D design where we will be learning the fundamentals of design and 3D space. We will be working with laser cutters and software to form drafts and sketches and move further into wood and other physical materials in order to create what it is that we designed. I expect our end goal will be a deeper appreciation of the complexities of three-dimensional space and how they come together to form things as mundane as a box to the grandeur of a building.