Assignment 6: Papercraft Digital Samples

In preparation for tinkering with genuine papercraft forms, I've designed a handful of simplified models for the main purpose of getting myself familiar with the thought process and steps necessary to carry out such a task. Overlap of faces once unfolded was my main issue, so I was forced to be very precise in the way each pattern was layed out. Ultimately, I feel more confident in tackling the real deal.

Assignment 5: The Fantastic Cut Paper Works of Deepti Nair and Harikrishnan Panicker

 The art of papercraft has been around for ages and taken on many different forms, each molded by the intuition of their creators and craftspeople. From papercraft to sculpture to illustrations, paper has proven itself to be a truly versatile and expansive medium. One particular exploration of the medium that really caught my eye was the cut paper images from artistic duo Hari and Deepti.

Upon my first inspection of this particular piece, I was almost positive it was made digitally.
It took me a while to wrap my mind around what I was really looking at, as well as the effort and care that went into making it look so smooth. Many layers of paper give such vivid tonal contrast and implication of depth, and the cartoony, simplified style lends itself fantastically to such an aesthetic.






The monochromatic nature of the paper illuminated by LEDs both unifies the image by creating a strong, bright background, but also emphasizes the figures better than a vivid detailed background would allow for. The simplified, organic figures are a personal favourite for me, as I've always been drawn to cartoons and graphics like this, and I personally think it lends itself extremely well to figures constructed from a flat medium. The subtle texture and thickness of the paper adds so much intrigue without doing too much, and contrasts beautifully with the strong silhouettes.

Creating the shapes seen in these images with paper would take a lot of patience and precision, especially the squiggly holes on the cloudlike shapes to the sides and the thin, delicate humanoid characters. Removing the light source from the background gives us a better look at just how intricate and calculated Hari and Deepti are forced to be in order to produce the desired effect. One wrong cut or tear could drastically change the desired effect of the image and could call for a redo, which is scary with a material as delicate as paper.

Many preparatory sketches and crafts would be required before the duo are ready to dive in, as well as considering the placements of the tiny dividers that give the works their depth. Overall, this intricacy and planning are necessary for creating such a striking product.

 Original Article:

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/03/illuminated-cut-paper-light-boxes-by-hari-deepti/

Papercraft Process Article by Elsa Mora:
https://elsita.typepad.com/allaboutpapercutting/materials-that-i-use-for-.html

YouTube Video on Papercraft:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHduGm4uFvE

Assignment 4: Mesh Mashup HD Renders

 For the final stage is this Mesh Mashup Marathon, I really polished the tone and feeling of my object through colour and lighting choices. The shiny metal blade clashes greatly with the smooth rim lighting on the sheets, and the blaring red button sticks out like a sore thumb. I really wanted to get a surreal, dreamlike quality across with these renders. (Yes, the fact that it's floating slightly off the ground plane was on purpose.)

Hope you enjoy the renders!