Task: use your understanding of your animal’s form, features, characteristics, and qualities to develop a 3D translation using reclaimed packaging. The translation should represent an abstract version of the animal that respects the materials used.
Initial sketching and first iteration — 4/18
Yay plastic time! After seeing the examples I still wasn’t exactly sure where to start, so I restudied the bird’s proportions and sketched out some possible pieces and jointery I could use.
The main thing I gathered was that the shrike is about three heads tall, has a flat head on top, has a straight back and tail, and that its distinctive features were its large head and beak, as well as it’s mask-like coloration. I decided early on that the pose would be it simply perched, and that the movement I wanted was the bird to be able to bend over through its legs. This mimics the movement it does in real life to impale its prey on a spike.
Luckily I had been collecting plastic pretty diligently for the past week so I had a huge collection.
From sketching, I had a few main ideas I’d start out with. First the beak and legs — both would be thin and ideally the same material — straws chopped in half to create some visual interest. I also began working on the head with a mochi ice cream package since I had ideas for the beak.
Instead of a straw I was given a little party horn which I took to create the beak, although I think it’s a little too bulky for my purposes.
I then realized my empty scotch tape dispenser could be used as the curve of the stomach and back of the bird. I then attached the top of a clear water bottle to the end to make the tail, and shoved the ridge of a half gallon container to create the rear, and took the handle of a fork for the tail.
While I think it’s definitely bird like, The head is still not correct and the beak is too big. I also think the body is too long and not round enough at the chest, and the combination of plastic is a bit confusing/distracting. I also wanted to fix the angle of the tail so it was in line with the rest of the back.
So, I cut the beak a little bit (was too hard for me to cut more), added part of a propel water bottle to the top of the rear, cut up a straw in half to create legs, and used the ridges of a half gallon to create wings.
While it’s definitely bird like, I don’t think it’s exactly my shrike. The loggerhead shrike actually varies in proportion a lot from my studies, with some being very slender and others being quite round.
I opted for something in the middle like the picture below because I feel like most of the birds tended to be around this size in reference pics, and I felt it was the easiest for me to understand its proportions.
I think there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of proportion as well as coloration. Mine feels like its head is too big and the legs are too short, and the markings are not present at all. I’d like to add a mask somehow within mine, or at least keep the beak + legs consistent. Lastly to add movement I need to get some brads and figure out how to attach legs to the torso so they move.
Second Iteration + Refinement
During class I quickly came up with a second iteration while the professors were walking around:
Some things I changed were: different clear tape dispenser, different face (little gold cup thing), using boba straws for the legs/beak, and cutting the half gallon carton for the butt part.
But, I quickly realized that the belly was made too round by the different tape snail, the head shape was off (especially from the front) and the proportions looked just a little too squished. After talking to Kelsey & Daphne, they affirmed some of my concerns and suggested that I find a standard of bird proportions to base my plastic bird off of.
I went back to sketching out the shrike to really drill its proportions into my head:
And then, using the head as ‘x’, I mapped out the general proportions of the loggerhead shrike. Then I began to take apart my first iteration to improve on it.
The main things I did were:
- unify the color of the beak and the legs
- add movement to the legs (brads so they move back and forth)
- add brads as eyes
- add milk bottles to simulate the shrike’s mask/add more form to the bird
- add more tail feathers
- and realize that the proportions of my bird were a little wrong, so I added an additional piece to the chest between the aquafina water bottle and the head.
I struggled the most with this iteration as I realized my bird was way too short. I found myself readjusting and making small cuts to plastic to try to get them to be symmetrical and fall into the right place. The tape was also often annoying to work with because my fingerprints would get on it, it would peek out from under surfaces or just look really messy taped on top of the plastic pieces.
But, I think this iteration was more accurate to the actual shrike. I got some feedback to keep going, but also think about my craft and using little pieces like I was because it can begin to look messy/jammed together. I think my shrike is rather cartoony — not necessarily a bad thing but something I wanted to keep consistent throughout my plastic form, even after seeing other people’s much more detailed forms.
Final Iteration
PHOTOS:
Yay it’s done! I took apart my third iteration again and rebuilt it, cutting new a water bottle bum, new wings, added a mask to the face by layering plastic, and added some underbelly plastic to round out the curves.
Overall, I found this process to be pretty difficult because I’m still not the most comfortable working with my hands, and it was really difficult to get the right proportions with different pieces once I had found something that really worked (the head piece). But seeing it all come together, and slotting pieces of plastic together almost perfectly was really satisfying. I also like that I can just hold my shrike in my hand and move its legs. It feels like a good finale to a good semester.
I learned a lot about the importance of just doing. To be honest, even while sketching I really had no idea where I was going to start even though I had so much plastic in the beginning. Just trying things out and seeing if it worked out — I could always take it apart — was so important for me to really do. My first iteration also came together so much quicker than I expected, and it was a nice boost of confidence. There was also that element of scarcity-once I cut my plastic that was it, and I had limited chances to get it right. While that made it a little scary, it really made me think about my craft while cutting to try to get it as neat as I could.
I think I allowed myself to take adequate breaks and I think my work/life balance was so much better this semester. Going on long walks everyday has really made my work better and me feel better.
I really enjoyed this semester as a whole, and I felt it was so nice to just dip in and experience every track in a sense. Even though I don’t have too much interest in pushing P, doing the projects to just work with my hands and learn the importance of sketching and documentation was valuable. I think we learned so many more applicable skills this semester like how to present work and how to just begin using Illustrator. In the future I really really really want to get better at speaking, because I think it’s just such an important skill that I have not really developed at all. But the year is over and I’m excited to teach art summer camp for eight weeks B).