Brainstorming and inspiration
My name is Austin Xiong, I am a ICP student with areas in business, communications and arts. My inspiration for creating my first project is to have a 3D form that I can use projection mapping onto. Projection mapping is the art of using a projector on a sculpture in order to create a very cool effects on top of the sculpture using light. I feel as though being able to create my own sculptures will give me full control over my artwork. All brainstorms would be a mat white color, as that is the optimal surface to project onto.
Idea 1
This concept would be like a picture frame which pieces inside in order to project onto. The panels wold either be glued or screwed together in order to stick together. This concept wold allow me to keep the backgrounds blank or projected as I see fit.
Idea 2
These panels would be like picture frames except they would be interlocking and stood upright on their own. These interlocking panels would likely be glued together, with the background panels being glued together as well.
Idea 3
This idea would allow for two different projections to be play at the same time, one on the inside fo the circle and one on the outside area.Having a back board to this design is essential for both gluing the pieces together (More surface area) as well as having an area to project onto.
Initial File Work
Moving forward, I have decided to do a combination of the first and second project ideas.
I choose to do interlocking walls in order to give me a texture to project onto if I choose to highlight it or not through projection. This will also make the sculpture much more portable and easy to move around when taken apart.
The bottom section was decided to be a square instead of a triangle in order to keep things more stable, and to allow me to position the walls in different sections if I choose to.
These sections are simple backgrounds that will be glued behind the walls of the project.
Prototype:
I decided to use 1/4th inch MDF for my project in order to get a smooth surface that I can easily spray paint and project onto. After printing my prototype, I came to the realization that the panels had a hard time holding together without a top piece, as well as the inner panels were far too heavy to be held up by the box. After reviewing my prototype I also came to the decision that the box should be bigger not only to more easily be held together, but to also make it easier to project onto in order to not pixilate the images and effects I will be using.
Final File Work:
For my final file work I added a top piece as well as enlarging the project making the side panels 16 inches by 8 inches and the tops and bottoms 8 inches on each side. The top piece was added to help with stability. I also added a hole on one of the end pieces in order to make it easier to disassemble.
Final Assembly
In my final work I decided to switch the inner panels from a 1/4th inch MDF to a 1/8th inch MDF in order to be lighter and easier to be held together. For my paint I choose a mat white spray paint, as reflective surfaces distort the projections.
My final steps were to spray paint the pieces a mat white and super glue the inner panels to the outer ones. The final project turned out great, as it was a very easy object to project designs onto. Lastly I used projection making to light up the project with special effects. Being able to create my own surface in order to project onto was a very fun and exciting experience.
