Realistically, this was the most stressful project this semester. While Project 3 was time-consuming and involved quite a bit of modeling, this one required a major time crunch.
I had to leave before the fabrication of my design, but due to unfortunate circumstances, the MakerSpace monitors were able to cut out my design. Because of my absence, I was not able to due post-processing work, which I plan to finish at home.
At first glance, it may appear that I did not create non-objective art, as many of the objects are recognizable. However, many of these were abstracted versions. Each object was an extremely simplified version of the reference image, which often ended up as outlines. In addition, each of the sides and corners of the design were beveled using fillets, in order to generate a rounded shape and realistic geometry for molding. Furthermore, small details of the design were lost in fabrication, such as the guards. However, this seems like a happy accident, as it gives the mold a more abstract appearance. Due to the missing guard and rounded edges, I think the illusion of a dagger or knife is there, but it is not obvious.
I captured the motion of the piece using many techniques. The swords are crossed at a natural angle, which almost seems as people are holding them. In addition, the compass shape in the background acts as both the resulting clash and a star. Similarly, the key is set in a typical position for a wind-up toy, which may give a sense of turning movement.
My project as a whole, is a valid mold. This is due to the lack of undercuts, or places where the deeper parts of the design are wider than the shallow parts above them. In addition, every element of the design is placed at a straight angle, allowing for the mold to stay level and the pouring material to fill in every crevice. The mold itself is also much shallower than one would expect, due to time constraints. Once I retrieve the project, I plan to use some other carving tools to deepen the key shape, as well as give definition to the guards on the daggers, a detail that was lost in the CNC.