volumeToActionMotionModeling

In this portion of the exercise, we learn how to use four modelling operations (Extrude, Revolve, Sweep, and Loft) to imply motion in our Fusion models.

These modelling operations are used in this exercise to extrapolate bodies from sketches in different ways. When Extruding a sketch, the resultant body implies a linear motion, Revolving a sketch will imply rotation around an axis, Sweeping will imply motion in a certain direction along a curve, and Lofting a sketch will imply motion depending on the parametrics of your sketches used. Each operation has its quirks/requirements, but all serve this same purpose.

Below are my four resultant models, with three of my models being centered within the last model. The alien-looking curve surrounding the three models is my Sweep of a equilateral triangle. The three models in the middle are all based on a sketches regular pentagons and are the Extrude (left), Revolve (middle), and Loft (right).

volumeToActionMoldMaking

In this final exercise, I took my operations from the previous and made them “mold ready.”

This wiki post covers the basics on making successful molds from models in Fusion to be produced by the CNC router. It covers the traps that are undercuts, how to add texture to a mold for certain materials, how to add draft angles and a review on the importance micro-beveling.

Below are my previous operations, but with appropriate bevels. I only needed to rotate one of them (the Revolve model) for a better mold, but the rest, disregarding the Sweep model, were okay. The Sweep, although a interesting experimentation in the first exercise, would be a nightmare to mold and, due to its shape, actually could not receive a bezel big enough for the CNC router.

Bibliography

Cromar, William. “VolumeToActionMotionModeling.” newMediaWiki, 2020, newmediawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/141409035/volumeToActionMotionModeling. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.

Cromar, William. “VolumeToActionMoldMaking.” newMediaWiki, 2020, newmediawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/141428967/volumeToActionMoldMaking. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.

planeToVolumeMeshMods

On this wiki page, we learn the basics of scanning an object using the digitized, cleaning up its mesh in Meshmixer and modifying the mesh in different ways.

This page first covers what makes a good object for scanning. Ideally you want an object that is light in color and matte in surface and that is a non-occluding object. For this exercise I chose a killer whale tooth that I had; I thought it would be an interesting shape to scan and it seemed easily scannable due to its color and finish. Below is a picture of it I took with my phone.

Once it was scanned by the digitizer, I had to clean up its mesh in Meshmixer so that it is suitable for work done in Fusion. Things such as closing holes found in the mesh, smoothing edges and reducing polygon count were taught in this wiki page. Thankfully my mesh had little issues other than the surface needing to be smoothed a bit to better reflect its real-life counterpart.

Lastly, I also had to modify the mesh in someway using any of Meshmixer’s tools. For my mesh, I choose voxel: an art style that represents the shape of an object in cubes.

planeToVolumeBooleans

In this second wiki page, we revisit Booleans, although this time in Fusion360 and Meshmixer as opposed to Adobe Illustrator. Similar Boolean terminology is used in the context 3D modelling (Union, Intersection, Subtraction) and we learn about how to perform these operations in Fusion and Meshmixer. Furthermore, this page also instructs how to import a mesh to Fusion and convert it to a body along with copying/bringing two meshes into the same file.

As a part of this exercise, I was tasked to perform a Boolean operation on the model of my whale tooth in the spirit of an artist’s work. I took inspiration from Arman and made a sliced-up whale tooth.

Bibliography

Cromar, William. “PlaneToVolumeMeshMods.” newMediaWiki, 2020, newmediawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/127737966/planeToVolumeMeshMods. Accessed 24 Oct. 2021.

Cromar, William. “PlaneToVolumeBooleans.” newMediaWiki, 2020, newmediawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/134937144/planeToVolumeBooleans. Accessed 24 Oct. 2021.

Nine Square Grid

In this exercise, we return to Fusion 360 to build upon the knowledge learned from 2.1 References with the “Nine Square Grid” activity. It starts off with making a nine square grid of shallow rectangles and five cubes to be placed on the grid. Then, to our choosing, we transform the cubes into unique shapes, while keeping a common visual thread between them. Lastly, we learn how to micro-bevel: a technique of softening the edges of the model to make it appear more lifelike by eliminating the sharp, algorithmic geometry produced by the modelling software.

I produced my board by sketching a square with the required dimensions and extruding it by a small amount. The cubes were produced similarly, but were extruded by the same length as the sides. I then used mainly the Press-Pull and Fillet options to transform my cubes and would later use the Fillet tool again to micro-bevel the edges slightly. I found it easier to make/transform my cubes this way, instead of creating a form and sculpting them.

Sculpt and Slice

This wiki posts introduces an addon to Fusion 360 that will be essential to the development of the second project: Slicer. Slicer essentially takes a model that you have created in Fusion and separates it into partitions in order for it to be laser cut. You can adjust the type of slices, the angle, the width and the direction to accommodate your specific model and also includes the option of making holes to place dowels into after it is cut. Below is an example with one of my objects from my Nine Square Grid exercise.

2.2sculptandsliceexercise

Logo Etch

This last exercise involved using my logo from Project 1 in order to produce an engraving for a rubber stamp via the laser cutter. The wiki post discussed the steps for the process of doing this, mainly creating a margin around the logo, excluding the logo from the margin rectangle, making etching/engraving layers and flipping the vector vertically to ensure that it is printed in the correct orientation.

2.2logoetchexercise

Bibliography

Cromar, William. “LineToPlaneNineSquareGrid.” newMediaWiki, 2020, newmediawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/134851311/lineToPlaneNineSquareGrid. Accessed 26 Sept. 2021.

Cromar, William. “LineToPlaneSculptAndSlice.” newMediaWiki, 2020, newmediawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/134851341/lineToPlaneSculptAndSlice. Accessed 26 Sept. 2021.

Cromar, William. “LineToPlaneLogoEtch.” newMediaWiki, 2020, newmediawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/134851686/lineToPlaneLogoEtch. Accessed 26 Sept. 2021.

Dynamic Composition

This first wiki post of the exercises module introduces the idea of the movement behind a composition. We have learned a bit on how we humans tend to perceive and see things in my previous post (1.1 Reference Reflections) and an extension of that knowledge is recognizing how shapes can often imply motion. A single dot on a page might feel stationary, while a series of stripes might convey a sense of forward action. Furthermore, a composition with many dots will feel static (lack of motion) and with one with many stripes will come across as more dynamic (abundance of motion). This exercise teaches how to break down a composition into a selection of its dynamic parts.

This exercise also goes over the basics of creating shapes, in this case, rectangles, moving/rotating them, changing their fill and stroke and making backgrounds in Adobe Illustrator. In particular, I was tasked to atomize the essence of Egon Schiele’s 1911 painting, The Poet, into an abstraction of different colored rectangles (and only rectangles!).

Gestalt Praxis

This wiki harks back to the section in my last post about Gestalt theory and focuses in on the effect of symmetry/asymmetry in relation to axes and the proximity laws of Gestalt. Here, this exercise was about combining symmetry/asymmetry and uses of positive and negative space to form six mini compositions involving circles of varying sizes and arrangements.

A single circle was made once and then was OPT-dragged, a quick means of copying a shape, and repeated into the next mini composition in order to ensure each circle was the same proportionally; later, I would learn how to resize the circle whilst constraining the ratio of its proportions. This exercise also taught how to make use of grids and angle-specific motion to align the circles symmetrically, along with how to group objects and align them evenly across an axis.

Line Art

This last wiki post discusses line art and flat graphics, and their significance in the commercial and fine art worlds. This section builds on the use of positive/negative space just as in the Gestalt Praxis and also in my first post regarding how changing different aspects of a line (thickness, length and texture) can affect its visual meaning.

This exercise involved different lines in Adobe Illustrator using the pen tool and reinterpreting each of them using Bezier curves. I also learned how to reinterpret basic shapes (a triangle, in the case of the exercise) as a closed path and how to transform the anchor points of both the shapes and curves to make small adjustments.

Bibliography

Cromar, William. “PointToLineLineArt.” newMediaWiki, newmediawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/134851131/pointToLineLineArt. Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.