Topics 3D Project 1: Toys



Creature Cravings:

This is a series of creatures indulging in food. The idea was loosely based around the idea of “you are what you eat”, and indulgence to the point of immersion. The creature’s expressions and designs are derived from the food in which they are immersed in: the first one (ramen) resembles an egg, typically found in ramen. The second one (dumpling) is a very saturated dumpling. The third and final one is a play on vegetarianism, and is inspired by the doorman in my building, named Sal. Sal is in a bowl of salad, and oddly enough, I have only seen Sal the doorman eat salads. He also reminds me of a mild-mannered, a little dead inside version of Count Dracula. There are ingredients and utensils that correspond with each design, and the bundles allude to my original idea for packaging the toy, which I never got around to. However, the ideal packaging would be a kind of thick, padded cloth bundle, and would serve as kind of a blind-box.

Process:
After sketching and designating color schemes, I sculpted a bowl to make a mold out of. This was achieved by making a dome out of foil and sculpting clay on top of it, then sanding it down. Then, this was cast in a container with silicone mold-making material, and three bowls were casted out of liquid plastic. The characters and ingredients are all made out of sculpey, and aluminum foil where necessary. For the two versions with broth in them, I poured layers of resin tinted with alcohol inks, waiting for them to get tacky so I would be able to suspend the elements in the resin without them sinking.
Sketches:


Reflections:
This was probably the most involved project out of all the projects this semester. From ideation to bringing them to life, it was definitely a process that involved a lot of planning and problem solving. The most difficult part of this whole process was probably sanding down the bowls (it was the most difficult because it was the most uninteresting, mundane part). Waiting for the resin to cure enough to be tacky to hold the food elements was also a tricky waiting game, but I did learn quite a bit about myself and my work habits, more particularly, about how impatient I can be. I did really enjoy painting and sculpting these little guys, and I’m sure that I will have quite a bit of fun bringing them around to restaurants and photographing them as well. I plan to bring the ramen guy to a better-lit ramen place, hopefully in the near future. In terms of reproducibility, I want to be able to make more of these as customizable pieces.

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