I followed Demo B and created a cardboard automata toy. Initially, I used a thinner cardboard, and realized that it was one of the reasons the mechanism wasn’t working. I also did not have skewers or thin metal rods and tried using metal straws but they were too thick/heavy.
Above is the initial model I created, but discarded. After a lot of trial and error I finally found a regular cardboard box and bought skewers. I traced a small soap container onto the cardboard to create the cams. And used a ruler to cut 11.5×11.5 cm squares for the sides and 11.5×13.5 rectangles for the top and bottom. 
I used Bristol paper to make the straw that holds the top skewer and followed the demo video by making the holes so the rods could turn in them. I was inspired by my animation from last semester, and made the top figure the character from it. In my animation about quarantine/Covid-19 there is a scene when I show the passage of time and the orange character does various poses in a bedroom, one being a yoga pose. I wanted to use the same character, but have him be a ballerina in an arabesque, spinning on the top of the box.
Still from “Double Take’
His shape is very simple, and I did not have a lot of time to decorate the exterior of the box, but I would like to revisit it and add more detail or possibly make another top of a different subject matter that is more intricate. It was a really challenging project for me, as the materials I had and concept were so foreign as I am so used to working on flat surfaces. After continuous use, the spinning function kept stopping or slipping because the holes stretched as the rods kept moving in them. I had to use tape to secure the cams to the rods at the end as well. It was a very frustrating process, with a lot of trials and errors which resulted in the simple but functioning end piece.
