INTRODUCTION
For my first Studio 3D project, we were given the theme “spirit animal” to work around. When I began to construct and plan out the animal I wanted to do, I figured I could make my favorite animal, the tiger. The tiger is an animal I identify with the most not only because it is my Chinese zodiac, but it is an animal that is vigorous, valiant and strong.
EXPERIMENTATION
Paper folding is a type of 3D design work that I’ve never delved into. When we were given the lecture on pop-up books and paper folding, I figured it would be an easy feat but it was rather difficult to realize. I practiced some origami here and there, and tried different types of paper folding and book folding to make pop-ups, but found it hard to understand. I decided to then make a paper sculpture, where I carefully cut shapes and pieces of my illustration and put it together to bring my idea to life.
My ideas switched from making tigers resemble instruments to making a long accordion book that illustrated the tiger, but I finalized the project by working on tiger lilies. The idea came about when I was thinking about how I would want to portray the tigers in a whimsical way. One other great symbol in this project are the lilies, since it is a flower that my mother appreciates and loves, and calls her favorite.
CONSTRUCTION
The project, “Tiger Lilies,” is a small paper-made display made up of card-stock, printer paper, gouache, water color, armature wire, string, foam-core, and gold paint. I handpainted two tiger lilies with gouache and ink, and stylized each one to have their own personality. I then propped up the lilies with wire, wrapped with green yarn to resemble stems. I then propped them onto a styrofoam brick, also covered with construction paper and hand cut grass sticking out of the base.