Tuesday, April 9, 2013

INDN 252: Searching For Sugarman (Inspiration, rather)

Now that I've done a few experiments with form, I've established a certain function that I want my joint to have. While the double ball-and-socket joint worked reasonably well, I think a return to the connected joint, for pure function is necessary. The thing that I have to consider now is how I'm going to come up with the form for my joint. This is the most critical element at present. 


One of the things that I need to consider for this is the idea of choosing a style. I need to work within some set of parameters that will allow me to drive and design my work following a specific idea.

Looking at the things that I love, one of the things that really stands out is my love of Sci-Fi, and of futuristic design. So, drawing inspiration from this should be a no-brainer.

In the past, I've used this kind of stuff as inspiration (not terribly successfully, I might add), but this time I'm translating it into a tangible form, so that might really make the difference between something that works as an expression of the style, as well as actually being an abstraction of the joint.

So, some of the inspiration I'm looking at is the forms and shapes that were used in District 9. The angular, stark colours of the alien and human designs really struck a chord in me, and made the film for me. The single colour usage for each race really helped identify the differences, and using a single colour really meant that the shapes and the forms could stand out.
Image acquired from: www.wetanz.com

The Alien assault rifle used a lot of 45 degree lines to create a totally unique feel for the alien weaponry, but at the same time, it didn't feel so alien that we couldn't associate with it as being something we couldn't recognise. One of the things I could take from this design is the strong lines that are used throughout as both a graphical element and a form.

Image acquired from: fashionaction.blogspot.com

There are some interesting sci-fi films coming out soon, one of which is called Oblivion, which has one bit in its trailer where this extremely futuristic craft takes off. One of the things that really struck me about the ship were the circular engines and the hexagonally-oriented notches in the top. Obviously air vents of some kind, the geometric orientation of the shapes really enticed me. Definitely something I could build into my work.

Image acquired from : http://fuckyesvideogamearchitecture.tumblr.com/

This image so far is probably the one that has struck me as the most compelling so far. The clean, white curvature of the architecture in this piece of concept art for Mass Effect is definitely an aspect I could incorporate into my piece. The joint could involve long, extruded sections, similar to the architecture we see here.

One of the things I really love is the the curves blend really well with the angular design, in the way that the curves conform to an overarching sense of angularity, while still retaining a sense of their own control over the form. Another thing I like is the way the architecture's feature wall in the background in front of the image has a certain aesthetic which creates an overarching form, while actually minimising the amount of material used, an element I also want to explore for my model, so as to keep costs down, as well as generating a form that hints at an overall form.

To the drawing board!

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