Gaudi and real-space sketching

"He always designed from three-dimensional models made from plaster, wood, wires, and counterweights, with cloth to simulate the surfaces. The model was the pricipal instrument in the development of his ideas: Drawing was also important to him, but as he said to his students, he conceived forms directly in space."Antoni Gaudi, From Nature to Architecture … Continue reading Gaudi and real-space sketching →

Sculptor Kent Melton

Sculptor Kent Melton discusses the iterative combining of two-dimensionaland three-dimensional approaches which took place as he and Marc Davis workedtogether to design a character from The Lion King: Tony had only just started sketching Mufasa's design and it was really alittle premature for me to begin sculpting. Tony didn't seem bothered by this andhanded off … Continue reading Sculptor Kent Melton →

Creativity and Practicality #1

Creativity support tools are most effective when they are easy, quick, and inexpensive(Buxton 2007, p. 111). Resnick et al. (2005, p. 2) suggest that creativity support tools must be: “facile and unencumbering, so that expert users can try out the different alternativesvery quickly”.Resnick M, Myers B, Nakakoji K, Shneiderman Pausch R, Selker T & Eisenberg M … Continue reading Creativity and Practicality #1 →

LAIKA Maquettes

Sketch models are wonderfully vibrant because they capture a moment in the creative process when the artist is still experimenting. This is certainly true of the Boxtrolls Shoe Maquette (LAIKA, 2014) below. Maquettes and concept models used to design characters for animated feature films by LAIKA have periodically been offered for sale at auction. Included … Continue reading LAIKA Maquettes →

A maquette and a “rough desktop diorama” for UP by Pixar

Greg Dykstra is a sculptor and character designer who has worked on several major animated features. During the production of Up by Pixar, Dykstra made a “design sculpt” of the character Carl (Romano 2015). Character designer Lou Romano describes using this model to experiment with color and lighting: I painted and photographed this sculpt to … Continue reading A maquette and a “rough desktop diorama” for UP by Pixar →

Maquettes for Theatre Set Design

Maquettes are sometimes used as creativity support tools by theatre set designers. The curator of the Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts at McNay Art Museum is quoted as saying that: “Many designers now really work their ideas out in 3-D instead of sketching them out on paper” Bennett, S 2014, 'Constructing the Stage explores maquettes … Continue reading Maquettes for Theatre Set Design →

Henry Moore eventually phased out two-dimensional sketching

Henry Moore’s finished sculptures were often made of bronze, a material that is unsuited to experimentation due to its cost, rigidity and complex fabrication requirements. For this reason, Moore made small tests or representations of his ideas from clay, which Sylvester (1990) refers to as working-models and sketch-models. At the beginning of his career, Moore … Continue reading Henry Moore eventually phased out two-dimensional sketching →

Frank Gehry’s Process Models

Architect Frank Gehry’s process models are perhaps the most famous examples of the use of explorative object construction in the field of architecture. A collection of his models was displayed at Leslie Feely Fine Art in New York in 2013 (Gehry 2013). Frank Gehry's collaborative model-making process was portrayed in Sydney Pollack’s documentary Sketches of … Continue reading Frank Gehry’s Process Models →

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Generating Ideas in Real-Space

Three-dimensional sketching in real space is both generative and speculative. It can be used to search for new ideas and possibilities before the design has been decided upon. Weintraub (1998, p. 53) offers a description of the process: “The mind-hand coordination elicits intuitive answers as we begin to build something with no particular model to … Continue reading Generating Ideas in Real-Space →