FAMILY FORM
To understand family of form, I did a quick study on it with three different products to see what features unified them.
CONCEPT
Graphite sketches
When revisiting the other concepts, I found a revised “Kirby” set that I wanted to use for the new concept for the chess set. Initially, I had avoided using this option because I wanted to keep characters out of the project. However, since stars are my favorite shape and strongly evoke Kirby, I found a way to incorporate this design element into the new concept.
ILLUSTRATOR
Adobe Illustrator File
When designing this set, I wanted each section (front, back and middle) to be 1/4” thick. However, due to a time crunch, I bought sheet of acrylic that was only 1/8” thick. Because of this, I had to double each cut for the proportions to be correct.
PROTOTYPING
Just a test run on a cheaper material to double check proportions before doing it on the final material.
Wooden Test Models
CUTTING ACRYLIC
For the most part, this step went fairly smoothly. Though, due to the material, there were some points where the laser did not cut all the way through on the acrylic, resulting in a few broken pieces.
Laser Cut on Clear Acrylic
DYEING ACRYLIC
Some challenges I encountered while dyeing the acrylic was that the yellow dye lacked pigmentation, resulting in a weak color. On the other hand, the pink dye was overly pigmented, producing a color that came out more red than pink.
3D RENDERING
Fusion360 Model
FINAL
BONUS!! ORIGINAL IDEA!!
Graphite Sketches
The original concept was designed around gothic architecture, known for its intricate and ornate details. However, due to the complexity of these elements, even after making significant revisions, I struggled to create a two-part mold that could accurately capture all the desired features. The elaborate nature of gothic architecture proved too challenging to fully represent within the constraints of the mold and it was not cohesive enough in design.
Roma Plastalina Clay Models