Create a Drawing Machine
The objective of this project was to design a drawing sculpture by offsetting the motor. With a variety of materials to choose from, I had an initial idea that I wanted to run with. Now, I believe this idea could have worked out the way I had imagined it to, but I made the mistake of thinking on too big of a scale. I wanted a boxed shaped figure, sort of robotic. However, I didn't choose the materials that best suited that idea. Below are the materials I picked up in the beginning.
I managed to find a great piece of cardboard that I thought would be perfect, and it was, but my box was just too big. I was so focused on this box, that I failed to accept that it would never be able to draw with that much weight on it! I was overly committed to my box idea, and used up too much of my time designing a piece that I thought was great, but not for this particular assignment.
I was really psyched about these wires, too. The ones taped down were to hold the box up, which they did (mostly.) The others were scattered. I think this design could have worked out well, on a smaller scale. But the clock was ticking, and I thought, how the heck am I going to put legs on this guy and make him draw? It wasn't happening, and so I switched gears a bit to make up for the time I used on the big and the bold. I had to downsize..and I had to do it fast.
After letting go of my box idea, I cut the cardboard and formed what my professor later pointed out to be the shape of an eye. It was 100% not what I was going for, but hey, at least it ended up looking pretty cool. I attached a plastic container to the bottom of the eye and hot glued 4 pieces of pastel to the bottom edges of the container. I added the motor on top with a hot glue gun, but the cardboard I used to offset it wouldn't be enough to get my piece moving. My professor suggested exchanging the cardboard for a glue gun stick- and that's what made it move.
The reason I chose to go for my big idea was because I made the assumption that most other students would want to get their piece to draw; what they knew would work for sure. For me, I felt the design was everything. Sure, I wanted mine to draw, but the aesthetics and the process of creating it were much more enticing than actually making it work. I absolutely knew that the size of my box would be a problem but I was just enjoying the process so much that I didn't want to give up on it- not that I thought physics would actually allow it to function as it was.
All I had to do was downscale my piece and it could have been what I wanted. I was really focused on creating something I knew everyone else wouldn't go for, because following the crowd would have been too simple. I didn't want to make it easy for myself, to get the sculpture to draw so quickly. Even if it couldn't draw, I think I still would have been satisfied with my box. However, thanks to my professor for suggesting offsetting the motor with a glue stick, my eye was now functional and unique. Perhaps I didn't go for the "simple yet functional" because I'm not the best with all types of technology. Offsetting a motor? I didn't really get it until I did it. I'm glad I was able to attain both a design I was satisfied with as well as a machine that draws.
All I had to do was downscale my piece and it could have been what I wanted. I was really focused on creating something I knew everyone else wouldn't go for, because following the crowd would have been too simple. I didn't want to make it easy for myself, to get the sculpture to draw so quickly. Even if it couldn't draw, I think I still would have been satisfied with my box. However, thanks to my professor for suggesting offsetting the motor with a glue stick, my eye was now functional and unique. Perhaps I didn't go for the "simple yet functional" because I'm not the best with all types of technology. Offsetting a motor? I didn't really get it until I did it. I'm glad I was able to attain both a design I was satisfied with as well as a machine that draws.