Plastic Animals
Prompt: Create an endangered animal out of reusable, plastic packaging with an interaction
Criteria:
● Ability to consider different levels of representation in both 2D and 3D.
● Ability to critically dissect form and Speak to its aesthetics.
● Ability to creatively use found material for modeling and constructing●Ability to represent and construct a chosen animal form
●Transforming found̾ reclaimed packaging material into an interactive model.
● Ability to manipulate and animate shape using figure̾, ground, scale, and weight.
● Ability to use a methodical process to make decisions; keeping a record of the work will help in visualizing your process.
● Ability to move from research to form̐making.
● Ability to create simple, appropriate, engaging interactions.
Part 1: Sculpture
Research
2/24/21
The first step of this project was researching an animal. I wanted something strong, sleek and displayed predatory instincts. At the same time, I hoped for something cute as well.
I initially planned on doing an Emperor Penguin, as they’re my favorite animal, but they weren’t anywhere near close to native in my area. Then, I thought of doing a Peregrine Falcon, but I couldn’t think of any unique or original interactions to make from it.
I thought about working around the California concept, and instead thinking of an animal that has unique ties to the state, but wasn’t necessarily native to it. In the end, I selected a Black Footed Ferret, which was one of my favorite animals growing up. I even did a project on it in fourth grade!
REASONING:
Despite this animal being native in Canada and other U.S. States, the primary reason why I selected this animal was because there have been recent news of a successful Black Footed Ferret cloning, where the San Diego Zoo (which is in California!!) held and preserved the frozen embryos of a ferret that was alive almost 30 years ago.
I did some brainstorming over its habituation, diet, general information, history and ecological contributions. I also sketched out the skeletal form, line of dynamism for movement, and overall shape.
I also did a few sketches of the animal itself, observing its behavior, movements and general gestural poses. I watched several National Geographic videos and documentaries to get a sense of it’s behavioral patterns, as well as the action of hunting.
What is the animal’s personality? Write adjectives down to help guide your form making.
- Flexible, energetic, loud, independent, nocturnal
What are the similarities and differences between you and your animal’s behavior? List them.
Similarities:
- Makes a ton of loud noises
- Nocturnal (basically)
- Very energetic
- Middle Class (aha)
- Playful! They value their independent space but love to wrestle and interact with others
- Soft .__.
Differences:
- While Black Footed Ferrets are carnivores, I’m an omnivore
- Black Footed Ferrets are significantly better equipped for running and burrowing
- Unless they find a mate, Black Footed Ferrets are technically not considered social creatures. I, on the other hand, am a devout extrovert
What are your animal’s special traits or behaviors?
- They communicate with each other through shrieks and yells
- They kill their prey by snapping their necks with their jaws
- Wide pelvis area for improve elongation and burrowing, flexed knees for low heights and tunnels, sleek body for aerodynamics
- Unique black feet and “mask” pattern on face
What factors led to the animal’s extinction or endangered status?
- Over reliance on Prairie Dogs (main food source)
- During the settlement period, the invention of the plow led to an exponential increase agricultural development and renewal. As a result, many Prairie Dog homes were destroyed. Consequently, Black Footed Ferrets were deprived of both their food source and their shelters
- The Sylvatic Plague was a disease carried by fleas, which caused mass extinction amongst the Prairie Dog Population
500-Word Short Story in the Animal’s Perspective:
For repopulation purposes, Black Footed Ferrets are currently under an experimental cloning process. On February 22th, 2021, a ferret named Elizabeth Ann was successfully cloned from a ferret, Willa, that died in 1998. Scientists are hoping that cloning will help revive the endangered population.
I thrive in the comfort of shade, a consistency that darkness brings at night. There’s nothing to do in the day: only the tall, two-legged giants come here, with their looming shadows blocking the daylights that shine overhead. It doesn’t matter much — I’m basically nocturnal, and I only come out to hunt the Prairie Dogs that magically drop in. Although they’re our main food source, once in a while a rat, squirrel, or lemming will show up instead. I don’t complain: as long as it’s meat, I’ll eat it.
I don’t mind the solitude; until the day I look for a mate, I’m perfectly content as an independent being. The few neighbors here are nice though — they wrestle with me, shout as loudly as I do and have the same level of energy for playtimes. Sometimes, I do wish there were more of us, I heard that there were only around 350 total, and even then there’s only 10 or so where I live.
There’s one neighbor, Elizabeth Ann, that I can’t quite figure out: she can’t possibly be much older than I am, but she has the eyes and wisdom of an old soul. When we talk, she has a wistful tone in her voice that can’t seem to be erased. Sometimes, she only responds to the name “Willa.” I don’t know why that happens, but I don’t bother to ask.
She tells me stories of her dreams: stories of her and her ancestors living in vast, grassy plains far, far beyond the walls of our home here. In fact, it even extends to other countries in North America, like say, Canada for example. There are plateaus of seemingly infinite sky, and vivacious prairies all around. It was a time when the Prairie Dogs that magically drop into our burrows now once ran freely amongst our homes by themselves, and we truly felt the thrill of the hunt.
Then, her dreams turn into nightmares. She recalls large, terrifying animals: “owls,” “foxes,” and “coyotes,” that sweep us to unknown places. The two-legged people didn’t help us, but rather ignored us, plowing our land with their new inventions, “settlements,” and personal gain. They dig up the soil and plant their own food, collapsing our tunnels and homes. She talks of a great flea-ridden plague that sweeps the earth and wipes the Prairie Dogs out. She speaks of fear, homelessness, and famine — words that I’ve never heard before.
I think what she says is creative, ludicrous nonsense. She and her parents were bred and born here, just like the rest of us. “The thrill of the hunt?” There’s no need to run around in such a hypothetically large space; there’s plenty of room right here. After all, our bodies are easily adjustable for such hunting. With our wide pelvises, sleek figure, and flexed knees, we slide through the man-made burrows with ease. All it takes is a quick snap from our jaws, and the necks of our prey go limp. Besides, it’s not like there’s a network of natural Prairie Dog burrows that large, nor that existent, anyways.
We live in the middle of the States, not Canada. There’s no outside other than these enclosed spaces and buildings. No natural tunnels, no sickness, no predators that take us away, nothing. The large people take care of us, not destroy us.
But for just a single moment, before she snaps out of it and returns to her typical, Elizabeth-Ann-self, I humor her in this fantasy.
Sources used in research:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-footed-ferret-clone-conservation-milestone
Part 2: Prototyping
3/2/21
For the first iteration of prototyping, I decided to solely focus on the head. In doing so, I’d be able to practice with plastic and gain a semblance on its structural integrity.
Looking at the front and side profiles of the animal, the most distinguishable features of a ferret are it’s slope of the snout, the black-mask patterns, and the ears.
In the end, I made two pattern iterations. The first was more of an abstract representation (but registers better as a ferret), while the second was more accurate pattern wise (but small changes in proportion could have people mistaken it as badgers or skunks).
GROUP FEEDBACK:
- There’s a lot of color contrast within the model, and the brads make it distracting
- Don’t photograph with a black background, try to find more consistency within the plastic so that it isn’t as high contrast
- Resolve the side profile. The front is good, but make the snout longer
- From a far away distance, the viewers will see the form and volume, which can be confusing depending on the light and setting
Things to work on next time:
- Make the snout longer
- Try photographing with a different background that doesn’t conflict with the colors as much
- Use less brads?
- Rely on color less; the ferret already has a unique pattern so try to get that to stand out
Things to consider when making the body for next class:
- Avoid too many segments, since the animal has a sleek figure
- Focus on the proportions of the body! It be longggg.
- Think about how to attach the legs to the main body
- Make sure the tail doesn’t use too much plastic
BONUS: Construction Junction Adventure!
Out of the 5 trips made, I went to 3 of them. I admit, we made quit a haul of recycling, maybe around 20+ garbage bags total collectively?
Unfortunately, our first trip yielded 4 bags, all of which mysteriously disappeared in the morning by the cleaning staff.
Lesson learned I suppose
3/4/21
The second part of my iteration is to build the body, so I brought up some reference photos:
I noticed that a prime quality of the ferret is that it can easily stretch and squash itself. As a result, the length of it varies, and would compress itself on its hind legs and look longer when standing. Thus, I want to make my interaction something related to the variation in body and neck length.
I used a variety of bottles and cups for the body segments: for the shorter curves, I used Chobani and Mac-n-Cheese cups. A lot of the bottles are lotions, soaps and lysol wipes, and the patterning is from takeout containers. I’m still stumped on the tail, but I’m planning on making it out of either a Chobani yogurt bottle or a milk carton.
My biggest worry was that the transitioning of bottle radii would be too jarring — that’s why I used the Chobani cups for better curves.
Progression: Chobani → Chobani → Macaroni cup → Mini Clorox Bottle → Macaroni cup → Large Clorox bottle → Milk Carton (for extra heftiness).
The milk carton was a last minute addition, since I was worried that the body was too tubular.
I slit the back of the body so that the brads would be able to shift, and therefore the section with the milk carton and Clorox bottle could get larger and smaller. This way, it would compress itself while sitting. I also used zipties this time alongside the brads, which allowed the neck to stretch out and curve better.
Proportionally speaking, I think the third slide is relatively accurate to the scale of a typical Black Footed Ferret neck. However, I fear that the thigh area makes it resemble too much of a bear. I think I might benefit from adding another bottle to make it even longer.
THINGS TO ADD:
- Tail: how will it attach and curve
- That one extra white patch on it’s head: it was originally there, I’m not quite sure how it fell off
- More zipties at the bottom of the segments for better structure (so I won’t have to hold it up all the time)
- Maybe another body segment to make it longer?
CONCERNS:
- Too short? A tad cartoonish
- Limbs are stiff, tail may have the same problem later on
- The milk carton and thighs do help volume, but it also makes it look a bit like a bear? I might just be sleep deprived
- Overall, it can stand and sit on it’s own but it’s a bit fragile: should probably add some form of weight at the bum
FEEDBACK FROM Q:
- Legs: depiction is very much reliant on color, but in the model it’s not working well because it gives a perception with the pattern
- Measure the distance between the front and back legs to check proportion
- Length of animal’s back legs are too short
- Face: too many dark areas, focus on the stripes
- Contrast of black and white makes it too strong
- Good that you’re using the eyes and nose, use less brads next time. It breaks up the form of the face (Change the black part at the top, and use less brads)
- For now, the body looks like a snake when in reality, it’s much thicker
- “Why did you choose such a hard animal? It looks different in every single pictures”
- Curves from upper to lower body is challenging, maybe just cut it off and do a bust?
Looking back, there are definitely some proportional issues. The snout for the first head isn’t long enough, and even though its the right size from top to bottom it slopes down too much.
Q also mentioned that the back half looks messy (it was. I will admit that. To be fair though, I did that entire section from 6–8 A.M. before class started). He suggested that the legs are one of the main problems: it’s so distinct, and such an integral part of the animal, that it looks completely off when it’s that straight and stiff. Thus, I should shift the legs forward, and create a joint.
For the final, I will be working towards these goals. I am also planning on remaking the head so that there are fewer brads and a better sloped snout. In terms of photography, I would like to find seamless gray paper or use a different color of plastic so that I could avoid high contrast.
3/9/21
Feedback with Margot:
- The rims of the cups should be cut to make the form more seamless
- Think about form v.s. mechanics: how much do you want it to be accurate, and how much do you want it to be fun
- Move the front legs up a cup
- Move the ears up and cut them
- Think about limiting yourself to a bust, we don’t have a lot of time!
I looked at the proportions of the ferret, and drew out what each general shape should look like for the next iteration:
I cut off the rims of the cups, and took apart the head. I decided to redo the head and the legs, as they have accent colors and thus are the first things that viewers notice. As such, I want to really nail their components, especially the snout and proportions for the head.
To soften up the contrast, I found some brown plastic that would be useful for the head and legs. I used the neck of a Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup bottle for the snout, which allowed me to use less plastic and brads.
Office Hours with Dani:
- Keep the slinky-like components; no need to rehash those
- Chop off the end of the snout, it’s a little long
- Think about how to segment the legs and give it form without overworking yourself
Feedback with Connor:
- Be creative with hiding the bust! Maybe have it burrow from the desk, or create a makeshift tunnel
- Think about personal choices when choosing functionality over form
I also used a hydrochloric acid bottle for the thigh portion of the legs, and the remaining Hershey’s bottle for the feet. I debated whether or not to make a 2-part joint or 3-part joint for well over half an hour. In the end, I decided on two joints. While I think that 3 joints is more realistic, the two-jointed piece looks more seamless, fitting and stylistic.
I decided to cut off the back and just make a bust, as the back portion is too difficult to execute formulaically. Thus, Connor suggested that I create something that simulates the ferret’s natural habitat. I used Bryce’s packaging paper to create a makeshift burrow.
Final Parts:
- Body: Chobani cups, Macaroni cups, Cereal cups, Lysol bottle, Clorox bottle
- Head: Chobani cup, Trader Joe’s Mochi tray, mini Chobani cup, Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle, takeout container
- Legs: Hydrochloric Acid bottle, Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle
- Attachments: brads, zipties
Part 1 Conclusion
I will admit, cutting plastic is definitely not my strong suit. I became a hermit in studio, got used to regularly leaving for campus at 5 a.m., and I’ve had my fair share of injuries (my nail has yet to heal, and boy do I type slow now).
However, I’m really thankful for how this turned out. I love this animal to bits, and I’m glad that I could do it some small fraction of justice.
When I heard about “the animal project” from the upperclassmen, I wasn’t aware of this portion of this assignment at all. And given that it’s really the only physical sculpture part of this project, I was nervous about it the most. But I think that there were a lot of components and hands on experience I gained from it.
Plus, the Construction Junction trips build good character. All three of them. Even when our first trip goods got thrown out .__.
