Week 3: Cubes in Adobe Illustrator

Craft: The cube templates were made using the program Adobe Illustrator. I made each template using the pen tool and the line tool. Since these templates would be used in a digital cutter, each drawing had to be extremely precise to ensure that the printer could distinguish between tabs and the areas that needed to be cut. This was done using a combination of solid lines and dashed lines. To do this I drew out the entire T shape of the cubes along with the shape of the tabs with the pen tool. I then added dashes along the tabs and other folds using the line tool. Making sure the Smart Guides, Snap to Grid, and View Grid options were turned on made accuracy very easy to make sure each side of the cube will be equal. The hardest cube to draw had to be the one that used slots instead of tabs.

Concept: The concept of this exercise is to see how various different methods/designs can arrive at the same goal. Each cube net has unique components that achieve different effects. For example, using the slot method instead of the tab method eliminates the need for adhesives, making this method more accessible with limited supplies.

Week 1: Introduction

Hello. My name is Kyeara Aikens and I am a junior here at SXU. As a Studio Art major and Graphic Design minor, I desire to grow in skill, creativity, and technique as an artist. The knowledge I gain in both very different forms of media will enable me to express my ideas in multiple visual languages. After I graduate, I hope to start a career in concept art.

Week 2- 3D Shapes

Craft: Each 3D figure required the use of scissors, an Exacto knife, a ruler, grid paper or template, glue, and tape. The pyramid, cube, and rectangular prism were mapped out by hand using a ruler and pencil to draw specific measurements to ensure the shape would hold together. The penguin and iPhone figures were made from folding online templates.
Concept: The concept of this project was to understand the simplistic foundation that creates a 3D figure. These exercises helped me to realize that all 3D shapes start from a basic, 2D form.
Composition: Each handmade shape required careful mapping of its measurements. The grid paper made the task a bit easier as the number of squares within each numerical measurement by the ruler dictated if a square was truly, geometrically a square and that all sides would be equal.The iPhone and penguin figures were easier to build based on the visual information in the printed image.