Scale: Putting People in the Picture
Once you have the structure, surfaces, details, and story you want to tell, you are welcome to take some time adding people to your model. Including figures and familiar everyday objects provides a sense of scale, some fun and joy, and a human connection to your model.
Past students have included ready-made figures from playsets and collections; these are fine, but please be thoughtful about whether they truly match the scale and purpose of your building.
Past students have included ready-made figures from playsets and collections; these are fine, but please be thoughtful about whether they truly match the scale and purpose of your building.
On the other hand, some pre-made scaled figures can be a little creepy . . . are they waiting for you to look away?
Welcome to the "uncanny valley," which designers use to describe that when features look and move almost, but not exactly, like natural beings, it causes discomfort among some observers. The "valley" refers to the dip in a graph of the comfort level as subjects move from obvious fabrications and caricature toward a natural likeness in the fields of robotics, clothing mannikins, and 3D computer animation.
Sometimes, moving away from perfect proportions and simplifying figure representations can provide audiences and viewers with a more satisfying experience.
Welcome to the "uncanny valley," which designers use to describe that when features look and move almost, but not exactly, like natural beings, it causes discomfort among some observers. The "valley" refers to the dip in a graph of the comfort level as subjects move from obvious fabrications and caricature toward a natural likeness in the fields of robotics, clothing mannikins, and 3D computer animation.
Sometimes, moving away from perfect proportions and simplifying figure representations can provide audiences and viewers with a more satisfying experience.
You may also use digital photographs of yourself and Google Drawing tools to create a one-of-a-kind model for a personal touch.
The links and graphics below may serve as a starting point for your imagination and ingenuity.
Simple Figures and Everyday Urban Objects
Google Drawing Car NetUsing Google Drawing gives you an opportunity to make one of a kind models and details at just the right size and scale.
This student created a car to park in the garage. She imagined a flat "net" of a three-dimensional rectangular prism. When printed out, the top, sides, front, and back views of the car create a foldable model. This same approach can be used with any object (trees, fountains, animals). If you can imagine all the sides, you can drag, drop, rotate, and resize images until you are satisfied. Share the finished file with your teacher and we can print it out on cardstock for the next week. |