GRAPHICS PATHWAY - LASER CUTTER INDUCTION & CAD

I found today's workshop task to be quite interesting being introduced to the 3D machinery in the prototyping labs. I had previously never been in there or tried out any of the tools therefore I was cautious at first. The day would mainly involve the use of the laser cutter which I have had some experience of using before in my secondary school. 

We began using Adobe Illustrator to create our 3D objects following the colour code of red (cut), blue (draw) and black (etch). I mainly used the draw function for my text and imagery because of the dark line it produces. We had an option to include something from our manifestos, maybe song lyrics or famous quotes. I opted to use a quote which I admire from Leo Burnett: 'Curiosity about life in all its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people'. The outlined image of the jumping figure represents something similar to a 'leap of faith' or a visual metaphor of someone ready to immerse themselves into something and not being afraid to make mistakes, something which I value.

After fine tuning some of the minor details and selecting a good font to use, I selected the text and shapes I intended to cut or draw. I then moved onto to the prototyping lab and began cutting out my design in the laser cutter. I chose to use wood board about 5mm thick, there were some other alternative options such as using card, ceramics or even just paper. The design drew well onto the wood however the laser couldn't fully cut out the circle therefore I had to cut it again which slightly altered the precision of the circle. After the second cut I had a finished product.

Some sketching and thought processes behind the final piece. Once
I had finished the laser cutting and photographed it I changed the
filters and came up with some different appearances.

The final wood circle with the quote and outlined figure. (approx 20cm x 20cm circle)

A close up of the wood surface texture and the drawn on text.

In summary, I thought the day was a success as I had created another physical final product of which I am proud of. The design process was fairly straight-forward and I had little or no problems however using the laser cutter was slightly different and I appreciate that it takes some more experience to fully perfect the technique. This gave me a taste of potential 3D work I can do for future projects.

Images - Author's Own 20/11/13