Monday, November 12, 2007

Rough Draft--Part 3

The story thus far: I had failed at making a maple leaf, but thought the shape suggested an eagle. My first attempt to turn it into an eagle led instead to a baby bird. Now it's time to try to turn that chick into an adult eagle.

Again I let the shapes speak to me, to suggest what they wanted to be. I know it sounds funny, but it's hard to describe. Think of it as doing "free association" but with shapes instead of words.

I decided that the key to the eagle was to turn the wings upside down. I was very pleased with the next draft, despite a mis-start with the tail. From there, it was just tweaking for the final shape. Designers's trick: note how some of the birds have two different wing treatments. If it's not going to be a final draft, a piece doesn't have to be neat or symmetrical. By trying different things in the same piece, you can cut down the number of drafts. I once made a snowflake with 5 different points. Better to have one really ugly one than to make five separate ones before getting it right in my opinion.



5 comments:

  1. I am fascinated by the design process! I saw the eagle right away (before reading anything)!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is one fantastically versatile maple leaf! It's so interesting to see you design transition -- and the final is just great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You knew there was an eagle in there! You were right. I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous6:05 PM

    My brother is crazy about eagles and this one is the best I've seen. Is it possible to get the pattern?

    ReplyDelete