Typography 1- Assignment 1

3D Letters Part-1
The final result for part 1 of this project will produce two 3 dimensional sculptures of letter forms on a wooden platform. The size can be varied but it is recommended to build the sculpture taller than 6 inches for ease of sculpting details. The finish will be applied in part 2.
You are asked to choose a letter form from you freehand lettering done during the first class meeting to build the free form letter of this assignment. The classic letter form can be a different letter and can be chosen from one of the following typeface;
Caslon
Times New Roman
1. Start with a study wooden base that is heavy and large enough to support the sculpture.
2. Depends on the shape and form of the letter you picked, build wire frame to support the sculpture. Think through the weight distribution. It is best if you use 2-3 different thickness of wires to make the frame. You also may use other material to build the "bone structure" such as thin wooden rods or small metal sheets. These material can be glued, tied or welded. You may also make several colored pencil sketches in few different angles taking weight and mass distribution into consideration. Please take a picture of this stage before applying clay.
3. Once the "bone" is built, you can start building "flesh." The material can be any one of commercially available clay. You can use modeling tools or just fingers to sculpt the 3D letter form of your choice. It is recommended to build out slightly larger/thicker shape and work your way back by shaving thin layers. Choose material that dries in a reasonable amount of time. You also may have to add extra material to build the shape bigger if you took out too much at first.
4. Make sure the sculpture is dried before you transport.
5. Please bring 2 finished sculptures and digital picture of the letter forms at the "bone" stage to class.
This project was great for helping me see type as not just a flat font, but a three dimensional form with bone, muscle and flesh. I took this opportunity to do something a bit more my style. After drawing out a complete alphabet of what type style I thought was more my "personality", I started to create the bone with two types of wire. One type being hard wire and the other being stranded wire (for easy manipulation). After taking the photos I began to construct the muscle of both my classic letter form which was Time New Roman and my original letter form. I am a starving student so I used some modeling clay that my friend Harris gave to me and for that, I am THANKFUL!
I admit that my first attempt was a bit unfinished so I went back to the classic and smoothed it out, then went back to my original form and added more texture.
After we brought the finished models to class we were then told to complete them by painting the flesh. This was FUN! For the Time New Roman I chose classic black for the flesh. I had a GREAT time painting my original letter form model and I think turned out pretty good although I like the muscle stage the best. I think the color takes away from the true texture of three dimensional type. What do you think?