Join me on an exploration of air-dry clay and 3D printing to create cute and creepy creatures!
PROMPT:
"Using clay and 3D printing, create 3D objects that represent your exploration of 'cute and creepy.'"
What makes something or someone cute?
Is cute always small and young?
Is young and small always cute?
At what point does something become so cute that it isn’t cute anymore? Does it then become creepy?
Are cute and creepy at opposite ends of a spectrum?
Above are some questions my professors asked us before we began our cute and creepy exploration. We were also tasked with bringing toys to place on a Cute-O-Meter scale! One trend I noticed after analyzing our arrangement was that the "cuter" objects tended to be small and round with big eyes. They were also light colors with soft textures, but not always. So long as they had big eyes with a shine, they qualified as cute. The "creepy" toys were darker in color, tended to be hard, had furrowed eyebrows, and featured sharper edges. The sharp edges were mostly seen on their teeth like the Tasmanian Devil. However, there was an intersection between cute and creepy at times. One classmate brought their Funko Pop of Jack Skellington's ghost dog, Zero, and it was put in the middle of the Cute-O-Meter. Zero was small and inherently cute since he's a dog with big eyes, but he's also a ghost. That association automatically makes him a bit "creepy." Additionally, his eyes were completely black with no shine, therefore adding to the creepiness. It was so much fun arranging the objects and seeing how my classmates fought for their toys to be considered cute even if they didn't fit the conventional "cute" standards. Having a personal connection to toys can make you think it's cute!
Air Dry Clay
MATERIALS
Air-Dry Clay (Crayola brand is one recommendation)
Sharp clay tools—at least one sharp tool for slicing, poking, and scoring
Wood clay tools—for smoothing or texture
Small cup of water
Butcher paper to keep area clean
Acrylic gesso to prime clay (if you wish to paint)
Acrylic paints
Assorted brushes
Posca markers (best for small details)
Liquitex gloss varnish
Process
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I started by rolling the clay into a ball to make this mini monster's body. Then, I made smaller balls and pressed them down to form circular slabs. Using the flat edge of the wooden clay tool, I sliced the slab to mold triangular spikes. To connect the spikes, I scored the bottom part of the spikes and the places where they would connect to the body (see image 3). Afterward, I applied a tiny bit of water to both the scored spike and the scored body, then connected them.* The flat edge of the wooden tools is great for smoothing the connection and assuring it stays put (see image 4)! I made more circular slabs for the eyes, balls for the feet, and a coil for the tongue using the same scoring attachment technique. For final details, I poked a little shine in his eyes and marked a tongue line with the sharp tools.
*Tip: Be careful when applying water to connected scored pieces. Too much water can cause them to slide off!! It's best to start little by little. Also, I recommend using a dab of water to revive the semi-dry clay and smooth out any unwanted textures.
Final Looks
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I decided to add eyebrows to complete the look, then set it out to dry. The last two images are what it looks like fully dry overnight. The moisture from the water can cause uneven spots on your clay when it dries, but you can cover it up by painting it with acrylics and finishing it off with a coat of shiny medium to mimic a ceramic gloss. I think the off-putting spots on my creature add to its creepiness! However, there's something cute that comes from his silly tongue, big eyes, small stature, and upturned eyebrows :)
I then applied 1-2 coats of gesso to my creature to prepare it for painting. Air-dry clay is water-based, therefore its surface is porous and will soak up the first layer of paint like a sponge. Using gesso lets you paint more uniformly and creates a moisture barrier between the clay and paint. It also allows for better paint adhesion and reduces the risk of peeling or flaking. However, the gesso must dry for 24 hours before you apply any paint!
Once my gesso was fully dry, I noticed some areas had flakes perhaps due to its cheap brand. It didn't matter much to me though because I covered them with layers of acrylic paint and hid any cracks/flakes as best as I could. I also used posca markers for finer details and then finally a coat of glossy varnish. I think my silly guy turned out nicely!
Artists for Inspo
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James DeRosso is a ceramics artist from Oregon. He makes monster ceramics that perfectly exemplify the idea of cute and creepy. These little guys have creepy looks yet silly auras and big eyes, curious eyes. From Derosso's website: "The specific niche of creating monsters all began when I would make small guardian creatures that I placed on top of the kiln to ward off bad results during firings. Friends wanted those creatures more than what were coming out of the kiln!"
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Ginette Lapalme is a Toronto-based illustrator and artist. She often creates both paintings and ceramics that let you step into her world. Many artists have "cute" styles, but Lapalme's mystical creatures are magical and alluring.
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Calan Ree is a Florida-based artist originally from New York. Ree creates contemporary ceramic and mixed-media figurative sculpture that mixes the natural and mystical world. From her website: "She finds the natural world just as intriguing as the folk lore that tries to explain it. Her work is figurative in nature and often expresses the hidden spirit that resides within the subject, be it human, myth or mushroom."
Lesson Idea:
Something that I think elementary schoolers would enjoy (perhaps 4th-6th graders) is creating a mini stop-motion animation using air-dry clay. The prompt would be to create a fantasy world with unique mystical creatures that are cute and/or creepy. Students could take various pictures of an interaction between 2+ creatures or a scene occurring within their world, then turn this into a stop-motion video. A beginner and kid-friendly app that could be used to create the video is Stop Motion Studio. This project is intended to spark conversations among the students about their perceptions of what's cute or creepy and to discuss differences. They would also be using the visual medium of clay to translate those perceptions/responses.
Personal Thoughts on Air-Dry Clay
I felt a little rusty exploring air-dry clay because it'd been years since I'd used any type of clay. I remember enjoying terra cotta in middle school and earthenware the summer after graduating high school, but I wondered how air-dry clay would be different. It was a bit finicky to work with whenever I wet it because it dried out faster than other clay I'd used before. However, finding the right ratio of water to clay allowed me to keep the clay wet enough to mold and smooth away any unwanted textures. You can also add a little bit more wet clay on top of your dried clay to fix any cracks. I did this to help a student in Saturday Studio who was heartbroken to see her pot cracked. Smoothing a little wet clay on top went a long way in fixing it!
3D-Printing
MATERIALS:
3D Printer + filament
Process - Tinkercad
Click on images to expand and use the arrows to navigate the slideshow!
I originally wanted to print two cute friends—Mr. Penguin and Mr. Bee. Unfortunately, the printers at GMU were unable to print both for whatever reason, and I tried twice! :( Therefore, on my third attempt I decided to just design Mr. Penguin (please ignore the bee in the images, I deleted him in the end R.I.P.). Tinkercad has several preset models to begin designs and I especially liked the penguin. To customize him with a cute charm, I added a little ice cream, a hat, and a mustache by attaching multiple presets together. However, I had to delete the beak first to add the mustache. With Tinkercad's tools, I used a rectangular prism to place on top of the beak, merged the two shapes, and then turned them into a hole (see image 4)! Next, I attached a new lower beak to allow space for Mr. Penguin's mustache.
Process - Ultimaker Cura
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GMU students working at The Mix, my school's workshop space where students and faculty members have access to technologies from the entrepreneurial world, helped me export my design to UltiMaker Cura and print it.
Steps:
Download UltiMaker Cura
Export your Tinkercad file as an .STL file and open it in UltiMaker Cura
Have workers help you adjust printing settings (i.e. make sure the melting degree matches the printing material's label—it can vary between 215°C and 220°C)
Adjust the size of your design on UltiMaker Cura and add any supports needed (the supports are shown as "tree branches" in turquoise)
Once you're happy with the settings, click "SLICE." Slicing means your design will be turned into hundreds or thousands of layers. This is then generated into a G-code that informs the printer of the layers needed to print.
Process - 3D Printing at The Mix
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Steps:
Choose your printer and take out its chip.
Insert the chip into a USB and connect it to your computer.
Download your G-code file to the USB (which will be saved to the chip).
Safely eject the USB.
Take out the chip from the USB and insert it back into its assigned printer.
Select your correct file name in the 3D printer (see image 3—my name was CE3PRO_Penguin.gcode) and start to print
Be patient and wait hours... and hours... and hours..... My design was only 5 inches tall yet it took an astounding 10 hours -_-
Final Looks
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Before going to The Mix a third time, I prayed that Mr. Penguin would print since the original design with the bee had failed 2 prior times. And he did, HOORAY! Removing the supports was very easy since they're not firm like the design print itself.
Because the material had lots of ridges, I applied 3 coats of gesso on the areas where I wanted to paint my penguin. Once dry, I used acrylic paints and posca markers to add details. The last step is to coat it with a glossy varnish, but I didn't include that in these pictures. Please refer to the cover photo of this blog (it's shiny there)!
Artists for Inspo
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Kate Blacklock is a Providence-based ceramicist exploring the potential of 3D-printed clay.
She creates drawings in Adobe Illustrator often related to her painting series, then uses a 3D Systems CeraJet printer to bring them to life in vertebra-like forms. Like pottery, once the piece is printed it is glazed and fired. She also shared with 3Dprint.com how clay and 3D printing differ: “One thing that surprised me was how much the actual pieces looked like the renderings. It’s different when you make things out of clay and you fire them and there are often surprises with the clay doing things that you don’t expect.”
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Joshua Harker is a digital artist focusing on multi-dimensional experiences through 2D image design & animation and 3D-printed sculpture. His innovative artwork explores themes like the human form and the intersection of art and science. From his website: “My work is about pushing the limits of form and dimensions to share vision… an exploration into what can be made and how to accomplish it in effort to tell a story or create an experience. [...] Never before have forms of this organic complexity been able to be created. This boon of technology is a revolutionary time for the arts and one which will be boldly marked in history.”
Lesson Idea
(Middle School—7th or 8th grade)
I would like students to explore programs like Tinkercad or Bezi and get excited about them because they're easy to learn and navigate. As a first lesson intro to the programs, I would have them design something they'd want to use in their everyday life—a paperweight, a pencil holder, a jewelry holder, etc.—but the students must put their own twist. This twist could be adding a protruding design outside of their jewelry holder or making the pencil holder a more complex shape rather than a cylinder. Because they'd be making something for personal usage, this would increase their motivation. The successful or unsuccessful printing process can also teach them about trial and error, thus allowing for reflective discussion about pivoting when obstacles occur. Overall, it's beginner-friendly and a good introduction to 3D programs and 3D printing.
Personal Thoughts on 3D Printing
From a teaching standpoint, I think it's important to introduce students to digital mediums in such a technologically advanced age. It also sparks interest for those who love STEAM more than studio art. Furthermore, it can be engaging for students with motor issues who have a hard time painting or drawing. Schools would make a great investment in 3D printers if the budget allows.
3D printing for me at The Mix itself was pretty stressful. What I don't like about The Mix is that there is no way to know if your print failed until you come back to pick up your print. Most models take 6+ hours to print despite design simplicity (therefore requiring you to come back at night or the next day). My first two attempts at printing both my penguin and bee failed and I was uninformed the moment it happened.
Something to keep in mind is that the majority of printing failures occur during the first layer. Even though I'd stayed long enough to see most of the first layer done and was assured by the staff it would be okay to leave, the first two attempts still failed. I truly hope The Mix implements a communication feature for workers to contact students as soon as they spot a print failure. This way, students can reprint ASAP instead of wasting time returning the next day to reprint and coming back yet again the following day to pick up their prints.
This project taught me patience through trial and error. Because of the first two failures, I pivoted and chose to only design the penguin. I was extremely happy with the successful print results and now keep Mr. Penguin on my desk as a little friend. I think he embodies cuteness because of his small, round stature and the little mustache that makes him look like a distinguished gentleman. The hat and ice cream also add to his friendliness!
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