Mr Tidy Robot
Maker blog entries
Whilst my plan for the booklet was to send it off to be printed and bound professionally, time and cost meant this was no longer a possibility, as I needed at least a week for this to happen. However, I have learnt different binding techniques in the past so I thought I could do it myself.
This seemed simple enough until I remembered the Print Shop at Ravensbourne doesn't print two-sided. This completely changed how the book would be bound as it meant putting together individual pages rather than spreads.
The best thing to do in this scenario was to use hot glue to bind the pages and cover.
The next problem I faced was how to include text. I was unable to accurately print text onto the back of each page which left writing by hand the only real solution. I trust my hand-writing enough, but took extra measures to ensure it was tidy and legible.
The final booklet looks better than I thought it would, even though it isn't perfect. I think it was a good attempt and I learnt more than I can take forward to improve my book binding in the future.
Since the idea of a composite robot wasn't working out for me, I was left wondering how I would create the images for my book in the time I had left, bearing in mind I would need time to print and bind the booklet.
I've never used Illustrator before, but I thought it would be my best bet and enough of a challenge for me to not just use it as a last resort but also a learning experience.
I found it easier to use than I thought, and the drawing process was made quicker by the fact that once I had made the robot I was able to copy and paste most of it for the following images.
I thought it would be nice to have an element of reality in the images by incorporating real photos and objects somehow, and whilst I thought about doing it for backgrounds, I kept it more subtle in just the objects which I think gives the book a cleaner look.
Overall I'm happy with how this looks and I think it has brought Mr Tidy Robot to life, even if not in a real, physical way.
Today I tried bringing together images to make up a digital version of the robot. This is something I've never done before and I wasn't too sure about how to do it, but I knew how to use Photoshop and so I started there.
I took a few basic photos of objects around my house that were the right kind of colours and began cutting these up, adding shadows and highlights, to make a 3d looking image.
Unfortunately, this proved too big a challenge for me, and perhaps with more time I could work to perfect it, but ultimately I think this is beyond my skill set for a while.
I enjoyed the attempt, and it's something I could perhaps try again in the future, but as the exhibition draws nearer, and bearing in mind the time I need to then create a book, this is something that doesn't seem likely to work for now.
Whilst Mr Tidy Robot might be a composite creation, I was thinking I could perhaps do the same for the rest of the image, giving the stills a bit more of a collage feel so he fits better into his surrounding and is real in that world. It would also likely be easier to create the right backdrops for him this way. However, I don't want it to look too rough and messy, since it still needs to look realistic.
To start planning images, I thought of key story points to base them from:
- the robot being made to order
- final robot being sent out
- it arrives at the childs home/ in their room
- different kinds of rubbish around, he organises and tidies it
- he gets full of rubbish, goes to the dump to recycle it
- he comes back home to carry on keeping the place tidy
From here I sketched some ideas for possible composite images
Whilst the way I'm going to create the images is still something I'm thinking about and need to experiment with, I think the best way to bring this invention to life is through a story. So I imagine having a book as my main finished, piece, and then maybe prints alongside it.
The story around 'a day in the life' would work really nicely in showing all of Emma's ideas, she we discussed where you would get this robot from to what it would do once its full of rubbish. By creating story I could make him more real by showing exactly what he does.
In terms of the images, I know the background for any shots would be real photos, but I'm still in the experimental process of how to create the actual robot. I think I've narrowed it down to a composite of real images and an illustration. I would like to try the first, but if time becomes an issue it could be that I draw it, either by hand or digitally.
My inspiration for a composited robot comes from scrap robots, and I think this is the kind of digital image I would create.
Discussing the ideas with a group to develop on initial ideas:
- Create the robot using composites, photoshop a version of him - create a digital version from these images, then add him into photos.
- Could extend it by printing this version onto a 3D model - Papakura, can make a 3D foldable version.
- I need to think more about the different stages of a day in the life so I know what I need to photograph.
- Could possibly print a large version of the drawing to physically put in places rather than Photoshopping.
With a rough idea in mind, I started thinking about what I would need to make this idea real. I know that I want to make a little 3D model of 'Mr Tidy Robot' as a real life replica of Emma's drawing, and then photograph this model to Photoshop into real-life situations where he is able to interact with the scene.
From here I need to think about his 3D dimensions, what I'm going to make him out of, and whether or not he'll be able to move in a way that can allow me to pose him for different photos. This is going to involve some research into the way of model making and hopefully after this a moveable 3D version will be possible.
With the idea in mind, it's time to decide how to bring it to life. As a photographer, I feel the best way to go about this project is to recreate Mr Tidy Robot in images - perhaps combining an illustrated version of him with photos of real places he may be.
I was also thinking of creating a small model of the idea, with something like polymer clay, and photographing this to comp into the photos. This could be exhibited alongside the images to make him more real. Depending on how I made this, he could be moveable and so look more realistic in the photos.
As a starting idea, I think it's pretty solid, however there's some more thinking to be done in the way of bringing all of this together in an exciting way. My starting place is along the lines of 'A Day in the Life of..' which feels good for further development