Alec McKay: Serial Slice

Concept: After having done so much work that was more polygonal and straight-edged, I decided to do something flowing and fluid. I also thought the serial slicing method would lend itself well to the curves present in a fluid sculpture. From there, I decided to do a swirling form that moves around the central cores.

Technique: I created two curves, with one for the front view and one for the side view, which I later cut in half and lofted to create the solid form. I did several iterations of curves that I lofted, because several of them created creases that weren't what I wanted. I found that using a loose loft rather than the default loft sometimes helped with this. Once I had the desired shape, I used the Contour command to create the serial slices.

Material: My model is cut from two-ply cardboard with two 1/4 inch dowels as the cores. I glued each layer together using superglue. I also left the holes in the bottom so that I can create a base using the two dowels and a block of wood. In keyshot, I decided to use a metallic paint with a deep blue color in keeping with the theme of fluidity.