Reverie
Graphic Design, LaserCutting, Individual Project
My puzzle “Reverie” depicts a moment where a child stares out in wondrous awe at the world of his own imagination. Surrounded by orbiting toys and more hidden in the numerous stars liked wishes granted, the boy is pleasantly lost in the thoughts of his own childhood.
When it came to deciding on how to divide up the puzzle pieces, I wanted the pieces to mimic the movement of swirling toys, but more importantly, add turbulence to the puzzle to reflect the evanescence of a dreamlike world.
(2022)
1/8 inch black acrylic board for the bottom, quarter inch clear spray painted acrylic board for puzzle edge, 1/8 inch clear spray painted acrylic board for the puzzle pieces and an 1/8 inch clear acrylic board for the lid.
Fabrication Process.
Initial Inspiration: I wanted to create a puzzle related to hopes and dreams.
Initial Inspiration: The book “le petit prince” added the element of solitude to my design.
My first design was a boy trying to touch a moon that is melting, it symbolized how people’s innate childishness fade away as they age.
To create the feeling of disoriented and solitude, I have decided to place the child on a planet surrounded by his favorite objects.
Finally, I swapped out the melting moon for the paper airplane, it represented hopes and dreams for the child, and helped to focus the audiences’ attention.
In Rhino, I traced over my linework and hatched the space in between. I also drew out the swirls around the toys to be interlocking puzzle pieces that only fit in specific angles.
Prior to laser cutting, I spray painted both sides of the acrylic board, one with a starry night effect and another with a gradient effect along with the name of my puzzle.
I outlined the boy and the planet with acrylic markers and added a matte finish to complete my work.
First Iteration.
Notes to Improve:
There are a couple straight-edge pieces that detract a bit from my overarching theme. I would’ve drawn my swirling pieces in Rhino in a way that merges with others leaving only the silhouette of the toy shapes between them. This way, the puzzle will be entirely flowing and void of small, straight-edge puzzle pieces.
I would want my puzzle to look less flat, and more sturdy. Currently, the puzzle is too big and the 8 inch acrylic board bends a little when I lift it up.
I need to add a lid to the puzzle, it is so hard to carry it around.
Final Creation.
I redesigned swirls in Rhino so there was no straight edges.
The bottom acrylic is black in this iteration. Before the pieces are placed onto the board, it looks like an empty space. The black background helps to create further contrast before and after putting together a puzzle.
The spray painting was done on the back side of the clear acrylic board instead of on the top side, this makes the piece look less flat and more dreamy. I also incorporated gradient effect to make the puzzle more dynamic.
The boy was given a spotlight through spray painting on the back!
Finally, I added a lid to my design. The boy on the lid would match the boy in the puzzle when users put the lid on for display in the end. The name of the puzzle was also engraved onto the acrylic.