ILLUSTRATOR & MAKER
The idea was formed through lots of research and sketches. The imagery of the carousel reminded me of the spectacle of the sport.
I made a CAD design using Rhino software which I could then transfer to Adobe Illustrator for the laser cutter. I prototyped using different thicknesses of plywood, different gear ratios, proportions etc in order to get the desired motion and overall image.
The horse puppets have a wire armature and built up using hard and soft foam. The soft foam allows the puppet to be adjusted in the right places. I also used polymorph to add a skelton to the slim limbs. Then, they are wrapped in exercise wrap dipped in liquid latex, painted and details added.
I wanted the horses to appear as if they are stumbling over each other, crowded on the racetrack.
The top of the carousel includes the fencing, betting boards, horses numbers and betting slips on the ground below the horses feet.
I did a photoshoot of this iteration before taking it apart to fine-tune. I began by making a list of pieces to develop:
- added rubber onto the wheels to
improve fiction
- produce iterations of cog systems to get smoother motion
- added height to add focus to
horse segment
- add more supports to mechanism
- swap threaded rod for smooth
- add more support to handle
- move wheels in to give handle
more space
