I’ve really enjoyed the idea of nature and technology, so I wanted to create something that incorporated both. For my organic form I used a tree. The twist of the trunk and branches provides a more interesting object to observe. For the technology side of the piece I chose to make a station that would serve as a base for the tree to rest upon. I really wanted to focus on the idea that the base transported this ‘tree of life’ around the universe. This tree would be used to sustain life in areas that were lacking resources to sufficiently sustain life on their own. The only way that this tree could travel the universe is if it used the base as its transporter. This brings together the idea of technology and nature working together in harmony. In order for life to sustain in these areas of space both technology and nature would be required. In order to contrast these two different forms I had to focus on the curved organic form of the tree and the hard edged form of the base. The tree and base are gigantic. The tree itself is over a hundred times larger than the largest tree on earth. The base has to be equally as large in order to transport the tree. This requires much maintenance and up keep. Inside the base there is a large group of workers that live on the base for an extended period of time.
I wanted to use lush greens in order to convey an idea of life. At the same time I used simple grays for the base to give this cold mechanical feel. The textures also helped to convey these ideas. The texture of the tree and ground had to be uneven with soft edges in order to get that organic feel. The base texture had to be the opposite with hard edges and very symmetrical pieces. The size of the object is somewhat hard to determine since it is surrounded by the vastness of space. The use of the space background is instrumental in conveying a specific feeling to the viewer. I wanted to convey a feeling of calmness through the illusion of floating through space. This also gives the illusion that this base is moving slowly through space.
In order to construct this piece I had to start with polygon primitives such as cubes and cylinders. I manipulated multiple vertices simultaneously when working on the base. In order to obtain an organic form for the tree I had to manipulate only a couple of vertices at a time. I used the split polygon tool and the extrude tool in order to make the branches as well as other limbs that had to extend out of the tree as well as the base. I also used the method of copying limbs and other objects in order to efficiently use my time. When it came to creating textures I used files from the internet and then manipulated the image in Photoshop. The application of the textures was quite difficult. In order to get a visible texture applied to the tree I had to select only a few faces at a time.