Post 2 - Remix Project Thumbnails

 



Remix Culture


Remix culture is a concept which combines two or more already existing ideas, and merges them into a brand new creation. From my understanding, it allows the creator to put their own 'touch' onto an an existing piece, thus personalizing it through addition and creativity. Memes are a good example of this, for they are created from an already existing image/idea, which is later 'remixed' into another individual's own version through addition of elements, words, and phrases.  

 

It is important to note that this concept, however, because never truly one's own, treads the delicate waters of copyright, due to the (often unwanted/unjustified) use of intellectual property.

*A written example of remix culture is the ever-changing website Wikipedia, which is constantly updated and fact-checked by individuals all over the world.*

^ This is an example of a beautiful collaboration between a multum of individuals, who rely on each other and the knowledge they possess, to build a reliable, fool-proof source of information for everyone to use. Nevertheless, because this website is a collaboration, although the ideas and articles may belong to one, it is never truly one's own.  

(Personal note 1: A similar idea that I have once come across, is artist-artwork collaboration. This often happens through combining skills, in hopes of creating a piece by sending it back and forth from one creator to another, and allowing both brain powers to work together towards a shared goal of producing one project.) 

(Personal note 2: Another concept that reminds me of remix culture is the (not so liked) idea of editing the finished digital work of another artist, thus giving it one's own interpretation/addition.)

(Personal note 3: When you think about it, everything is technically a 'remix'. If technology was copyrighted by one person, rejecting all change to their creation, we would never have advanced computers. If architecture was under strict copyright, we would never learn how to safely build a home. By this I mean: There was once the first computer; Someone took that and made it better.  Although this may not necessarily be seen as 'remixing', it does fall into that category. In the end, we are no longer left with an angry concept owner, but a result of the human mind working alongside other human minds. This collaboration enabled progress, not just in technology, but with every idea.)




Thumbnail #1 - Defeat
Diablos vs Red is not necessarily a remix, but more so an experiment. In this thumbnail, I was trying to figure out my objective and how to import files into Rhino, rather than create an actual thumbnail. Nevertheless, the result turned out pretty cool, for it depicts a battle between two of my favorite Monster Hunter Dragons: Alatreon and Rathalos.



https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5748346 - Alatreon
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4875748 - Rathalos


Thumbnail #2 - Random Tentacle Vase
Here is where I get a little more serious about my thumbnails. I figured out what is going on and how I should go about things. And so I have created a vase, with tentacles breaking through it from two 'things' I found on Thingiverse. There was little thought process behind the creation of this idea, but I ended up liking it quite a lot, especially thanks to the easy-to-separate tentacles I could experiment with. 


https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5754187 - Tentacles
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5739444 - Vase


Thumbnail #3 - World Cup
This is where things started getting a little more exciting. At this stage, I began thinking a bit deeper about what I wanted to create, and then I saw the World Cup trophy. This was the perfect opportunity for me to make a remix based on my favorite sporting event. It was especially compelling due to its creation amidst the duration of the World Cup. I decided to go for a 'tv-commercial-like' look, with orbiting soccer balls around it which looked fantastic. These orbits seemed to have given the trophy a 'powerful' look that I was very pleased with.



https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:576612 - Soccer Ball
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5744650 - World Cup Trophy


Thumbnail #4 - Quetzalcoatl the King
While browsing through Thingiverse, I developed a collection of cool dragons. I did not pay any special attention to them at first, but upon closer inspection, I noticed that one of those dragons was the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl. As a kid, one of my hobbies was researching mythical creatures just like this one, and I just so happened to know a bit about it. I decided to use this model (mainly because I loved the look of it) and put him inside a crown to symbolize his power. Fitting, considering how in Aztec culture, this creature was thought to be the creator of mankind. 


https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5766353 - Dragon
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5733146 - Crown


Thumbnail #5 - Death and Hope
Moving forward, as my mind began to wander, I decided to go with a more grim approach. As I ventured through pages of skulls, I found this simple model. Because of its sharp edges, I thought it would be perfect next to origami cranes. In the end, those two concepts have given me a pretty neat yet contradictory result, since skulls symbolize (obviously) death, and paper cranes hope and healing. 
(Take that as you will, this thumbnail really makes me think... except, I don't exactly know what about.)




https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5772986 - Skull
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4580843 - Crane 1
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4945854 - Crane 2
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3137956 - Crane 3
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5799273 - Random Swan

Thumbnail #6 - Reaper
When I found this spooky Grim reaper model, I just could not hold back my excitement. I must have searched for at least 15 minutes for the perfect dead tree to match his aesthetic. On top of that, I had the perfect skull to add as the cherry on top. I think this thumbnail perfectly depicts his nature and purpose.



https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5791903 - Reaper
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5797922 - Skull
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3641733 - Tree

Thumbnail #7 - Crystal Ball
This 'Crystal Ball' is a concept taken quite literally. It is a ball, made of crystal, with crystals sticking out of it. Although this is not necessarily what the project asked for, I wanted to experiment with just one borrowed object and put my own touch on it. In the end, my brain went blank and I could not come up with much more than duplicating the crystals and putting them in a sphere. Looked pretty cool though.


https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5797308 - Crystal Cluster

Thumbnail #8 - Soul Tree
"Soul Tree" is a term used in one of my favorite video games to represent character links. While looking over my collection of skulls, I happened to remember that term and think it over on its own, with no connection to the game. That's when my brain painted the image of a tiny growth, with a thick stump and souls escaping it. I decided to depict it using the model of 3 skulls and a stump I found after a long search. 


https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5794615 - Stump
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5850219 - Skulls

Thumbnail #9 - Ruler
Moving on, my thought process surely brought me back to the dragons in my gallery and for some reason, animals. I wanted to see if I could create a concept of a cat with dragon wings. 
I found this Lion model while looking, and ended up really liking it, so I searched for wings that I could give it. Although I could not find wings on their own, I did end up finding a cool flying bat which I then inserted into the lion model. The result turned out quite bland and generic, which is why I reused the crown from Quetzalcoatl and put a thin torus with orbs around my final work.


https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5733146 - Crown
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3918675 - Lion
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1095980 - Bat


Thumbnail #10 - Passion
My last thumbnail ended up taking me back to Soccer. I decided that I loved the idea of the balls orbiting around an object and wanted to have another go at it. In the end, it did not end up quite as good as the World Cup piece, but I actually really liked it. To do this I combined a flat base I found, along with the reused soccer ball model from the World Cup thumbnail. The creation of this brought me a lot of joy. 

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:576612 - Soccer Ball
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:762114 - Base



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