Introduction This project provides practice in constructing maquettes. It's related to an exercise given in the "Drawing and Sketching" section - "Make Preliminary Sketches for a simple box set." Preliminary sketches developed for that assignment can be used as a basis for this one. Additional notes are below. The exercise: Make a physical preliminary model of a "box set," including walls and a floor. The set must be situated in a proscenium theatre. Links to examples of preliminary models are below: some are more complex than the assignment, and some are not box sets. In general, the beginning design student should keep this project simple. |
|
|
Additional Notes and Tips Making a "sketch" model is an important stage in the design process for many set designers. These models (often called "white" models) are useful during early conversations with a director. They are usually painted white or left unpainted, and may be hastily made and incomplete. Their purpose is to experiment with the basic masses of the setting - the shapes and composition, the placement of scenes, the opportunities for lighting, etc. Some white models are actually unpainted finished models, with a high level of detail. Models - even sketch models - need to be accurately scaled in order to be of any real use. Even if the details of the setting are very sketchy, and the pieces are found objects or torn scraps of paper, the model should show how the developing idea would fit inside the performance space Most set designers make several rough "thumbnail" sketches of a setting before doing a sketch model. Often, set designers will work on preliminary technical drawings while developing a sketch model and use copies of these drawings to build the model (see the thumbnails with preliminary drafting above). This procedure can be particularly useful for conventional "box" sets. It's often best for this exercise to focus on tidy constuction as much as the aesthetic beauty of the design itself. (Naturally, an aesthetically satisfactory design is always preferable). One should have some "action" in mind that will occur in the space ("family holiday dinner," or "Tesman and Hedda arrive in their new home after their honeymoon." A model theatre is also required: you should construct one re-use a model of one you already have. It's not essential to do this exercise using an actual play: You might also use a room in your home, altering its dimensions and layout to suit your proscenium theatre. |
