Visuals
Final NYC Set
Back View of Pieces
Close View of Pieces
Close View of Pieces
Project Statement
This project consisted of redesigning traditional chess pieces to fit a new narrative while maintaining the traditional rules, mechanics, and goals of chess. My partner and I based our chess set on two cities: New York City and Chicago. Our goal was to highlight the unique and similar aspects of each city. I chose New York City for my chess pieces. Through the use of cardstock paper and slice form techniques, I created New York City “themed” chess pieces that correlated with the history, movement, and power of traditional chess pieces. The movement of my chess pieces (either the piece itself or around the piece) in my cities was a major goal of mine. We based our set off of the acrylic board due to its being the most structured and industrial board, like cities.
Process
View detailed project process at Checkmate: Process
Reflection
This project taught me a lot about constructing 3-D objects that would be able to function and perform. Up until this point, everything I had built did not need to actually function. I struggled a bit with choosing chess pieces that would translate my narrative correctly, but through this struggle, I learned that clear narratives are vital for an audience to be able to understand the concept. I was proud of my ability to understand the rules of chess and how pieces move and being able to correctly relay that information in my pieces. I struggled with the materials used in this project: I had to change my planned materials three times. I do see areas where I can improve in my craft: little areas where the glue is showing a little bit, but despite the struggles, I was still able to create slice forms that were both complex, while also clearly representing the form and silhouette of the object. This showed me that struggling does not mean that my final composition/ design will be a failure. It simply means it just took me a bit longer to get there.