In the summer and winter of 2019 and summer of 2020, I had the pleasure of interning at Cas Holman's company Heroes Will Rise. During this time, I collaborated with other interns on various projects including the Rigamajig Junior Spinning Tops, an upcoming interactive exhibition in the Liberty Science Center, a digital illustration library, 3D and scale models of the Rigamajig Workshops, 3 promotional stop motion animations, and preparations for her Netflix show.
I led this project of creating stop motion animations to demonstrate and promote the Chutes and Locomotion Rigamajig Add-On kits on the shop website.
This was my first experience making stop-motion, so I prepared as much as I could beforehand by planning the creations and the set to make shooting as predictable as possible. During shooting of the stop motion, I enlisted the help of a fellow intern, Mollie, to speed up the process and move pieces with me, which saved a lot of time especially in the case where many objects were being moved per frame.
Because filming went relatively smoothly, editing and post-production wasn't difficult until my laptop couldn't handle processing 500 DSLR photos at a time.
The stop motion animations are now live on the website for each of the kits!
Preparing the creations before the shoot and taking photos for later reference
The final animations for the Chutes Add-On Kit and Locomotion Add-On Kit
One of the first projects I worked on was the Rigamajig Junior Spinning Tops kits. Unlike the Rigamajig Basic Builder series, these kits are made for younger kids and to be played without the need for collaboration since the pieces are smaller and lighter.
The unique aspect of the spinning tops compared to previous launches is that it starts to explore screen-printing and how prints may be experienced when in motion. Trent, another intern, and I prototyped designs for the tops and printed them on paper to test the graphics in motion. To expedite prototyping, the patterns designed would be printed out on paper then attached to a wooden circle to simulate the spinning top. How colours would "blend" and how shapes amalgamated were all things that I took into consideration when designing.
The focus of the kit isn't simply to create the fastest spinning toy, though. The process of experimentation, failure, curiosity, and serendipitous success is key to the ethos of Rigamajig. Thus, we also prototyped pieces with strange and asymmetrical shapes, cutting squiggles on bandsaws, checking dimensions, and play-testing. When designs were finalised, I created some of the orthographic drawings and documentation for manufacturing.
Paper on wood prototypes
Rigamajig Junior Spinning Tops, final set
I illustrated children of different ages and adults and created an Adobe library of people. This library is used in drawings of designs so that there is a sense of scale to the user as well as an understanding of how the space/object is to be interacted with. The people are drawn at different angles and levels so that there is almost a person for each situation in future drawings.
In 2020, I expanded the age range of the drawings and added more dynamism to the people in preparation for the upcoming project then and has since been used in the pitch drawings for that venture.
The illustration library used in graphics of the Rigamajig Workshops to show how kids would interact with the space and show scale.
Trent and I worked on a scale model of the Rigamajig Workshops and kits so that it could be presented at one of the conventions that Cas was attending. All the bases of the workshops were 3D printed and the pieces for the Rigamajig kits lasercut. The accompanying scale model children were also laser cut. I designed the backs of the workshops with play prompts in various languages and illustrated things that could be made with Rigamajig to accompany the text. After everything was built, Trent and I made a box specifically for this model set so that everything fit just right, ensuring that it didn’t break during travel. The inside of the box was made from foam core, on top of which we build a shell of plywood. On the inside of the lid is a thick layer of foam in case the models jostle up and down.
Some photos from the summers!
2020 intern squad! Trent, me, Cici, Mollie
Special thanks to:
Cas Holman for the amazing opportunity, wealth of knowledge, and inspiration during a time where I was confused