Intro
For our shadow box assignment, we were asked to create or assemble an assortment of items that represent some significance in our lives. I knew from the outset that I wanted my piece to have something to do with gaming, but it wasn't until I had considered my tumultuous relationship with the pastime over the years that I decided on a theme and composition that I was satisfied with. The composition would be a barren painted background populated by a few question-mark blocks, a well-known symbol in gaming. 3mm LEDs would be placed inside each block to give a glowing effect which would add some visual interest.
Materials
(1) Shadow Box
(2) Mixing White Paint
(3) Glue
(4) Prussian Blue Paint
(5) Button Cell
(6) 3mm White LED
(7) Wire
(8) Paintbrush
(9) Ruler
(10) Canvas
(11) Tape
(12) Pixel-art printed on card stock
(13) Knife
Step 1: Printing the Graphic
The purpose of my shadow box was to convey the addictive aspects of gaming. To that end, I decided to take regular tropes associated with the medium and cast them in a more sinister light, which began with the creation of these question mark squares in Photoshop. I then used Illustrator to create a larger page that I printed onto card stock at Staples. I made sure to use a muted monotone colour, which would eventually extend to the painted canvas background as well.
Step 2: Cutting the Cubes
Once printed, the paper was cut into crosses which would serve as the basis for the cubes.
Step 3: Scoring
Once cut, I scored the back of the paper with a thin, blunt object like a ruler. Scoring is imperative to achieve clean, controlled folds.
Each shape was then folded and relieved of the dark interior of the question mark at the center of the cross.
Step 5: Opaque Plastic
Small pieces of opaque plastic were cut out and glued over the hole on the back of each shape in order to create a glowing effect when the LEDs are illuminated. If the plastic were absent, the harsh light of the LEDs would be an eye-sore.
Final Product
The finished product turned out to be miles better than what my initial concepts would indicate. Initially, my concept thumbnails consisted of gaming paraphernalia in various arrangements. Unsatisfied with what was basically a show-and-tell, the idea morphed into something much darker after reflecting on periods of my life when my obsession began a very rapid descent into addiction. It was then that I realized that one of the most widely recognized symbols in all of gaming which typically arouses cheerfulness and glee could also be twisted to express disempowerment and instability at the hands of addiction.
