The Animal Project

10 min readFeb 25, 2021

Part 1 — The Plastic Model

For an endangered or extinct animal of your choice, create a model using recycled plastic materials to represent its essence through abstract forms and create movement through interaction.

Choosing an Animal

02.23.2021

I was initially debating between a few animals to recreate with plastic. Most of these were endangered species from India i.e. the Bengal Tiger and Asiatic Elephant. I also looked through the plastic I collected to see which pieces reminded me of the parts of an animal. I had found this head of a steamer back home and thought the shape was really interesting to work with. It reminded me of the head of a shark. I researched more into sharks, focusing on the ones that were endangered.

Different sharks I was considering based on the shape and endangerment status.

Another reason why I chose the Blacktip Reef Shark was this piece of plastic that resembled its head

I narrowed my search down to a lemon shark, great white shark, and blacktip reef shark. I was looking for sharks that had more of a rounder, cylindrical shape that resembled my steamer head.

My story:

Conversations with a Blacktip Reef Shark

I am a blacktip reef shark. I know this because the group I used to swim with when I was young had black marks on their fins. Hunting with them was nice, it’s always nice to be in a group, but I grew tired of them and they of me. I swim alone now, and I think it is better this way, though sometimes the ocean is dark and cold.

So, I try to stay near the reefs. I like human beings — they smell funny and tell me things about the world, though if they make loud noises or sudden movements, I’ll instinctively get scared. Sometimes I do this thing called ‘spy-hopping where I pop my head out of the water to look at them. It’s funny at first because they run away but really all I wanted to do was look at them like they do to me. They’re so weird. Wait till they see that I can jump completely out of water — I’m one of the few sharks that can do that.

My family? Yeah, I had four siblings, but God knows where they are now. Maybe they got taken by humans or maybe they got eaten by a tiger shark. One of the blacktips in my group told me that his sibling got eaten by another blacktip! That definitely gave me a chill down my dorsal fin, and I’ve made sure never to get too close to another of my kind. I blame him for my lack of children and inability to attract a female.

To be honest, I feel bad for not mating, I know our species is declining and I am part of the problem, but I blame the fishing industry. How can you compare my choice of whether or not I want children to their choice whether or not they want shark fin soup or tomato soup for dinner that night? Maybe I should bite their legs next time they wade in the water. I’m so fast they wouldn’t even see me coming.

I’m reaching the end of my life soon — 9 years down and only a few left to go. I don’t desire to travel anywhere or try new things, I’m okay where I am with my surgeonfish and crustacean diet. What gives me joy now is a nice sunny day, when the rays shimmer gently on the surface and make patterns on the seabed and I glide through them undisturbed in cool, clear water. I keep myself entertained by dodging the plastic waste that’s often washed inside. You must think I’m crazy but sometimes I’ll catch myself looking at a piece and imagining it was another blacktip swimming next to me. A friend.

My absolute worst fear is getting put in an aquarium. I heard about this from a sea turtle, but sometimes the humans don’t just catch you for food, but also to put you in tiny fake oceans to live fake lives and swim in a box while other humans come and look at you and flashlights and press their noses against the glass.

I can tell you more stories about the sea. There are so many creatures here that you probably didn’t know existed. But now I must rest and close my nictating membranes.

Iteration 1

02.28.2021

The material used for the main body: Milk jugs

I found that the shape and malleability of milk jugs worked best to create the body of the shark. I began by layering these milk jugs to create the desired shape of the body.

I decided to add detailing of the fin so that it recognizable as a blacktip reef shark. I think the details were too similar to the actual shape of the fin and so in my next iteration, I will try and see how I could better incorporate detailing.

Iteration 2

03.04.2021

Based on the feedback I received on my model, I will incorporate the following things:

Trying to add volume and improve the proportion of the form
Removing unnecessary detailing and focusing on creating the body of the shark
Making the fins more “beefy” and 3-Dimensional

I made the fins by cutting out the curved region of milk jugs and joining the two curved sides with brads so that the fin looked volumetric.

I also used the fin to measure out the proportion of the body

I used brads primarily instead of hot-glue and found this created a sturdier and more structured form

Things to change/add:

Improve on connections — don’t use tape
Make the belly part of the shark fatter and more curved
Add the other fins
Add interaction in the tail of the form
Remove labels

Final Iteration

03.09.2021

For the final iteration, I used Illustrator to add shapes I had onto the shark. This helped to get a better idea of proportion and also see which shapes could best correspond to the shapes formed.

Struggles with the labels:

A big part of the final iteration was removing the labels on the vinegar and milk bottles. I had to use a combination of sandpaper, Goo Gone, soap, and water to remove them. This whole process was very time-consuming (I spent my whole Saturday basically removing labels and washing containers), especially because my shark was so large and had a ton of different components to it.

Struggles with the tail:

I struggled with both creating the form and the connection of the tail. I wanted to make the tail 3 dimensional and have angles that suggested volume.

In order to get the tail of the shark to be positioned in the center and also be able to move with the connected pieces, I had to figure out a way to connect the piece with the container.

These were the two pieces I had to connect

I tried a couple of different types of connections, using zip ties, brads, and hot-glue. Ultimately, I found the end of a thin paintbrush was a sturdy and slender enough alternative that fit through the hole I made for the brad. I measured the inside of the container and cut the paintbrush. I then used hot glue to suspend it inside the container. Since the container concealing the connection was slightly opaque, I covered the connection with another piece of plastic.

Struggle with the eye:

I had to also figure out how to make the eye actually read as an eye. I had access to black, silver, and white brads. After much contemplation and asking just about everyone in the studio if the eye looked like an eye, I finally decided to switch the eye to a black brad and the rest to white brads. Though I thought the silver complemented the shark well, especially while photographing it, the black and white contrast made the eye read better as an eye.

Reflection:

Things I’m happy with:

The interaction and movement — I studied the movement of the shark in the water and I think that with luck and also trial and error, I was able to capture how the shark swam through the water — it is one of the fastest sharks.
The proportion — For the most part, I am satisfied with the proportions of the shark, something I initially struggled with.
The work I put into the details/overall work put in — I’m usually quite bad with paying attention to detail but I think having Ricky in the studio working with me made me more conscientious about detail and made me work harder to perfect the craft.

Things I’m not happy with/wish I could change:

The angle of connection of the tail — should be more slanted and angular instead of straight.
The positioning of the dorsal fin should be lower.
A few plastic pieces got dirty and sticky while removing the labels and I wish I could have cleaned that better.
Being more intentional with the positioning of the brads for more cohesion (though I don’t think I would be able to achieve this unless I was really confident with my craft)
As Daphne mentioned, using more whole pieces of plastic or plastic that conformed better to the shape.
Being more consistent with documentation and reflection through the Medium post.

Overall, I’m proud of how far I and everyone else came with this project. It was something that seemed impossible in the beginning but I think I learned a whole lot making it and working through my struggles.