Dan McCurley

DIY Analog Projectors

Tags
Visual Communication, Making & Fabrication

This project started by combining halftone patterns, colors and type digitally. As I began to feel limited by the software (and/or my ability to use it), I set out to recreate these combinations manually, in analog. I eventually arrived at a fun, modular set of 3d printed projectors and DIY lenses that allow for infinite combinations of type and image.

Digital Sketches

Digital sketch of jagged green and yellow halftone shapes layered over each other
Digital sketch of a bulbous pink halftone letterform with a blue offset shadow on a dark background
Digital sketch of the word 'Sublime' in orange script above a dark teal halftone photo
Digital sketch of a cut-out shape filled with a rainbow-colored halftone dot pattern
Digital sketch of a torn shape filled with pastel horizontal stripes and black letterforms on a black background
Digital sketch of the word 'Sublime' in white script over red halftone rings and a dark textured background

Light Experiments

Light experiment: a yellow circle of light projected on a wall with a dot pattern and the shadow of a cut-out shape
Light experiment: small clusters of white dots projected onto a grey surface
Light experiment: a row of white dots and the shadow of a cut-out shape projected in a grey circle of light
Light experiment: green dots of light projected across a bookshelf and a wall in a dark room

Projector Design

Process sketch titled 'Miniature projections' showing interchangeable discs for type, color, patterns and shape in front of a light
Line sketches of a tube-shaped projector, its housing and its lens and slide pieces
3D models of red projector housing parts on a modelling grid, including a lens mount and a lid
3D models of red and yellow projector housings with slots for discs, shown on a modelling grid
Two cardboard tubes, two round magnifying lenses and a hot glue gun on a workbench
The projector kit spread across a wooden floor: black and red 3D-printed housings, flashlights, a cardboard tube with a lens, and colored acrylic, wood and mesh discs
A child sitting on the floor shining a flashlight through a green projector housing
Hands slotting a colored disc into a red projector housing lit by a flashlight

Projections

A projected grid of glowing blue and white letterforms overlaid with a pink script word, inside a dark circular vignette
A person filming the projectors with a camera on a tripod in a white gallery, with a pink and blue projection on the wall above a plinth
Pink and purple dots and letterforms projected onto a painted brick wall
Overlapping pink, green and purple dot patterns projected onto a brick wall
A black-and-white projection of dot patterns on a brick wall
A tilted grid of teal dots over a pink pattern projected in a dark room
Rows of blue and white dots and an orange hand-drawn word projected onto a wall
Close-up of an orange hand-drawn word and blue dots projected onto a panelled garage door
A child, face obscured with a black bar, standing in a dark room covered in projected pink and blue dots
A blurred, moving figure covered in projected pink and purple circles
A garage at the end of a driveway at night, with a grid of yellow-green dots projected on its door
A smiling child, eyes obscured with a black bar, sitting in a dark room with projected light dots across their face and shirt
A child, eyes obscured with a black bar, in a dark room with a yellow-green circle and pink dots projected around them