Dual-Perspective 3D Sculpture: Final Report – Part 1

Project Overview: Dual-Perspective 3D Sculpture

For my main project in Aesthetics in Design, I explored the concept of dual perspective using 3D extrusion—a visual technique that allows a single object to reveal two distinct identities depending on the angle of view. This type of illusion requires precise planning and spatial manipulation, as each perspective must be visually coherent yet occupy the same physical volume. The outcome is a sculpture that feels static and solid, yet transforms entirely as the viewer shifts their position, blurring the line between form and perception.

From one direction, the sculpture shows a smiley face, evoking warmth and positivity; from a 90-degree angle, the same structure shifts into a sad face, conveying the opposite emotion. This emotional duality is a key driver of the concept. I’m also developing a second transformation—from the Batman logo to the Superman insignia—to explore themes of identity, dualism, and transformation using iconic cultural symbols.

Inspirations and References

I was inspired by several creators who work with perspective, illusions, and sculptural duality:

• Michael Murphy’s Perceptual Art: Murphy, the creator of the iconic Jordan “Jumpman” sculpture, uses suspended layers of material to form distinct images depending on viewing angle. His “Michael Jordan Jumpman” sculpture shifts from a collection of abstract pieces to the silhouette of Jordan mid-air. This inspired me to think about how forms can be fragmented and strategically aligned in space to produce meaning only from specific perspectives (michaelmurphy.art)

• Matthieu Robert-Ortis’s “La Révolution des Girafes”: This wireframe sculpture transforms between a pair of giraffes and an elephant when viewed from different angles. It exemplifies the poetic interplay between shape, perspective, and perception.
   

• Jose Margulis’s “Dual Perspectives”: His kinetic wall sculptures, often crafted from layered acrylic or aluminum, shift visually as the viewer moves. These works guided my exploration of aligning disparate forms into a single coherent volume.
  

These artists opened up the possibilities of combining emotional narratives with perceptual tricks—something I aspired to echo in my project.

Artistic Vision and Aesthetic

Primary Aesthetic: Clean Geometric Duality

My chosen aesthetic centers around minimalist yet precise design. The sculpture should feel like a cohesive form, but upon viewing it from either side, it reveals completely different faces or symbols. This sense of visual contradiction was intentional—offering a simple exterior that holds complexity when you engage with it.

To support this, I focused on:

• Sharp Edges and Clean Surfaces: The geometry was carefully controlled in CAD to ensure minimal distortion and crisp transitions.

• White Monochrome Finish: I opted to keep the 3D-printed PLA material in its native white color, avoiding paints or post-processing to preserve the integrity of the form and maintain consistency across surfaces.

• Contrast Through Form: Instead of color contrast, I emphasized contrast through the depth and orientation of extrusions—each perspective requiring careful balance to avoid one overpowering the other.

The forms I worked with—faces and logos—provided strong, recognizable silhouettes that could still be abstracted enough to maintain coherence when viewed at oblique angles.

Specifications

• Material: PLA, printed in white with no additional surface coating (no sanding or matte gloss).

• Size: Roughly 12x12x12 inches—large enough to offer visible detail, but small enough to be manageable on a desktop motor.

• Mechanism: A 0.8–1 RPM motor was sourced to rotate the sculpture slowly, allowing viewers to observe the transformation without manual interaction.

• Software: Modeled using SolidWorks, where precision in extrusion and alignment was crucial.

• Forms Chosen:

  • Emotional: Smiley face → Sad face

    
    

  • Iconic: Batman logo → Superman logo

    
    

Design Process

Initial Sketches and Explorations

I began by sketching the smiley and sad faces on orthogonal planes. These early sketches helped me experiment with how the key features—eyes, mouths, outlines—could overlap or share similar space when extruded from different directions. In particular, achieving symmetry in one view while asymmetry in another was a recurring challenge.

CAD Development

Using SolidWorks, I developed the faces and logo transitions as perpendicular extrusions. Here’s how the CAD process unfolded:

• Step 1: Model each face or logo separately.

• Step 2: Rotate one 90° and merge both into a single bounding box.

• Step 3: Interpolate and adjust shared geometry to minimize visual noise.

• Step 4: Use Boolean operations to carve the combined volume into a printable solid.

Subtle depth variation was essential—too much, and the two views would interfere with each other; too little, and the illusion would be lost. I prioritized clarity and symbolic legibility over sculptural detail.

Prototyping and Refinement

I 3D printed scaled-down versions (4-6 inches wide) to evaluate:

• Perspective clarity

• Shadow casting

• Structural noise

• Interference between the two shapes

From this process, I found that the sad face, being more asymmetrical, needed greater depth refinement to avoid looking distorted. Conversely, the smiley face had to be slightly flattened to preserve eye alignment from its perspective. The logo transformation (Batman → Superman) posed a different challenge due to the complexity of the silhouettes and how their negative spaces overlap.

Final Form

The final prototype integrates the smiley/sad face into one unified piece. The Batman/Superman version is still in CAD refinement. Here’s how the aesthetic and concept came together:

• Minimalist Finish: The white PLA keeps the sculpture abstract and modern, allowing the viewer to focus entirely on shape and light.

• Narrative: The smiley/sad transition evokes emotional duality and the fluidity of human expression.

• Iconography: The logo shift engages viewers through familiar symbols and recontextualizes them through sculptural ambiguity.

• Movement: The motorized rotation brings the sculpture to life, slowly revealing the transformation and emphasizing temporality and perspective.

Conclusion

This project explored how form, alignment, and emotional symbolism can converge into a single object that changes depending on how it’s perceived. The design required me to stretch my abilities in CAD modeling, spatial reasoning, and aesthetic thinking.

From the early sketches to CAD experiments and prototyping, I’ve learned to think of objects not just as fixed entities, but as potential sequences—stories that unfold through interaction. The sculpture’s minimal surface and clean geometry contrast with its layered conceptual depth.

Looking ahead, I plan to complete and refine the Batman-to-Superman transformation, perhaps even exploring further iterations using text or abstract shapes. The work has also inspired me to investigate anamorphic design and augmented reality overlays for future exploration.

References:

(1)https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-Dual-Perspectives-Gray/804891/6465345/view
(2)https://www.forbes.com/sites/nargessbanks/2023/09/21/michael-murphy-perceptual-experience/
(3)https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/architectural/decoration/dual-perspective-sculpture-illusion
(4)https://chatgpt.com/