A. Aronsson’s WeBOLLog

Over the time I’ve gotten a few comments that people like when the figures actually remind of something, and don’t just look like geometrical shapes. As I usually base my ideas around the actual impossibility it’s not that often that the figure reminds me of something else, or even has room for it without moving away from the purpose of it all. Even if the similarity to a real world object is merely symbolical, it might help to catch certain peoples’ interest.

Factory
2008-10-20

Linework

If you follow the top of the structure from the left to the right and then round the bottom, you will notice that it continues to travel away from you, back into the void.

My original sketch for this figure was a bit simpler, with just five wheels, but while I was drawing it on the computer I added one wheel to the sketch. But after finishing that version of the figure I decided to add another two wheels, just because they fit. And I think that made it into an interesting piece of art.

Belt3
2008-09-22

Linework

The belt goes back and forth between the different axels, but as it does that it also travels forward- and backwards while only bending around one axis.

As this is a fairly complex figure to draw, to say the least, I decided to try a new way of depicting the process. Below is a video of each save state. Before removing all reference lines after finishing an element I save a new file, in the video I fade between them forward in time. I think it ended up easier to follow than the actual time-lapse videos, but I do wonder if there is a way to save all AutoCAD steps as they are logged, and then replay the drawing in some way… will need to research this.Anyway, the video is best watched in its native HD resolution available by going to Vimeo!

With this posting I’ve caught up with myself so from now on postings of impossible figures will be further apart. I create at least one per month, as I’ve set that as a rule for myself, to keep at it. I tend to get several ideas at once though, so I think I will be able to manage two per month, if time and brains permits. We will see.

Before I started making impossible figures in three point perspective I drew them in parallel projection. What I’m posting here is my greatest figure from that category. I made a few sketches in 2004, the idea was to prepare for a Photoshop project where I would create a piece that would look like a real Halo level, but I never got around to that part of the concept.

In 2006 Stuntmutt, the writer and artist of One One Se7en (now only updating sporadically), was getting married and as I’ve had lots of good times using his versions of the Halo characters and cooperating with him in person, I decided to dedicate this to him, his art and his new family.

While the happy couple enjoyed their honeymoon a few of the (Halo) community people had made guest strips which got posted during the absence of the original author; and this illusion was created to complement my guest strip (left).

Originally you had to figure out that there was more to it if you clicked the blinking crystal (2552 Sep 7 and the next)… I’m not sure how many who actually found it, or even understood the comic. Today I present the larger art directly for easy access.

As I usually do not create pieces with this amount of details, I was a bit indecisive of how to present it online. I ended up creating my own flash viewer; which you can launch by clicking the image below or this link. Hover the question mark in the top left corner for controls.

The entire figure was drawn and colored in Flash. As there was a lot of work to do I used the application I felt the most comfortable with, and Flash has really intuitive drawing utilities, I think, it only lacks in accuracy and resolution as it’s not really made to create print art. The work in 2006 spanned from late March to mid May, and as I only did contract work around that time I could spend a big chunk of my time on this.

Back then I also created this file to see the creation process over time. Only step #1 and #2 are from 2004, the rest are from 2006. This file has not been displayed publically before and was planned to never be, so please feel a bit privileged when viewing it now!

And as nobody will probably figure out the secrets or interesting details, I will list what I can recall. I think there was something with the number of weapon spawns and MCs as well, but I can’t seem to make any sense out of that now.

• You can see the original comic strip in the upper left corner of the artwork.
• There are weapons present from Halo 1, 2 and 3, referenced from the comic.
• There are flags from CTF, skulls from Oddball, a hill from KoTH and a bomb from Assault.
• The grenade cache to the right is a reference to Sgt. Johnson’s immunity to the Flood.
• Hidden text(s), but I won’t tell you where!

Lastly are a few screenshots from the levels I used as inspiration for the art direction. I grabbed the images from my own collection of Halo panoramas.

• Hang ‘em High, a favorite, also the initial project name was Dang ‘im Possible.
  
• Prisoner, you might recognize the color on the floor and gangways.
  
• Boarding Action, notice the level numbers.
  

Phew! This was way more information than I initially planned to write about this piece of art.

This figure was a lot more work than I had expected. All arcs except the center one was redrawn to compensate for the size differences generated. I used the average value for everything possible for both the arcs and the colored lines. Someday I might superimpose all the different save files I have, to display all the reference lines I’ve used.

Arcs
2008-09-18

Linework

Five arcs between the wall and the floor, but only the center one has the right proportions. The other four arcs ar either too deep or too high!

Cross
2008-09-16

Linework

Tracing this symmetrical figure you will notice that you will keep travelling upwards or downwards depending on your direction.

This one took way longer than I had expected. With two wheels at different angles I end up with way many perspective points, this time a total of 13 of them. I also managed to get caught by the perspective transformation of the belt by surprise, so I added the peels for it to work out.

Belt2
2008-08-27

Linework

The belt changes axis between the two wheels. Notice also how it has to be peeled thinner to not grow infinitely thick. Now you will get infinite peels instead.

When thinking up this figure I had in mind a modern version of the circular pillars turning into a square U shape, here at Impossible World, just that now three more-than-square pillars turn into four pillars. I really enjoyed creating the actual geometry, but when coloring it ended up being a hassle with all the gradients, even though I finally settled for a comfortable way to manage it.

Update: These kind of figures will be smoother to create soon, when Illustrator CS4 is released. Apparently it will support gradients with transparency, which it now does not. I just hope that there will be more settings for the gradients and that the tool will snap to points. I really wish Illustrator had some of the awesome features Flash has had forever.

After finishing this one I thought the many gradients made the figure a bit difficult to look at, even though it might look nice, it’s hard to appreciate the lines. So I made up my mind about putting up “wireframe” version of the figures as well, with a single line weight and without the colors, shades and background.

Pillars3
2008-08-10

Linework

At the top they are three pillars, but at the bottom they turn into four!

After researching how to draw cylinders and ellipses in three point perspective I gave up on the idea and decided to go for approximations of the shape instead. It was a bit more work to create this figure than most others, but well worth it I think. I have sketched very many variations of this figure so I had to create it somehow! The relationship between the different elements seem to be deeper when the shapes are more complex, I like that… but it also makes me wonder how I can continue making figures like this.

Belt
2008-08-06

Linework

From the left, the belt connects the wheels towards you, but the axles connects the wheels away from you!

I first drew this (with pencil and paper) late at night, before I turned off the light to try and get some sleep. I liked the look of it, but I myself deemed it un-impossible, in other words, possible. It wasn’t until I redrew it weeks later and studied it closer that I realized that it was indeed impossible, so here it is! It still takes a bit of work to wrap your head around it.

Elongated
2008-07-31

Linework

To see why this figure is impossible, compare the two different sides. If you follow both the top and bottom beams, you will notice that the ends will not match up.

I first drew this figure on paper in perspective, a bit distorted. It was fairly complex so I decided I would draw it in an parallel projection to make it easier on the mind… bad idea. It was a great hassle to get the right lengths on everything, so I aborted that and went straight for the computer instead.

This figure probably has the most complex chain reaction of proportional relationships between surfaces in any of my figures so far. I basically worked my way through the entire thing without stopping, as one edit lead to the next and so on. I also found that in the end the lines didn’t match, but through error location I found the two mistakes which had caused the oddness, as well as another minor glitch. I finished it after four hours of concentration.

Framework
2008-06-27

Linework

The outside of this figure makes up a traditional tribar structure, but embedded in the middle is a cube-ish framework. Between them there is a large amount of impossible connections.

I screen recorded the entire process of this figure. I’ve been a bit indecisive about posting how I create these pieces as it’s something I feel fairly unique doing, but it is fun to share. Hopefully it takes a bit of skill and motivation that is uncommon to make these creations. Below is the video embedded, but it is available in HD resolution by following this link to Vimeo!