#992 TECHNIQUES: Curved shapes
Today we're looking at how you can create curved shapes with nothing more than just plates. The technique is used in the various birds shown where builders don't fully connect the plates to one another but create gaps with more plates or sometimes other pieces such as slopes. This allows each plate to be raised up slightly to create the curved shape, although this does put stress on the pieces making it an 'illegal' technique. However, try it for yourself with some plates and you'll see it's only very small amounts of stress that won't deform the pieces even over time. Especially using plates longer than 1x6, there is almost no stress at all, making it a viable technique in our eyes.
The technique is used to create realistic wings where the gaps between the plates create texture but it could be used for a number of other applications too.
Check out the birds on Flickr here:
By Thomas Poulsom: https://www.flickr.com/photos/detomaso/8447738006/
By Henjin_Quilones: https://www.flickr.com/photos/henjin_quilones/49794659401/in/feed