on porpoise

por·poise

/ˈpɔː.pəs/ noun

1. A small toothed whale with a rounded head. An animal in its own right; not a baby dolphin.

On porpoise. Like “on purpose”, with a small marine mammal. The name is a pun. The work isn’t.

Etymology. Old French porpois ← Latin porcus ‘pig’ + piscis ‘fish’. Literally, ‘pig-fish’.

Illustrated harbour porpoise in profile, with a blunt head and triangular dorsal fin
not a dolphin
01. harbour porpoisePhocoena phocoena
Illustrated offshore spotted dolphin in profile, with a projecting beak and curved dorsal fin
02. offshore spotted dolphinStenella attenuata

Illustrated studies; not to scale. Anatomy: NOAA ↗ · Word origin ↗

selected details

distractions
well-developed tangents

One study, built on the Perspectrip engine. Look at the specimens, then draw your own.

fig. 01

perspective studies

geometry → drawing

Three specimens and a blank plate, all drawn by the Perspectrip engine into a recess in the page. Turn the mantis or the orchid and move the numbered points. On the perspective grid or your own plate, the full set of drawing controls is yours: vanishing points, pencil, line, rectangle, ellipse, a written seed, re-rolls, fills and erasures.

project

perspectrip

Perspectrip is a deterministic perspective-drawing tool. Seed lines throw projections at the vanishing points; whichever projection arrives first wins the crossing, and every crossing becomes a depth-bearing junction. The mantis and the orchid are faceted 3D studies whose construction lines pass through that same engine.

Perspectrip engine / the tool’s controls, in the page
perspectrip — wider context

Websites

Websites and tools, designed and built by the same person.

Logos

Marks, type and colour that belong together.

Naming

Names for projects and businesses.

Tell me what
you're making.

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berlin · by appointment