I am making a large photography soft box grid out of Gatorboard, to narrowly direct soft light in the dark studio.

Often, the geometric shapes of the soft box grid appear in photos, as in this reflection from a wet painting’s surface.

I made a smaller prototype grid using black foam core board. It has worked well and appears cleaner in photos than a fabric grid, but the foam core material eventually dented on the edges. As I planned this out, I knew Gatorboard would be the ultimate material in action, because of its composite wood fibers and polymer. I ordered a sample of Ultra Board and I like it, but I remember Gatorboard being stronger. Cutting it is the challenge for me. I am asking if Ultra-Board.com can help with cuts shown below.

Another benefit of constucting a rigid grid, instead of using traditional fabric, is that I can introduce an alternate structure, making for more interesting appearances, especially in these reflections.

Using the 3-D software, Maya, I iterated patterns and found rectangles that shift in proportion will be the most effective way to stylize this project.

I am working on a set of 6 shelves in the studio, two shelves are for a wall and four individual shelves are for windows. I am hoping Compton Lumber in Renton, Washington will help me to cut these from a sheet of 3/4″ MDF.

In addition to measurements in inches, I included centimeters to the tenth of a millimeter, because I am designing using a computer and those incriments keep me on track. In the physical world, cuts withing 1/4” of these measurements would fit into place easily.

2 Shelves (same)
Bedroom
72” or 182.88cm x 12” or 30.48cm

2 Shelves (same)
Drill Press Window and DJ Cart Front Window
53 1/4” or 135.255cm x 6 1/4” or 15.875cm

1 Shelf
Art Cabinet Window 54 1/4” or 132.715cm x 5” or 12.7cm.

1 Shelf
Kitchen Window 41 3/4” or 106.045cm x 5 1/2” or 13.97cm.

One thing Roxanne and I have been working at during the pandemic, is building a live streaming set up. It is almost done (-: The technology has taken a lot of research but it’s finally in place. The last thing I want to complete before streaming is a green screen, because as you can imagine, the visual possibilities are very exciting to me. I think it will be fun to explore graphic plains of metaphor in the room, and the in stream, which has become the sharing of our individual rooms and the realites we have constructed through our time of isolation.

I have been working with the 3D software Maya to plan the space and individual pieces. The wood pieces here, are part of a system I am designing which will hang the curtain track for the green screen. I have the track, which I ordered from a place called Chicago Canvas. The goal with this design is to allow the green screen to be pulled out and wrapped around the studio in a U-shape, and then gathered to the end of the track when we are not using it.

In the picture below is a wooden grid. This is already complete and mounted to our ceiling. That project took a couple of years. Thank you Chris, Motzo and Rob. I use it to hang lights and other equipment. Now, I am building off of it. The curtain track is the next step.

These hangers will allow some adjustment of the track in each direction. So, when it comes time to hang the track, there will be a little latitude for fine adjustments. I bought each of the corner brackets from Amazon and the measurements are accurate.

It makes more sense to work with wood for the larger support boughs in this hanger design, which you can see at the end, for lightness and customizability. I would like to make these out of oak in order support more weight and allow for some drilling in places without compromising much strength. I will need 11 of these pieces to be cut. The track will only require 10 of them, but I think we should have one extra for insurance.

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