3Doodler Artist Profile: Esra Oguz’s Doodled Designs Prove That Practice Makes Perfect

Esra Oguz first started 3Doodling when her cousin handed her a 3Doodler pen in Dubai in late 2013. At first, she had a difficult time grasping the concept of “how to create 3D objects with soft, smooth, curved surfaces” and she just kept working on it. Within a week, she presented he cousin her first 3Doodled creation: a bird on a swing. Oguz reports that this creation wasn’t anything spectacular, but it gave her the motivation she needed to keep experimenting with the pen. Well, it appears this work has paid off as she was among the winners of the 3Doodler Awards 2015, in the category of Interior Design, for her intricate and downright busy “Flower Basket” (see above).

When asked by 3Doodler if she planned her elaborate submission in advance, Oguz explains that it was partly planned and partly improvised:

“Initially I didn’t plan to Doodle such a big and detailed piece of artwork. My first plan was to create a simple bunch of flowers. One by one I improvised each flower, put them together and it turned into a big bunch before I realized. I don’t remember at what point it became a basket of flowers – I got completely lost in Doodling until someone stopped me to remind me it was time to submit before the Awards deadline! The entire piece took around a month to complete, working around 4-5 hours per day.”

Beyond persistence, Oguz has been blessed with art in her genes, as she reports that she “grew up watching my parents nailing intricate art and craftwork designs, studying ‘hand crafts teaching’, and learning pattern design well.” And you can tell from how intricately detailed her work is that patience also plays a very important role her.

Her Ribbon Basket, which features delicate ribbon-like shapes at the bottom of an elaborately decorated basket, was a bit of a spontaneous design process as well. She explains:

“As usual I did not plan how to make it in advance. I just began with Doodling strips of ribbon and assembling them. I put those pieces on the bottom of a salad bowl and applied some heat by using my hair dryer, following the shape of the bowl. The more I use the 3Doodler, the more I find myself learning how to make better use of it for perfect detailing.”

Oguz provided more information about how she creates her pieces — from using wireframes made with objects, like newspaper, or working freehand from a hollow 2D piece. When it comes to filling the frames with her signature consistent patterns, Oguz credits her own patience and good hand control:

“I try filling the surface without any space patiently and avoid Doodling in the same space more than once to ensure textural consistency. Another method I use is reheating the Doodle to allow the plastic’s surface to become smoother, but the trick here is to do it without loosing the Doodle’s overall form.”

Spoken like a true expert! And it seems like Oguz will be getting much more practice with the 3Doodler pen now that she is conducting demonstrations for a Turkish 3Doodler distributor. Oguz’s hard work has paid off so far; her award winning Doodle (along with her other pieces) are solid reminders that 3Doodled practice surely makes perfect. Discuss in the 3Doodler Awards forum over at 3DPB.com.