Andrew Rowan: Week 8 3D Print

Ghosted Image

Concept: I've needed a small cup to hold the pencils on my desk for a while now so I decided this project was the perfect opportunity to fill that need. For the concept I started to look at different types of pottery for inspiration. While very nice most of the examples looked dated so I thought it would be interesting to design a futuristic pot / cup. I tried to blend some classic design element with futuristic touches.

Establishing Shot

Techniques: To build my model I drew a curve with the shape I wanted and offset it. Then I used another curve to close the top and joined the curves. After adjusting a few things with control points to work better with 3D printing, I used rotate to complete the overall shape of my cup. I then used lines and curves where wanted to remove material. I formed tubes on the curves and sized them appropriately. Then I used the ArrayPolar command to repeat and space the elements around the main object. I then used boolean difference to remove the material from the object. I used another set of tubes formed on a line along with array polar and boolean difference to make the holes in the cup. Finally, I fileted all edges to help with 3D printing and checked for naked edges.

High Angle Shot

Materials: For the material I wanted to use a metal because I think the pottery of the future could be made from titanium or some other metal. I used a textured steel because I still wanted it to look like a craftsman made it and the more polished materials did not fit that in my opinion. For the lighting I wanted to accentuate the curves and small details of the piece. I moved one light up high so the interior was not so dark and it highlighted the fact that the holes in the middle do go all the way through. I moved the other light so that it would highlight the various faces and curves present in the model. I think the lighting helped to portray the piece as elegantly as possible.

Final Product Establishing

Final Product High Angle

For the final finish I used sandpaper to smooth a rough spot and filler primer for the first 3 coats. After the primer I used grey spray paint with a hammered finish. I used the hammered finish because I still wanted it to look hand made. This worked okay for a first try but to properly achieve the effect I was looking for I will need to experiment with more finishing techniques.