Rian MacBride - Project 2: 3D Modeling for Adornment

 Concept and Inspiration

    My concept is a lightsaber! Pretty simple, with lots of room to expand and create something unique. Since this is my first time ever 3D printing, I didn't want to make anything EXTREMELY complicated. My first sketch was based on Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, a recognizable saber to those who had seen the Star Wars films. This lightsaber though is...complicated. Lots of small parts and details, so I went with something simpler. Qui-Gon Jinn has a relatively simple lightsaber, along with Luke Skywalker, so I took inspiration from both. My sketch has a similar design to the latter two, with the top of the shaft looking like Anakins. The power button is a reference to an extremely obscure video game called Marathon, though this was mostly for my own amusement. The goal for this was to create something that not only looked cool but is comfortable to hold and both unique in design, yet familiar enough to be recognized as a lightsaber. I had this dream of wrapping it in red leather, as that is my favorite color. I also wanted to keep it hollow to maybe put a blade in there, though I can’t imagine I ever would use it to actually duel. I might go back and create a stand for it, maybe even a plaque! Down the line maybe.

Process

    My very first idea was to create each piece of the lightsaber separately. Once I realized this would take forever I tried to sketch out the perimeter with various pen and line tools, then revolve it. This created too much of a headache trying to separate everything, so I revolved around the bottom of the shaft and worked my way up. I used a variety of shape tools, creating torus and cylinders, using the filet tool a ton to smooth out some edges. The array tool has been and continues to be my best friend. It is wonderful for getting repeated details and making fun of details. The boolean difference tool was also extremely useful for getting the file print ready. The split tool was nice for cutting objects in half between seems, I used this mostly to prepare the model for Keyshot renderings. Essentially, I created the model from the bottom up, scaling different shapes and making different details as I went. I used a hollow cylinder for the top shaft to leave the room if I ever wanted to put a blade and batteries in there. 

Materials

    I had fun with the Keyshot renders. The base material for the body of the saber is brushed aluminum. I love how it looks and I feel it really makes the saber look like there's some weight to it. For the detailing, I used black plastic, as this made it look shiny and reflective. This gave a nice contrast to the aluminum and really made them stand out. I also added a cracked bump map to the rings surrounding the central hilt. Not exactly sure what prompted this, but I love how it looks. Literally no reason for it other than I thought it looked cool. My original idea for this project was to wrap the central hilt in red leather, and I think the renderings do a good job of capturing that. In some spots, I think it does look a little "foamy" and fake, but for the most part, I'm happy with it. I really wanted to make it look like it was wrapped in leather rather than just have it be made of leather, but I was unsure how to do this without completely changing this part of the model. The button uses the same plastic texture, this time colored red.

Final Product

    The final product was printed at the Richarson public library, and because of this, it was extremely cheap. Also because of this, the prints are extremely cheap. I used chrome/silver spray paint on the bottom and top of the shaft, with black spray paint and acrylic paint for the ring details. The button also uses red acrylic paint. The red leather is faux leather I got at Hobby Lobby, and was put together with gorilla glue and the most obnoxious, messiest, stickiest leather adhesive on the planet. 

I'm not going to lie, I am not extremely satisfied with the final product. I think for the first time ever 3D printing something, and never having put together a prop such as this, it turned it OK. That being said, there is so much wrong with it. The paintwork is messy and the leatherwork is shotty at best. The chrome didn't turn out nearly as metallic as I wanted, instead, it just looks like I painted it silver. I read that acrylic paint was the best kind of paint to use for 3D printed material, but I think I was lied to. It was extremely difficult to get the paint to properly soak into the material, and the top rings came out extremely messy. Likewise with the button. The central and lower ring detail turned out fine! I just used black spray paint. This, on top of black plastic material, looks good. The leather on the hilt is messy and I would do it differently next time. I should have cut a thinner piece of leather and just wrapped it around more for a tighter finish. I used the leather-plastic adhesive that was recommended, and it turned into the world's largest, stickiest mess. There is a little leather band on the bottom, for which I used gorilla glue, and I should have just used that from the start. $15 later I learned I suppose. I used a Dremel tool and sandpaper to carve down and prep the prints. The Dremel is a wonderful tool and I could not recommend it enough. 

Overall, not horrid. But far from what I had originally planned and thought of. 

- Rian MacBride - Project 2: 3D Modeling for Adornment -