Amy Huang ATCM 3355.001: Week 8 LED Sleeve

Printed LED Sleeve:

1. Ghosted Image Painted Black
   
2. Ghosted Image Colored
   
3. Rendered Image with Ortho and Measurements
   
   
   
4. Rendered Image
   

1. Concept

   

   Chinese sword hilt

   
   

   

   Lightsaber hilt

   The very first thought that I had when I heard about the project scope was that I wanted my LED sleeve to look like a sword hilt. I researched several different styles of swords, ranging from gothic daggers to medieval greatswords, and ended up settling on something I was more familiar with. The design of this LED sleeve is inspired by the hilt of a Chinese sword with golden dragon inlays going around it. I also drew inspiration from katanas as well for the shape of the guard and the sword hilt. 

1. Processes

   

   Reference Image

   First, I used a picture of a Gothic dagger's hilt as a reference for the profile of the hilt. I drew out the profile using the curve tool and then used the curve revolve command to create the full hilt. In order to create the snake coiling around the hilt, I first created a rail using curves in the place where I wanted the snake's body to go. I drew the profile of the snake body using semicircles, scaling them larger and smaller as needed for the head and the tail, and then used the sweep1 rail command in order to fill in the actual snake. I then attached the snake to the hilt by offsetting only the areas where the snake makes contact with the hilt and using a boolean union command to join it all. Lastly, I offset the entire interior surface in order to create the thickness needed for a 3D print. 

1. Materials

I wanted the sword hilt to feel elegant and ornate, like a decorative sword. The handle of the sword is a textured black leather since that is where the user would theoretically hold it. I made the trim and snake the same color in order to create a sense of cohesion within the design, and I chose gold because it needed to be made out of something that looked expensive and valuable. I originally made the sword guard the same color as the hilt, but I felt like it was too monotone. I changed the leather from black leather to red leather, and I think that suits it very well.