Hybrid Object & A Super Cool New Pal

For this assignment we were assigned partners, Ashlyn whats up. Me and my new pal were tasked with creating a hybrid hollow form 3D model to ultimately be sent to the printer. Now I just want to add that Ashlyn is a super whiz at everything computer and her skills blow my mind, watching her problem solve in rhino gives me a headache and a slight twinge of jealousy.

After talking for a bit we came up with the idea for an object that employed the "tilt your phone" method. AKA knowing you're about to orient your phone level to your face, only to read something stupid like "Send Nudes".  These ALWAYS pop up on my Facebook news feed, and for whatever reason I find a lot of humour in them. Therefore, how cool would it be to have a real life 3D one to piss people off with. 

This concept fit nicely as a hybrid, as Ashlyn had incorporated text in her previous forms. We tried to combine the organic shapes of my objects with the phrase "SEND NUDES", which would be distorted in a way that it was only readable from a certain angle. We twisted the letters after lofting them to be 3D, again incorporating my element of organic shape. 

Things went slightly downhill after this part, the blonde dream team crashed and burned, brains failing us - mostly just me. We thought it would be clever to place the message on the negative shape of your palm, as if you were holding something. The thinking behind this was to get the viewer to hold the object to eye level, fooling them into reading the message just like the Facebook pictures. We used Tinkercad to creative the negative shape, then Meshmixer to fix the object. (Ashlyn, I'm not sure how you have sanity after Meshmixer crashed on you so many times, but I have enough anger for both of us from just watching) 

Low and behold, user problem number one. Hey guys, how are you gonna print this object if it doesn't have a flat bottom? Duh. Flip it upside down so the letters are on the bottom. Oh wait. That's not going to print at all. 

We are currently still problem solving on what to do, as turfing the concept would suck. HOwever, being the gem she is, Ashlyn came up with a back up object that also works as a pretty wicked hybrid. She combined one of her (my fav) previous objects that is covered in this really interesting geometric texture with the unique shapes and curves of my objects to create an alternatively pretty sweet object. 

Self-supporting Models

For this assignment we were to create renders of single perimeter, self-supporting models. The purpose was to start thinking about how structures can support themselves, which is important when 3D printing. Designing self-supporting structures requires close attention to the way curves and edges are constructed as they can cause the structure to collapse when printed. Contrasting previous assignments, we were to use commands to create a curved hollow form. While creating my structures I used the commands to manipulate the angles and curves, aiming for an aesthetically interesting self-supporting structure.  I found that creating a structure that supports itself is a lot more difficult, as you really have to analyze what could out your design at risk. A few of my designs could potentially be disastrous due to angles or curves.

The (super uncool) Paper Iphone 8 PLUS

My original Papercraft idea was to create an everyday object and give it movement. I chose my iPhone, representing text and conversation through a moveable section. The prototype had a inside section that opened accordion style. The accordion was constructed of letters, which created a single phrase when completely expanded. During the class crit, a lot of the feedback that I received was around the prototype being too 2D. It was suggested I try to make an accordion or bellow style section that allowed the model to move while keeping a truly three-dimensional form.

My final Papercraft model turned out to be severe let down, as I ran into way too many poor construction (good job Danielle) fails. My end model has a paper bellow in the middle, which turned out to be not even close to the size of the phone. Although it ended up being more 3D that previously, the phone itself remains slightly 2D. Also the size of the phone was blown out of proportion because creating a small enough bellow proved to be impossible for my brain.

I rendered three different versions of the moveable portion, and through trial and error learned that tabs can prevent to collapsable quality that I was seeking. Along with tabs, the angle and size of the trapezoid also effected the mobility of the bellow.  There are three screenshots of some of my fails. 

I watched a youtube video after much frustration and figured out paper bellows are quite simple to make. I created a 2D sheet that didn't require tabs to create the bellow. You just scored along the edges and it folded into itself.

The phone itself was originally made to scale, but was blown up to fit the bellow properly.

I used pink cardstock for the outer section to mimic my rose gold iPhone. The frontal portion I cut paper to resemble the screen as well as the home button and speaker. On the back I added the apple logo and the camera. 

When unfolded, the inside bellow is green. I used this colour to represent the green text message blurb that comes up in iMessage. I then glued on random messages from different conversations I had, instead of cutting out letters to create one single message.

I had tried previously using regular printer paper for the moveable section, but it was so flimsy I chose cardstock instead. However, the cardstock ended up being so firm that the top section doesn't sit flat on the base.

Overall I had higher hopes for the end result, but I think with more trouble shooting I could have figured out how to create a truly 3D model with more movement then this one. That being said, a lot of the peer feedback I received truly helped me get somewhere slightly more interesting than my prototype model.