In this post, I will be developing and building an asset to accompany the Display board in the classroom. I want to make this an object that can be observed and looked at to show an element of the campaign’s image.
I have decided to go with the tree lamp idea over the other 2 because I feel like I can show how wonderful nature can be in this form. Creating a soft glow of light from the leaves within the tree will be magical, it can resemble safety and protection in the warmness of light. I do like the pop-up tree idea however, it would be a fun and creative way to make them interact and learn by making it grow in front of them. The only thing stopping me from making this one would be the complexity of the structure, I want to be able to build and make the model work.
Prototype –
To begin, before producing any practical work for this model, I mapped out a written diagram of the project.
This diagram explains all of the details and functions of the tree that I’ll need to know, including the materials needed to build it. To make things easier for myself when I start to sculpt, I decided to develop a netting template for my model, this will hopefully help me produce certain features more accurately and create a solid foundation.
Sculpture –
To make this model structure possible, I wanted to use some sort of a plastic base for the body, this was so it was nice and strong for the lights and the power pack to sit into safely. The tools I used for this were a 3D pen and a plastic welder, I find the combination of the two great when accidentally causing mistakes in line work or when wanting to create a connection between plastics. Using a 3D pen did the job greatly when it came to tracing over my netting, the only downside of the use was the amount of time taken to make it, it was a long process of repeating a line over and over again. This repeated pattern actually ended up effective in the end as seemed to create a wooden texture to the plastic in my opinion.
Result:
Here’s the result of the first working prototype built in person, I am quite fascinated by how this has turned out actually, I ran into a few problems with proportion and stability which caused the model to slightly deform but looking at it with the lights glowing definitely draws your eyes away with interest. The lights and the wires seem like they are almost dancing about taking the shape of the leaves in the first image. If I were to improve this prototype further, I would have maybe experimented with the face a lot more as there are no real features or emotions attached to it.
3D Modelling –
For actual 3D modelling in software, I decided to challenge myself and have a go at making all 3 of the asset ideas, trying to bring them to life virtually. These models will also be constructed in my mind if I was to print them into the real world.
Stump:
Starting off with the easiest, I thought making the stump would be a good way to warm up my 3D skills, to make this shape I began with a flattened sphere and added a cylinder to the mix, remeshing them both together. After combined into one object I dragged out areas of the bottom section, creating some sort of splash base shape, straight after I squashed/tucked in certain points of the actual main body to generate a deformity in the structure. Once happy I used the clay build-up tool and sub-divided a few layers on the surface of the model to make carvings, this gave the model depth and a surface texture. As soon as that was done, I opened up poly paint and used a variety of shades of brown to form tones.
Pop-Up Tree:
I didn’t really enjoy sculpting this one, I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around how the tree would actually pop up and where it was coming from/how to present it so I tried my best at doing it. To make this model I used a number of 4 cylinders layered on top of each other, remeshed. After that was done I began to warp the structure making it seem droopy and wood-like. The textures applied after this definitely supported the deformities, generating patterns all along the body having an appearance of varnish wood I think.
Tree Lamp:
Modelling the body of this tree ended up being the most time-consuming out of the whole models, there were quite a few steps that I took to build the framework. To begin, I had a sphere and duplicated it 4 times dividing the body into sections, top to bottom. These spheres ended up going on separate layers and worked on being hidden from the rest to avoid overlapping, it was also done to target details efficiently. The shapes started to form as soon as the drag and chisel tool was in use, I ended up pushing and carving into the structure to get what I wanted, I did this for all sections. After I was happy with the bodies divisions I remeshed them all together into one and smoothed out the stitching. Once that was sorted, I added another couple of spheres to the model and warped them into facial features. The texturing for this model was a highly rendered poly paint, using tones of brown in guided strokes across the tree.
Turntable:
Overall, I am really happy with the way this model has turned out, I love the way the texturing has been applied to give it its wooden material with added boldness. I tried to make all of the facial features pop and stand out with a few darker areas to in a way contour the structure, making them clear to see. This model would be now ready to be printed out and built into the real world, having its LED lighting attached separately.