Print!

Just passed my 50th Birthday, what a surprise I got from my family, a 3D printer! 

A Flashforge Creator Pro.

So, to work.

The test model in Blender is a wee monkey called Suzanne,  she seemed a good place to start learning how to use my new printer.

There are a couple of issues with the default model to fix.  The model has to be "manifold", and Suzanne's eyes are free floating and covering up holes in the mesh.  It is a simple task to fix that, creating some additional loops in the eyes and merging vertices to close up the holes.  Adding a couple of additional edge loops to retain sharp definition where the eyes join the rest of the mesh and adding a sub-surf modifier to smooth things out.

Checked the resulting mesh with the 3D Printing utilities in Blender and exported it as an .STL file.

Next, loading it into Simply 3D to calculate the slicing and supports needed for a 3D Print.

And then transfer it to the printer using the SD card the nice folks from Flashforge included in the bundle. 

Note:  Printing direct via commands streamed over USB does not work for me,  could be an issue with Simply 3D or with Windows 10.  

And then print it.

Voila.

Edinburgh Airport is getting busy these days

Our MPs returning from the front.  We counted 56 out, and counted 56 back.

Forth Bridge

Still work in-progress, but coming together.

This is the Forth Bridge, a cantilever bridge built for rail traffic in 1890.

The 1st draft gets the basic shape sorted out,  I need to go back and add grunge and textures.

2d draft -  worked on the textures and a better water surface.   I managed to figure out a simple way of adding some mist to the background - I added a very large cube with a volumetric scattering material in the background rather than fiddling with the unintended near-field effects of applying mist to the whole scene.

  

Clouds - part 2

So,  creating a cloud-scape was fun.  But I need some cloud graphics for a presentation at work.

1st some abstract shapes in PhotoShop.  Nothing too difficult here.  I like the way it looks a bit like a rubber duck.

 And then taking the same abstract shape into Blender and doing some modelling and a bit of UV mapping.

Clouds

I've been falling behind my goal of creating something worth posting at least once per month.  Making up for it with this scene of a cloudscape.  All created in Blender,  with a couple of minor issues sorted out in Photoshop.

1st attempt

Having slept on the 1st attempt,  I went back to tweaking and have an updated version below...

...and a cartoon cloud to add to PowerPoint slides at work.

Salvation Army Citadel, Aberdeen

The Salvation Army Citadel, an iconic building on Castlegate,  which can be seen the length of Union Steet in Aberdeen.

I have been wanting to model this building for a while. Apparently, the building it'self is based on the design for Balmoral Castle.  It certainly makes an impression.

There are a lot of iconic buildings in Aberdeen,  what to choose for the next project?

A wireframe of the model.

A google streetview of the location

Something a bit different

Interactive 3D test <&br>