[OBDF 110] Commencing Phase 1: Papercraft Prototype

After getting familiar with unfolding objects in Rhino, I picked one of the designs from the previous assignment to sculpt as a prototype. I chose WALL-E because I love Disney Pixar films as they have been a significant part of my childhood and adolescence. Also, WALL-E is one of my favourite out of all of their films. These are the steps of my papercraft creation process:

Surfaces unfolded from the previous assignment

1. Moved and scaled the components to fit in the 8.5" x 11" with 1/4" offset area.
2. Used "Make2D" in top-view to remove unnecessary polylines.
3. Used "Polygon: By Edge" to create triangles and "Offset" with 1/10" and "Trim" to create tabs for gluing.
4. Changed folding lines to "DashDot" and the lines' display as well as print colour to white to be printed on a piece of black cardstock (Darth WALL-E). I found out that when printing light colour onto dark paper, the ink appeared to be transparent so I printed black lines on a yellow cardstock instead.

   

   Printable template

5. Used a guitar pick to score along the fold lines, I found it easier than a paperclip.

   

   
   

6. I initially used an x-acto blade for cutting, then in order to save time, I used scissors to cut the rest of the components.

   

   
   

7. Fold and glue. I learned that more quantities of larger tabs would make the gluing process easier, especially for bigger components. I used a toothpick to apply glue in between cracks.

This has actually been a very enjoyable assignment for me. It is quite useful and so satisfying to be able to construct a physical 3D object from scratch.