Springy Friend

cults3d

The spark here is threefold: Seeing the incredible sculptural work being done on the pet monster contest, I knew I wanted to try my hand at organic modeling and find a cool way to incorporate it into a 3D print. I decided to create a base to build off of in the future. I've been thinking about how traditional crafts can be enhanced with 3D printing. I came across an article on marionettes from a 1936 Popular Science magazine that had some great information. The size of the new Replicator platform is huge! Suddenly, a 16" tall marionette is possible without a million pieces. I wanted to create a puppet that doesn't require additional hardware and assembles with minimal fuss. I tried variations of both Zomboe's snake from Thingiverse and Landru's springamathing as a replacement for traditional cloth hinges. At this point, the pieces I've prototyped on my 3D printer don't have enough movement to serve as a marionette, and thinner renditions are too fragile. But, I have a start of something interesting. I'm not sure if I'll continue to spend time on an all-plastic solution or look for ways to make tyvek cloth hinges with plastic connectors. This figure has merit of its own, so I'm sharing it in the meantime.