How To: Paint a 3D Printed Cube Tower

Video games are available in all totally different sizes and shapes – there are board video games, card video games, tile video games, role-playing video games and the whole lot in between. One factor most of them have in widespread are cube. Rolling cube comes with some widespread unintentional hazards – they knock over items on the sport board, they fall on the ground, they roll below the fridge, they usually get eaten by the household pet. However with the Cube Tower, these issues are a factor of the previous!

This text will present you the right way to paint a 3D printed cube tower – the mannequin we chosen was designed by NIXA and uploaded to the Zortrax library right here.

The unique mannequin for the 3D tower was primarily based on an actual water tower in Olsztyn, Poland inbuilt 1897 (it’s now a planetarium, and is within the metropolis the place the headquarters of Zortrax is positioned). The precise tower is fabricated from masonry and reddish, rusted brick, however I’ll end this print with an superior, stony, dungeony paint job. After all, be happy to complete the tower nonetheless you want; as a result of our household performs Settlers of Catan loads, I wished to go for the medieval fortress really feel.

3D Printing the Cube Tower

First, we have to get our 3D printer prepared. Whereas there are a lot of choices for ending the print, I went with little or no sanding because the print decision was excessive and the small print got here out nice!

The mannequin was printed on an Ultimaker 2 printer. Listed here are the settings:

I printed 2 variations – one in clear orange PLA 3D filament and one other in silver/gray ABS filament. Whereas each turned out very well, I went with the clear orange mannequin – you can see out why later within the tutorial! =)

Try our guides to printing with each of those supplies right here:

How you can Succeed when Printing with PLA:

http://www.matterhackers.com/articles/how-to-succeed-when-printing-in-pla

How you can Succeed when Printing with ABS:

http://www.matterhackers.com/articles/how-to-succeed-when-printing-with-abs

Portray the 3D Printed Cube Tower

As soon as you’re happy with the feel of the print utilizing your post-processing methodology of selection, it’s time to color! Listed here are two photos that gave me inspiration for the kind of shade and design I used to be searching for:

For the gothic, medieval look on the tower, we positively need a whole lot of stone particulars and put on and tear to face out, together with smaller particulars across the door, on the steps and the highest parapet of the tower, so as to add realism and likewise to not make all of it one shade – booooorrrrring!

For the stone look, I took a multimedia method. As a result of the feel was so easy on the print, and there wasn’t an correct, sensible approach to carve or etch the mortar strains into the tower, I made a decision to construct it up as a substitute. I bought foam, double-sided stickers in varied sq. shapes from my native craft retailer – they’re usually utilized in scrapbooking to layer paper cutouts.

Within the first image, you’ll be able to see the preliminary phases of making use of the cutouts across the home windows and the way I organized the stickers away from the home windows. Getting the home windows dialed in ought to occur first – you’ll be able to all the time minimize out the froth to slot in the nooks and crannies after that.

Within the second image, I’ve completed making use of the froth and have eliminated the adhesive backing.

I used two sizes for a wide range of the varieties of ‘stone blocks’ on the tower, so it’s not all one dimension (once more, boooorrrrrring!). Additionally they have an incredible mini-stone texture to them, which can assist make the paint job actually pop – double win! The one chopping of the blocks I wanted to do was to trim items that had been too huge, and to bevel the blocks above the home windows – they wanted an angle minimize so they’d interlock and look nicer. However I’ll say, it took loads longer than I initially anticipated! Additionally, I bought slightly lazy with the larger foam squares on the underside – usually I might minimize them to suit and apply them at totally different angles – however Christmas was coming!

I might positively counsel NOT eradicating the backing on the surface of the froth till you’re utterly completed making use of them; as I used to be making use of extra, my hand stored getting caught to them, and a few pulled off.

For the portray, this can be very vital to get a darkish base layer down; this provides you a basis for the acrylics to stay to, in addition to a filler for all of the cracks and crevices on the print. A darkish shade in these areas provides the phantasm of extra depth and makes your foam squares actually pop. I used a matte black spray paint – nothing fancy, however positively take the time to get the whole print lined; it should almost certainly take a minimum of two coats to get full protection.

For the stone surfaces, I made a decision to go together with a layered dry-brushing method utilizing primary acrylic paints. The darker grey stone colours went on first to emphasise the depth of all of the little nooks and crannies. I regularly painted with lighter and lighter layers, with mild brush strokes, to emphasise the highlights and outcroppings on the tower. I additionally went again and used a small mottling brush with grey and black on it to offer the stones a greater wanting texture; the ‘bricks’ had been left alone with simply the bottom coat.

By slowly making use of paint layers, the phantasm of stone and masonry will seem. If I had began with a very easy texture, I might have needed to both draw or etch the mortar strains, which might take the portray therapy in a completely totally different course, and the depth impact wouldn’t be as cool.

One of many particulars I wished to emphasise are the smaller stone trim particulars which can be darker than the remainder of the outside as a result of their surfaces are flat in relation to the solar. They decide up all of the sunshine, moisture, mud, and particles which ‘prepare dinner’ in layers and grow to be darker than the remainder of the outside over time on actual stone.

For the doorway and the steps, I made a decision to make use of some earthy and woody grey/browns on the brink, in addition to some very mild greens to focus on ‘moss’ and ‘algae’ on the steps, and as vegetation rising across the base of the tower.

Now for the rationale I printed the tower with clear orange filament! I took benefit of the void below the underside of the steps contained in the print and determined so as to add a lighting impact. I cannibalized a battery-operated tea mild and drilled a gap to suit contained in the void  so as to add some dungeon atmosphere. When the lights are low, it provides a extremely cool impact to the tower!

For extra tips about the right way to end your 3D prints, head over to this tutorial video the place Alec and Invoice from Punished Props present you the right way to end your prints utilizing sanding, filling and portray:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGrRKdy6x7I

In case you are trying to be taught extra about utilizing a extra chemical-based method to ending, (I didn’t use this methodology on this venture, however you’ll be able to!) you’ll be able to take a look at this MatterHackers information with Alec: he reveals you the right way to end a print utilizing XTC-3D Excessive-Efficiency 3D Print Coating:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChkHuFU90WE

I hope you loved this How To article on creating an superior stone-like facade on a 3D printed tower. Keep in mind, you’ll be able to all the time decide totally different colours and textures and add-ons to make the tower really your individual. Thanks for studying! Now exit and make one thing!

Do you’ve gotten a suggestion for a weekend construct? Tell us within the feedback beneath or at MatterHackers.com!