3D Links

3D Design of the Boot Kidz

The Boot Kidz were designed by furniture designer Karen Henry. After the design was sketched, initial prototypes of the designs were made with wire and clay. At the same time 3D models were made of these prototypes to further study their form, shape, and to test what the real product would look like. Virtual 3D models of products are useful for studying how a real product would be made. Then it was time to build the real coat stand.

3D Design Timeline

Here is the timeline for the design of the Boot Kidz coat stand.

Create sketches of the design

Sketch of Design

The original ideas for Lucy was sketched on paper. This included a red wavy design for the hair and a patterned outfitted blue dress. It was decided to make Lucy more iconic and focus on the form and rather than features. The shapes and lines are important when creating a character for a 3D concept. A small bend in the knee to emphasise that Lucy is a playful and fun character.

Create a real-world wireframe prototype

Wireframe prototype

Making a live prototype in the beginning is important for the designer to understand the proportions of the 3D model. It is also a fun, creative activity that allows the designer to explore small changes quickly in the design. Although 3D modelling has its advantages over real-world modelling nothing beats the look and feel of a real world prototype. The small model can then be used to create a faster 3D model. In this case the wireframe model took less than a day to create. The 3D modelling took about the same time.

Create the 3D Model

3D Character Model Jumping

A photograph of a jumping child was used as the trace image in the background of the 3D modelling software. This was to get the correct anatomical proportions and posture correct in the model. The 3D model was then created starting with modelling the boots and then the hair. The 3d boots are the most complex part of the modelling requiring NURB modelling where the 3D shape was molded into the correct shape. The hair, legs, and dress were extruded along a 2D path. Finally, the 3D model was rendered to create the finished 3D Lucy coat stand jumping in the air. Similar designs and images were created of the other Boot Kidz designs including 3D Joe on a skateboard and 3D Chloe at the beach and holding an umbrella in the rain. Other ideas for creating 3D reflections were used to study the benefit of creating extra 3D images for display purposes.

From 3D to reality

Real-world Lucy

Once the small prototype and 3D model were created it was time to create a larger version. Creating anything larger in size is more expensive and time consuming and this part took many weeks. The cement boots required the longest time to achieve the correct consistency for the cement. There are many ways to mix cement and the correct rubberness (look and feel) was important in the design. The painted used on the steel was important, being more of a smooth shiny texture and to reflect the light in a certain artistic way.

Exhibitions

The Boot Kidz have attended many exhibitions (London Design Festival and Meet Your Maker) and have featured in newspapers and design magazines all over the world, including the prestigious British Design Magazine Icon - October 2006.

Ready to be Manufactured for Sale

Finally, the Boot Kidz are being made into a manufacturable item at lower cost to be purchased by the public. This entails studying the design further to iron out manufacturing difficulties and improve the quality of the finished product to be used by window dresses as a child mannequin and parents of children to teach children how to be tidy and hang their clothes up and to create a virtual role model as the 3D coat stand symbolises a fun, neat and tidy child. Boot Kidz can be purchased here.

Advantage of 3D Software Modelling

The following are some of the advantages of using 3D software for modelling and prototyping.

• Lower cost to building larger prototypes
• Rapid Prototyping
• Easy to change colours
• Using NURBS easy to bend and model virtual metals
• What you see is what you get
• Change textures and surface reflections
• Place models in different environments
• Animate characters and models
• Experiment with different lighting

Free 3D Furniture Models

The following 3D models are available for free download from the archive3d.net. Click on the image to see the site.

A 3D coat stand	A 3D flipchart display stand
A 3D Alba coat stand	A 3D garment rack

3D Mannequin Models (Buy)

A 3D art mannequin

3D wireframe of window display mannequin

3D Boots

3d boots