Rhino: Wooden Pull Toy

Today we are going to be creating a wooden pull-toy which will include wheels, axles, a rope, etc.  Remember that a wooden toy for children typically has rounded (filleted) edges.  Because there isn't a definite pattern for this project, I expect it will take a couple days to find a good design, model the body, create the wheels, etc.  Over the next couple days [while you are working on this project] I will also be grading your projects.

The basic outline for what we're doing includes:

• Add a "BackgroundBitmap" 
• Trace with a complete "Control Point Curve"
• Remove the BackgroundBitmap
• Extrude the Curve
• Cap the Curve
• FilletEdge (if possible) -- although complex curves almost never work
• Add a base platform (if necessary)
• Add wheels (cylinders) and axles (cylinders)
• Draw a curve for a rope/string
• Bend the rope/string curve to "hang" to the ground
• Pipe the rope/string curve
• Add a floor and walls
• Texture all of your pieces
• Add lighting as needed

Here are some examples of wooden pull toys that I found simply by typing "wooden pull toys" in Google.

Notice the different ways that wheels are done, different painting styles, different types of wood pieces (spheres, flat wood, beveled edges, etc.), and different methods for ropes/pulls.

 

You can also find woodworking plans on the Internet which you can actually use to create 3D models.  Here are a few examples:

Something else you might want to try is doing a search for "silhouette animal".  Here are a couple examples:

Using the camel silhouette, I traced a curve, extruded it, capped it, filleted the edges, and created the following pull-toy:

Photoshop: Restore a Damaged Photo

We will spend today and tomorrow restoring a photograph.  I have actually done this as a side business (see http://www.restoredtreasures.com) and did pretty well with it.  The nice thing about doing this is that you make money, but you also save someones memories.

For today, select one of the attached damaged photos to repair and restore [or locate your own].  Remember to save the original to include in your portfolio as a "before and after".  If you do not include a "Before and After" (either as one image or by uploading both) I won't grade it.

This example comes from a press release from Utah (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/08/prweb149074.htm) in which they declare October 11th to be "Historical Photo Restoration Day".

Original

Restored

I will demonstrate the tools with this image:

Here are some examples of restored photos:

In this strange example, I combined the anaglyph project with a photo restoration to give the restored picture some depth.  You can see it if you use anaglyph red/cyan glasses.

Click on an image to view it full-size, then Right-click and Save As to your computer:

Sometimes I actually replace the original backdrop in a portrait.  Here are some examples:

Here are some video tutorials showing the basic process: