Making a Hobby Horse - episode 230

 Vectric Case study  

https://www.vectric.com/vectric-community/case-study/PeterPassuello


This video follows on from the last weeks Episode 229 where I modelled a 3D horses head from a colouring book picture. Vectric has made a case study of this project and it will feature on their website.
This is a project I have wanted to do for a long time. I made three Hobbyhorse's about 5 years ago and thought that it would be a great video project but since I was using a purchased model I couldn't really do it. 
Enter Vectric and their offer to upgrade my version of VCarve Pro to Aspire. Aspire comes with a 3d model of a horses head that I could probably have used it but there was a problem. It is an realistic model if I want to do  a remake of the God Father but a realistic horses head on a stick isn't really going to suit a children's toy. I'm a big fan of cartoon models for several reasons. The biggest of which is you can get away with virtually anything as a cartoon. Try adding Polka dots to a realistic horse and see how far you get.
I made a few changes to the original design which gave better balance, the ability to easily disassemble it for when you want to transport it out to the country and by using a square stick instead of a round on it cuts down on cost as well. All up I'm pleased with the finished project and if anyone makes one I would love to see finished result. 
Email me a photo to cncnutz65@gmail.com and If you like I can post the photo in the stable on this page. We might get a whole herd of them

Email me a photo of your finished horse and I will Post on this page.
Email your horse to cncnutz65@gmail.com  


 Hobby Horse Stable

Peter Passuello

Hers is the Hobby Horse Gerry Kaslowki made for his Grandson. It came out great. Thanks for sharing with it us.

Gerry Kaslowski

Creating my First 3D Model - episode 229

For years I have avoided trying to make 3D models, even very simple ones because no matter how much I tried they just didn't come out right. The only successful model I managed to make was the back of a dinner plate for a project and that took me more time to draw than I like to think about. Fortunately Vectric added modelling toolpaths to VCarve Pro which now allows me to make designs such as a dinner plate and other basic 3D shapes very quickly but the Holy Grail of 3D modelling still alluded me. So a few months ago Vectric contacted me and asked would I be interested in upgrading my VCarve Pro to Aspire. I accepted the offer and finally had decent tools to create 3D models. I watched the tutorial videos and the process looked relatively easy to follow so I gave it a try and would love to say it worked first time but that would be a lie. The second attempt wasn't much better nor was the third but I could see little improvements with each successive try. I went back and watched the tutorials againg and things started to make sense. I needed better 2D Vectors to start with and I also needed stop trying to make it look perfect as I added the various components. The better stratagy for me was to get all the components on the page first and then look at the over all picture and tweak things from there. Adjust each piece as needed and any other piece that is affected by the change until it looks right. I needed to have some sense of proportion and while I may  not be able to see what is right it is obvious when something is wrong. Once the model as looking right the fun really began. The Sculpting was the part of the process I enjoyed the most. I found the sculpting tools easy to use and it was surprising what could be achieved.

Result
Even for someone as artistically challenged as myself  I found the modelling tools in Aspire easy to use and with a bit of practise will provide good results. For my project I wanted a cartoon horses head and I'm very pleased with the final result. In the great scheme of things this is a very simple project and I'm a long way from being invited to add a new face to Mount Rushmore but it's a start. There are still plenty of tools in Aspires model making arsenal that I haven't even looked at yet as this was all done with the create shape and sculpting tools.

Conclusion
I have tried many free 3D modelling and a couple of paid ones in the past and haven't managed to make anything worth machining with the exception of the back of a dinner plate. Sure it took me a few tries for things to start falling into place but with a little persistance the results started coming. Now I'm sure that there are little improvements that could be made to the model here and there. I'm also sure that someone with an artistic eye could create a thing of beauty, that would put my model to shame, but for me this is perfect the way it is. 
Please don't think I am saying nice things about Aspire because of the upgrade. I have used Vectric products since 2006 with PhotoVCarve, Cut3D and VCarvePro and I use the software because I like it and I find it easy to use. 

Future
This model is just the start of the project. In the next episode I will be machining the horses head and its true purpose will be revealed.

I would like to thanks Vectric for making this project possible and if anyone would like to visit their website and view their software follow the link below. why not download their trial software and have a play.

www.vectric.com



Until next time
Cheers
Peter