For this week’s lab, I chose to model my Dallas Cowboys keychain on my keys. The modeling process was more difficult than I initially expected. Getting the base and the colors right was fairly straightforward, but creating a five-point star with equal proportions took much more time. Not having much experience with 3D modeling or Fusion 360 made the process of completing this much more difficult than I thought it would be. I had very little experience with 3D modeling from my freshman year of high school, so some of the simpler tasks were easier to figure out. Other things just took lots of trial and error and time to get right. I feel like my lack of experience made me compromise some of the smaller details on the keychain.
I think that my biggest challenge was making the star look right. I started off by making the star with ten lines, but I felt that it never really looked right that way. While creating the star, I was starting to figure out how the different tools worked and understand how changing one part of the model would affect another part. My best solution for the star was to make an elongated diamond shape and use the circular pattern tool to create five of them around the midpoint of the star, then trim out the excess lines inside. I think my biggest tip would be to use the shortcut search by pressing “s”; it made finding solutions to some of my problems easier.
Beyond the project, I can see 3D modeling being useful for many different areas of humanities research and teaching. Researchers could create digital models of historical artifacts, buildings, archaeological objects, or artwork that are difficult to access or examine in person. Students could also use 3D modeling to reconstruct historical objects or places and explore them in more interactive ways. Public institutions or museums could use 3D models to allow people to explore objects that they otherwise might never have been able to see in person. I think this could make humanities scholarships more accessible and engaging for a wider audience.
Hi, your keychain model is really impressive! I love the star and the outline around it. I can imagine that creating a star on Fusion360 would be difficult, and I like how your final model turned out. I also found the modeling process to be difficult, and felt I had to sacrifice some smaller details as well. I didn’t know the shortcut tip beforehand, thank you for sharing it!
Jake, this is a great looking keychain. Your approach to creating the star shape was super creative and it worked very well. I had a similar experience with trial and error, it defintely takes some time to get used to. The “s” shortcut is super helpful and is something I will be sure to use in the future!