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Thread: LotusBlossom

  1. #91
    Anodized amberella's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    Quote Originally Posted by DaveW View Post
    This is cool. + Rep for showing us your methods...no matter now ghetto :p-Dave
    Thanks. I had to go read up on this "rep" system since I don't think it was in place when I started this log so many eons ego.

    So it took me 11 hours of stencil cutting to finish them yesterday (and an ouchy blister on my finger), but they're finally done. Because of the semi-transparency of the plastic sheets, getting pictures is not so easy, but I tried.







    If I can get my big UV light today, I should be able to paint after the sun goes down.

    Funny - last time I was working on this mod I was also getting ready to move apartments and I really wanted to paint everything inside on the assumption that the next residents probably wouldn't have any blacklights ... in which case the overspray and such is invisible, And if they did for some reason - free bonus surprise! I'm a dork.

    amberella
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    everyone has an uncle who's an amateur magician.
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  2. #92
    Anodized amberella's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    I was thinking about what to do with the power supply over the weekend (I already painted it white) and thought it might be cool to put a japanese themed pattern on it - something that would add a nice contrast to the "scene" of objects in the rest of the design... almost like the mod design aesthetic ("60's" mod not "case" mod :p ) of pairing small busy prints with larger design elements. Then I ran across this pattern via google image search, which reminded me of an almost hippie-style paisley, but with that japanese lotus print you might see on a kimoso or decorative fan:



    Despite the daunting copyright protection via istockphoto watermark (/scarcasm) - I wriggled the design around into this via photoshop. This was actually more difficult than you'd think because the design is not actually along a grid that is a replicated pattern - or at least if the original pic was, this is only a portion of that pattern. I need something that can be tessellated next to itself around the whole cube and still look randomish. I ended with this:



    Then I made the stencil and sprayed it up (yes, inside a cardboard box inside because it's daytime). This project is inherently difficult to photograph due to the UV and lighting conditions, but it came out quite well. Perhaps I didn't put as much tacky spray on the stencil as I needed because there was more fuzzing than I expected, so I ended up going back with a paintbrush and edging out parts of the design with the same white spraypaint. That's the slight finish difference that you can see in the non-lit picture. I think that if I had put another base coat on the power supply initially, you probably wouldn't have seen the re-touch at all. And truthfully, you can only see those brush strokes when the light hits at the right angle and you're close up, so I'm not so concerned about it. Oh well.




    The pattern is a little shifted to the right so that I can wrap the pattern around the left edge so the whole thing is seamless. Overall, I think this was a fun, kind of whimsical touch and a good way to do some final testing before tackling the main design (which is kind of scary).

    Also - After checking up on how some of the other projects on TBCS are coming (which are all amazing, duh) I realize that my ... uh ... procedure ... is very different than others. Of course, if you are planning on hooking something up to a very specific place with a specific outcome intended, you'd better have a plan from A to B to C. Buuuut - that's not really how I roll. I tend to start in the middle and work my way out to both ends in a really flexible way. I have an idea of what I want in the end, but I tend to get there organically and change my mind half way through. It's my process. So please don't think I'm crazy disorganized or not obsessive about minutia of my design, but ... uh ... it's the journey not the destination?

    Ok, back to work.

    amberella
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    everyone has an uncle who's an amateur magician.
    --------------------------------------------------

  3. #93
    Hack the Planet! alphastryk's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    looking great! +rep

  4. #94
    Anodized amberella's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    Power Supply with multiple sides done now:


    The pattern is actually nice and crisp, but focusing the depth of field blurs parts of the pattern.

    I think I'm going to start hallucinating soon. They mean that whole spray paint ventilation thing. Spraying inside with your head in a box is not such a smart idea.


    amberella

    Judging by the amount of spelling corrections I had to make I might be hallucinating already. Whee.
    Last edited by amberella; 08-13-2007 at 11:50 PM. Reason: smelling schmishtakes
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  5. #95
    Anodized amberella's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    Left side of the main box...

    Lights on:


    Lights off:


    **bling**

    fun.


    oh - and pearls of wisdom gleaned from trial and error: if you are re-using plastic stencils and use sticky tack spray to hold down the edges, a little WD40 (followed by a degreasing soap and water rinse) will get all the sticky residue off without making goopy nastiness or hurting the stencil between uses.

    amberella
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    everyone has an uncle who's an amateur magician.
    --------------------------------------------------

  6. #96
    Banned Eclecticos's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    Looks . .Preddy dammned Spiffy! +Rep
    I have a similar dragon on my forearm more of a tribal pattern though.

    Great Job cuttin' that stencil out. .Real intricate.
    Last edited by Eclecticos; 08-14-2007 at 07:33 AM.

  7. #97
    t3h f3cKiN 33Ji7 calumc's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    this is gonna be so cool!!! +rep
    Quote Originally Posted by Crazy Buddhist View Post
    I'm starting to worry that I may become genuinely funny at some point. Then there will be no hope.

  8. #98
    Anodized amberella's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    I posted this in the general question forum, but I'll repost here in case someone has an idea since you know what I'm going for:


    ===========================
    I have a tight squeeze with the work I'm doing in my case right now and finding some replacement "slim-line" screws to mount the hard drive would really save some hassle. They have that bulky head, you know, so I'm looking for something that's more like a regular, flatter screw head. I compared them to all the other electronic and non-electronic related screws I have around, and none are a match. I even called my local over-priced "computer builders' warehouse," but no dice.

    I'm sure I can find some somewhere with a lot of footwork and visual comparison, but perchance one of you has a simple answer?

    Thanks,

    amberella
    ===========================

    And furthermore, here is the conversation I just had with the woman at the Computer Builder's Warehouse (it's a small place, I'm sure she wasn't just hired to be a dumb cashier)...

    Comp. Builder's Warehouse Employee: Hi, thanks for calling CBW, this is Kathy...
    Me: Hi. I was in a few weeks ago and saw that you carry some replacement hard drive mounting screws with little skulls and such on them?
    Kathy: Yes...
    Me: Well, I was wondering if you have any that have a flat screw-head on them - no decoration or thumb-screw?
    Kathy: Um... Is this for a desktop or a laptop?
    Me: [pause as I wonder the last time someone mounted a hard drive with custom skeleton thumb screws into their laptop...] Desktop.
    Kathy: Well, we have some of those screws in our workshop that you're welcome to, but if they're not standard we probably don't have them.
    Me: In your workshop you just fix people's regular systems, right?
    Kathy: Yeah...
    Me: So then they probably don't have any special screws. So all you have is the skeletons?
    Kathy: We have lots of screws, maybe you can come in and look?
    Me: Well, before I drove all the way over there, I thought I could ask you to look for me...
    Kathy: Well, we don't really carry anything that's not normal, so...
    Me: But you are Computer Builder's Warehouse right - so I thought you might have some specialized parts for computer building...
    Kathy: No, not really...
    Me: [resisting the urge to scream] ok, thanks kathy. [click]
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    everyone has an uncle who's an amateur magician.
    --------------------------------------------------

  9. #99
    ATX Mental Case Killdrath's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    I know that in my collection of screws, I have some of exactly what your looking for. The head on them is maybe, at max 1mm thick. I dont know where to get them, mine likely came from tearing down any one of the dozen or more systems I've stripped for parts.

    edit:
    Maybe something like THIS?

  10. #100
    t3h f3cKiN 33Ji7 calumc's Avatar
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    Default Re: LotusBlossom

    what if you ground down a normal screw and cut a slot in it?
    Quote Originally Posted by Crazy Buddhist View Post
    I'm starting to worry that I may become genuinely funny at some point. Then there will be no hope.

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