Laputa's 3d model

3D Fliper Model from the cartoon of "Laputa"

For a long time I wanted to make any amazing model. After having looked a wonerful cartoon of Khayao Miadzaki "Laputa" (Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta, studio Ghibli 1986г.), I decided to make a model of a small flying vehicle, used by the flibustier family under leadership of Dora. They are not seem to be real flibustiers, because they are too good-hearted, just like all the positive characters of the cartoon made bu Miadzaki. Due to the plot, they are searching for the wonderful flying island of Laputa. The island was created by Jonathan Swift in 1726 in his book of ..Gulliver's travels...The island flied under control of the giant magnet. Anyway, in "Laputa" the idea of the flying island was used just as a plot element). The cartoon characters often use an interesting flying vehicle, which attracted me very much.

In the beginning the task seemed extremely simple to me, I thought it would take just several hours. But later it turned out that I could staring at the pictures for hours, thinking how to draw any component of the model. Nevertheless, it just prolonged the pleasure I got from the work. And after the work is finished, I decided to show, how I had made it.

Analysis

Taking into consideration, that the object of the cartoon was animated with simple lines, I supposed it should be easy to draw it. It turned to be much more complicated in practice. The most difficult was to understand the object from within, but not the program's tools. The first thing we can see is an object looked like an old shoe with murmuring bumblebee's wings. Considering that such big winnowing object doesn't exist yet, we can find another vehicle analog - hidrocycle. There is an engine part in the front and an open platform for a driver in the back. But this is the flying vehicle and we can see elements existing in airplanes of piston engined aviation. For instance, two knobs definitely represent aerodynamic shroud of the engine. Triangle opening in the front and embossed holes on each side mean that there is a motor assembly that needs air for cooling or ventilation. At the top there is a transparent slope protective cover, which was used in prop-driven aircrafts with open cabin. There are control panel and devices under it. Since the flying principle of the ornithopter differs from the principles of the existing aircrafts, so control devices are unknown. We can see too strange levers, tumbler switch and unknown indicators.

We can see handrails on the sides. The principle of a pilot and a passenger positions resemle those of the ancient wain with a driver in front and an archer close to him. Such a principle is acceptable for a flibustier's vehicle, when one person is driving and another is shooting, what we can see in the beginning of the film. The bottom of the vehicle consists of a keel like a hydroplane has, and is easy enough for modeling. The most strange detail is a flying running gear's scheme, which looks like an insect's wings, for instance dragonfly. We can see two pairs of short wings fixed to ball bearing on the airframe. Their moving resembles insect wing's fast moving. The vehicle has built-in reactive engines with sliding jet hole. We are familiar with a dragonfly's paired wings. In the cartoon we also can see the vehicle in another flyingmode, where the front pair is fixed while the back one is moving. Such a scheme does also exists in nature, we can see it with beetles. Upper chitinous wings cover lower crummy wings and during the flight raise as planes and work as active wings, while crummy sheer wings work as running gear. Inspite of seeming fiction of the vehicle, we hardly ever can claim that it can not fly. We can remind that according to the aerodynamics manual, beetles can't fly. I think most of people would like to have such a vehicle, and the secret of it's grace and attractiveness is in it's evident logic. In landing position the vehicle furls the wings.

We can see rivets on the framework, what is used in aircraft engeneering. The rivets are big and the number of them is small. It is evident, that the rivets are a part of entourage and are necessary for drawing. Rivets mean that the framework is made of metal. We immediately form in mind an image of a airplane with a traditional duralumin parts. Looking at dinamically changing frames, we come across habitual details, which form a clear synthetical image omitting odd things. Since the vehicle is designed by the husband of the Mother-pirate Dora, it's grace stands for the secondary characters' positive features, such as imagination, non-trivial mind. The vehicle doesn't carry any weapon, so it stands for the characters' love for peace.

Conclusion

So, we have a very logical and clear construction, and it's unevident details (engine, control devices etc) can be modeled easily, while understanding of familiar things helps to model them better. But at the same time, the cartoon format is handmade frames with multiple variations in details and the construction's lines. Perspective drawings in different frames show various scales and positions of the same parts, for example cowlings are shown big and small in different frames. The control panel is not shown at all, and it's unclear what the levers are fixed to. The pedals position is changing as well, in some frames they are in the centre, in other frames they are at sides. In the frames where the pedals are shown, no levers are shown. Somewhere security belts fixtures are shown. Since there are no drafts (it would be too easy to model with drafts), but there are a lot of various frames, I took efforts to draw an average image from the technical position, and focused on how to transmit the main spirit of the device.

Implementation

I hope that my experience will help other people who love modeling. I'll try to focus on general points, to make cross-plane approach to modeling, because there is a lot of various programs with similar tools. I'll show key points, and if you use other 3D programs except for SolidWorks, they can find similar tools nad approach.

Since the model is done on the basis of curvelinear surfaces with double curvature, which are shown in different frames in different ways, I tried to find a reference picture. At last I made the following sketch on one plane, partially repeated the frame part's outline.

Then I created additional planes, on which drew cross-sections' outline, and using the plane creating tool "bound surface" I pulled on the surface on the existing framework.

After that I'm drawing two lines on the plane's right, which are used to cut off the part of the surface.

Now we have a reference surface, with which we can create a deck. Using the lower section's outline, I'm extending the surface.

On the surfaces intercrossing I create tridimentional sketch, with reference on which I can calculate tangential sketchs for the deck creating. On the base plane I draw two splines, with which I point out tangency of the 3d sketch on intercrossing.

Now, using the planes we can draw 3d sketch with a double curvature on the intercrossing. Using this sketch, previous sketch and the edges of surfaces, I create the following part.

At the bottom I cut the surface off again.

With the new set of surfaces, I use them for modeling thefollowing cycle. If I wanted to omit the step, I would have to take extremely great effort to get the same result in a less efficient way.

To close the framework finally and to transform it in a solid body, no need to create new sketches. We can just use edges of the existing surfaces.

Then I begin to draw a keel.

I transform the remaining surface into the solid body combining it with the lower part.

Opening for an air inlet.

The following component took me too much efforts. It is the drop-shaped engine nose dome. After difficult search, the final solution turned out to be very simple.

Two engine nose domes are located symmetrically at the top of the cowl panel with a distinct border. They have different borders with the cowling, size and pitch angle in different frames. So, I was modeling within these margins. My solution doen't need any additional planes, 3d sketches etc. First of all I drew the rough engine nose dome on the basic plane on the right.

Then using the "Revolved boss/base" tool I create a solid body that is not merged with the other bodies.

After that I turn it aside, rotating and scaling it until I get the wanted effect. Then I mirror the detail, remove the middle body and using the cowling surface cut the nose domes off at the bottom. Now we can combine them with the basic framework.

The next complicated element containing surfaces with double curvature is the framework's bend above the control panel and the pilot's hood. On the basic plane I drew a spline indicating the borders of the hood and framework, then using "split line" I mapped a line to the top plane of the framework.

Here we see that the model still remains monolythic but divided into areas. Then using the new edges and the basic plane on the right I draw the surface of the hood.

Using "Offset Entities" I make another division on the framework's plane and cut off the surface of the hood at the side.

Then I select a new separating line and an edge of the cut surface, I create a new boundary surface with the indication that it should be tangent to it's boundary surfaces. I want to make the part of the hood to lie on the fuselage repeating it's outline. The cap is fixed to the fuselage using rivets. That is why everything should be realistic.

Then I sew new surfaces together, make then thick and again separate using the surface to get a transparent part and its base.

Then I make them transparent and then make a fillet.

I want to focus on the following two elements which were interesting for me to solve: air diffuser at the sides and rivets.

Air diffusers

The most difficult item is that the lateral surfaces of the fuselage are not flat and contain double curvature, while the holes with shaped windscreen should be of strict geometrical shape and be connected with the fuselage. After several experiments I found the following solution:

First of all, I'm pulling the block, repeating the shape of the opening. It should lap over the fuselage at the hight of the windscreen.

Then using "Intersection Curve" I select front border and back edge of the body as guardrails for a new secant plane.

As a result, I get an object with a curvelinear front edge changing into a straight plane as if it was a real molding. Then using "Shell" I transform it in a sort of a trough shown below.

Using a variable spherical radius I change the corner's shape.

Then on the bodies' intercrossing border I form a 3d sketch which is used for a drown opening of the fuselage. The openong should touch the fuselage only.

Using "Linear Pattern" I duplicate these troughs according to the film's frames.

Since the fuselage is getting narrow to the nose, every element I move a bit aside. Then I mirror the details, and using the internal surface of the fuselage as a cutting element, I remove all the unnecessary details. As a result, I got shark's gills as desired.

Rivets

On the right plane I make a sketch with a shift from the nearest curve, then using "Projected curve" put the line over the fuselage.

Then I draw a circle and pull the block outside of the fuselage. After that I use "Curve Driven Pattern" to establish desired number of elements, specifying the position of the array as regard to a curve.

Then using the fuselage's surface I cut the projecting part off, and using "Dome"on the each detail's end I form a semi-round cap of a rivet, just like a ready-made rivet.

The operations sequence as follow: the curve depends on the shape of the fuselage's cut and determines the rivets' position as regard to it's surface. And a dome is a result of rivet's locating on the surface with double curvature. So, the rivets look as if they really existed.

Conclusion

Modeling in the evenings, beside having a good time, I get a good mental practice and actually transformed a cartoon image into a clear 3d solid object using minimum information, where every next step depends on the previous one just like a fractal tree.

If you have Acrobat Reader of the version 7.0.7 and higher, you can first download and have a look at 3D model in *.pdf format. Download is available here (5 Mb).

back