Direenworks

Category: Art

  • Painting Things

    I’ve been getting back into water color and gouache  painting lately.

    A few of the above were done from photos I’d taken, and a few were done on the spot.

    I’m still getting comfortable with the whole plein air process, but regardless of whether the painting turns our good or not, I’m loving the experience.

    I’ve gotten addicted to watching James Gurney’s videos on YouTube and after seeing the tripod easel he created, I had to take a crack at designing one for 3D print:

    This is the second iteration. The hinges were quite a challenge to design, and I’m still in the testing period to see if it’ll hold up or not, but so for It’s been great :D

  • New Ride for Sight Shirt

    I was asked once again by the Ardmore Lions Club to design an updated T-Shirt for their charity event, and I was all to happy to help!

  • Key Tickler Macropad

    I built this project a few years back and it has become crucial to my daily workflow. 

    It’s based on the Adafruit MacroPad which I’ve extended with 2 1×4 Stemma Qt NeoKeys and 3 Stemma Qt Rotary Encoders. 

    You can find the print files HERE

    If you do build one, I encourage you to write your own code for it, as it is a fantastic learning experience, which you can get started on from reading their well written guide Here. 

    I will provide a link to my code, which is heavily based off the Adafruit example, but with a few additions to handle the extra hardware. https://github.com/pixelpushinfreak/key_tickler_macro_pad

    The only additional hardware needed are a bunch of pan head, #2-28, 5/16″ plastic screws.

    Let me know if you build one or do any cool remixes! I’ve had ideas to extend the code for a while now, but just can’t find the time to get back to it, not to mention that it’s been working great as it is :)

  • Y.A.C.S

    Yet Another Camera Slider. That’s what I’m calling my slider system.

    Went a little overboard photoshopping this…

    So I want a motorized camera slider for time lapse photography and stop motion, but I don’t see myself using it enough to justify spending $$$$! To the soldering iron!

    The idea of the build started out simple enough. I had a cheapish slider to begin with, and I figured it wouldn’t be hard to slap a motor on the end to get movement in one axis.

    It took some thinking on how to mount the motor with the limited real estate at the ends of the existing slider, but I realized it could be done if I made a bracket to raise the camera while allowing the timing belt to pass through. I used carbon fiber filled, polycarbonate filament for the print. Great stuff! A little weak in layer adhesion, but is super rigid and light weight.

    Here’s a test video I made with just the slider portion:

    I guess I’ll stop there and save the pan & tilt head for another post :)

  • Fabricating a Visor

    I designed and fabricated a motor sports helmet visor, with strategically placed, computer vision tracking markers:

    Why? To enable individuals with quadriplegia to drive an 850 horsepower NASCAR cup car.

    Here’s a short video that summarizes the project:

    The first prototype was just 3D printed, but as there was a need for additional, more durable visors, I proceeded to molding and casting.

    • I first attempted to match the design with careful measurments
    • I ended up using photogrammetry to get the correct dimensions
    • I designed the matrix mold in Blender

  • Farkle Barrel

    Upping my manufacturing game.  This past Christmas, I took my fabrication skill set past 3D printing, and entered into the world of molding and casting!

  • PlayDoh Snowman

    Mom put Play-doh in my Christmas stocking :)

  • Octolapse

  • BANG! Custom Crate

    Bang! A card game I was introduced to 7 years ago, and has been my favorite since.

    The special deluxe edition comes in a great, but very large bullet shaped tin; so I decided to 3D print my own case for it.

    Was a fun project to get more experience with my airbrush, and play around with some weathering techniques.

  • 3D Printing

    I think the thing, I draw the thing, I print the thing, I have the thing!

    So I’ve gotten into 3D printing.  A technology I’ve been interested in since college. To take a digital design and print it to the real world, awesome!

    I had always thought of 3D printing in terms of making knickknacks and figurines. Neato, but I couldn’t see myself doing that more than once or twice a year; hardly worth the expense and effort of owning a 3D printer. What really got me into 3D printing was my other recent hobby, custom electronics.

    When I realized I could design and print custom enclosures for my electronics projects, I suddenly had a more practical reason for owning a 3D printer.

    Things I’ve designed and made: