Castle of Light






I am A High school student(9th grade).
This work explores the fusion of digital modeling and physical craftsmanship. A conceptual castle made of translucent rings is first modeled and rendered in Blender, then physically recreated using white cardstock and installed inside a floor lamp. The result is a dual creation—one virtual, one tangible—that merges lighting design, digital art, and handcraft.
Inspiration: Fairytale castles, glass structures, dusk lighting, installation art in galleries
Visual Atmosphere: Dreamlike layered architecture glowing softly at dusk; ring forms suggesting depth and ethereal space
Crafting Considerations: Modular design with layered slices to facilitate physical assembly using paper
Supplies




Rendering Software: Blender
Materials:
- White cardstock (several sheets for layered silhouettes)
- Metal wire fruit bowl (used as the mountain-shaped base)
- IKEA floor lamp (base light source)
- Double-sided tape (for clean attachment)
- White glue or hot glue (for stronger bonding)
- Marker pens (for sketching silhouettes)
Tools:
- Utility knife (for rough cutting)
- Precision craft knife / X-Acto knife (for fine carving)
- Scissors
- Ruler (for measurements and alignment)
- Pencil (for sketching and marking)
Search and Design







Sketch and cut out silhouettes of castle towers, trees, walls, houses, etc., on each ring using a craft knife.
Use an inverted wire fruit bowl as the base to form a “mountain” shape, while also allowing light to pass through.
Design figures like knights and dragons for a narrative touch.
Modeling Phase (Blender)






Base Geometry
- Start by deleting the default cube
- Add five cylinders without caps to form ring structures
- Each ring has different radius and depth to create layering
- Rename them Ring_1 to Ring_5 for easy organization
Material Setup
- Create transparent materials for each ring
- Use image textures with alpha channels to achieve semi-transparent patterns
- Material settings:
- Blend Mode: Alpha Blend
- Shadow Mode: None
- Base Color: White
- Alpha: 0.7 for translucency
Lighting & Rendering






Environment Light
- Turn off world lighting
- Set World Color to pure black to highlight the scene’s artificial lighting
Key Light (Warm Center Glow)
- Add a Point Light at the center of the rings
- Color: Soft warm yellow (e.g., RGB 1.0, 0.8, 0.4)
- Power: 3000–5000W
- This acts as the primary internal glow source
Secondary Light (Dusk Ambience)
- Add a Sun Lamp with low intensity
- Set angle from behind or side to simulate dusk backlighting
- Color: Orange/yellow tint (e.g., RGB 1.0, 0.6, 0.2)
- Creates shadows on the outer edges and enhances mood
Camera & Render Settings
- Use Cycles rendering engine for better transparency and light realism
- Camera faces the model from the front with slight elevation
- Enable transparent background under Film settings
While rendering the castle, I placed a vertical plane behind the model and applied an image of the evening sky to it. This way, I could directly generate a complete render with the background included.
Make the Silhouette Rings







Cut 5 circular rings of various sizes from white cardstock. Each ring will sit at a different height.
Attach each ring to the wire bowl “mountain,” spacing them evenly apart. Their different sizes naturally create varied levels and depths.
Install the Light &Enjoy the Effect




Place the floor lamp under the structure. The upward light will make the carved paper glow softly and semi-transparently.
When lit, the layered paper rings form a magical castle-scape full of story and shadow, visible from multiple angles.