Photogammetry Conch Ear Dangler for Stretched Ears - Biotexture Wearable

This is how I created 3D printed danglers for stretched earlobes based on the features of a conch shell.

"This project is created as a course assignment at the California State University, Long Beach; taught by Behnaz Farahi: DESN 551: Materials, Tools, and Techniques of Prototype."

OnePlus 9-5G, rotating pedestal, stand, shell, Midjourney AI, Discord, DALL-E AI, KIRI Engine, Autodesk Meshmixer, Rhinoceros 3D, Creality 5 Pro, Stratasys J750, Adobe Creative Cloud

First, I went to Midjourney AI to develop some inspiration images for the project. Most of what I was able to get were patterns and textures. I was able to get colors to use, as the shell itself was sun-bleached and for the most part was completely white. My guess is that "stretched earlobes" is not a common search term.

Next, I went to DALL-E to try my hand at some more options. I was able to get more options that at the very least looked like earrings, but still few options that looked like they were for stretched lobes.

Next was to set up the shell for a 3D scan. I built a stand for it to hold it upright so that i could get as much of it as possible. Using my phone and an app called KIRI Engine, and placing it on a rotating pedestal in front of a black background, I scanned the shell making sure I got as many angles as possible.

Importing the model into Meshmixer, I cleaned up the model by removing the pedestal as well as the post from the stand, and repaired the model by inspecting it for holes, repaired them, and saved the model for the next step.

Next, I imported the model in Rhino. From there, I duplicated the shell and tried different versions, first, using an modeled hook, and then, stretching one of the shells into the desired shape, duplicating just the one end, as that had the most interesting texture. I then Mirrored it to make a matching set.

Using one of the Midjourney images as a base, I extracted one section and replicated it in Photoshop to create a swatch. From there, I applied it as a texture map across the surface, scaling and turning it to achieve a desired result. Not fully satisfied, I decided to take it over to Keyshot and try again. With Keyshot's better rendering engine, I was able to achieve a result I was far happier with. I then imported a head model and added the lobes to better gauge size, before exporting again.

Moving to physical modeling, I printed a basic PLA version at home on my Ender 5 to test for size. For time, I only printed one of the danglers.

Next, I sent the file to the 3D print lab at the Innovation Space at CSULB. It was printed on the Stratasys J750 polyjet printer to be rendered in full color.