Scrapper

Description

Scrapper is a droid with a frenzied attitude. His love of tinkering with objects led him to scavenge for parts that he could then sell for a profit after fixing them. He constantly finds himself in imperial junkyards, abandoned shipwrecks, and landfills. Scrapper is a very versatile droid who can give any piece of broken or used junk a new purpose. 

Inspiration

When I first read the brief, I was quite overwhelmed with the possibilities. However, one of my favorite things about the Star Wars Universe is its ability to take a concept from our world and transform it into a beautiful piece of design that fits right into the Star Wars saga. Before the competition, I watched a video about one of the largest landfills in Indonesia. This video sparked the inspiration for the background of the droid I would be making. In the video, I watched them share the stories of Pemulung; these are the people in Indonesia who scavenge through trash to find things that still have value to them and can be used or sold. It was a fascinating video.  This act of scavenging was the first part of my inspiration process. I then started to dive deeper into what other areas may surround the focus of scavenging through trash. This led me to vehicles that work with trash. I took inspiration from their form, as well as from their functionality and detailing. Lastly, I wanted to see if I could grab forms from vultures or hyenas since they are scavengers as well. Connecting all these real-world references, led me to start sketching what this droid might look like.

Design

After an initial round of sketching, I found the solo wheel droid to be a good fit because of the energy and action it held in its form and functionality. Once I found the initial design, I did a rough model in Fusion360 which I used as an underlay to sketch on top of. From there I started to see the form evolve. Once I had a strong enough starting point, I brought the sketch into Fusion360 and started modeling. I love 3D Design and being able to make changes on the flow is an amazing feeling especially when the history tree in Fusion360 makes updating components very easy. The main method I used to model some of the components was sketching to extrusions, however, I played around with surfaces and had a fun time learning new things along the way. 

Functionality

This was my first time making any character in Fusion360. Since there was a mechanical component to be considered, I struggled to wrap my head around making some of the joints. I did research into 3D printing joints, and I was slowly able to learn how to design various joints. There are 2 ball and socket joints, one in the neck, and one in the torso. Pivot joints are in his shoulder, elbow and wrists. The wheel tire flows freely on the inner rim while the suspension in the legs allows for Scrapper to traverse rough terrain. 

Conclusion

I had a blast making this droid and am grateful for this opportunity to expand upon my design, modeling, and storytelling skills. Enjoy!