For our first lab assignment using Fusion360, I chose to model a paintbrush.
The Process
As someone with no experience with Fusion360 or 3D modeling in general, I found the process challenging. Modeling a paintbrush required a lot of trial and error as well as plenty of time searching for the right tools. I began with an extruded circle to represent the handle and added a wider circle on top for the ferrule, or metal part of the paintbrush. Using a similar technique, I made each bristle of the paintbrush. The more I worked with the program and became familiar with the layout, the modeling became easier.
The paintbrush handle was especially tricky due to the tapered bottom. I had begun with a simple cylinder and was unable to taper the length after finishing extruding it. After completing the rest of the paintbrush, I had to delete the original handle and make another one, this time tapered. Another challenge was tapering the bristles. Like the handle, I had extruded them without tapering them. I tried the Draft tool under Modify and was able to make some of the bristles tapered at the top, however, the tool did not work for all of them. I think this may be because of the proximity to the other bristles which caused overlap. After using the Draft tool, a strange dotted line from the paintbrush remained on the screen and I could not make it go away.
I made a lot of compromises with the design element of the paintbrush. Initially, I had planned to make the brush bristles an organic shape. However, I was unable to find the right tools to execute a rounded shape that tapers into a winded point. Instead, I compromised by making each bristle separately with the circle sketch tool. In the future, I would like to spend some more time experimenting with non-uniform shapes.
I can envision a lot of humanistic uses for this tool, such as creating accessibility for the larger population. A lot of artifacts in collections are not available to the public and can only be seen within exhibits. Through 3D modeling, anyone could get an up-close look at an artifact from any angle. Additionally, researchers as well as students could learn more about items from the past and have the opportunity to study them in detail.
A tip that helped me was modifying the appearance of the model. By going under Modify and clicking Appearance, you can choose from a large number of textures to bring the model to life. Another tip is to taper your shapes when you first extrude them or it will be difficult to change the shape after completion. If I had done that originally, it would have saved me a lot of time.
3 thoughts on “Lab Assignment 1”
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The paint brush turned out very well! I particularly am fascinated by your attention to detail on the brushes, it seems challenging to have to model every brush on the paint brush however yours turned out very well and clear. I also like the way you modified your appearance for your brush, as it makes it stand out well. I wish that was something I further explored more in my design.
Hi Lydia! I think you did a really great job with your paint brush model and found it really impressive you were able to create that for being new to Fusion 360. I like how you were able to taper the end of the paint brush as it gives the model a much more realistic and polished look. Tapering was a skill that I had a lot of trouble figuring out when I was creating my model, so it’s great to see how you worked through the challenges.
What I love most about this paintbrush is the texture. The combination of different materials makes it look so realistic! The appearance feature you mentioned in the last part of your post is definitely helpful, but I’m curious—how did you choose the right textures from the options available? When I was using this feature, I noticed that the materials in the library don’t always look the same when applied to the actual model, which was a bit frustrating for me. Also, for the bristles, I think you could create a very thin cone shape first and then copy and paste it repeatedly to simulate the fine hairs.