Learning 3D Bead Art
Last year marked my first foray into 3D bead art. My partner @mrs.guinevere had been making 3D bead models for a while, buying the designs from a designer on Instagram. The more I saw of them, the more I became intrigued by the challenge of creating designs myself. And of course she was keen for me to learn as I wouldn’t charge her for the designs (I’m a nice boyfriend like that).
It took some time to learn about voxels, which are basically 3D pixels, and how to use different software to create the models. I started simple, replicating some pixelated models I own. I quickly realised how much easier this is when you have a physical model in your hand to use as a reference.
These were fairly simple, so I was able to build them from scratch in a free voxel programme called MagicaVoxel. Then came the tricky part of turning my 3D model into a design that someone could follow to build the physical model. A lot of YouTube tutorials and support documentation later, and I was able to output the layers individually, add a grid to them, and also create a video of the design layers being built up one-by-one. It was pretty rewarding figuring out how to do all that and create actual designs that people could work from.
But of course that wasn’t enough. There are only so many pixelated Amiibos and Funko Pops out there, and my ambitions were growing as I learned new skills. I wanted to create my different models. I soon found out that 3D models used for 3D printing could be converted into voxels, and from there I could edit them in MagicaVoxel. This opened up a whole new set of possibilities for me.
Our first big project was a Nike Air Jordan I sneaker. In order to get the detail I wanted, it had to be larger than life. The design phase for this project was longer than the build phase by far. The whole design phase now consisted of these steps:
Find a suitable reference model and download it (there are a lot of free ones out there, but often the best ones cost money).
Convert it into a format suitable for editing in MagicaVoxel (there are websites that can do this).
Edit the design in MagicaVoxel (I added internal supports as it was hollow, and ensured each layer had enough overlap to support the layers above) and colour it. I spent countless hours doing this.
Save all the necessary images and angles to make the design and reference images.
Edit the design in GIMP (because I’m not paying for Photoshop) to make it easy to understand.
Figure out how to get counts of the different colour voxels in use (this turned out far more complex than I assumed it would be, and involved another voxel program and a lot of time in Excel).
After the order of over 44,000 beads arrived, we got to work. And work was slow! Honestly I can’t explain to you how boring it is to build a huge 3D bead model, you have to experience it for yourself. Imagine making variations of the layers below, 60 times. It drains your life force, all you have keeping you going is the hope that it will look cool when it’s all done and constructed. I know they look a bit like penises by the way.
So, many hours later all the layers were constructed and ready to be put together. Be prepared to spot mistakes you made in the design or build phases, and have to correct them before you glue. For this reason we always lay the layers on top of each other to see how it looks before we glue.
You have to set aside a couple of hours to build and glue the layers together, pushing toothpicks into the bead holes every now and then to increase stability. For the construction part, @mrs.guinevere has more experience than me so she takes the lead and I assist.
Christmas jumpers are optional, but recommended if you’re building in December. When the thing was finally constructed, we left it a few hours so that the glue could dry, then set about taking obligatory shots and videos for Instagram.
And from there we moved on to more big 3D projects, all of them rooted in the 80s, like me. We made a 1:1 hoverboard from Back To The Future II (much quicker and easier to make due to the size and shape!), and most recently a Gameboy, which was made pretty huge in order to make it as realistic and detailed as possible. The Gameboy now greets visitors to Vienna’s Retro Gaming Museum!
So I recommend 3D bead projects if you have countless hours to spare! I can only gear myself up for one of these every now and then, but I’m sure you’ll see more from us at some point!