ピクルス - 漫画の一場面

A scene from the 'Pickles' comic strip.

If you are unfamiliar with the Pickles comic strip, by Brian Crane, I strongly suggest checking it out on the web. The characters are just that, they are 'characters' and my wife and I love the strip.

The husband's name is Earl and the wife's name is Opal.

The picture that I used for modeling is from the 25th anniversary of the strip and is included below.

The completed model after assembly is 128mm x 189mm x 203mm high and none of the parts require supports!

Enjoy!

Printer: FlashForge Creator X
Supports: No
Resolution: .2mm
Infill: 10%

Notes:
A few of the smaller pieces may need a brim/raft. See below for specific printing suggestions (just suggestions as each user has personal preferences for small parts).

How I Designed This:

I used the one picture (picture section, original artists Pickles 25th anniversary scene) as my model guide. With a lot of input from my wife, I translated the picture to a 3D design using Blender. A final render from Blender of my model prior to slicing for 3D printing is included.

I use a rule for myself to create models with no angles greater than 60 degrees to ensure that supports will not be required. I also try to conform to the original picture as closely as possible while considering the 60 degree limit.

Even with my reasonable catalog of ABS colors, I had trouble matching the original colors. I bought two new colors but still took liberty with the colors overall.

Colors and multiple printed pieces:

Following are the colors that I used and notes if pieces are to be printed multiple times. Consider this simply as a guide as to which pieces need to have the same color.
..
Skin/Beige:
earl_arm_right
earl_arm_left
opal_arm_right
opal_arm_left
opal_leg_right
opal_leg_left
opal_head
earl_head
..
White:
earl_hair_top
earl_hair_bottom
opal_hair
opal_shoe_left
opal_shoe_right
newspaper
earl_eyebrow_right
earl_eyebrow_left
earl_moustashe_top
earl_moustashe_bottom
earl_eyewhite_left
earl_eyewhite_right
opal_eyewhite_right
opal_eyewhite_left
..
Any color (hidden piece):
bump (8 copies)
..
Black:
eyeblack (four copies)
earl_glasses
opal_glasses
..
Brown:
chair_leg (four copies)
earl_shoe_right
earl_shoe_left
..
Grey:
earl_leg_right
earl_leg_left
..
Natural (off-white):
earl_shirt_bottom
earl_shirt_top
..
Purple:
opal_shirt_top
opal_shirt_bottom
..
Light Blue:
opal_skirt
..
Dark Blue:
earl_pants_top
earl_pants_bottom
..
Orange:
chair
chair_cushion
..
Light Brown/Gold:
rug

Printing and assembly tips:

Printing tips:
-Take particular care with left and right pieces. Many of them look very similar but are not the same.
-When printing the eyeblacks I left the extra brim on instead of cleaning up the pieces. This resulted in a clean fit into the eyewhites and result in a solid eyeblack showing.
-For small pieces I personally print them at 50% infill and two shells. This ensures plenty of time for clean prints on my printer.

Assembly tips:
-The diagram below will help in assembling the model. A larger copy is included in the downloads section
-The model is meant to be glued together. Be careful when gluing to ensure that you do not 'glue yourself into a corner'. The hands/arms/legs need to be glued in at the same time that the connecting pieces are glued, so that you have room to position them.
-Both eyeglasses are placed on the faces with the bridge down, just over the nose. This might not be obvious from the diagram.

Assembly diagram ( is in the pictures section)