Title
Project Overview
This is my Rib Tickles from Forky Asks A Question! He debuted in the “Forky Ask’s A Question” episode, “What Is A Pet”. He was actually originally supposed to be in Toy Story 4, but was ultimately cut from the film. He actually made his way on to some of the promotional material, so that’s how we all knew about him prior to the film. He is Giggle McDimples’ partner, but canon wise we later find out he ended up being eaten by Dragon the cat from the antique store, and spent over a week stuck inside until he made his way out. He is basically inspired to be part of a Polly Pocket play set, which Mattel did actually make, but it only included Giggle McDimples. I imagine if he made the final cut, he would have been included in that set, so we unfortunately missed out on him. I thought he was a fun character, and we already got the play set, so I thought he would be a great character to go ahead and create.
Materials & Tools
- 3D Printer
- Spot Putty
- Primer
- Paints
- Clear Coat
Build Process
Step 1: Gather Reference Images
First step like always!
Step 2: Modeling
I modeled this in Maya, which is a 3D modeling and animation program. I made this shortly after the short came out, and he was actually my first ever model I made on my own. Not too bad right? I’m still happy with how he turned out till this day.
Step 3: Print Prep & Printing
Since he is so small, I decided to break out my resin printer for this project. Resin printers come with their pluses and minuses. The small details they’re able to capture, along with minimal visible layer lines, make the print quality superb. There is hardly any post processing needed compared to an fem print, so I’m always so happy afterwards not needing to sand much. The downside is the completed prints are coated in uncured toxic resins, so there is a bit more work getting these prints handleable when completed. At the end of the day, it’s still a major time savor so it’s still worth the tradeoff.
Step 4: Remove from printer & Cleanup parts
This is really the only step with Resin printing that takes longer than fdm printing (traditional pla, petg, abs, etc nozzle printing). The resin is toxic to touch and full fumes, so this is a masked and gloved up step. When pulling the prints off, they’re basically half cured. The resin cures from uv light, so the led screen cures the model enough to solidify, but not long enough to fully cure so each layer continues to bond.
The process goes as follows: remove prints, remove supports, rinse off the excess resin in water, then run through an isopropyl alcohol bath to really wash off the excess resin, scrub and corners with build up, and then put under uv light for 5 minutes give or take until the resin fully cures. It’s a pretty straight forward process, it’s just somewhat of a pain making sure to not cross contaminate work surfaces with toxins.
Step 5: Sanding and Painting
For once I was excited to get to the sanding part of the build haha. I have painted so many props that for simple paint schemes like this, it’s almost a mindless task at this point. So not much pressure or stress like the electronics, it was just to time. Well, I did decided to casting for the first time. Maybe I spoke too soon, more on the later.
Final Thoughts
I am super happy with how this project turned out! On the surface it may look pretty simple, but there was quite a few challenges that needed to be solved along the way. It was a great learning experience that made me comfortable to tackle bigger projects like my DJ-R3X!