So here I am, sitting on Easter break and thinking '' Man, I need a phone stand...wait I could print it!''
First my needs took me to Thingiverse, where I found an incredible number of 3D phone stands created by other people. Scrolling through it's pages I slowly realized they're either too boring, simple, questionable in stability, functionality and just lacking for that SPARK that I wanted to have on my desk (although I did find one that looks like the Doors of Durin, which looked cool, but I didn't like how steep the angle was).
Thus my search then brought me...! To the local electronics shops. Which I mean yeah, 6 - 20 € for a modern-looking claw and a bendy black noodle...nnnnaaaah....
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| FoneKit 19.90 € at Verkkokauppa |
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| Ram X-Grip 69.90 € at Verkkokauppa. WHY |
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| Nulaxy phone stand 21 € |
Also there was Aliexpress but that would result in me waiting half a year for the delivery. Thanks Corona.
And then I came to the realization...that I have Blender. And that I am decent at it. So I can model my own
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧DREAM STAND ✧ﾟ･: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧DREAM STAND ✧ﾟ･: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)
AND I DID.
Ok here's the process: I first needed to decide what type of stand I wanted. I had the thought of a simple flat slab of plastic with a rounded bottom for the phone to snug into. I modeled that, occasionally exporting the model to drop it into CURA and make sure nothing's broken inside and it's still possible to 3D print.
Next...inspired by some phone stands I found on Google of 2.5 D characters standing behind the phone and holding it up, I had the idea of adding one to my model as well. And considering I recently finished Persona 5 Strikers and have been listening to the game's music on loop for 2 weeks now, there's no question that it ended up being a character from the series.
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| I used this scene made by Elysianaura on DeviantArt as a reference for the pose. |
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| These stars are a common element in the game and part of it's style. |
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| As well as the red and black circles and the logo of the Phantom Thieves are part of the calling cards in the games |
With a moodboard set, I imported the first picture into Blender and began using polygon modeling to get the shape of Joker and later added the stars and circles in strategic positions so it would be easier to 3D print. I then turned the 2D polygons into 2.5D by adding a Solidify modifier and playing around with the thickness.
Along the way I thought WOW this looks great so far, what if I made a an even better stand? Which is where the weird castle-arrow slab comes in.
This inspiration comes from the Persona 5 and Royal games victory screens, which shows your team being cocky after a battle and Joker/the Protagonist just running in circles like an excited shiba inu, while a bunch of red arrows shoot around the screen.
I also wanted the bottom to be empty in hopes to make space for the USB cord. Was it a smart idea? I don't know, I'll tell you when the actual thing prints in (checks CURA) 3 hours.
But anyway, have a glow up of the two for now:
Note: It's possible to modify the stars and circles after everything has been joined and I am very happy about that.
After some adjustments and 2 weeks of trying to fix the 3D printer AGAIN, I managed to successfully print Joker in about an hour...while the stand itself printed for about 7 hours I think. Due to the model being somewhat complicated, and by the fact that some supports broke off during printing, the stand was printed with some imperfections. I had to file and sand them down until I got at least a decent looking surface, then painted it by hand in black paint (because we were out of spray paint).
Anyhoo, here it is! I'm incredibly surprised how well the measurements fit the phone.
