Let’s create a vintage Halloween Vintage Cat Lantern! I’ve wanted one of these for ages, but they’re pricey and I don’t love having to baby something quite as much as I’d need to with an actual antique. I decided I’d use my sick 3d skills, tiny bit of Blender knowledge, and wicked Photoshop skills to create my own. Here’s my inspiration:
This classic cat is made of pulp and has his original paper, so he’s the perfect model. He has striking green eyes and a red mouth filled with long, pointed teeth. He’s black, and sits on an orange picket fence. The Halloween cat is 7.75 inches tall.
Here’s what you’ll need for the frame of the cat:
- a 3D printer
- Filament (I used black PLA)
- Paint
First, I made an STL file (3D) out of photos of a front, back, and both sides of an identical cat. Ebay and auctions are great sources for these types of photos. There are free and paid ways of making a 3D mesh, but this will make this project very easy for you. If you don’t wish to make your own cat lantern, follow along and I’ll provide you with a link to my completed 3D print file.
I chose to keep my cat at around 3 million triangles. If you download a file and it’s enormous, you can take it into Blender (free), choose the wrench icon, click “Add Modifier”. From there, search for “Decimate” and change the ratio from 1.0 to something lower. My original model was over a million triangles, so I set my decimate to .20. Once your triangle count has dropped, select the model, right click, and choose “Convert To – Mesh”. Save as a new STL file.
Now bring it into your slicer. This is how my Bambu P2S settings look:
Here’s mine printed:
When I figure out the best way to make the eyes and mouth, I’ll provide that information here! In the meantime, here’s my Vintage Cat Lantern free 3D print file on MakerWorld. Please, print these for yourself, but DO NOT sell these!
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