Scare Us With Your Spookiest CAD-O-Lantern

SolidWorks users do it. Solid Edge users do it. I’m sure Inventor users, Creo users, and NX users do it too.

I’m talking about the all-American pumpkin-carving ritual during this time of the year. Except, CAD-skilled carvers tend to go a step farther. They dig into the primitive shapes in 3D modelers to shape their virtual Jack-O-Lanterns.

Imre Szucs, a Hungarian partner of Siemens PLM Software, published this video of how to model a pumpkin in Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology (ST) 5. His use of surfacing tools to create the outer profile of the pumpkin is impressive enough. But he didn’t stop there. He went on to trim the geometry to give the pumpkin eyes and mouth, adding menace to his design.

SolidWorks Education is currently running a conceptual pumpkin carving contest (deadline is November 11). A number of contestants have already posted their creations, featuring Jack-O-Lanterns with Mickey Mouse’s face, a stealthy cat, and a headless horseman, among others.

A similar contest is underway at PTC too (deadline November 14). One of the creations posted to the PTC Community’s project page shows a Tim Burton-inspired design, modeled after the fictional hero Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

If you don’t have the skills needed to sculpt your own virtual Jack-O-Lantern (highly doubtful that’s the case if you’re a DE reader), or just don’t have the time but still want one to add to your 3D scene, check out the variety at GrabCAD. User bj, who works for a Dutch agricultural robot and machine manufacturer, uploaded a virtual pumpkin stenciled with a very realistic looking Jack Nicholson (a Jack-O-Lantern with Jack Nicholson!) from The Shining.

Modeling a Jack-O-Lantern seems deceptively simple, but in most cases, the project will prompt you to look at surfacing tools in new ways. In a MCAD program that’s designed to handle symmetry and precision, adding irregularity to your pumpkin might be quite a challenge. In pattern carving, your favorite program’s surface- and solid-trimming tools might come to your rescue (or fail you altogether). When you’re happy with the geometry, you may be inspired to create a nice rendering, a chance to balance ambiance light, skin textures, and internal illuminations using your CAD program’s built-in rendering function, or try out an easy-to-use program like KeyShot (trial download is free).

So what’s your Halloween-inspired modeling trick (or treat)? Share some with us!

Here’s one way to make a virtual pumpkin, courtesy of Solid Edge user Imre Szucs.