Frog Netsuke Wireframe

Ahh, my frog.  This project was a labor of love, a study of control point manipulation, and the start of what will hopefully be a line of unique wearable art.

I had wanted to explore the more sculptural possibilities which CAD software has plenty of.  Being as I primarily design jewelry, it’s rare that a client will request a full on 3D critter as part of their piece, though clearly not totally out of the question.  Pair my yearning to sculpt in CAD with my partner Gabe’s desire to create a unique line of jewelry slash objet d’ art that was heavily inspired by Japanese netsuke, and you have a match made in heaven . . . or at least made in Oakland California which I won’t argue as being neither heavenly nor hellish.

kimono with netsuke

Before spinning a yarn about my Frog Netsuke, let me put the definition of netsuke out there. Netsuke are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th-century Japan as part of a solution to the lack of pockets on traditional Japanese kimonos.  In order to carry ones belongings, a cord was hung from the robe on which containers were placed.  These containers were held shut by sliding beads called ojime, and a fastener that secured the cord at the top of the sash.  This fastener was a carved, button-like toggle called a netsuke.  The carvings often depicted animals of relevance to Japanese folklore.  Thank you wikipedia.

This was my first attempt at making an animal using CAD.  I once read that “if you couldn’t sculpt it in reality, you wouldn’t be able to create it virtually.”  Not the most uplifting and supportive notion, I know.  That being said, I could certainly see a correlation between sculpting by hand and creating my little frog.  In order to create this piece, I not only had to capture the likeness of a living thing, but also had to make it a castable item.  This entails adhering to certain rules and guidelines if one wants to successfully produce the cast item in the most efficient way possible.  I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say that it adds an extra level of complexity to the whole design.

To create the frog, I worked with basic shapes (primarily spheres) and manipulated that shape through its control points.  Pushing and pulling, scaling and rotating, trimming, blending, a sweep here, a join there and suddenly there was this frog staring at me.  I stared back, maybe even winked being as I liked him considerably, and ironed out the details of creating my netsuke.

Once the file was completed, he was sent through the ether to be prototyped, cast, molded, and put into production.  He certainly had a big journey ahead of him but it didn’t end there.  On a whim, I decided to enter the design into the Gemvision 2010 Matrix Design Contest.  The finalists would be announced at an awards dinner, but not be heard of prior to that evening.  I attended the dinner being as I was an attendee at the Gemvision Symposium (fab!) and to my surprise, my dear frog was a finalist.  I’ll admit, he kinda stuck out as an oddball amidst the gemstone rings and other pieces of lavish custom jewelry of many other contestants.  It was this fact which made me think he might be overlooked.  Here was this non-traditional, sculptural frog (jewelry though he was) amidst beautifully ornate, multi-gemmed, custom rings and pendants.  To my surprise, the Frog Netsuke won second place for technical merit!

The knowledge I gained in creating this little creature has supported me in every design following it.  It has allowed me to approach sculptural objects with a completely new understanding of my software and its vast capabilities.  Furthermore (and perhaps even more importantly) being recognized amongst my peers for the hours of hardwork, technical skill, and endless left clicking that went into this design gave me a thrill of delight and a feeling of pride for which I am truly grateful.