Rhino: Work on Chess Boards, Chess Pieces and Pull Toys

On Thursday and Friday of last week I kind of threw chess pieces and pull toys at you and didn't give you much time to work on them.  Today, tomorrow and Wednesday I would like you to work on them.

I would also like you to feature them on a table of some sort with a floor and walls.  Remember that a large block makes the floor, another large block makes a wall, and another makes another wall.  The you can add a block as a table (or actually make a table) and shine some spotlights on it.

Add your checker/chess board to the table and adjust the lights if necessary.

Some specifics:

• Chess Pieces:  Complete a full chess set (Pawn, Rook, Knight, Bishop, Queen and King)

 Pull Toys: 

• Trace an object (animal, vehicle, etc.) and extrude it and cap it.
• Create a block for the object to sit on
• Add axles and wheels (I use cylinders)
• I also use Filletedge on these to round them off
• Draw a curve that will become the string or rope
• Select the curve and type "Pipe"
• Set the width of the first end (i.e. .25")
• Set the width of the other end (i.e. .25")
• Press ENTER
• Add textures and bump maps

Rhino: Create a Few Chess Pieces

The plan for today is for you to create a few chess pieces.  Basically you use one of the curve tools to draw a profile of the piece (just like we did with the vase/goblet/bowl) and then "Revolve" the piece.  Instructions for the "Revolve" project are still on the board, but here are the basics:

• Draw a Curve Shape Profile
• Type Revolve
• Select the Curve
• Set the Beginning Angle to "0" (Press Enter)
• Set the Revolve for "360" (Press Enter)

If you aren't familiar with the shape of chess pieces, here's an example:

You can see that most of the shapes are done by revolving a profile and then using Boolean Difference to cut out a few shapes here and there.  The biggest difficulty that I can see is the Knight (horse).

Here is my creation for a King and a Pawn. You can see my profile drawing and where I set the Axis (in red).  Notice that my profile for the Queen is shown, but I added a Sphere to the top to make it look like a pawn.

There are many styles, sizes, and materials for chess sets so don't feel like you're locked into a specific design.  Here are a few unusual examples:

Note: You don't have to create an entire chess set.  You can create a few chess pieces to sit on your chess board.