Artifacts
35 files from Thingy Model, kept as they were.
From illustration to body #
The reference, the first clothed prototype, and the work on proportions. These are successive checkpoints, not alternate finished characters.
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The original illustration #
The cream shell, dark screen, navy coat, orange bow tie, and short mechanical legs that the model follows. The back and concealed construction have to be inferred from this one view.
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The first clothed prototype · v0.1 #
An early render with the librarian’s coat and raised finger. The proportions, hands, and feet would all be revisited.
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Legs, ankles, and feet · v0.3 #
Short shafts, collars, lower ankle cuffs, and shallow foot caps, rebuilt against the original. Their construction also informed the arms.
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The illustration beside the model · v0.4 #
A comparison in the raised-finger pose after revisions to the head, screen, hands, and fitted coat. The later ear and surface corrections are still ahead.
Light, fabric, and movement #
Studies in lighting, surface detail, and articulation. The greeting and lit antenna retain earlier ear shapes.
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Isolating the jacket lighting · v0.5 #
The baseline, added jacket lights with the same material, and those lights with finer fabric relief. The study separates what the lighting changes from what the material changes.
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Printed details and fitted pockets · v0.7 #
Bow tie dots and badge lettering are image maps rather than floating pieces. The pockets follow the coat and use the same wool texture.
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The antenna switched on · v0.6 #
A close view of the glowing lens. Its light can be switched off independently of the pose; the ear housings shown here were replaced later.
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A four-second greeting · v0.5 #
A downloadable MP4 of the raised finger becoming an open-hand wave, rendered at 24 frames per second. It records an earlier model, before the printed details and ear revisions.
One character, four outfits #
The first wardrobe studies, followed by the concert headphones. Clothing and props share the body’s rig.
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The first four outfits · v0.7 #
Librarian, trail companion, workshop builder, and concert companion in the same pose and camera. This sheet predates the smooth ear housings and concert headphones.
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Trail, workshop, and concert studies · v0.7 #
A hiking shell and daypack, a canvas vest with a supported laptop, and a short concert jacket with a sound-wave shirt. These pose studies still show the earlier ears.
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Over-ear headphones for the concert · v0.9 #
Cushioned ear cups replace the standard ears for this outfit. A padded headband passes behind the antenna; the short jacket, orange shirt, and wristband remain.
Returning to the reference #
The ear housings become smoother, then move out to sit against the head. The full librarian render is the v0.10 checkpoint.
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From stacked rings to a continuous housing · v0.8 #
The original illustration, the previous ear, and its replacement under matching model lighting. One tapered shell replaces the stepped construction.
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Sitting against the head · v0.10 #
The smoother shape is preserved while the housing moves outward. Its inner mounting face follows the curved head rather than sinking into it.
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The librarian at v0.10 #
The v0.10 modeling checkpoint, with printed bow tie and badge, fitted pockets, textured wool, and the revised ears. The original raised-finger pose remains the comparison point.
A face on the screen #
At v0.11 the face became a picture on the screen, so a new expression is a new drawing rather than new geometry.
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Every face on the screen · v0.11 #
The original expression, the four Ask Thingy moods (idle, thinking, found it, oops), two blinks, and the screen switched off. The original is traced from the modeled strokes of v0.10.
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Checked against the original · v0.11 #
The illustration, the v0.10 modeled strokes, and the v0.11 screen image under matching camera and lights. The face reads the same; the illustration is drawn from a slightly different angle.
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Poses and faces chosen per site · v0.11 #
A first pairing of poses and faces for four moments on each site, a welcome, a search, an answer, and an error. The librarian is for Ask Thingy and the workshop builder for this site; the pose and the face are chosen separately.
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Six more faces · v0.14 #
Delighted, curious, proud, eager, sympathetic, and sheepish join the original and the four moods. Each had its meaning settled before it was drawn, using the same stroke and color as the original.
Tools in hand #
At v0.12 the laptop gave way to a switch of tools, each with its own grip and poses, and the beacon turned heart red.
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The tool switch · v0.12 #
Beside the original illustration, the five settings of one control, none, screwdriver, hammer, drill, and laptop. The tools follow the right hand in any outfit; the laptop keeps its left-hand pose.
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Carry, show, and work · v0.12 #
Each hand tool in its three poses, in the workshop outfit. The face is still its own choice.
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Grips, close up · v0.12 #
Every finger closes until it is within three millimeters of the handle, and the thumb wraps without entering the tool. The drill’s index finger rests on the trigger.
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A heart-red beacon · v0.12 #
The lit beacon at v0.11 and v0.12 on light and dark pages. A deep red core and rim, a red light inside the lens, and a red halo; unlit, the ball stays tangerine, as drawn.
Cloth with a feel #
A study of why the clothes read flat, then the v0.13 pass that answers it with light, felt, stitching, and folds.
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Why the jacket read flat · v0.12 #
More samples changed nothing. Removing three fill lights that lit only the jacket brought back the deep navy; what remained was modeling, with no folds, seams, stitching, or rolled edges.
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The jacket relit · v0.13 #
The illustration, v0.12, and v0.13 at the same view. One warm key now lights the navy cloth from the side, so the jacket has a light side and a shadow side; the tone and range are measured on each figure.
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Rolled lapels and topstitching · v0.13 #
The lapels and collars are rolled felt rather than flat ribbons. Dashed navy thread follows the lapels, pockets, cuffs, front, and hem, each stitch pressed into the cloth.
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Folds that follow the body · v0.13 #
Folds at the elbows, down the back, and at the sides, flattened wherever a hand brushes the coat. They move with the skeleton in every pose.
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Worn canvas and tan thread · v0.13 #
The workshop vest shows its weave and wear, with tan topstitching along its edge and pockets. The vest and sleeves fold like the coat.
Scenes and accessories #
At v0.15 the outfits became Scenes, the pack and headphones came off, and the other three Scenes’ cloth came up to the Library’s.
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The four Scenes · v0.15 #
Library, Outdoors, Workshop, and Concert, in the web model on the page’s lighting. The Library is unchanged from v0.14.
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Accessories that come off · v0.15 #
The daypack on, from the side, and off, from behind; then the Concert headphones on and off, with the standard ears back in place. Before v0.15 these were part of the outfit.
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The other Scenes’ cloth · v0.14 and v0.15 #
v0.14 above and v0.15 below. Outdoors and Concert gained folds and topstitching, and all three gained a weave coarse enough to survive the web model’s texture.
Seven Scenes, and props of his own #
v0.16 and v0.17 brought the tools in front of him, three new Scenes, and accessories taken from what Jamie makes and uses.
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The seven Scenes · v0.17 #
Library, Outdoors, Workshop, Concert, Kitchen, Winter, and Cabin, each in its present pose.
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Props of his own · v0.16 and v0.17 #
The Yearly Thing, the Road Sign Math mug, a Kubb baton, a build plate with a tiny Thingy beside the 3D printer, the iPhone held up, tongs at the green egg grill, and a stocking hat with the scarf.
The first print #
The v0.13 print figure, off the screen and on a counter.
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Thingy in plastic · v0.13 #
One color, standing on his oval base. The face and antenna came through clearly; the raised hand and badge lettering softened the most. The bowl behind him has been retouched out of the photo.
The librarian and the builder #
The v0.13 checkpoint in the two outfits meant for Jamie’s sites, the librarian for Ask Thingy and the workshop builder for this one.
