Spider Project
The goal for this project is to make a spider out of workshop materials such as EVA foam, welding rods, and plastic spheres. In this project we were working mainly in the 3D workshop;
Research
Before I started work on certain aspects of the spider; I needed to understand their proportions, as well as how they work and move. The First thing I realised was that the legs taper down into little feet. The Cephalothorax (the middle part) is the only area that the legs sprout out of, and the abdomen's size fully depends on the kind of spider, for example orb weaver spiders have large abdomens, however house spiders usually have smaller ones. There are also 2 sets of pincers, one for grabbing and the other for eating.
The Legs
I made 4 sets of 2 legs, each in differing poses; for separate legs extend from the cephalothorax. I could use bearings for this, however we are making a nice little stop motion with set figures, so no full ranges of motion.
I spot-welded the 3 different diameters of welding rods, as well as a nail on each leg, the head of the nail becoming the small foot or the "pads" of the spider.
I really like this effect, as it makes the legs look like they have small "socks" on which leads to a neat effect that is given by real
The Cephalothorax and Abdomen
These were a more un in the air design, as you can see in the images above, my worksheet has a diagram of a spider with light bulbs as small bumps on the abdomen. Though, I decided against it as I didn't have enough lightbulbs.
I then decided to enlarge the cephalothorax, as with the current build, I would not have space to add all 8 legs. There are going to be a few holes as well, for design as well as style ability. I used a large plastic orb as the abdomen, I thought I could add something inside it; however I decided against it as I was already slightly behind.
The Joinery Process
I loathe plastic joinery.
With wood, you can do so much to wedge and hold things in place, but for some reason, there is something about plastic that makes me (and others I've seen) act sloppy, it is likely the smoothness of the plastic, and the glue's quick setting. Especially when using hot glue guns, these god forsaken tools, they are finicky, fiddly, and overly wide for no reason.
So I used hot glue for the legs... I could have used friction, but I was too heavy handed when installing them so they were a bit jittered and not correct as didn't measure so I could give it a handmade look. In hindsight, I could have measured, then just made it different on both sides. But I didn't think of that.
I then bent some nails and hot glued them on as pincers. This gives them a wide but thin effect, which I enjoy quite a bit as it makes it look more "intimidating" (as much as a heap of plastic and metal can). I then stuck on some black clay for eyes, and here is the finished piece.
The Animation
I loved this part of the process, animation is one of my favourite things; it genuinely makes me rethink a lot, and due to this I am likely going to research animation far more in the future. In this animation, we did something I have never done before, however I really enjoyed doing it. This being using a basic multistage storyboard made ON PAPER. This allows you to get a good idea of the animation, whilst also allowing you to think out the general story.
In this animation, I was in a group of about 5-6 people. Each of us had unique spiders we needed to add to the scene; and due to this, the story board had to include them all, and the basic idea we had was to have multiple spiders enter scene where only one did prior. This allowed for there to still be character, whilst still having a nice themes.
The story is that the wasp spider (the flying one) was harassing the low spider. Making it run off, then the friends of the low spider run onscreen and pull the wasp spider down, incapacitating it, then the low spider comes onscreen and gets revenge on the wasp spider and goes offscreen.
This is obviously rudimentary, however it works; if coding has taught me anything, its that you can make something look magnificent and amazing; however the process can be paved with hardship and shortcuts. If you are ever stuck in a position where, a tutorial has gone wrong or you cant remember something, just remember, these are separate circumstances from the last time, so give yourself some slack. You are doing great.









