1:1 Scale EVE from the film Wall-e

Hi. Have finally got around to making another instructable!

This instructable is being entered in the Hurricane Lasers Contest.
Im currently trying to revamp the art dept at the school where I work and part of that I getting a laser cutter. I want to show the students how to design things for the machine and hopefully inspire and inform them of possible options their futures could take in the world of art and design. I also want the students to design and produce things that they can sell for the school to generate more income for the dept.
Right now im currently working on various ways to raise 50k to do up the dept and winning a laser cutter would be a ginormous help to bring the art dept up to date.

This is how I made EVE from the film Wall-e. It was one of my final pieces for Uni. I studied Modelmaking for Design and Media. Its courses like this I really want to inform and hopefully inspire the kids at school to look into.

(You may also see in the photos another little sculpting project going on - it will be another instructable!)

Step 1: Working out the sizes

To get the sizing right for Eve I looked into how she was designed. There wasnt a lot of info I could find about the size so I used scale referencing. Using the scene where she holds a rubiks cube and a light bulb I could work out her height.

Comments

[matthieutje65]

Thats some great work, and clean finish! congratz

[SHIFT!]

Congrats on being a runner up in the contest! Just wanted to let you know that this project has totally inspired me to try and pursue my own after college graduation next semester!

[PotatoCoffee]

Awesome!

[crab-64-inventions (sri)]

awesome i like this.

[gabrielagarcia]

you should make the arm come off by
using magnets, so you can literally put your hand
threw the arm.

[agis68]

really amazing work!!! very professionaly.....Excellent....you are an inspiration for all the comunity.....thnx

[thekanester]

Amazing quality of workmanship. I wish i had a teacher like you when i was at school. What an inspiration!

[taemuli]

Thankyou. I wish I had one too! I didnt even know what modelmaking was actually about until i went for the uni interview!
I hope to inspire even just one person into discovering this sort of thing early :D

[brihaff]

wish i could buy a mold from you

[brihaff]

I wish I could get a mold from u

[SHIFT!]

This is awesome! I absolutely love your documentation (I'm going to make some MAJOR revisions on my 1:1 M-O based on this- thanks!) and I am truly in love with your PIXAR art!

Have you ever heard of a group called the WALL-E Builders?  They're doing something similar to this, except with 1:1 robotic WALL-Es.  If you're ever interested in adding electronics, servos or possibly a dot matrix display inside her to make her more robotic, these guys are fantastic

[taemuli]

ooo will have to look into that :)

glad this has been a help to you! :D when starting this project i was originally going to do M-O hes def my fave character!

[SHIFT!]

M-O is awesome and adorable. I've got a basic shell for his head, body and arms made from Wonderflex, trying to get all the electronics working on him so he'll be able to go and clean my room for me.

[linusnelson]

beautiful = ur creation
best = ur creation

[taemuli]

:D

[PeckLauros]

Incredible!

[taemuli]

thankyou :)

[Kiteman]

O M G!

[taemuli]

:D

[mr.incredible]

Beautiful work, excellent instructable.

[taemuli]

thanks! :D

[Jak25]

This is really cool! I'm always impressed with the level of artistry in the world, and I very much enjoy when people share their processes. As I've never worked with fiberglass, resin, etc., a lot of this leaves big holes in my understanding of what's going on, but I can always look up all that other stuff on here or on the Web, right?

Anyway, it's obviously really great work. Good luck in the competition!

[imalan54]

Very awesome indead!

[Phildem]

Hi,

An amazing realization, contragulations !!

[Jak25]

(removed by author or community request)

[taemuli]

Ive seen quite a few instructables that i wouldnt have a clue how to do the things they say and some people dont do a step by step they just show what theyve made in one pic.
This one is a 'how i did it' and funnily enough its instructable enough that the moderators accept it and its been featured on the front page.
Its not hard to fiberglass something, the technique is easily googled or found on you tube. Or there might be a 'how to fiberglass' instructable on here. This is how you could make an EVE not how to fiberglass project.

[Jak25]

(removed by author or community request)

[taemuli]

well why did you feel its right to vent your frustration on my instructable? why dont you winge at the site for that?
ive been using this site for a long time and think its good even when people just show what theyve made. its great to see how creative people are being.

ive made this instructable to enter a comp for the school where i work so having people (well youre the only one) picking at it is really annoying (to put it nicely).

[ElliEytan]

So, all I need is a full on fiberglass workshop?

It's really good work!!! I wish I had a place to do these things :-(
Truly amazing craftsmanship!!

[taemuli]

Thanks!
This was done at uni where i had access to a special room for it. Anyone can do it really. Ive done fiberglass commission work in my garage! All you have to do is order the materials :)
(just make sure the place you use can be well ventilated, i just leave all windows and doors open and wore a filter mask)

[sparten11]

you could use magnets to hover the head over the body and if you place them right they would keep the head perfectly positioned. same for the arms. Just a thought..

[RGOdenJR]

That is a good idea. I used to have a to like that on my desk. Problem is that if you wanted to modify the design - For example turning her into a real robot or a Computer tower you are back to her having the rods again.

[whoop_john]

For the head you could use neodymium magnets. With the same poles facing, so that they repel each other. With three or more sets equally spaced around the neck there will be points where the head will settle, at the points equidistant between the magnets, where the magnetic field sags. You could have the body magnets on a rotating disk, radio controlled, which would then let you turn the head remotely. Put some motion sensors in the room, let a computer triangulate and work out where someone is and the head could follow you as you move around the room. Spooky.

[taemuli]

Magnets were suggested to me at Uni too. But to find ones that would work and balance it all out? No time and on a students budget!
And the arms really wouldnt have worked that way :D

[HeaDCase]

Making the arms float would be MUCH fiddlier, but the head is easy (excuse the shitty ascii graphics) (poles as seen from above):
in the body/neck:
n
s
n n

in the head:
s s
s
s
You would get three stable positions 120° apart, and would have to weight the head so it's balanced with the electronics you put in and floats at the right height.

[RGOdenJR]

I said this to another person on this string and as I was saying it I was wondering how hard it would be to modify the insides to do it. < That is a good idea. I used to have a toy like that on my desk. Problem is that if you wanted to modify the design - For example turning her into a real robot or a Computer tower you are back to her having the rods again. > I think she would make a Great computer tower. Just need a few hidden doors on the back for the wires.

[inventingdude]

sparten11 nothing personal but how would you balance tre arms with magnets ? just wondering because I couldn't think of a way in which that's possible :D

[MooMofo]

i would imagine EVE could be "framed" by at least 3 magnetic walls reacting with carefully-placed magnets placed in her arms, head & body keeping her fairbly stable...

i don't even want to think about how time-consuming that would be...

[MooMofo]

*fairly

[kage_no_mozaiku]

odd how the forms take on the look of marble at this stage. i suppose if someone wanted faux marble columns or some other structure, this would be a good way to obtain them.

[taemuli]

It would be a good way. with the shellac though you only get the brown colour. maybe there is something else around that would leave a grey colour with the shine :)

The forms were sat outside the modelmaking dept for ages and looked great for a while (also very useful for propping the door open he he)

[whoop_john]

I used to be a professional modelmaker, making stuff for films, exhibitions and museums. You pretty much did things how I used to. Glad to see the techniques have not died out. It's very labour-intensive and modelmaking to time and time and budget constraints often takes the fun out of it. Well done.

[taemuli]

Thanks!
It is a labour intensive job - mainly sanding lol. Most techniques dont change much as why change what works? :D
yeah costing kinda reduces some things but it can make it a challenge and its great when you find something you can substitute for cheaper :)

[8Carmody]

Very impressive work! I have a suggestion for the 'forming the body' stage. You can sculpt the parts in rigid foam to finished or near finished form. The pink or blue variety used for insulation has a very fine grain to it. If you have access to a air sprayer, coat the sculpt in a VERY watered down solution of drywall joint compound. You will end up with a quasi plastered model suitable for molding. The prop shop I worked at years ago used this for prototypes to be ultimately cast in plaster and fabricated in fiberglass. Keep up the good work and good luck!

[taemuli]

Thanks. This project is about 3 years old now and I was a little limited with materials, student budget etc. but thanks for the suggestion, its another thing for me to look into in the future! :D