Generate a unique shadow casting sculpture

Step 5: Modify artistically

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You now have a shadow casting solid that you can export as a .stl for 3D printing or cutting (123D Make).

But no sense stopping here. This could be the best part. Now I don't claim that this example version is the most elegant. It happens to go with the decor already present in my dining room. The idea is to disguise your solid so that its purpose isn't immediately obvious. At least I wanted mine to have somewhat of a mystery about it. Otherwise why not just tape a one sheet paper cutout to a piece of plexiglass and create a shadow that way?

I used rectangles, spheres, cones, and my favorite, a torus, to take away bits and pieces of redundant material. Remember that as long as you maintain a sliver of the profile somewhere along the ray's line of sight, the light will be blocked.