Today we will make a 3D sculpture to celebrate Pi day.

the design that we will make will be based on the fusion of the first three digits of the number and the characteristic Pi symbol.

so come with me, to show you along the way the steps I take and the creative process to get to make this figure.

Supplies

Blender Software.

Slicer Software.

Step 1: Concept Design.

To begin with, I wanted a design where I could combine the numbers of Pi and the Symbol that is so characteristic. but I had no idea where to start, so my first idea was to do something with pixels that when combined to form the figure of pi would give me values close to 3.14, I first experimented creating similar figures on this very interesting site where you can make 8-bit figures based on: Pixels. but I didn't get anything close so I thought about 3D and how could I combine a volumetric pixel (voxel) to Pi.

So the first thing that came to my mind was the minecraft structures, which use the principle of voxels, and I found this interesting image, of a world full of crazy things. Seeing the figure, it was close to what I wanted, but I wanted more.

Replicating the symbol on any material or canvas is very easy, but I wanted something more chaotic like what the number Pi represents.

I was still a little far from what I wanted but I was getting closer little by little.

Step 2: Final Design.

Using the helvetica neue black font and retouching some aspects to make a solid union between all the characters, I achieved an attractive image that was what I was looking for to commemorate Pi day.

Now it's time to consolidate the two designs, both the numeric characters and the symbol, for which we will use the Blender 3D design software that is free to use and has many powerful tools that you can experiment with.

After having our elements in vectors, the first thing we will do is export them in SVG format, I do it from Illustrator but you can use your favorite vector software. as simple as openning the menu and save or export as: "your preferred file name".SVG in your prefered folder.

why in SVG? because later it will be the format in which we will export those curves to 3D in the blender program.

Step 3: Blender Operations Pt 1

In Blender, we will import the files in .SVG format that we will merge

I will use my 3.14 logo symbol design and the standard Pi symbol which I found in a free vector pack. in your case you can use the letters or symbols you want.

To start, download Blender from its official site: here (and yes it's free)
import the .SVGs into Blender.
to correct the view press 5 in your numpad.
With the tab key you can switch between modes: edit mode and object mode.
When you enter edit mode you will notice that the SVG object is still a path set so we will have to convert it to a mesh by clicking on the object menu and on convert.
scale and rotate the model with the keys S and R and if you want to do it in any direction you can do it by combining the axis X,Y,Z, and any numerical value, in this case R+X+90
Go into edit mode and press E to extrude the shape horizontally.
in case you changed the direcion when extruding press (Y) to move around in that axis.
Import the other SGV file to be merged and do the same procedure

continue in part 2

Step 4: Blender Operations Pt 2

Now rotate thate object in the Z axis + 90 degrees creating a kind of cross beetween the object
After That scale the side piece until it stays a little internally in the other figure
In that figure we will apply a modifier, go to the modifiers area which is represented in the right area with the shape of a mechanic's wrench and colored blue, select the boolean modifier. and in the selection value select intersection. and with the dropper select the other figure.
now hide the object which you use as boolean for the small object with the dropper in the boolean effect.

and voilà, you get the combined design of your idea.

Step 5: Export & Import.

Export your model in Obj format and open Slicer (or install it if you don't have it yet, in the next step you will find the download link.)
in slicer what we will do is minimize its details and divide it into layers or levels so to speak. to give it a minimalist look

Step 6: Slicer

go to:

SLICER SOFTWARE, And download the Slicer Software from autodesk.With this tool we will transform the solid model to a significant amount of layers.

In slicer you can find many tools and variants that will allow you to create unique designs, simply upload a 3d model in the supported formats and the program will do the magic experiment with all its tools.

I imported my model and played a bit with the variations until I reached the result of the image.