Kitty Garden - The design story

Introduction

During my adventure with 3D printing, I explored many topics. Each of them was a small, individual project, completed quickly and efficiently. But in the back of my mind, I was constantly thinking about something bigger, completely different and original.

I really liked the idea of modularity, which I used in “Bauhaus Tray.” I also wanted to create something that would bring joy to people. Since I have wonderful children myself, I planned for children to be the audience of my large project.

The combination of these two ideas gave rise to the idea of creating a modular diorama, where each part would fit together with the others. All that remained was to choose a theme. Something pleasant and universal.

Inspiration

Two inspirations came to the rescue here. The game “Nekko Atsume Kitty Collector,” which my children love, and the Japanese cartoon “Moomins,” which I adore. I really liked the idea of different cats that you can collect. I also loved the world and adventures of the Moomins.
The combination of these two worlds gave rise to the Kitty Garden project.

Modeling

The first challenge I faced was choosing the scale. How big should the dioramas be? How big should the cats be? What will they do in my world?
As is usually the case with 3D printing, the solution was dictated by technology. My Prusa Mini+ cannot print anything larger than 18 cm. This limitation also applies to the most popular printer on the market, the BambuLab A1 mini. So I decided that everything that would be printed could not exceed this limit.
At first, I assumed that the cats would have a lot of details, but after creating the first dummy models, I fell in love with this simple aesthetic.

System

While developing ideas and initial models, I quickly realized that I needed a set of rules that I could apply to every diorama. The rules did not come about immediately, but were applied to all dioramas throughout the creative process. Here are some of the main rules:

- Each diorama is 130mm x 130mm in size.
- Each diorama must fit into the display frame.
- Each diorama consists of soil, grass, a theme, two cats, and one extra animal.
- One universal mounting system for large accessories.
- One universal mounting system for small accessories.

The Doubt

The whole project almost didn't happen. One of the most difficult tasks in this type of project is efficiently translating an idea into an actual design that has shape and color.
The first test prints were awful. They didn't resemble my idea at all. I was very discouraged and almost gave up on the project.
After a few days' break, I returned to the project and asked myself, “Why is it ugly?” After some thought, I came to the conclusion that I needed to improve the proportions and choose the right color of filaments.
I ordered new pastel filament and several shades of wood, corrected the proportions of the objects, and after another test print, I knew that this was it.

The road to the finish line

The proof of concept was ready. At this stage, I already knew it would turn out well. All that remained was to finish the missing episodes and fix any errors that could cause problems during printing. The finalization took a long time, small elements caused problems, and it turned out that the base assembly method needed to be completely redesigned. I also had to order a few new filaments that would fit nicely into the world of Kitty Garden.
The most enjoyable part of any project is the final photo shoot, which I did with my wonderful children.