How to finish 3d Print to look like a building

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1

I’m planning on doing a multicolor print of this building in matte PLA, but want to make the final product look as close to this as possible. How can I finish the print (walls and roof specifically) to look a real building instead of plastic?

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2

Texture is your friend.

It hides details and more importantly, nature has texture.

3

Could you possibly clarify what you mean by texture? Do you mean sanding it?

4

I meant to design texture into the model.

Roofs are made of tiles that are not flat or perfectly even, they have edges, which cause dips and peaks.

The roofline rounded tiles at the top of the pitch share the same logic.

Bricks are pointed, this is not the same level as the bricks. The bricks are often not identical colours in normal buildings, utilising that logic will make it appear more real. Not all bricks are level, there are minor different offsets.

That is what I meant, design in the imperfections which is the texture.

5

Thank you ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

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6

Carbon fiber pla for roof should hide lines better than “mate pla”
Carbon fiber pla black from bambulab and a low setting of fuzzy skin in orca

7

Lol, I had that coming‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

8

If he really wants texture use very light fuzzy skin settings and a point 2 nozzle
I’m talking 0.05 point distance and .08 thickness
Should give a nice stucco look but I haven’t tried it myself.

9

I’ve started typing on iPad so less typos.

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10

Provided the fact it doesn’t work on top surfaces in consideration, it could add some details.

Bricks, certainly.

11

Thank you for the advice, how can I add the brick texture for the roof onto an existing model. I have just started 3d modeling and mainly use blender but am open to using other software.

12

My apologies, I thought you were making the model.

13

No problem, my fault for the miscommunication as I never stated that I already had the model.

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14

You can make use of the suggestion @rowenrohan gave about fuzzy skin.

You can add that to someone else model.

The smart way to do it is to add modifiers to the model (areas that look like shapes but only affect areas they cover) nd turn on fuzzy skin and play with the settings.

https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/software/bambu-studio/parameter/fuzzy-skin

15

Didn’t even realize you could do this, thank you very much (:

16

I used it to add a texture to one of my models.

You have settings that determine how it looks on your model.

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17

Thanks, I have seen these models quite a few times but never realized you designed them.

18

You might also want to consider using Hueforge as an option for making this print work.

19

I’m trying to print a replica version of the actual building, not a Hueforge.

20

Besides using PLA-CF, you may also want to look at the PLA Matte color palette.

Oh, and make sure you add generous cabling channels to the model for all those LED’s.
If you take a solar powered LED chain for the lighting, you’ll not need to rely on manually switching it on.