24 Nov 2021, 09:35
This took fall longer then it should have but my God was the result instantly worth it.
So it turn out making a copy of your foot is difficult. Stupid difficult.
I spent a few months on and off trying to do it with photogrammetry(3d modeling/scanning using images) but it never produced good results that would work. Turns out your foot is difficult to scan because of its position you can't take good images of it by yourself, posing your foot in a place with good lighting and no background issues is even harder.
What if your foot was not attached to your body? It sounds a little insane but if you make a mold of your foot and then create a foot with that mold you could have a much easier to pose and scan foot.
Enter the craft store. I don't know what the craft store where you live is called but over here it is a mix of micheals and hobby lobby. In Micheals I found these 20 dollar bags of cosplay thermoplastic from a company called Worbla. It is a white plastic that melts at 60 degrees Celsius or close to, which means that it is possible to dunk it into some hot water to melt and it won't burn your skin.
The way I actually made the mold was by dunking half a kilogram of this plastic into a very large disposable aluminum tray used for baking and then pouring boiling water on top to melt it into a gooey puddle. A lot of trial and error later I figured out the best way to do it.
1. Pose your foot by placing that leg on the other leg and resting your foot off the side. Pose it the way you want your foot to be in in the final shoe, I highly highly recommend curling your toes a bit and making sure that your toes are close together.
1.5. Make sure that you have one big glob of plastic, trial and error and many strips of plastic sitting in a pool of freshly boiled water. Make sure it is still very hot.
2. Get a big glob of plastic while it is at its hottest and spread it around your toes, do not press it in between your toes, you won't be able to pull your toes out if you do.
3. Press the plastic into your toes making sure to capture all the surface details and things such as the bending and the surfaces.
4. Start laying strips all around to cover the rest of your foot. Make sure that the strips at the heel can be broken through as you will have to get out somehow.
5. Once you have laid all your strips use any remaining plastic to plug holes in the mold and strengthen parts that are too thin.
6. Break through around the heel section and pull your foot out. Be careful but if you used enough plastic you shouldn't worry too much.
7. You got your mold.
This took ages but why do I say the results were instantly worth it? Because I tried putting the mold back on. Since the mold is airtight and modeled exactly after my foot that just came out of said mold the fit was perfect. The feeling I felt when my toes managed the bend and slid perfectly into the grooves with a slight farting sound was amazing. Even in its current form that prevents walking on it it still feels perfect, it doesn't slip or have uncomfortable sides and it isn't even supposed to be the shoe! My greatest worry at this stage is that even the positive cast will have warped dimensions, if it does then I won't be able to have the supremely comfortable shoe fit.
So it turn out making a copy of your foot is difficult. Stupid difficult.
I spent a few months on and off trying to do it with photogrammetry(3d modeling/scanning using images) but it never produced good results that would work. Turns out your foot is difficult to scan because of its position you can't take good images of it by yourself, posing your foot in a place with good lighting and no background issues is even harder.
What if your foot was not attached to your body? It sounds a little insane but if you make a mold of your foot and then create a foot with that mold you could have a much easier to pose and scan foot.
Enter the craft store. I don't know what the craft store where you live is called but over here it is a mix of micheals and hobby lobby. In Micheals I found these 20 dollar bags of cosplay thermoplastic from a company called Worbla. It is a white plastic that melts at 60 degrees Celsius or close to, which means that it is possible to dunk it into some hot water to melt and it won't burn your skin.
The way I actually made the mold was by dunking half a kilogram of this plastic into a very large disposable aluminum tray used for baking and then pouring boiling water on top to melt it into a gooey puddle. A lot of trial and error later I figured out the best way to do it.
1. Pose your foot by placing that leg on the other leg and resting your foot off the side. Pose it the way you want your foot to be in in the final shoe, I highly highly recommend curling your toes a bit and making sure that your toes are close together.
1.5. Make sure that you have one big glob of plastic, trial and error and many strips of plastic sitting in a pool of freshly boiled water. Make sure it is still very hot.
2. Get a big glob of plastic while it is at its hottest and spread it around your toes, do not press it in between your toes, you won't be able to pull your toes out if you do.
3. Press the plastic into your toes making sure to capture all the surface details and things such as the bending and the surfaces.
4. Start laying strips all around to cover the rest of your foot. Make sure that the strips at the heel can be broken through as you will have to get out somehow.
5. Once you have laid all your strips use any remaining plastic to plug holes in the mold and strengthen parts that are too thin.
6. Break through around the heel section and pull your foot out. Be careful but if you used enough plastic you shouldn't worry too much.
7. You got your mold.
This took ages but why do I say the results were instantly worth it? Because I tried putting the mold back on. Since the mold is airtight and modeled exactly after my foot that just came out of said mold the fit was perfect. The feeling I felt when my toes managed the bend and slid perfectly into the grooves with a slight farting sound was amazing. Even in its current form that prevents walking on it it still feels perfect, it doesn't slip or have uncomfortable sides and it isn't even supposed to be the shoe! My greatest worry at this stage is that even the positive cast will have warped dimensions, if it does then I won't be able to have the supremely comfortable shoe fit.
eady have a plan but my brain keeps getting scattered recently, haven't been able to finish any projects, going to a psychologist next week or so.
