School sand table model production case: a journey from blueprint to three-dimensional campus restoration
1、 Preliminary preparation: study of drawings and preparation of materials
Before production, collect school building drawings (floor plans, elevations, renderings), mark the building outline, floors, distinctive shapes (such as domes, glass curtain walls), and surrounding environment (roads, greenery, iconic facilities). Material selection is based on environmental protection and safety:
Building main body: foam board (cutting and shaping), cardboard (building frame), light wood board (fine structure);
Ground and environment: green cardboard/foam board (simulating lawn), brown cardboard (road), simulation tree (model store or manual production);
Detail decoration: colored cardboard (doors, windows, signs), painted pigments (coloring), LED lights (night effect).
2、 Production process: Layered construction to restore the campus
1. Foundation base plate
Use cardboard or wooden boards as the base plate, draw the campus outline (buildings, roads, green areas) according to the drawing scale, and use it as the "chassis" of the model.
2. Main building construction
Plane contour: cut the plane contour of the building with foam board/cardboard and paste it on the corresponding position of the bottom plate;
Layered structure: use cardboard to build the "skeleton" of the building and stack it according to the number of layers (for example, the foam board is cut and pasted layer by layer in the teaching building);
Characteristic shape: round foam board+thin wood strip support for dome building; Transparent plastic sheets (such as cling film) are used to simulate transparency in glass curtain wall buildings;
Fine adjustment: Use scissors and art knives to trim the edges of the building, ensuring that the proportions are consistent with the drawings.
3. Environment and Detail Filling
Ground and greenery: Cut green cardboard into a lawn shape and paste it along the perimeter of the building; Cut brown cardboard into roads and draw lane lines with black markers;
Trees and vegetation: Simulate trees distributed and pasted according to the drawing; Decorate the grass with green yarn/shredded paper;
Identification and Decoration: Cut out the school name and class logo from colored cardboard and paste them in a prominent position on the building; Simulate small items such as street lights and seats with colored paper.
3、 Post processing: coloring and detail polishing
1. Building coloring
Base color: Use colored paint (or watercolor pen) to apply a base color to the main body of the building (such as light gray for teaching buildings or warm yellow for dormitory buildings);
Details: Dark colored paint is used to outline the doors and windows, and transparent tape is used to simulate reflection on the glass curtain wall;
Texture: The top of the building and the edges of the walls are treated with light colored paint to enhance realism.
2. Environment coloring
Ground: Brown paint is used to deepen the texture of the road, and green paint is used to complement the lawn;
Trees: Apply brown paint to the trunk of the simulated tree and green paint to the leaves;
Light and Shadow: Lightly apply light gray paint to the bottom of buildings and tree shadows to simulate natural lighting.
3. Detail optimization
Proportional calibration: Compare the drawings, adjust the building height and tree size to ensure a restoration rate of over 90%;
Gap filling: Fill building gaps with white glue to avoid "light leakage";
Lighting debugging: After the LED lights are connected in series, they are installed at the bottom or ground of the building to test the night effect.
4、 Product Display: Realistic Restoration of Campus Models
After the model is completed, it is placed on the exhibition stand. When the lights are turned on, the building outline is clear, the colors are coordinated, the trees are staggered, the roads and greenery are clearly layered, and 90% of the campus scene is restored. Students can discuss campus planning around the model, and teachers can use it to explain the logic of architectural layout, turning abstract campus drawings into tangible and interactive three-dimensional carriers.
