Here are some projects that I'm proud to share:
Demo Reel Playlist
Includes some motion capture work (including the first team to integrate mocap into their 48 hour game jam!), videos that I produced and edited, and oh yeah, wearable LED experiments.
Backsplash Design and Puzzle
In 2020, our kitchen suffered water damage and required a complete cabinet replacement. I came up with a unique backsplash pattern. No contractor would take this job on due to its complexity, so I decided to do it myself.
After extensive material tests and
photoshop compositions we arrived at these two tiles. Because we had under cabinet
LEDS, some worked better than others. This composite image was what sold me on these tiles and the more complicated design idea:
Laying down the hex tiles was fairly easy in retrospect. Getting the rectangle tiles cut to size was a bit of a challenge. To speed up the process, I made tracings of the gaps in the hex tiles, and noted where the lines needed to go:
This was the combo that made the magic: Translucent grout and Technoglow Ultra Glow Blue.
The final results (only a fade is photoshopped, no other manipulation done to images) Over a year later, and I’m still happy when I see this at night:
AdaFruit Electronics Design & Scripting, 3D Design & Printing, Sewing:
This project is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and finally had a compelling reason to do it. I mean, who doesn't want glowing 3D printed barnacles on the back of their jacket?!?
Here's my (abbreviated) process:
I measured that panel of my jacket:
I sewed a piece of denim that would fit that spot. I modified my original idea to include room for a pocket to hold the battery (upper right). Clasps were sewn onto it and the jacket
I sewed on Flora NeoPixels, using 2ply conductive thread:
I 3D printed a housing for a Gemma M0, and attached that to the jacket:
I designed the barnacles in Maya, exported to Cura and made a few iterations to best work with the jacket
Once it was all together, I scripted different patterns for the design:
Final result (see above for video!)
3D Printing:
In addition to the above jacket attachment and three PPE mask sewing templates I designed and shared on Thingiverse, I also have also designed snowflakes, and helped a friend replace a lost chess piece.
Snowflakes
This snowflake was designed in Illustrator, but because it had a more complicated grouping than other designs I've made, it wasn't working well in Tinkercad. Some of the holes were still filled in, no matter what settings I changed. So, I took the SVG from Illustrator into Blender, and extruded the shape there, exported an STL, and then sliced it in Cura.
The takeaway is to not be tied to any given pipeline when designing something.
 |
| Custom Snowflakes I made for family |
Chess Pawn
A close friend of mine knew I had a 3D printer, and wanted to replace a missing chess piece from a set he got in Mexico. He presumed I also had a way to 3D scan items. I figured out how to do it with my iPhone 7, and a free version of 3DF Zephyr Free. After taking 30 photos of the piece outdoors on a cloudy day, I was able to get it to successfully reconstruct! Not bad for a shiny object. I took it into maya to clean it up a little, and to make a solid base. From there, I exported an STL and brought into Cura for slicing.
 |
| Reconstruction in Zephyr Free |
Here they are next to the original piece, after I hand painted them (always make a backup):
 |
| Miniature painting techniques paid off! |
And, here is is reunited with the rest of the set:
Sets, Props, and Motion Capture:
Taken from my time at Bungie, this showcases my ability to solve all sorts of
problems by making props and set pieces, usually with limited time and resources:
2019 Troy McFarland Mocap Demo Reel
 |
| Pictured: the incredible mocap actor, Richard Sloniker! |
Art From Scratch:
I tried to make a painting completely from scratch! I made several pigments and
met Theodore Gray in the process, but have yet to complete this project. Something to hop back on at some point:
Troy
McFarland, Art From Scratch
 |
| Copper + vinegar = (toxic) blue/green crystals! |
Rock Video:
I wrote, produced, directed, edited, and carved/sculpted the puppets for this
rock video by Vinni Blue:
Vinni
Blue: Forever
 |
| Vinni Blue |
Gravity Paintings:
I create paintings that change color depending on the angle they are viewed.
Link to one of my faves:
Gravity
Painting #10
 |
| As seen from the front, click link for other views |
Music:
After learning the basics of Ableton Live, I challenged myself to make an album in one week. I hesitate to post this, as it seems like everyone has an album these days. But, I'm very excited to continue to dive into Ableton. In conjunction with Max for Live, I would have the ability to make some very interesting installation pieces that can take real time data/input to affect compositions and even lighting!
1
Week 1 Album Challenge
 |
| List of genres we came up with to work on. Dice roll determined: lo-fi chiptunes! |
