Chocolate Monkey Heads!

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small_chocomonkey00.jpgAfter (almost) two years of writing for this website I thought I’d seen it all. Fortunately every now and then someone proves me wrong! Yesterday, Chris Want presented his collection of Blender chocolates to us. I’m sure that you’ll all be having a hard time trumping THIS! :)

Chris writes:

Proof that I have far too much time on my hands. This project was inspired by the chocolate Hepatitis-C molecules by Caitlin Berrigan I saw at SIGGRAPH. My chocolate monkeys are based on the ubiquitous Suzanne (aka “Add->Mesh->Monkey” in Blender) and Cornelius, both designed by Willem-Paul van Overbruggen.

If you’re thinking of trying to order a box of Suzanne and Cornelious chocolates, forget it: I tried and failed. He probably ate them all.

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    • humble

      This is great, great, great !!!
      Are those sold over the e-shop?

    • http://www.remnantstudios.com Jacob Picart

      LOL… good job matching the lighting.

    • http://www.zsouthboy.com Chris (zsouthboy)

      @Jacob:

      Uh, it’s real chocolate.

    • CGuy

      3D printer? what 3D printer? explain?

    • bondm007

      No CG, These are real! Check out the link above!
      Well done !

      That took a lot of patience.

    • http://blenderart.org nam

      yummy…

    • Ja-Seen

      Wow, now I too can enjoy monkey brains. Very creative though, on a more serious note.

    • @rem

      I command thee to get these sold in the Blender Shop! :-) Great work!

    • http://yorik.orgfree.com Yorik

      At last Blender is used for something useful! This should go immediately on the blender homepage. Features: modelling – animation – rendering – chocolate manufacturing…

    • aws357

      My question would be more targeted toward the 3D printer :P

      Is it a private 3D printer? Did you use one at your work? Did you ask a rapid prototyper in europe to do it for you? (if yes, I would like to have the adress, as my current prototyper seems to be sulking/blacklisting me…)

      Which process was used? STA? STS? FDM? :)

      PS : if you still have time to lose… How about a monkey cake with the same process? hehehe :p

    • http://www.cuby.co.nr Cuby

      Awesome! That’s really cool.

      I want some…
      Cuby

    • Midian

      The texture is awesome, and the AO, impressive. :P ;)

      Joke aside, I require Suzanne chocolates so I can throw them at people at work. First they’ll be confused as to why they got hit by a chocolate monkey head, but then the natural lust of chocolate will consume them, and I will control the work force.

    • CasperN

      mmm… monkey cake :P
      good work, now send me some!
      ___________________________
      Add->Mesh->Chocolate-Monkey!

    • http://www.acords.us/benblog BenA

      For faster production network attach the stove.

    • PlasmaC

      He has some wrong teeth… look for a dentist, I recommend !!

    • http://www.thoro.de thoro (Thorsten Schlüter)

      Haha… sweet!

    • kram1032

      *collywobbles*
      when will they be buyable?
      Which flavours? (this looks like milk chocolate, what’s about white and black chocolate?)
      If you’re into it: what’s about ice? :) ice monkeys :D

    • Hos

      @aws357

      Yes it is a private 3D Printer. Model is a ZCorp Spectrum Z510 (makes full color models out of plaster). I’m sure google will help you find a service bureau (I think the ’3D Art to Part’ website was used to print the Suzanne Awards in the past). Also, with an application like mold making where you are trying to avoid undercuts, there is also a possibility to use a CNC milling machine.

      Regards,
      Chris

    • http://thinningpictures.googlepages.com/ LoMac

      That’s Awesome!!! Great Idea with the Lego molding.

    • -iFab-

      Is it Swiss Chocolate ?
      LOL

    • rickpier

      You did not work your chocolate shader…next time heat 2/3 of your chocolate at 45°C then cold it at 31°C by adding 1/3 of chocolate, and your chocolate will be shiny!!

      Felicitations!

    • http://blendernewbies.com Kernon

      These would really make great gifts and awards! Maybe the Blender Foundation would be interested in the molds so they could mass produce chocolates for the e-Shop. I think these would be very popular. Great job!

    • Hos

      @-iFab- and rickpier

      No, this is ‘chocolate compound coating’ which is chemically easier to deal with than real chocolate because they’ve replaced the cocoa butter with vegetable oil which makes it easier to crystallize properly. It’s pretty tasty, but not superb like real Swiss or Belgian chocolate.

      I have tried tempering Belgian (Callebaut) chocolate with the heat/seed/cool process that rickpier mentions, but it’s a lot of work and in the end I had air bubbles which made the monkeys look pretty nasty (but damn, did they every taste good!).

      Chris

    • minndem

      Brilliant and yummy, and I’m sure eating monkeys is healthier than Hepatitis C Truffles.

      You may have a boutique industry there, molding peoples’ models in chocolate!

    • http://www.alienhelpdesk.com macouno

      Absolutely great stuff!

      I completely envy his access to a printer… I hope he’ll come up with more weird things to create with it!

    • http://nicknamfx.blogspot.com Nicknamz

      ñumi i one a box of that monkeys, Next will be a mancandy gums with different colors and flavors :P… great idea Chris!

    • http://www.rgbk.org Bmud

      How much does 3d printing cost?? I thought it was really pricey which is why I’m sure nothing has been done like the before.

    • http://2sublime.com Adam

      Man, good render… It almost looks real! SSS on the skin is really good, and still pasty, looks like a corpse. Teeth are uneven and look like they haven’t even been cleaned recently. Chocolate looks badly baked… So much detail.

      Wow!

    • Danizzil14

      Really cool! I’ve read about those printers, and now I’m jealous…

      @Adam: Please tell me you’re joking….

    • http://ragingmon.wordpress.com/ ragingmon

      awww.. makes me more hungry. ^_^

    • http://feeds.feedburner.com/openscifi TBOL3

      Wow, Can I have a box, I’ll ‘buy’ you a free copy of Blender?

      This is so amazing. Theirs a really good market for this, not only by blender users, but by those oodles of people that like monkeys.

    • Tony

      I see I’ve come to this thread way, way too late to start making jokes about what convincing renders these are…

      Pretty cool idea, though!

    • LazyCoder

      Be funny to make an animation, then make chocolates out of each frame, and make a big chocolatey stop action animation.

    • Hos

      Damn, somebody remind me to brush and floss before my next close-up teeth photo!

      I should point out in my defense that what looks like serious discoloration on the lower front teeth is actually caused by the shadow of the monkey.

      @Bmud: prices vary a lot, so make sure you shop around — most sites will have a ‘Request a quote’ link. Always make sure that the units you desire are clearly specified to the service bureau. Different technologies have different costs of consumables too. The cheapest are the plaster powder based 3D prints. Be careful about infiltration options (i.e., post treatments) since they might limit what you can do with the model afterwards (although they will usually improve the strength and finish of the final product). Also, if the service bureau gives you a better rate if you print a few more, take them up on it since it’s easy to break 3d prints or damage them when you are post treating them.

      Chris

    • pictorali

      Dude- that’s so awesome. Who knew….

    • http://2sublime.com Adam

      @Hos et al,
      Umm I was joking… My teeth are probably worse than yours so don’t worry about that.

      I have to admit I did think it might be rendered at first… and the joke was too much to pass up.

      Honestly, really good work. Choccies look delicious!

      Ps Hope I didn’t offend.

    • Lasphere

      Great! Hahaha. I was sur they was CG in the start ;D I want onw! :O :O And a 3d printer ! .)

    • Jos

      Hahahaha, same here! The Blender foundation should definitely get a hold on those molds for the shop!!!

    • Davidh7426

      The perfect Xmas prezzie for little blender kiddies, or perhaps in a selection box, or an advent calendar, or Xmas tree decorations, or …

    • Davidh7426

      … or next time you could use rubber and make pencil erasers, or little bouncy Suzanna bouncy pet toys, or …

    • http://e2-productions.com/ Dion Moult

      Yes! Chocolate Suzanne ftw!

      You’d better add em to the Blender E-Shop!

    • http://www.marketiers.org/ shul

      lately I have this craving for chocolate… now I can combine it with my other hobby..

    • Funktioncurve

      LMAO far too much time on his hands lol

    • http://3d-synthesis.com ROUBAL

      Hi!
      Great Idea ! Do you plan to make Suzanne chocolates with Orange and Peach flavour ?

    • http://www.axisanimation.com txrxfx

      Superb! Absolutely superb!! Amazing use of lego, I had no idea of it’s versatility in the moulding and casting scene!!!

      Great work!

    • lexi

      I my self having some red mold silicone but heat resistant for lead metal but never used it cause never found a method to easely dose the hardener. And here on this topic no access to any 3D printer.

    • tedi

      there any thc-inside?

    • http://www.qso.com/carlautta/colin/Beta/ Tynach

      Brilliant! I want one really badly now! These MUST be sold on the E-Shop, especially with orange and peach flavorings.

    • http://www.vandoesburgh.nl WeWa

      mwahahaha! that is just awesome. it’s nice to know those 3d printers can actually make something useful :)

    • Andrew price

      Mate you could seriously sell these on the E-shop. I know the process is long and time consuming but you could sell a box of 12 for like $50 if you wanted. Someone would buy them. And if you start getting flooded with orders, raise the price. If they want chocolate monkey heads they are gonna have to pay for them!

      Seriously sweet idea though. I for one have learnt something about 3d printing – It’s rad =)

    • http://my.opera.com/area42/ El Barto

      For those who are interested in: 3D printing is available for everyone by the reality services community which is at the moment in beta phase:
      http://reality-service.com/
      Register, upload your 3d stuff and get it as real 3D objects incl. holes and colors :)

    • _RK_

      Heh- I’d surely love to buy some. Additionally- it would be a great promoting tool. Imagine blender stand on GDC or SIGGRAPH with chocolate monkeys offered to visitors. I doubt and 3d package promotion took such an approach

    • Midian

      Your teeth look a million times better than mine Chris, damn genetic caries disease, so don’t be so self-conscious about em.

      I still require chocolate monkey heads however. I must control the masses to do my bidding and for that, I need the power of chocolate monkey heads.

    • Oblenob

      you could make gummy monkeys using a recipe for gummy bears or gummy worms

    • Ankit

      a request to blender officials:
      make n sell these suzanne chocolates and chocolates of some other complex shapes. this will help in funding of development of blender 3d.
      its a new concept n could be a big commercial success (seems so from the responses).
      i’ll be waiting for these to come out in the market.

    • catherine

      I would love love love to buy this mold to use….please let me know if you are going to sell it on etsy.com or ebay.com Awesome job.