Gold pipa trophy
A gold pipa trophy: the Chinese lute sculpted in 3D with raised engraving, frets and strings, printed in resin and electroplated to a mirror finish.
- Client
- Private client
- Service
- Custom Trophies & Awards
- Collected
- 08/12/2023
- Time from our first meeting to collection
- 4 weeks
What we brought
What we can do
Fine detail that holds under the gold
Digital sculpting added the raised roundel, frets and strings; fine SLA resin keeps them crisp under the plating.
How we look after you
One meeting, then one team to the end
We agreed the pipa in one meeting, then took it from sculpting through printing to finishing.
What you get
A mirror-gold piece, ready to collect
Gold electroplating over a primed, buffed surface, mirror bright on every face, front and back.
Gallery
The whole project at a glance. Drag or swipe to browse; tap a picture to enlarge it.
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The finished piece
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The whole pipa, front on.
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The back, standing upright.
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The pegbox and pegs from the side.
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The pegbox, its flower boss and pegs.
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The frets running up the neck.
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Design · Revision 0RenderThe first model, gold with grey frets.
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Design · Revision 1RenderOne deep gold all over.
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Design · Revision 2RenderA brighter gold, frets in close-up.
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Design · Revision 3RenderSilver frets and strings on gold.
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Design · Revision 4RenderThe final model from every side.
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FinishingThe plated back, smooth as a mirror.
The build
How we built it
5 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.
The brief
Step 1 of 5
At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we made a gold pipa trophy for a private client. They wanted the Chinese lute in mirror gold, with the detail of the real instrument: raised engraving, frets and strings.
Design
Step 2 of 5
We sculpted the pipa digitally, adding finer detail, 3D engraving on the face, and the strings, frets and pegs that make it read as a real instrument.
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Revision 0
The first model, gold with grey frets.
Render
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Revision 1
We turned the frets gold to match the body and rendered the whole pipa in a deeper gold.
Render
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Revision 2
We brightened the gold and brought the raised frets, strings and bridge forward in close-up views.
Render
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Revision 3
We showed a two-tone option, with silver frets, strings and bridge against the gold body.
Render
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Revision 4
The client chose one gold finish; we checked the final model from every side, back included.
Render
Production
Step 3 of 5
The pipa was printed in ABS-like resin by SLA, which holds fine relief, then the supports were cleaned off, the print deburred and the sharp corners broken.
Finishing
Step 4 of 5
We sanded, filled, primed and buffed the surface smooth, because plating shows every flaw beneath it, then electroplated the pipa in gold for a mirror finish.
The final build
Step 5 of 5
The finished pipa, gold from pegbox to tail, was collected from our studio on 08/12/2023.
Finish close-ups
The pegbox, the frets and the raised detail, all plated in mirror gold.
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