The goal for my project was to create a 3D model of my cat (Oliver) in Mathematica. Being away from home can be difficult so I decided to select a topic that would bring me lots of joy during the process. Throughout our course, we’ve drawn several different shapes and objects in a variety of ways. For this project, I decided to use parametric equations for the majority of my objects and for the final model I used Mathematica’s 3D Graphics function.
I was able to use and manipulate the parametric equation of a sphere (in spherical coordinates) to create the individual body parts. In order to move the pieces where I wanted them, I simply added or subtracted numbers to the parameterized x, y and z where x=ρsinφcosθ, y=ρsinφsinθ, and z=ρcosφ. I had spheres for the eyes, but what was slightly more difficult was creating the head, body, and feet. For those, I had to multiply x, y, and z by how long I wanted it to be in addition to moving them up, down, right or left. In order to create the nose and ears, I fixed φ to be π/6 to create cones. Once I was done with the original body parts, I used the 3D graphics functions to create objects based on my parametric equations. After I spent a bit of time moving around the objects, I was able to use the show function to create the official 3D model of Oliver!
