EDUstick® Creators Club
Fish with a scale rhythm
A colorful, flat fish with a head, an eye, and scales in your chosen PLA colors. Fill the areas with adjoining strands and create your own color rhythm.
Your outcome: Repeat short arcs and fill the scales with adjoining PLA strands. Choose your own colors and their rhythm on one connected fish.
Illustration of the finished construction. Full-size (1:1) templates are supplied on a separate sheet.
Session 1 • stage 1/5
Fish outline
Trace the outline on W01: start at the snout, go past the fins and tail, and return to the start. Add the axis from the head boundary to the tail, the fin bases, and the tail crossbar.
Check: The outline is closed, and the axis and bases reach the edges.
If it does not work: Bridge the gap with a short strand of the same PLA.
1 × Outline and connected scales · PLA | template W01
→ T001 • Techniques — reference appendix
Axis and bases
Outline and connected scales
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 2/5
Head and eye
At the mouth, draw the head boundary. Fill it with adjacent strands and a pass along the edge. Go around the eye opening, then fill it with dark PLA. Join the strands side-to-side in a single layer.
Check: The head is fully filled and the eye is visible; the strands join side-to-side.
If it does not work: Close the gap with a short strand joined to the surrounding fill.
Eye joined to the head
Head fill · Outline and connected scales · Eye in the head
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 3/5
Draw the scales
Behind the head, draw arcs on both sides of the axis. Add the next rows by following W01, and join the ends at the edge to the outline.
Check: The scales are visible, and the arc ends connect to other strands.
If it does not work: Join a loose end to the nearest line in the pattern.
Connected scales behind the head
Outline and connected scales
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 4/5
Fill one scale
Choose a PLA. Start with two strands along W01 in one scale. Add more strands side by side and a pass along the edge, joining them side-to-side. Fill the area in the same layer.
Check: One scale is full, and its strands join the edge and one another.
If it does not work: Add a short strand in the gap, joining it to the neighboring strands.
1 × First scale and yellow example areas · PLA | template follow the written method
→ T004 • Techniques — reference appendix
The whole first scale
First scale and yellow example areas
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 5/5
Your colors and pattern
Fill the remaining scales in the same way. Choose your own pattern: alternate two colors or make a rainbow. Choose colors for the fins and tail too. The fish in the picture is an example; yours can have different colors. Wait until the fish has cooled completely.
Check: The head, eye, and colorful scales are visible. Show your color rhythm; all the areas connect to the fish.
If it does not work: If you see a gap, fill it with a strand joined to the edge of the area.
Example of a finished fish — choose your own colors
Coral example areas · Purple example areas · First scale and yellow example areas
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.