Overview

A Christmas tree pendant is a designer’s sampler — to make the little tree sparkle from tip to base you end up using nearly every setting technique in the book. Channel setting, pavé, baskets, bezels and arrayed decorative modules all have to coexist on one small, tapering body. In this project you’ll build that body from a Network Surface, carve gem channels straight into it, and layer setting on setting until the whole tree glitters — then crown it with a star and a bail ready to hang.

Design a Christmas tree pendant using RhinoArtisan.

In this tutorial you will learn how to:

• Build the tree body from a Network Surface, then carve four gem channels with offset guides and Push and Pull, closing the openings with lofts.

• Draw channel centerlines with Extract Isocurve and Tween Curves, and fill them with 1.30 mm stones using Gems on Curve, complete with prongs and cutters.

• Add a trillion in a heart-shaped Basket, a round Bezel, and decorative modules distributed with Quick Array on Curve over Sweep 2 Rails surfaces.

• Rebuild the surface topology with Sweep 2 Rails and cover two zones with Pavé Along Surface and Pavé Manual, secured by hand-placed prongs and cutters.

• Crown the pendant with a Star topper, its own gem, an O-ring and a Bail, then open every seat with a final round of Boolean Difference.

By the end of this project, you’ll have the skills to model a fully gem-set Christmas tree pendant from scratch.