Speculative Biology: Printing a Jellyfish-inspired Lamp

Result of the print.

The objective is to create an object/sculpture that revolves around imagining how life will evolve according to predictions of how the planet’s future ecosystems will change.

This project is created as a course assignment at the California State University, Long Beach; taught by Behnaz Farahi: DESN 551: Materials, Tools, and Techniques of Prototype (Fall 2023)

1. MidJourney
2. Photoshop
3. Rhino
4. Grasshopper
5. Stratagys PolyJet 3D Printer

I started with doing some research about sea creatures with interesting patterns that I can extrapolate to the 3D printed object.

I found the branching pattern on the outer epidermis layer of the moon jellyfish really beautiful and fascinating to replicate.

Some interesting facts that I found:

• Ancient Existence: Jellyfish have been around for more than 500 million years, making them one of the oldest living creatures on Earth, even predating dinosaurs.
• Gelatinous Bodies: Their bodies are 95% water, and they lack a brain, eyes, heart, or bones. Instead, they have a simple nervous system and rely on instinctual responses.
• Behavior: Moon jellyfish tend to live alone but water currents and wind may tend to steer them in groups called blooms.
• Stinging Tentacles: They have hundreds of short, fine tentacles that line the bell margin. Their tentacles are lined with stinging cells (nematocysts) that can be used to sting prey. The jellyfish is also coated with a sticky mucous that collects prey.
• Bioluminescence: Moon Jellies are bioluminescent, so they glow in the dark. The whitish color of its bell or moon-shaped dome often shows shades of blue, pink or purple – color believed to depend on its diet.
• Ecosystem Impact: They play a vital role in marine ecosystems, serving as both predator and prey, helping maintain ecological balance.
• Conservation: The moon jelly is very plentiful. However, plastic bags that end up in the ocean often look like jellies to animals that depend on these drifting creatures for food. Thousands of turtles and birds die each year after swallowing indigestible wads of plastic mistaken for jellies.
• Super Power: The moon jellyfish can age backward, form hordes of clones, and regenerate lost body parts, a new study says. A hole rips through his body, but seals up and heals completely. An appendage is sliced off; the tissues grow back perfectly.
• Genome: Research by the Marine Genomics Unit revealed that the genome of the moon jellyfish is more similar to a coral or sea anemone than another jellyfish.

Go to MidJourney to generate some interesting images. In this project I was able to play around and eventually choose 2 images that I will later combine into 1.

Image 1: Jellyfish

Prompt: jellyfish top view, centrifugal, centered, circle, branching out, transparent

Image 2: Branching Pattern

This time I googled a tree branching pattern, uploaded it onto MidJourney, then created prompt with that image: [image link], centripetal, centrifugal, black background, branchings fades are it grows out

Choose the image you are happy with, or continue playing around more in MidJourney.

Note: This step is optional. I do it because I want to merge these 2 images. I you are happy with just 1 image, omit this. Or if you have 2 images and don't want to use Photoshop, you can try out the /blend command on MidJourney.

Drag the 2 images into Photoshop

Adjust brightness and contrast levels.

Use layer mode "screen" to blend the 2 images

Use a black radial gradient to make sure the edges of the image are 100% black

Use Rhinoceros and Grasshopper to translate our 2D Image to a 3D Model.

In Rhino, create a plane that is roughly the size of your desired print.

Launch Grasshopper and use Image Sampler to sample the greyscale values from your image and create a height map from it. Then mirror and and make the object double-sided to give it thickness.

Create a shape to cut your 3D model into. For me I used a cylinder.

After baking, you will have a height map model based on the greyscale value of your image.

Now move your mesh aside and drag the MidJourney image directly onto the mesh, you see something similar to the last image.

Next we are going to aggregate the baked mesh into something more intricate.

In Rhino, move the baked mesh to 0,0,0

Use [block] command to block the mesh, I named mine jelly.

Aggregate your mesh over a surface. I did mine on a semi-circle.

Change around UV count and the angle to generate the result you want.

At this point you can export the model out as an obj file.

The lamp is printed using a regular 3D printer. The filament is optional. I use a translucent one so when a light disk is placed below, it glows like a lamp.

I also printed out the single module using the Stratasys Polyjet printer. It's nice to have the module printed in color so I have it as an object for reference.