Pictograph Box

This was a complex, but very rewarding project! I learned a lot about programming, general Linux and 3D modelling. I had my first contact with Blender because of this project and wrote my first code ever.

But you're lucky! I have documented every step and have files for you to download, so you don't have to do all the hard work too.

In Majora's Mask, the Pictograph Box can be obtained after rescuing Koume from the Woods of Mystery. Once she has been rescued, she returns to her post at the Swamp Tourist Center, as the Boat Cruise guide. If Link takes the Boat Cruise ride, Koume gives Link the Pictograph Box.

The Swamp Tourist Center holds a contest on the First Day to see who can take the best pictograph. If Link manages to take a pictograph of the Deku King, he is rewarded with a Piece of Heart. Furthermore, the operator in the Tourist Center also rewards Link if he manages to take a pictograph of his son, Tingle.

As the game progresses, the Fisherman of Great Bay insists that the hero takes a pictograph of one of the Gerudo Pirates as a part of the quest to locate the Zora Eggs. If Link is successful, the Fisherman rewards Link with a Seahorse, which he captured near Pinnacle Rock.

The Pictograph Box can only store one pictograph at a time.

Then I had to join the wood pieces together. In the game the box appears to be held together by riveted metal pieces.
In situations like this I like to take an hour strolling through a hardware store and paying attention to anything that comes close to what I have in mind.
And then I found hinge bands for wardrobe doors. They look almost exactly like the material from the game. Also I found brass looking decorative nails that look like rivets to go with it.

I cut the hinges to the length of my wood pieces, then cut 45° angles on them and removed the sharp edges.

I wanted my Pictograph Box to have the same interface and picture style as the one in the original N64 title.
And I wanted it to be able to hold more than one pictograph.
But from the beginning I had in mind that someone might prefer the 3DS look and I wanted this to be easily changeable.
Also I like using "real" materials. So it had to be made from wood, iron and brass on the outside.

My first thoughts were to just put an old digital camera with a sepia effect into the case, or even to build it around a real analogue box camera (which the pictograph box is inspired by). But I quickly realised that I would not be satisfied with either solution. Instead I focused on a spare Raspberry Pi 3B+ I had in a drawer. This would mean extremely high customisation possibilities and easy shareability for the photos taken with it.
And surely there would already be a camera app with customisable filters I could modify, right? Right?

Nope...
There are countless camera apps for the Raspberry Pi, but none had a picture effect that was even remotely close to what I would need.
I asked some friends who are into coding but noone could help with that.
So I decided to get into some basic coding myself.
Python was the obvious choice since there are a lot of libraries for specific use cases.