If you're a sculptor, you have to explore the possibilities of 3D sculpture
Art, by definition, seeks to express feelings, and throughout history, it has never been detached from technological changes. For this reason, an artistic discipline such as sculpture is by no means incompatible with technological innovation.
Artists are restless minds, always seeking to go further, making them highly receptive to changes and advancements that allow their art to keep pace with new ideas. 3D technology, through scanners and 3D printers, has become a faithful companion to the sculptor throughout the creative process.
Moreover, it is not only useful for contemporary sculpture; 3D digitization and printing are essential for art restoration work as well as for cultural heritage management projects.
Thus, today the sculptor finds in 3D technology (digital modeling, scanning, and 3D printing) a means to complement and optimize their work, thanks to the digitization of the original model and its subsequent production.
What does 3D technology bring to sculpture?
- Reverse engineering of objects or people
- Creation of models at different scales
- Production of numbered series in various materials
Below, we present some real success stories of projects we have completed.
REAL CASE: Scanning of arms and 1-meter sculpture prototype printing
On this occasion, the renowned Galician sculptor Ramon Conde wanted to experiment with the creative possibilities offered by new technologies. The artwork he envisioned represents the fusion of hands, clasped tightly. To begin the process, we used the artist himself and his son as models, and during a long scanning session (very, very long), after testing half a dozen arm positions, angles, and grip intensities, we finally captured the model the artist had in mind. The process of aligning the scanned meshes was completed, and we presented the model… and after the initial satisfaction, the artist’s restless mind kicked in again. He felt that the angle formed by the arms was not to his liking, so we digitally modified the meshes to adjust the angle to the new position he indicated.
Once the digital design was validated, the artist requested the creation of a 1-meter-high prototype through 3D printing, to be able to show it to clients.
We manufactured the prototype and delivered it to the sculptor, who applied various texture enhancements to add “drama and realism” to the piece, as well as a spectacular finish with a patina similar to that of bronze.
This is where we once again realize the enormous difference between the world of engineering and art, and how an artist can turn a prototype into a work of art. But hey… each one excels at what they do best!
Once the prototype is validated by the final client, the sculptor will handle the bronze casting process to create the final 5-meter-tall sculpture… but that’s another story, which we’ll share in a future post!
The experience of this collaboration has truly been very rewarding, and we have achieved the goal of making all our technological resources available to the artist.
We thank Ramon Conde and his son Carlos for trusting us with this project, and we recommend visiting his Facebook profile, as he has some really amazing works.
3D Sculpture Scanning, Modeling, and Printing
REAL CASE: 3D Scanning and Printing of Scale Reproductions for Exhibition
Taking this technique to another real case, our artist needed to hold an exhibition with his works, but due to the dimensions (up to 1 m in height) and weight of each piece (some over 150 kg), logistics made the process extremely complicated. Therefore, it was decided to create faithful scale reproductions using 3D printing, producing a total of 20 pieces with an average height of 20 cm. The process began by scanning the artworks in the artist’s own studio, where our technician spent a couple of days scanning all the pieces, given their complexity and the intricate geometries of many of them.
Once the meshes were obtained, we had no choice but to manually close all the areas where the scanner beam could not reach, in order to obtain high-quality closed meshes that could be sent to the 3D printers.
This part of post-processing the meshes is perhaps the most labor-intensive, but it is essential to achieve satisfactory results.
Once the pieces were produced, we delivered them to the sculptor so he could work his magic and turn them into small works of art, as you can see in the photographs.
ANSI – 3D Scanning and Reproduction of Pieces
