There are more angles of course. This is how I get to "approve" of the digital files before they are printed out. Of course it'll be virtually flipped too:
They just look so nifty, eh? Mind you I am actually groaning about the TON of detail I'll have to recreate (resculpt with smaller tools). The hair I decided need to be smoothed before scanning so I could just resculpt it on anew with Apoxie Sculpt (or etch it... I want it to be REALLY fine lines and the scanning just won't produce that so there was no point in creating it fine before scanning). Things like feathers, eye details (like lids? yeah.. those are too fine for the scanning to reproduce too) etc etc.. with those nothing but good old fashioned wittling away and tiny work as you would with any mini is needed on the miniaturized version. And when all the detail is added THEN it goes off to a caster like Mountain View Studios to be cast as any other sculpture to resin would be.
Hope that made sense. I was bursting to share the screen shots!
Added on Sat afternoon for to answer Alicia and a few other's questions.. :)
(big files worth viewing to see how rough they are)
Duke's scan for "dinky duke":
What I'll get back with bitty too:
and what I'll have to get it to in terms of smoothness and detail before it's ready to send out:
Actually, I'd like to pack in even more detail or emphasize it more this time. Always trying to improve on things ya know.. :) Anyhow, since a bazillion dinky dukes are out there you can see that the lines are crisp in spots, it just takes time (almost like resculpting the whole final stages!) to smooth and then add crisp details obviously. :)
2 comments:
I'm interested in the "miniaturization" process. So many of the mini versions just look like they got hit with a sci-fi "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" ray:).
I gather that the original is digitally scanned and then comes back to you in a CAD (or other 3d software type program.) Here is where I get lost...you need to sculpt back in the detail which you indicate you need to do by hand. Are they going to send you a prototype cast that you can add detail to before sending it off to the caster?
In any case, good work and looking forward to bitty bosco!
I actually can't open the files although I get a copy on CD eventually. You need some serious computer power (that I don't have) to view files like this. I don't game or do 3D rendering, which is pretty much the only reason (that I can imagine) a lay-person would go out and buy all that the extra processing power.
One company does the scanning. They send the file to another company (local) who "prints" it. "SLA printing" is really well described and shown visually here;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography
And the part I get looks so "stepped" that it would never be acceptable in hobby terms as a casting. It requires a LOT of sanding/smoothing and redetailing before going to the caster... I found a photo of "dinky" from the day I got him back that I'll upload here. It'll answer a LOT of questions I think. :)
Post a Comment