Total industry game changer hiding under the title of 3d printing
Darrell Green
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in General
I just watched another course... I feel a bit dazed
Modern Miniature Effects Part 1: Project Planning & Acquiring 3D Models
I am not easily overwhelmed by tech or new gadgets and I don't stand in awe over most techniques, though I will give kudos to creative solutions and will openly praise true craftsmanship and skill. That said, I am a bit "bird hitting window" at the moment. I swear I just blinked and the 3d printing world went straight to replicator without asking my approval. Fon Davis was demoing four printers they have in their shop. They can print in cmyk without the need for sanding after (or very little, very very little) Fully finished sculptures with voids, in cmyk color (as though it were already painted with just touch up left). They can print in flexible materials... meaning, they can print the actual skins to put over animatronic skeletons (also printed), in color, so, no need for final painting or very little. They printed a human mask in a rubber compound that was completely flexible.
I am not easily overwhelmed by tech or new gadgets and I don't stand in awe over most techniques, though I will give kudos to creative solutions and will openly praise true craftsmanship and skill. That said, I am a bit "bird hitting window" at the moment. I swear I just blinked and the 3d printing world went straight to replicator without asking my approval. Fon Davis was demoing four printers they have in their shop. They can print in cmyk without the need for sanding after (or very little, very very little) Fully finished sculptures with voids, in cmyk color (as though it were already painted with just touch up left). They can print in flexible materials... meaning, they can print the actual skins to put over animatronic skeletons (also printed), in color, so, no need for final painting or very little. They printed a human mask in a rubber compound that was completely flexible.
They did not mention this but in all honesty, this eliminates the sculptor, the prosthetic departments, most of the fab shop (for non makeup parts), the painters and leaves only the makeup department applying the final print to the actor. Scan the actor, size the target computer captured character face to the actor, negate one from the other and you have a prosthetic disguise mask, ready to print with correct color. You could use anime/cgi, a real world person or an aged rendition, younger or older or even just added weight, as the intended mask. None of this did he mention but it is all right there, ready to run, in the room he is standing in while giving the lesson. The actual lesson was about an octopus and a boat but you don't show a flexible printed prosthetic mask without dropping Alice down the rabbit hole of possibilities. I am completely stunned.
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Comments
It might seem like it can replace a lot of the roles in different departments, and I can't speak for what the future holds, but these machines are VERY expensive, and take a lot of experience to get right. Maybe very large studios can afford to take them on, but smaller or mid size ones probably wouldn't be able to justify it.
In that first section of lessons he is actially holding the floppy mask they printed and the entire project in the course hangs on the fact that this prosthetic skin for the octopus is just a printable item. No involved casting or injection, just send it to the printer.
It is worth the watch. You will feel the impact on the industry. Time to brush up or at least start your digital sculpt journey. If you are solely working in clays, you must at least learn scanning and the basics of transition touchup (the not so perfect scan you just made). At the very least, get nomad sculpt for super cheap or any of the decent sculpting softwares (blender is free.... OK, I use it too.... but is very difficult to learn), several are available with pen tools on portable pads. You and I walk side by side on this one, just do it. If you want to work in the industry, as obviously stated here, pick up some new skills. It's either scanning and cleanup or fully digital but we have some stuff to learn and we are behind. And the best part is, Fon already made you some classes and he is freaking cool. Listen to the part where he talks about working with students and sculptors, makes me smile. And no, I have not yet made my personal action figure because my scanner was borrowed and I hadn't heard the challenge yet. This is on my to do list, as is perfecting my digital sculpt skills. Just last night finished most of Aquaman's glove parts.
To be fully up front, it is now time to add computer aided sculpting to your skillset. We shall go kicking and screaming into this next decade hand in hand. Let's see some creativity.