A few years ago we made a playing card guard for our Alice in wonderland inspired project for Heston Blumenthal. It was a thrill to explore what 3D printing could bring to our work. A joy to lift characters out of narrative worlds and place them within real environments to augment our stories.
3D Printing is nothing new these days, but the way in which it is becoming so widely available and user friendly is certainly exciting. Previously you had to have quite a few quid in your pocket to get just one thing printed, now you can buy (relatively!) inexpensive kits and print away to your heart’s content.
Even more exciting is how 3D printing has grown as a medium in its own right. No longer just a useful gadget for rapid prototyping, it has become a true artist’s tool with skilled craftsmen stretching the medium to discover new creative possibilities. Not to mention the doors opening across the realms of science, gastronomy, and general weirdness!
Later this year, Rob will be judging the 3D Print Cup in collaboration with Cartridge Save. On the run up to what will no doubt be an exciting competition with a host of interesting models and ideas, we thought we’d put together just some of our favourite creations and advances in the recent world of 3D printing.
The Music Drop by Left Field Labs is a charming music box project that allows people to compose and then print their own tune.
Bears on Stairs from DBLG blends 3D printing with stop frame animation. No doubt painstaking to make, but wonderful in execution..
By exploring the nature and behaviour of 3D printing, generative artist Lia has created “a new kind of sculpture native to its medium”; a collected series of lines, walls, strings, blobs, heaps and piles, that offer both order and chaos.
A pen that prints as you go, letting you draw objects directly into 3D space. Incredible!
Suspended Depositions is a project by INSTRMNT that takes 3D print production methods to the next level. Light-curing resin is injected and suspended in a gelatinous medium without the need for added support material, allowing users greater production flexibility and the ability to shape freeform objects.
And lastly, Huddle by David Graas. A modern, miniature cityscape huddled together on the surface of a lightbulb. Delightful.
Michelle Collier
12 June 2014