ZBrushCentral

3D Scanning+ZBrush+3D Printing +Lost Wax Casting = Tiny Metal Animal Skulls!

Hi, my name is Jason Bakutis, and about 6 years ago, Zbrush changed my life!
I am a former special FX makeup guy, back in the 90s I worked with amazingly talented people at KNB EFX, The Chiodo Brothers, and others.

So, I come from the world of CLAY, PLASTER, and RUBBER. When I discovered ZBrush, and saw that other people from the same FX world were into it, likeMonstermaker, I was intrigued.
Like I said, it changed my life. I had to learn it.

In the last couple of years, I learned about the MISSING LINK.

What is the missing link? It is 3D printing.

Why? Because you can take your awesome ZBrush creations and MAKE THEM REAL!

The two things combined, to me, represent one of the biggest leaps forward in the world of sculpting in decades, if not centuries.

If you are still reading this, you probably have an idea of what I have been up to with these skulls. In a nutshell, a couple guys I worked with at a company called Makerbot as 3D modelers/designers, started combining scanning, sculplting, 3D printing, and lost wax casting (ooohhh silicone molds and molten metal, I feel right at home again, haha).

Without going into TOO much detail, this is what I do-
1.) Find an awesome skull
2.) Have it scanned digitally
3.) Take that digital mesh, and realize it will never work unless you ZBRUSH it!
4.) There are holes to fill, details to bring out, and sometimes entire areas that need to be re-sculpted. Thank you Pixologic.
5.) Print the model
6.) Mold the model
7.) Cast the model in wax
8.) Cast the model in silver, bronze, or even gold!
9.) Sweet.

If you think these are as cool as I do, feel free to check out our Kickstarter campaign here.
We are already funded, this isn’t a plea for money!!! I just wanted to share with my peers another use for Zbrush, and to hopefully inspire others.

Also, thanks to all of you who were helpful to me when I first got here!

-Jason

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Great, love your work… i need to print something in the next future.

I am ALWAYS thrilled to see emergent 3D printing applications. 3D printing, I say, will far outstrip the impacts of the traditional printing press. It seems fitting that as the world goes virtual with text (…iPad, Kindle, Nook etc,) real objects come into being from the virtual world, using 3D printers and digital tech.

Kudos! Fine work! Best of Luck!

Cheers!

It’s the great!
Ohh, this is my dream!

oh wow
NEW favorite thread
amazin

Very cool. What scanner are you using? I know from experience that skulls are tricky to scan as they’ve got lots of nooks and crannies that need a lot of post process in Zbrush.

I can’t divulge the specific model, because they haven’t formally launched, but I can say that White Light scanning is the way to go.

Bear_Gif_200px.gifdaBear.jpg

Sounds cool mate! For the design, I usually use z-brush and CAD filing. However, I***8217;m not yet into finishing techniques like applying acrylic paint especially metallic ones. What do you think is the proper technique for spray painting 3D printed PLA plastic filament models (it seems you’re good at it)?

I can’t divulge the specific model, because they haven’t formally launched, but I can say that White Light scanning is the way to go.

So would for example this scanner be suitable? It is said it’s white structured light one.