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Aiman's 3D Printing Odyssey

Hi All, I’m Aiman, a 3D artist based out of LA. Near the end of 2014 I decided to jump headfirst into 3D printing and around the same time 3D World magazine asked if I’d be interested in doing a monthly column on the topic. I decided that every month I’d challenge myself with a project I had no idea how to make and then figure it out.

I’d like to share some images from my odyssey. Since I can only attach 8 files per post, I’m going to make a new post per project in this thread. For the full tutorials and free downloadable 3d models you’ll have to buy the specific back-issues of 3D World magazine available on Itunes Newsstand or online at Myfavoritemagazines.co.uk

Month 1 - 3D printed Iphone case accessory. 3D World issue 191
I carry my phone all the time so this was a good way for me to showcase my 3dprinting ability at the drop of a hat by just pulling out my phone and going “look at what I made.” Also used the project to test the quality of prints I could get from Shapeways as I didn’t own a printer at the time.

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I just felt like making a cute hatching raptor like that scene from everyone’s favorite movie. Sculpted and even rendered out of ZBrush. For this one I decided to try out the Makerbot Replicator and found a nearby 3D Hub, Cybertech, to commission the print.

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Who hasn’t wanted to make their own toys? I pickup up a copy of the action figure bible, Pop Sculpture, to research articulation and making collectible statues. Then took a simplified ecorche model I had sculpted and parted him out. Used Cybertech 3d hub again for this one and was very pleased with my first go at something so complicated.
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Found a wooden toy rubber-band gun at the Rose Bowl flea market and thought “I can make this better.” So naturally I broke it apart and started re-inventing the mechanism and built a retro raygun which can shoot up to 9 rubber-bands consecutively. Printed at Cybertech, good opportunity to try out all the colors, but at this point I started getting really frustrated with the quality of FDM 3d printing.

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3D World tapped me to build their CG award trophy for 2015, the plan was to make it 3d printable in metal and get it out to each of the winners at the end of the year. Learned a lot about trophy design, dealing with clients and manufacturers with this project.

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I had a 3D scan of my face from Siggraph 2014 and decided to put it to use to create my own 3D printed 3D glasses. Tried playing around with some mesh extract designs but everything was too super-hero-y so decided to step back and design something more minimalist. Printed through Shapeways, circular polarized lenses tore out from a perfectly good pair of 3D glasses ordered on Amazon, but now I’ve got a unique one that perfectly fits my face.

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I wanted to sculpt some anatomy again and was inspired by a dance performance of the Phantom of the Opera to create a dancer necklace. As a boy growing up in Pakistan I never thought I’d be making jewelry but 20 years later had a blast on this project to the point where I might start my own jewelry line in 2016. This print was contracted out to a jewelry startup called Matter.io

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I’ve always enjoyed translating expressive characters from 2D to 3D while trying my utmost to maintain the original appeal. Also recently got a new Corgi puppy, so decided to take this drawing by Meg Park and use it as an opportunity to learn about Stereolithography. Took some classes with Mold 3D and crowdfunded my first printer, the Form 1+ because the quality and workflow was just unbeatable at the price.

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I decided to take a step back from creating goofy things and look at something that mattered. Got involved with a project by Michael Repajic to build 3d printed prosthetic hands for the homeless population in LA. This was an open source 3d model called the Cyborg Beast, created by Jorge Zuniga and available on enablingthefuture.org. Print by Lyle Thompson at lylelabs.net. Photos by Michael Garber.

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So for a while now I had been enamored by fashion that could only be created through 3d printing. Also wanted to take on a really complex and impressive print project and this one is absolutely the climax of 2015. A total of 3 months to complete, this project started with a digital scan of my model Jessica Dru Johnson at Cokreeate 3D Creations, then a whole lot of mesh extraction, sculpting, concept work and figuring out how to put all the pieces together. On top of trying to achieve a futuristic sci-fi/high fashion runway aesthetic, I also decided to incorporate Led lights throughout the piece. Large pieces printed through Shapeways, backpack through a local FDM hub XYZ Limitless and the straps and breastplates on my Form1 +. Additional Jewelry by Igor Knezevic, Makeup - Sonia Cabrera, Hair - Ruby Mc Neil and photography by absurdly talented Greg De Stefano. More info on this project here - http://3dprint.com/101947/3d-printed-halloween-costume/

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Well nothing was going to top the dress for a while so in the latest issue of the magazine I went back to the basics, sculpting and 3D printing a skull model for desktop anatomy reference. Printed on my Form 1+.

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I’ve taken on a new 3D printed project every month for the last year now, each surpassing its predecessor in complexity with all sorts of applications, product, toys, jewelry, wearables, even a full 3d printed costume as the climax of that journey! If I have to make one point, it would be that I never saw these kinds of projects as a possibility for me until I decided to start down the path of 3D printing, and the same can be true for any of you a year from now. Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire was once asked the secret to his success to which he replied, “I start things before I’m ready to.” So just start, you’ll learn along the way.

Shout out to the creators of ZBrush for making this excellent software which I use everyday!

Thanks for reading.

Cool and inspiring. From the protetic hand gets better and better.

This is super cool! I just ordered a Form 2 and it’s going to be SO LONG before I can start playing with it (February!). But I cannot wait.

Awesome work. Have you noticed any brittleness with your form prints? Some internet person warned me about that, but upon asking for more info they didn’t even have a Form printer. What I saw at CES was amazing, so I didn’t believe them, but I thought I’d ask anyway.

Thanks guys.

@nuzzletops, I’m debating whether to get a Form 2 myself. The form 1 + has excellent quality prints. Resin keeps curing as long as its exposed to UV light so eventually after a year of being in the sun your prints will become brittle for sure, regardless of what printer.
If you prime your prints with a thin coat of Tamiya Fine Spray primer or something similar then you wont have any issues with brittleness.

thank you for sharing. Really great stuff.

Wow, very interesting topic and great work, keep it up!

Cool stuff!! definitely you need a better resolution printer :wink:

Hey all, thought it about time to update you on my 3D printing Odyssey.

While writing the monthly column for 3D World magazine I started my own character development/3D print company 3D Smiths LLC, www.3dsmiths.com
End of 2015 I developed a bunch of collectibles in partnership with several awesome 2D artists and got my own table at the CTN animation expo to try and sell them as unpainted resin kits.
I’ll share the sculpts here, all made in ZBrush start to finish. All printed on a Form 1 + at 50 micron resolution about 5" tall.

First one’s a collaboration with Stephen Silver, The Boxer

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Next up is a collaboration with Chris Ayers, The Crimson Trumpet
This one was challenging to translate from 2D to 3D but a good opportunity to learn about creating inset keys to hide the seams and hold the piece together.

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