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Digital bodies

This week class introduces new digital tools that complement hand tools in order to design, represent, make and modify the human figure that can then be used as a canvas for creation. The assignements are:

  • Include some inspiration: research on artists or projects that work with the human body
  • Document the use of 3D scanner and software to acquire a 3D model
  • Document the process of repairing and/or manipulating a 3D mesh and slicing it
  • Document the process of file preparation for laser cutting
  • Learn how to laser cut, document the workflow including the machine settings, material type and thickness
  • Upload your 3D file (STL/OBJ) and your 2D files (DXF/PDF)
  • Build and/or assemble a mannequin or body parts
  • Create a stop motion or step-by-step assemblying process and upload one picture (HIGH RES) of your mannequin (extra credit)

I don't like mannequin

I'm pretty far from artists when I think of the mannequin as a canva for creation, my thoughts are more on mainstream fashion and its media representation, something that is not for living human.

Because I love people

Definitly fashion and medias work against inclusivity with a false representation of the body: flat stomach, big boobs... All the patriarchy can be see in the mainstrem fashion. Some artists and agencies are challenging the way to see fashion, here come examples:

Pictures from Everyday bodies: how stock media can influence inclusivity

I wish we would see more reals people, less photoshoped in the futur to get a place for everybody and low down the pression on women bodies.

Process and workflow for cardboard hips

Tools of the week

In order to complete the creation of a mannequin, I discover:

And, I also, use:

A digital part of a real body

To get a real body, nothing more simple to try to make my own avatar. Given the accuracy of the rendering by the scanner the scanner and my current mastery of Rhino, I chose to work on Makehuman to obtain easily usable 3D files. Playing with mensuration and morphological caracters, I obtained this model on MakeHuman:

I export the result as STL with a pose from the MakeHuman community calling "duno".

And cut it with Rhino, you can find the explainations in Diane's tutorial

From 3D digital hips to 2D puzzle pieces

The laser cut was created using Sliced for Fusion360 with a radial slices 1 which seems to me to be the simplest assembly when it is possible to use the same axis for the entire element to be sliced. With Inkscape, I organize the file for a smaller sheet of cardboard (half the real hips size) and prepare it as the laser cut needs it 2. The laser cuts the red lines and notches the blue lines to mark them with numbers identifying the assembly of the puzzle. All the informations to use properly the laser cut of Le textile Lab are available here.

From puzzle pieces to 3D my hips mannequin

The pieces can easily get assembly by following the numbers It's pretty funny to go from flat to volume I didn't do a stop motion, it's to hard without a stand for the camera of phone and I have no time this week to do one.

Same work for a left arm

I made almost the same work for a left arm exept than I chose an unterlocked pattern. As you may see at the bottom of the arm, I lost a piece. I looked everywhere for the piece "Y-5" and finally find it in my hips (the cardboard ones :p) 2 days after the pictures were token with me in Valence while the arm was in Lyon. The difficulty was to find how to assemble the puzzle pieces because I had not kept the document of the slicer and did not have the order of assembly, however I like the game!

My week review for instagram

Fabrication files

  1. File: Hips in the Slicer ↩

  2. File: ready to cut with Inkscape ↩

Last update: 2022-12-12