2. Digital bodies¶

Research & Ideation¶

This week I'm looking into the microscopic morphology of fungi and bacteria organisms. The ones I'm working with come from cultures I've been growing in agar agar petri plates from the soil of the Altamira cave, as well as from the hands of scientist that entered the cave to do a technical check on the machinery that is inside the cave measuring its humidity and temperature conditions. And also from the atmosphere at the door of the cave. Though this process I want to create hybrid bodies where human and fungi and/or bacteria meet.

research and ideation — image 1 by Valentin Balsac, micrographies by scientist and collaborator Oxel Urra, all other images by me

References & Inspiration¶

moodboard expanded bodies

Oliver Laric

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Una publicación compartida de Oliver Laric (@oliverlaric)

Ruixin Zhang

Harmonizer-Decompression Bio-Wellness Patch is a sustainable and environmentally friendly future bio-retreat spa experience that can deeply alleviate skin stress and aid in the treatment of skin diseases such as stress rash.

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Jet Clay and Lola Zoido

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Production of 4 sculptures for the artist Lola Zoido, conceived as a new Iberian flowering plant that can help as a firebreak, installed in Villores as part of #ConfluènciesIVAM in the region of Els Ports.

Diana Scherer

Visual artist, her practice encompasses botany, material research, textiles and sculpture. Employing a unique technique that uses the natural growth processes to create various structures out of root tissues. She derives her patterns from shapes found in the botanical world, as well as from man-made structures. The results are tactile and poetic, and her creative process invokes the current ecological balance between humans and nature.

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Tools ⚙️¶

Process and workflow¶

This week i focused in learning three softwares: Rhinoceros, MakeHuman and Slicer for Fusion 360; and one hardware, the laser cutter. I'n my research I focus on expanded bodies, I'm interested to look into how different limbs, senses and interconnections could happen, experimenting with 3D photometry from different beings, specially fungi, and adding them into human shapes, or playing around with the fungi 3D to make limbs. Would like to later articulate these and fabulate around the new gestures that would appear. Experimenting with more-than-human morphology to fabulate around unexplored perceptions.

wip_00_glitch — glitch that happened while working on MakeHuman, i wish i could work on shapes like this

Step 1_import your .stl Make Human to Rhino¶

On MakeHuman i took a pose from this gallery, and then EXPORT on STL On Rhino you can play around the VIEWS and there're shortcuts to expand and relocate your view:

I found it tricky to see how to rotate the model out of it's own aix, so made a little video to remember:

Step 2_size of your model, measuring¶

Use command Scalate to make your model bigger or smaller. To measure it, create a BINDING BOX, and then command DISTANCE to measure it.

wip_03_measuring — binding box + distance

Step 3_hatch + boolean union , difference , intersection¶

There are different ways to modify objects, curves and meshes. We can join them and separate them:

Step 4_images to 3D files¶

I also wanted to use the shapes of some fungi micrographies I have, into 3D. So I found this AI software, Meshy to do it.

wip_07_3dfiles — Fungi micrography into STL

I also tried this other software imagetostl , but even a beautiful result, not useful for what i needed, cause the image comes out as a block

wip_08_3dfiles — Fungi micrography into STL

Then I put it together with my MakeHuman shape in Rhino

Save this file as STL

Step 5_slicer for fusion 360¶

Then IMPORT your STL file into Slicer for Fusion 360, we work with in in Original size, and in millimeters. Then create a new option on the MANUNFACTURING SETTINGS for the material and laser cut machine you are going to use.

wip_010_slicer — import file-original size - millimeters + manufacturing settings

Then you can choose different CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES, we've chosen interlocked slices in this case. You can ROTATE the direction of the slices, and also modify the position of each slice one by one:

Once you are happy with your piece, GET YOUR PLANS, export on .DFX and in millimeters.

Step 6_slices into Rhino, nesting¶

Once you got your plans, we open them back in Rhino, always IGNORE THICKNESS

wip_013_slicer — open plans-ignore THICKNESS

And we work on the nesting of our plans, and also divide them into CUT and ENGRAVE layers:

Important to MAKE 2D your file before exporting Then we save that as .DXF ready to go to the laser cut (make a tryout first !)

wip_014_slicer — save DXF for laser cutting

Step 7_laser cut machine¶

Once your file is ready out of Rhino , import into the laser cut program and adjust the settings for both CUTTING and ENGRAVING. There're different options for your line, like DOT. I very much like the effect

Material: Paper
Thickness: 0,2 mm

CUT
Speed: 400
Min. power: 50
Max. power: 50

Then you download the file and it gets sent to the laser cut machine

wip_015_laser cut — settings LASER CUT MACHINE, aka Martha

3D Models¶

From my files, i decided to go for the folded construction method as it looked best with my design:

But this turned out not to work when it came to building it with the cardboard. The joint pieces where very small.

So I decided to go back to my interconnected slices model.

Material: Wood
Thickness: 0,4 mm

CUT
Speed: 25
Min. power: 70
Max. power: 72

wip_018_laser cut — laser cut in progress

wip_019_laser cut — laser cut sliced assamblage final result

Fabrication files¶

This is the contorsion i started working with:

Contorsion by laurafantolin on Sketchfab

This is the result i'm pursuing, where i blend fungi limbs to the body part:

digital bodies_fungi feet by laurafantolin on Sketchfab

2D laser cut for sliced assamblage final result

2D cut interlocked assamblage _ LEGS by laurafantolin on Sketchfab