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Week 02 — Digital Bodies

1. Research & Ideation

In this assignment, I explored the relationship between body and gesture.
My goal was to create a 1:1 scale digital body using MakeHuman, Blender and Fusion 360, and then 3D print a sliced torso.

I was inspired by:

  • Classical Greek sculptures for proportion, balance and timeless representation
  • Lorenzo Quinn for expressive gestures and emotional meaning in the body
  • Haute couture mannequins as a reference for “idealized” human measurements

1.1 Greek Sculptural Inspiration

These statues helped me to focus on:

  • the torso as a central element,
  • soft fabric folds versus anatomical structure,
  • and how gesture can exist even in a static form.

2. Tools & Machines

2.1 Software Tools

  • MakeHuman – to generate a parametric human body and control measurements
  • Blender – to edit the mesh, clean the geometry and isolate the torso
  • Fusion 360 – to slice the torso model for 3D printing
  • Slicer / 3D printer software – to prepare the STL for printing

2.2 Machines

  • FDM 3D Printer – to produce the physical sliced torso model

3. MakeHuman – Body Creation & Measurements

3.1 Base Model Setup

I started by creating a realistic human body in MakeHuman.
The goal was to approximate a 1:1 scale adult body and then adapt it to my project.

Key settings I adjusted:

  • Gender: male
  • Age: Adult (around 30–40 range)
  • Height: Set close to my own height (around 165–170 cm)
  • Weight / Proportions: Slightly adjusted to keep a balanced torso
  • Body proportions:
  • Shoulder width
  • Torso length
  • Leg length vs torso

(Screenshot: general MakeHuman body settings panel)

3.2 Detailed Anthropometric Measurements

To make the model more precise, I used the Measurements tab in MakeHuman to check and adjust:

  • total body height
  • shoulder width
  • chest / bust
  • waist
  • hip
  • arm length
  • torso depth

These values helped me to connect the digital model with real-world measurements and later with the 3D print.

3.3 Exporting from MakeHuman

Once I was satisfied with the proportions, I exported the model:

  • File → Export → OBJ (.obj)
  • kept T-pose to make editing easier in Blender
  • saved as week02_body_makehuman.obj

This OBJ file became the starting point for the mesh editing phase in Blender.

4. Blender – Mesh Editing & Torso Isolation

4.1 Importing the MakeHuman Model

In Blender:

  1. File → Import → Wavefront (.obj)
  2. Selected week02_body_makehuman.obj
  3. Switched to Solid and Wireframe visualizations to examine the mesh topology.

(Screenshot: full-body mesh in Blender wireframe view)

4.2 Cleaning and Preparing the Mesh

To simplify the model and prepare it for slicing, I cleaned the geometry:

  • Removed unused vertex groups and materials
  • Checked the mesh for non-manifold edges
  • Used:
  • Mesh → Clean Up → Delete Loose
  • Mesh → Normals → Recalculate Outside

I then applied basic modifiers:

  • Subdivision Surface – to smooth the surface
  • Smooth / Shade Smooth – to soften the look of the torso

(Screenshot: subdivision modifier applied)

4.3 Cutting Arms, Legs and Head

The goal was to isolate the torso (from neck to upper thighs).

Steps:

  1. Entered Edit Mode (Tab)
  2. Switched to Face Select mode
  3. Used Box Select (B) and Circle Select (C) to select arms, legs and head
  4. Deleted them with:
  5. X → Delete → Faces

This left only the central torso volume.

(Screenshot: isolated torso after deleting limbs and head)

4.4 Finalizing the Torso & Export

After checking that:

  • the torso had no holes,
  • the mesh was manifold,

I exported it for slicing:

  • File → Export → STL (.stl)
  • saved as week02_torso_clean.stl

(Screenshot: final cleaned torso in Blender)

5. Fusion 360 – Slicing the Torso for 3D Printing

Following Anastasia’s tutorial, I used Fusion 360 to create vertical slices of the torso.

5.1 Importing the STL

Steps:

  1. Open Fusion 360
  2. Insert → Insert Mesh
  3. Selected week02_torso_clean.stl
  4. Positioned the torso at the origin and confirmed the scale

5.2 Creating Slicing Planes

To slice the model:

  1. Created construction planes along one axis
  2. Construct → Offset Plane
  3. Repeated the operation to create multiple planes at regular intervals
  4. Each plane defined the thickness of one “slice”

5.3 Splitting the Body

Using the slicing planes:

  1. Modify → Split Body
  2. Selected the torso as the Body to split
  3. Selected all slicing planes as Tools
  4. Fusion 360 generated multiple sliced bodies

5.4 Exporting Sliced Parts

Finally:

  1. Turned visibility on/off to check each slice
  2. Exported the assembled sliced torso as STL:
  3. Right-click on the body or component → Save as Mesh
  4. Chose STL format

Saved file: week02_torso_sliced.stl

6. Files for Download

All design files are uploaded to my repository for evaluation:

  • docs/files/week02/week02_torso_clean.stl
  • docs/files/week02/week02_torso_sliced.stl
  • (optional) docs/files/week02/week02_body_makehuman.obj

7. 3D Printing & Final Result

7.1 3D Printing

I imported week02_torso_sliced.stl into the slicing software:

  • Checked orientation and supports
  • Selected appropriate layer height and infill
  • Exported G-code and sent it to the FDM 3D printer

(Screenshot/photo: printed sliced torso)

7.2 Scale Reference

To communicate the real size of the printed torso, I photographed it next to a ruler and my hand:

This gives a clear idea of the physical dimensions and helps to compare the final object with the reference measurements from MakeHuman.