Digital bodies¶

1. Objective¶

First week experimenting building something from scratch!

My personal objective for this week was working on my own workflow in my creation process and I believe I did good; I will describe more in the 2.1 "Quick how-tos" section.

I developed design skills by acquiring knowledge about 3D scanning and modelling, mesh repair or manipulation.

I developed fabrication skills by being capable of executing from file to production workflow, from slicer to laser cutting.

I understood the fabrication process and understood the workflow, and I am able to reproduce it.

My Final outcome was a stacked model representing a woman LIPS.

I do not think my practice was very original, but I am very pleased with it; I was able to create from scratch an image using Gemini AI, make a 3D model using TRIPO3D, editing the mesh for some corrections with Blender, slicing and stacking my model with Slicer for Fusion 360, cutting with a Laser Cutter CFL-CMA139OT.

2. References, research & inspiration¶

I looked into at all of the material Anastasia Pistofidou, Rico and presented in the webinar for inspiration.

My highlights: - different art representations of the body. - Jaume Plensa: use of 3D software to deform his sculptures. - My favorite: David Cerny and his slicing technique.

Jaume Plensa, 1955 Barcelona

David Cerny, Prague

2.1 Tutorials¶

I enjoyed Rico´s Blender tutorial, ja! it´s a 2 hours video, but it took me 2 DAYS to be able to complete the exercises. I learned a lot!

3. Tools¶

TinyPNG
Ideation Process
Editing 3D mesh
3d Model with TRIPO3DForm Slice app
Laser Cutter video
Adobe Illustrator

4. Process and workflow¶

This is the workflow I followed after watching all the tutorials that were really great!:

Step 1¶

I scanned myself trying to get a nice profile to get my lips, but I really didn´t like how they looked and decided to try an ideation process with Gemini AI.

I did three iterations looking for women sexy lips and I was able to get a very nice image.

Image used:

Step 2¶

I generated a 3D model of the lips choosing 159000 vertices using Tripo3D which worked really well in Blender. I exported the .stl file to my computer.

Step 3¶

I imported the .stl file to Blender in order to edit the mesh and get rid of some bumps on the upper lip that didn´t make me very happy.

Step 4¶

I imported the image in Slicer for Fusion 360 and started working with the parameters selecting the following:

• size of the cardboard: custom 1250mm X 1530mm
• height: 200mm
• width: 241.4mm
• length: 517.03 mm
• Stacked
• Automatic Dowels

I tried the software Asli presented in her tutorial but I haven´t cut with it yet, but I will try it, basically because Slicer 360 crashed several times in my Mac.

Step 5 Laser cutting¶

• After turning the primary and secondary systems on the laser cutting machine, I focused the laser at 5mm between the optics and the loaded cardboard.
• I opened the .dxf file but it showed an error: the red lines (related to the numbers and guides) were all over the cutting area. Raúl, one of y tutors helped me correcting by using Illustrator. This corrected the error.
• I entered the parameters for cutting in cardboard based on the previous cutting with our Fabricademy tutors:

For RED line: Max. Power(%) 20.00 / Min. Power(%) 15.00 Work speed (mm/s) 200
For GREEN lilne: Max. Power(%) 40.00 / Min. Power(%) 35.00 Work speed (mm/s) 90

I adjusted my pieces to the max size of the cutter and used the whole cardboard material. I did 2 cuts, they did not fit all on just one go. I have material left for future cuts.

The cutted cardboard:

Step 6 Construction¶

I struggled to construct my LIPS because I did not find any reference on the cutted pieces or the Assembly Steps that could tell me exactly where the sliced pieces should join. It took me quite a bit of time (2 hours) and I did not succeed.

Honestly, the Dowels really didn´t help much. I was finally able to understand the assembly logic and succeeded with a beautiful result.

5. Results¶

VERY HAPPY :)

5.1 3D Models¶

File: Blender 3D

6. Weekly reflection & critical thinking¶

• I loved this second week / Hands on week. I can´t deny I felt frustrated, since everything is new to me and I am in a completely different zone that I used to be. Very happy with the results and I´m very much looking forward to keep learning more.
• I need to be more confident in myself and trust the process; I was afraid to construct the lips, because it look threatening in the beggining.
• This project is related to my final project because I will definately use the laser cutter and I will experiment with different materials.
• I do question the issue of sustainability regarding the waste of materials, but I see IBERO is very much concerned about it and emphazises optimization.
• So, I:
• Learned to design by acquiring knowledge about 3D scanning and modelling, mesh repair or manipulation.
• Developed fabrication skills by being capable of executing from file to production workflow, from slicer to laser cutting.
• Understood the fabrication process and understood the workflow, and I am able to reproduce it.

7. Fabrication files & References¶