When animators needed a new face for Coraline, they just printed one out.
By PopPhoto.com Staff February 2009
If you headed out to the theater and saw Coraline this past weekend, then you saw the main character cycle through an arsenal of more than 200,000 facial expressions. To put that in perspective, Jack, the main character from The Nightmare Before Christmas could do about 800 when that movie was released in 1993. The improvement didn't come from insomniac sculptors, but rather from a machine that literally prints 3D objects.
Objet is a company that specializes in rapid prototyping. They produce machines that use inkjet print-heads to spray layer after layer of a UV curable liquid that hardens into a solid. Using a software developed by Laica (not to be confused with camera-maker, Leica), animators were able to create scenes in 3D animation software like Maya and send the results directly to the printer. "A character may hit 20 different facial positions in a single second of the film," said Bruce Bradshaw, director of US marketing for Objet. "The printer can take the 3D files and print them out. They snap the face on the body and take the picture." Other objects, like drops of water, were also printed rather than sculpted using one of three machines: The Eden 260, Eden 500v and the high-end Connex 500.
A movie doesn't need actors made of clay to benefit from 3D printing magic. According to Bruce, "You have seen props that were printed on Objet printers in movies before. There are big studios using our technology. You just can't tell."
Starting at a little under $40,000, and taking up as much space as a typical refrigerator, Objet's printers aren't exactly ready for the shelves at Office Depot, but they're getting closer. Lots of 3D software that you're already probably using is capable of producing a 3D printable file. Games like World of Warcraft and Spore can allow users to print out three-dimensional representations of their avatars. Google even has a free application called Sketch-Up that lets you create detailed 3D models that can then easily be printed.
Artists of all types have been taking advantage of the ability to quickly create just about anything you can imagine, but the possibilities for photographers are endless. You could use it to print props, background elements or even wardrobe if your models is feeling adventurous.
To get more examples of how the Coraline team put Objet's printers to work, check out the video that's embedded above, or just start working on convincing your boss that you absolutely need to have one of these in your office.
