Revolution - Sculpture in the Digital Age

(Radical innovations in traditional sculpture making)
Jock Hildebrand, DFA

Published in Sculpturing Brilliance

The Essays collection of 2008 China Changchun International Sculpture Conference

Creating sculpture will radically change in this age of digital composition; the revolution will free sculptors from tedious and repetitive work.  The creative concept time will be magnified and enhanced.

Creating digital sculpture is exactly that, creating sculpture in a variety of computer programs on screen, in three dimensions, using a mouse, a drawing pad or a haptic (feed back device). This 3-D file can then be translated into three dimensional realities by use of a CNC machine. “The abbreviation CNC stands for computer numerical control, and refers specifically to a computer "controller" that reads G-code instructions and drives a machine tool, a powered mechanical device typically used to fabricate components by the selective removal of material. CNC does numerically directed interpolation of a cutting tool in the work envelope of a machine. The operating parameters of the CNC can be altered via a software load program"

(Picture of CNC machine)

What this means in very practical terms is that a sculptor can, without leaving his or her desk, create a 3-D file, transfer it via the internet and have a completed sculpture in a variety of mediums, delivered to the studio, without having touched the sculpture.

The issue of quality will become immediately apparent. Control during the creative
process is essential to the sculptor. In fact, loss of control is not an issue once sculptors become fluent with the programs used. Gaining fluency does however take time. I found that using the rhino program, on my own without external instruction took about 4 months of casual use to achieve anything like an intuitive use.

One of the benefits that may not be immediately apparent is the ability to use the file to either sell a sculpture to a client or to illustrate in three dimensions how the finished product will look and how it will appear in a given site. This will work with proposed developments that have available illustrations of the future project.
Clients are often unable to visualize how a proposed sculpture will look in a 2-D drawing, but are easily able to understand if they can see it in 3-D, and especially if it is shown on the virtual site. Some of the programs allow a movie to be made of the 3-d virtual sculpture. This movie can be burnt onto a DVD for clients to view when they wish.

A  Large Public Sculpture Project Created Digitally

As an illustration of how a project can proceed I have included photos of a recent project of my own entitled “Herons landing” which was produced in my studio and foundry.  After presenting some traditional pencil drawings and discussing preliminary ideas with my client, I created the sculpture in the Rhino program.  The time to produce the virtual sculpture was approximately two weeks. This included some of the learning curve in regard to the program, as I was relatively new to it.  When the 3-D drawings were completed, the file was then sent to a nearby firm in Vancouver, B.C. Canada, 3-D Foam. The company specializes in cutting foam for movie sets using large CNC machines. Most of their work was large scale, using large CNC machines thus appropriate to my objectives.

(Photo of model)

The project I made was a 25 ft bronze sculpture; the portion I created on the computer was approximately12 ft high and 9 ft wide.

(Photo of finished, vinyl coated Styrofoam positive.)

 When 3-D Foam finished the cutting job, I had them coat it with a spray-on vinyl.
This coating made the surface stronger as I was using expanded polystyrene and also allowed me to finish the surface using standard polyester auto body filler as the surface was somewhat rough. Care must be taken not to use fillers or paints which might act as solvents to the styrofoam.  Not only Styrofoam can be shaped. Quite a few materials can be cut with the CNC machine including high density foam, plaster and even marble and granite. Once the surface was finished to my satisfaction, I coated it with a separation agent and took plaster moulds from it.  At this point I treated it as I would any positive in my bronze foundry, taking moulds and making waxes, moulding with a ceramic shell system and casting in bronze.

One other way of using CNC machines is to have a small maquette digitally scanned, then digitally enlarged and cut on a CNC machine. This appears to be a more used process by sculptors now, but I believe that will change as more sculptors become conversant with 3-D design programs, a cleaner and more efficient CNC cutting. 
 
(Photo taking plaster moulds)

The Upside

One of the biggest benefits to sculptors is the amount of time needed to create a positive. For a large sculpture the amount of time saved is considerable. To create the top portion of `Herons Landing `a third and most intricate part of the sculpture, took the CNC machine two days to produce in Styrofoam, a job that would have taken two or three months to do by hand.

(Photo of finished bronze sculpture)

This of course allows much more time for sculptors to simply be creative. The whole digital process also allows sculptors to sculpt as long as they can use the computer. Age is no longer a real factor for sculptors in terms of creation.

The CNC machine delivers exactly what you have produced on the machine, whether it is an organic shape or a geometric shape

The Downside

The down side of digital sculpture is primarily expense. The cost of computer equipment and programming can easily run into many thousands of dollars. Haptic machines will expense between 6 and 12 thousand or more.  Large scale CNC machines may also run into the tens of thousands of dollars.   Most sculptors and designers will simply contract CNC machine use.  CNC machines are however not always available within the immediate vicinity, necessitating travel and transportation. This is especially true for very large pieces. Learning to use the programs is really a trial and error process by sculptors. Although most programs come with a manual and videos, classes for these products are far and few between. In most places they are simply not available, and for the average sculptor, traveling and taking these specialized classes may well be cost prohibitive.

3-D Programs and Techniques

While there are many programs available to create digital sculpture, all are some variations of computer aided design programs.  Most usage of these programs is by computer animators such as game makers and movie animators. They are also used by engineers in creating industrial objects, everything from jet planes to running shoes. Sculptors are just begging to make use of the technology.
 There are three popularly used means by which to represent a model:

• Polygonal modeling - Various vertices on an xyz grid are mapped out. The vertices are connected in a linear fashion to form a polygonal mesh. Used for example by Maya 3d.
• NURBS modeling or Non-uniform rational B-spline involves forming curves by defining control points and attaching a "weight" to each one. The curve follows (but does not necessarily interpolate) the points. Increasing the weight for a point will pull the curve closer to that point. NURBS are particularly suitable for organic modelling. Used for example by Rhino3d.

Splines & Patches modeling - Curves which define the surface directly (Splines); Because the appearance of an object depends largely on the exterior of the object, boundary representations are common in computer graphics.

In my practice I have used primarily Rhino 3-D and Claytools. Both of these tools are based on nurbs modeling and can produce a very organic form if desired.   Practice of course makes perfect and after some time the tools become intuitive during usage.

Haptic Devices

One of the most intuitive devices available to the sculptor is the haptic (or feed back) device. The one that I use is made by SensAble Technologies and costs around 6 thousand dollars.  It is a device rather like an arm which is anchored on a desk. It holds a pen which can move in any direction. When you create an object, for example a ball, the device allows you to feel it in space, while you can see it on the computer screen.  While being able to touch the object (which exists of course only in the computer) in space the sculptor can manipulate it while feeling it. For example, by using the carving tool for a subtractive process, or by adding to the object for an additive process, one can alter the object. This could potentially allow a blind person to sculpt virtual sculptures on the computer. The process is as close to sculpting in real clay as is presently possible in virtual space.

The Future
It would seem that the future is already here. One development that will be of great use to sculptors is the 3-D printer. As opposed to the CNC machine, a subtractive process, the 3-D printer is a machine that prints three dimensional object, an additive process. 3-D printing was developed for industry as a method of rapid prototyping. A three dimensional object is created by layering a substance and building it up until the object is produced.
One variation of 3-D printing consists of an inkjet printing system. Layers of a fine powder are selectively bonded by "printing" an adhesive from the inkjet printhead where upon a material such as resin is sprayed on the adhesive thus building up a 3-D object layer by layer. Other machines feed liquids, such as photopolymer, which form each layer of the model. These machines use ultraviolet light to cure each layer as it is deposited.
Another variation called fused deposition modeling uses a nozzle to deposit molten polymer again building it up layer by layer. This technology can be used for producing positives for casting for example in bronze or steel. Future technology will no doubt be able to produce in almost any medium.  These machines are very expensive costing tens or hundreds of thousand of dollars. This however may change very soon.

Free plans exist on the internet of a 3-D printer that is purported to be able to self replicate These plans may be found at http://fabathome.org. The inventor proposes that these inexpensive machines which can be produced for around 500 dollars will revolutionize our world. Futurists predict that all homes will have one. This technology may well change the future of sculpture. Virtual sculpture plans may be sent over the internet to produce sculpture in home-owned 3-D printer machines. The plans would be purchased from the sculptor for a fee. This may establish a large international market for sculptors for limited or unlimited editions produced by 3-D printers. Virtual locks on the downloaded virtual sculpture plans would disable pirate copying, the same way some music and movies are copyright locked.

I have recently purchased a small CNC machine capable of producing a model of approximately 12 x 12 x 4 inches. I can double the size of the model by cutting it into halves or thirds and gluing the parts together. I can thus produce in very short time small sculpture or maquettes for clients.  I anticipate the possibility of producing both large sculptures (produced under contract from an external company) and in-house small sculpture for limited edition from the same electronic file.

Resistance to new technology is always evident especially in endeavours such as sculpture making where long held traditions of technique are employed. But the new technology will enable faster and easier design in some cases. Digital fabrication techniques will prevail, and much like paper replaced papyrus and clay tablets, the new technology will displace all but the most diehard purists. Industry has developed these digital devices for rapid design and prototyping of manufactured goods.  The development has benefited industry immeasurably.  It is now time for sculptors to adopt and benefit from this digital technology. It is a revolution. And it is now time for us to benefit.