Mixing digital sculpture with real objects by Greg Petchkovsky
Published on January 16, 2013
By combining 3d scanning, 3d digital modelling, and 3d printing, it is possible to create amazing and surprising effects, objects that can seamlessly blend between reality and imagination. In this tutorial, Greg describes the process of making a full colour 3d printed object that seamlessly fits on to a real sandstone wall, producing the illusion that the wall is built from pieces of lego. But the techniques described have a more general usefulness, almost limitless potential, and are easier and less expensive than you might think!
Staring with a real physical object, in this case a sandstone brick wall, he creates an inexpensive but high quality digital 3d scan using a stills camera and the program Agisoft Photoscan. Greg then models the lego brick shapes over this scan using 3d software, he makes this model fit perfectly onto the scanned wall by using boolean subtraction, I add colours clone stamped from the photos, correct the scale, and finally he does a colour 3d print, which fits seamlessly onto the sandstone wall, producing a novel illusion that would be difficult to achieve by other methods.