{"id":4552,"date":"2013-03-07T09:51:58","date_gmt":"2013-03-07T14:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=4552"},"modified":"2013-03-07T09:57:59","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T14:57:59","slug":"3d-printing-will-this-be-fractal-arts-big-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=4552","title":{"rendered":"3D Printing: Will this be Fractal Art’s Big Break?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With 3D printing technology, fractal art can cheaply and easily enter the domain of sculpture.\u00a0 It’s an exciting development and offers the ever dazzling world of fractals another venue in which to capture that proverbial and elusive, “mainstream” audience.\u00a0 Will this be fractal art’s big break or just another demonstration of how hard it is for “normal” people to relate to fractals?\u00a0 But first a little explanation of the technology.<\/p>\n

They call it<\/a> 3D “printing” because the objects are built up, layer by layer, from the bottom to the top.\u00a0 This is “additive” rather than the old fashioned “subtractive” method of carving out the object from a block of material like they do in machine shops.\u00a0 There are various 3D printing processes, some resemble an inkjet print head or laser plotter moving around quickly adding layer after layer of 3d pixel bricks while other methods fuse the powder in a large sand pile into smooth, delicate pieces with the precision of a master craftsman.\u00a0 (Here’s two basic links for more info: Wikipedia: 3D Printing<\/a>, and a very good Economist article<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Naturally it all starts with a 3D digital model.\u00a0 And although I’m sure there’s got to be some limitations as to what you can make with 3D “prints”; such as you can’t have parts of the model floating in mid-air; it looks like the only real limitation is your imagination.\u00a0 That is, what you can dream up in a 3D digital program.<\/p>\n

Here’s where fractals have the real advantage: what could be a greater source of 3D dreams and imaginative works than 3D fractals?\u00a0 What could be a more exciting and better use of this custom sculpture technology than rendering the kind of complex and beautiful 3D fractals we’ve seen fractal artists making for years?<\/p>\n

Consider what this new technology means:\u00a0 Isn’t it just like the early days when fractals were first graphically rendered –in 2D?\u00a0 That was the great debut of 2D fractals and this is the same historical event but now in the much more sophisticated medium of 3D.\u00a0 Fractal art has now moved into the medium of sculpture and would it be premature to expect it to take on a much more radical popularity?\u00a0 Who can come up with more amazing, and a much more prolific amount, of 3D objects than a fractal artist?<\/p>\n

Jeremie Brunet (aka bib) has been posting photos on Fractalforums.com of his recent 3D prints made at Shapeways.com, one of the leading 3D printing companies.\u00a0 Shapeways will render your 3D image file and also give you a gallery on their site so you can exhibit it and even sell them to the public, just like Deviant Art does for artists with 2D prints.<\/p>\n

When I first saw Jeremie’s photos on Fractalforums I thought they were just digital images using a new photo realistic rendering technique.\u00a0 As we all know, 3D digital art can look pretty realistic these days but as it turns out his photo realistic images were real photographs of real objects, some of which were sitting in his hand.\u00a0 I think it was the sight of that hand that started me thinking, “What the what?”<\/p>\n

~Click on images to view full-size on original site~<\/em><\/p>\n

\"3D<\/a>

3D printed fractal by Jeremie Brunet (in the Master’s hand) posted to Fractalforums.com<\/p><\/div>\n

\"3D<\/a>

3D printed fractal by Jeremie Brunet<\/p><\/div>\n

\"3D<\/a>

3D printed fractal by Jeremie Brunet<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Box<\/a>

Box Pillar, 3D printed fractal by Jeremie Brunet<\/p><\/div>\n

There’s a lot more by Jeremie in this post, Shapeways for 3D printed fractals<\/a>. Some are metallic and others, like the Box Pillar above, show you how detailed and “fractal” the images –sculptures, really– are.\u00a0 It literally is the equivalent of printing out a fractal image in 3-dimensional form.\u00a0 You can see more of Jeremie’s sculptures at his Shapeways.com account<\/a>.\u00a0 In fact, you can buy your own copies of some for as little as $6!\u00a0 Buy some before he becomes famous.<\/p>\n

\"Infinitely<\/a>

Infinitely replicating slugs of ignorance – Fractal Sculpture by Kraftwerk<\/p><\/div>\n

Jeremie isn’t the only one getting into this.\u00a0 Here’s an excellent example by Kraftwerk (aka Mandelwerk, Johan Andersson).\u00a0 Fractals should have the potential to be the Michelangelos of 3D printing because no other method creates such intricate and novel objects with such ease and in such quantity.\u00a0 Compare the 3D print above with the original, “virtual” 3D image below:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The infinitely replicating slugs of ignorance and the false revelations induced by their phlegmatic movements by Kraftwerk<\/p><\/div>\n

Although the 3D “print” isn’t as rich and nuanced as the original image, it does illustrate how the aesthetic qualities of 3D fractals can be transferred to a 3D printed object.\u00a0 And the process is only going to get better –and cheaper.\u00a0 A fractal on every coffee table –or hanging from every rear-view mirror like CDs were back in the 80s.<\/p>\n

Here’s a short, two minute video from Shapeways.com showing how their 3D printing process works and how it can work for you:<\/p>\n