Traditionally, art modelers and sculpturists would sketch on paper before creating their finishing product. Now, with 3D-printing technology, those artists can perform sketch-based modeling—a process that involves drawing a 2D shape that will be converted to 3D by a software.
The great, ongoing improvement of additive manufacturing has not only allowed designers to create digital designs on the computer before creating tangible models, but to also create actual models while instantaneously drawing their designs.
A 3D-printing pen called the 3Doodler is a handheld product that allows users to freely print models without the use of a huge, $300-$1,000 3D printing machine. Also, because of how it is designed to be like a glue gun for 3D printing and without the need for a user-installed software, artists who are unfamiliar with digital art software can use their steady hands and this pen to make their creations instead.
The 3Doodler has not only bring new meaning to handmade artworks, but they also give users the ability to produce their own products with unprecedented customization. (3D printing is usually more affordable than building models by hand and certainly less costly than contracting a manufacturer to do it.)
As the versatility of 3D printers continues to improve, 3D printers will not only extend the creative ability of artists, but it will also become indubitably beneficial to the production of things for aid workers, soldiers, doctors, and other people who are in constant high demand for supplies. With portable 3D printers like the 3Doodler, anyone can be an artist and an engineer.
3D printing enables engineers and designers to manufacture things they couldn’t make with traditional methods.”
-Suzy Antoniw, exhibition leader of the Science Museum
The 3Doodler is $75 and can be purchased online and in electronic and arts and crafts retail stores.
For more information about the 3Doodler, visit their official website here.
MCTTAN 