- Q: Can you make bigger statues?
A: Yes, but with certain limitations. With my current equipment I can make statues 12 inches max in the longest dimension. It's also depends on the statue's geometry. Please message me about specific statue and its desired size. - Q: Can you make statues entirely in metal like brass or bronze?
A: No. Metal casting requires a specially equipped workshop to work with extremely high temperatures, open fire, dangerous chemicals, licenses, safety permits, inspections and certifications to meet the regulations. Also metal is not a good material to make statues with high resolution details and very complex geometry. The statues with the same level of details, resolution, size and geometry in metal would cost you an arm and a leg. Metal/alloys are durable, but have some serious downsides: an ugly corrosion caused by active chemicals in the air. Also some tiny features/details could be too delicate/fragile to keep its form without breaking. I have an entire cemetery of airbrushes to prove it:
- Q: Why are your statues somewhat lightweight?
A: There are 2 main reasons for that:
Fist of all, UV-resin requires UV light to cure (completely solidify) the resin. UV light can't penetrate deeper than 2mm from a surface. Hence statues must be hollow with 1.5-2mm shell, otherwise it would be a shell with a large amount of uncured resin inside. Such statues will eventually crack and break.
Secondly, old traditions require idol statues to have hollow space/room inside to welcome the spirit of the deity to stay there. I have very old traditional metal and ceramic idols, and they all have cavity inside. The cavity is used to keep/hide some important objects inside the idols:
- Q: Is UV-resin a plastic?
A: It depends on definitions. Resin is a natural substance produced by trees, and hardened by light and air. As an example: amber is a solidified/fossilized resin. I use synthetic photopolymer resin in my work, it's a modern high tech, high resolution durable material used in various industries. The main difference between resin and plastic: plastic can be recycled by melting it and then reused again. Resin can't be melted/reused after it's cured. -
Q: Is it possible to make the statues heavy?
A: Yes. If by some reason you want to add more weight to the statue, you can glue a metal or stone plate to the bottom of its base. But you have to keep in mind, that heavy objects are prone to break or cause damages if you accidently drop them.
BTW, Sculpture is a visual 3D form of art, hence it's weight is irrelevant.
There is just a strange stereotype, that all statues must be made of metal and be heavy for no apparent reason. Sculptures have been made for millennia from a large variety of materials from papier mache, plaster, wood, clay, ceramics etc. to stone, with even glass and ice in between. The value of the artwork reflects its uniqueness, artistic expression and time involved to make an art piece, its material and weight are not that important if the sculpture serves its purpose. - Q: Is UV-resin cheaper than brass or bronze?
A: No. Brass and bronze are fairly cheap materials: you can buy them for $2-$4 a pound: www.recycleinme.com/scrappricedetailedlisting/Us%20Scrap%20Prices/Brass/1
The resin I use in my work costs 10 times more than that. - Q: Can you make a statue based on a picture/photo?
A: It's possible, but custom 3D modeling is a time-consuming expensive job and can take several months to complete. Some pictures could be drawn with total disrespect to reality and laws of physics, hence it's impossible to make them into a real-life 3D object. I simply don't have time for all of that. - Q: Why do you call 3D-printed statues "handmade"?
A: 3D printer is just a tool, it's not much different in its purpose from casting forms used by jewelers and sculptors for centuries. A 3D printer can't produce a finished art piece, we're not there yet. This is what you get directly from a resin (MSLA) 3D printer:
To turn it into a beautiful statue requires hours of handcrafting. Also 3D printer can't print your imagination directly, you have to create a 3D model first, using computer and bunch of software apps.
Please contact me if you have some other questions about my work.