3D printing you say?

Yes 3D printing!……. Marc had the bright idea 10 years ago to buy a 3D printer, bring it home and learn how to use it. There was me thinking - here we go another toy….He had never touched one before and to be honest not many people had heard of them at the time, it was a whole new world. I remember that first printer like it was yesterday, the swearing and frustration as it failed over and over again after hours of printing, or he failed - who knows which one, either way it was beyond frustrating, it always seemed to fail in the middle of the night too. But in true Marc fashion, he would not give up until not only did he master it, he also started to implement it into our work in the film industry, teaching himself all the 3D programmes he began to use the techniques in the workshop. I think his first 3D printed part for costume was Thors discs in Avengers: age of ultron. As the years have gone by full time positions have become available on films for 3D sculptors in all departments including costume. The unique thing about Marc is that he can now work on the bench and on the computer, making him so versatile to designers. He tackles every design idea with a multi skilled approach combining new and old techniques to always get the best results.

One thing I have realised is that lots of people don’t really understand the 3D printing process, there is a misconception that a computer creates something and then a printer prints it, it’s easy and quick and mass producible. That may be the way things will eventually go and it certainly can be used to speed up processes but in our experience, it couldn't be further from the truth. Without Marc’s hand physically sculpting with the pen on the screen, his design ideas, without his extensive knowledge of making and how things work, working out mechanisms and potential problems once the object is reality - we wouldn’t have been able to produce these amazing pieces of jewellery. 3D printing is an extra tool to be used but it needs a skilled hand to use it.