3D Printing

Hollywood Legend Brings Popeye to Life with 3D Printing

Remember Popeye? That deformed sailor who would eat spinach laced with PCP and go beating up anyone he thought was hitting on his girlfriend? That may not be how you remember him, but that seems to be how Hollywood makeup artist Rick Baker does. With a MakerBot Replicator 2, the seven-time Oscar winning artist has masterfully created a realistic portrayal of Popeye the Sailor Man that will have you rethinking the loveable scamp you know and love. 

Rick Baker popeye 3D print scale

As a kid, Baker was inspired by the makeup artists behind the Shock Theater horror film series of the 50’s, saying, “Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine had articles on people who made this stuff. They became my idols.”  He began his makeup career by dying his mother’s pie-crust and moulding prosthetic pieces.  Before long, Baker became known as the makeup legend behind films like “Star Wars IV: A New Hope”, “Maleficent”, and, my personal favorite, “Videodrome.”

Rick Baker 3D printing

The artist came into 3D printing almost by accident, via the circuitous root of contributing to charity. In buying a 3D printer as a means of donating to Big Brothers Big Sisters, Baker explains, “I bought the MakerBot Replicator 2 for more than what it cost retail.”  He had thought of the machine as more of a toy that he could “probably print up custom palettes to put makeup in.”  A new 3D printer has a bit of a learning curve and it took him a few weeks to get the knack of his new Replicator, he admits (as his handle “monstermaker”) in a Zbrush forum post:

Rick Baker popeye 3D print copiesIt took me quite a while to get up to speed with the MakerBot mainly because I don’t really know about this stuff. I finally got these results with a lot of trial and error, about a month’s worth. Most of the problems were (down to the fact that) I don’t know what I am doing. At first I tried printing models with millions of polys. It took forever to slice the model if at all. Once I started decimating the ztools and using the 3d print exported plugin- I love you pixologic – things worked a lot better.

In no time, Baker was able to apply his expert 3D modeling skills to his newly mastered tool.  About seven years ago, Baker 3D modeled a beautifully rendered bust of a realistic, painstakingly detailed Popeye that became so popular that, according to the artist, “People have gotten tattoos of it.” To bring the model into the physical world, he printed it at about four inches in height and applied many layers of paint, with Baker saying, “That final Popeye print has 20 different glazes on it.”  The hat on Popeye’s head is a separate print, in which real thread was melted into MakerBot’s Warm Gray PLA Filament.  Baker explains his print finishing process in a good amount of detail:

Rick Baker popeye 3D print copies freshThe biggest clean up is getting the supports off and the build lines. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any solvent that you can brush over the surface to remove the build lines except for solvents that are too dangerous to work with. Acetone does a little but then leaves dry flaky patches. I have been sanding and using dental tools to clean up the prints. Also really valuable is using a soldering iron with a variable temperature setting. Many of the pieces that I have printed have had a problem when for some reason a couple of rows don’t print. To save the print I pause the printer and with some scraps from previous printouts or just more of the PLA filament I basically weld it back together with the soldering iron, then resume the print. Otherwise it will continue printing and after a while the top few layers fall off and the printer continues to spew out plastic, which results in a big mess. Once the print is finished I will then carefully weld the seam on the surface and try and bring it back to what it should look like.

The hat on the flesh coloured Popeye had this happen several times. It took something like 8 hours to print and I didn’t want to have to do it again so I welded it all back together and then added the threads that run horizontally across the hat. I used real thread and melted it into the printed hat. That took a while but I had to do so much welding and patching on that had that I lost the modeled threads.

I painted the Popeye with Alkyd paints, a fast drying oil paint. Many thin glazes, with a day in between glazes so that they dried. It does appear though, that I can scratch off the paint if not careful. The metal one was painted first with primer then gold spray paint then glazes of acrylic.

There are a few lessons to take away from Rick’s Popeye story: if you’re having trouble with your own prints, don’t worry; you’re not the only one.  Even Hollywood legends struggle with their 3D printers.  His experience also carries with it the upside that, with time and a lot of trial and error, you can create something beautiful with really great resolution.  As for the caliber of Baker’s work, you may not get something that good, without years and years of painting experience, but it is possible to turn a single color PLA print into something with a good deal of depth. Finally, Baker’s reimagining of Popeye teaches us that we should be wary of a realistic rendition of Donald Duck, who never seems to be wearing any pants.

Source: MakerBot