Artist James Cain takes fan art to a whole new level with 3D printing and using Zbrush and Modo for rendering Ubin from The Banner Saga. He also provided an interview for Yui from i.materialise. While Cain admitted to a steep learning curve, the artist’s meticulous attention to detail and spirit of the character speaks for itself. It is not the first work 3D printed by Cain, but it does establish his talent with the medium and provides a supportive impetus to continue experimenting with 3D printing and similar fan art interpretations.
Cain explains, “I had a very good response from a series of my sculpts based on the game Dishonored and decided to look into the possibility of 3D printing one or more. My first large print was from i.materialise in polished white polyamide, I was really impressed with what could be achieved! There is nothing quite like physically holding your own work that has only ever existed on the screen.”
One of the more impressive qualities in this particular work of Cain is the world-weary countenance adorning Ubin in the 3D print. It is easy to see the suffered eyes in 2D illustrations that embellish the character’s hundreds of years of age. The eyes and beard and gnarled horns (which Cain admitted were the hardest piece to accurately render with 3D design software) are vital to a successful artistic interpretation of the beloved character. In the end, Cain decided to follow his artistic instinct. “It’s always difficult to translate a 2D drawing into 3D, especially when heavily stylized as in the case of The Banner Saga. His beard in the 2D artwork is a good example and when it came to sculpting, I found it very tricky to represent faithfully. In the end I approached the sculpt as ‘my take’ on the character, and this was more fun!”
James Cain looks to continue with similar characters inspired by various illustrators he admires as well as beings from popular fantasy and science fiction. His next project turns to Blade Runner and the replicants. As art imitates life, so the process goes with 3D printing even among artists. Often people learn how to make simple objects then progress to copying more intricate tools and devices before their personal creativity overflows and new gadgets surface. Cain will use the experience with the beautifully rendered fan art to inspire his personal creations, something for which people who appreciate visually stunning work will be thankful.
Source: imaterialise
