The Met Museum’s MediaLab explores emerging technologies that could impact how we experience, view and create artwork. That includes having a space with 3D printers and multiple types of CAD and 3D modelling software that museum visitors can use and experience.
Met MediaLab intern Decho Pitukcharoen wanted to help visitors to the museum understand how 3D printing works, and help demystify the process of scanning an object, creating a 3D model and finally printing it out on a 3D printer. So he created a simple step by step guide to help the MediaLab visitors create their first 3D reproduction of some of the art pieces on display at the Met.
The 3D Printing Booklet for Beginners has simple, easy-to-understand graphics that outline a basic workflow that even a novice can follow. It explains how to take pictures of the artwork, which types of artwork to avoid and the best methods for capturing the best pictures. It then walks you through using great free online resources like 123D Catch to turn your pictures into 3D models and using Tinkercad to create bases and stands for the artwork.
The booklet will probably need to be updated in a year as 3D printing technology changes so quickly and it is sort of Met-specific in a few places, but it is still a great resource for new or beginning 3D modellers.
You can get a PDF of the booklet here, and if you’d like to learn more about The Met’s MediaLab you can head over to their website.
