LIFE-SIZE PORTRAIT BUST
3D-printed and faux finished portrait bust.
Concept Realizations was commissioned to create a life-sized 3D printed portrait of venture capitalist Brad Feld, to commemorate his success in backing MakerBot. Because the portrait was to be a surprise gift to Feld, there was no opportunity to 3D scan him. The piece had to be modeled from photos of him gathered online.
We proposed a bust, roughly from the shoulders up, and were given a lot of creative freedom with the design. We took a risk, betting that our client would like something more interesting than a staid chairman-of-the-board style portrait. The final sculpture references the Artemision Bronze, Leighton’s An Athlete Wrestling with a Python, with a few other classical and pop allusions.
Keeping with the theme of Feld’s involvement with MakerBot, the piece was printed on a MakerBot consumer-grade 3D printer. After assembly, we hand-finished it with a bronze patina.
The client and Feld were pleased with with the resulting heroic-barbarian-warrior-champion-god vibe.
Video of reference images, design, 3D printing, and finished bust. (Click on the image to start the video.)
(3D Systems Inc. had nothing to do with this project, so it’s a mystery why they sponsored this feature.)