3D scanning in the Open Studios

April 10th, 2011 at 09:42pm Molly

I was delighted to see one of my favorite new media artists Sophie Kahn return to the Open Studios, and she brought a very cool toy. An industry standard in Hollywood and video game development, the FastSCAN Cobra is one of the quickest most lightweight 3D laser scanners on the market, generously on loan to the artist from our friends at Polhemus. 3D scanners are used throughout creative practices to render and reconstruct images-to archive objects, model props, create textures, design characters, and much more. Sophie invited visitors to sit for portraits using the 3D scanner, and she was swamped with over 50 volunteers, including fellow Open Studio artist Ruth Marshall and MAD’s professional staff. A BIG thank-you goes out to every individual who participated in this project. At the end of the day, Sophie said to me, “My gosh, now I have enough data for years!”

In the scanning process, everyone must close their eyes to protect their retinas from prolonged exposure to the class 3R laser beam. The scanner sends out a beam of light over the subject of the portrait, which is recorded by a video camera in the handset. The video camera records the beam’s changing contours, and the scanner software reads the changes and generates a 3D computer model of the scanned form. Sophie’s work examines the imperfections in this technology. By adjusting (or ignoring) the system’s calibration, Sophie’s scans have distinctive fractures which make her work so unique. It was fascinating to watch each person’s likeness appear on Sophie’s laptop; glasses created gaps along the temples and facial hair proved to be a scruffy variable.

Regrettably, we didn’t get to see the other half of Sophie’s process in which she manipulates the image files using Maya, a 3D image software. However, Sophie will be emailing every participant a digital copy of their image, and you can see more images of Sophie’s work in the Open Studios on Flickr

If you’re an artist who is interested in experimenting with 3D techonologies, visit sculptor.org for an overview of what’s possible.

Entry Filed under: in the studio