Design of the Week: Project Porygon

By on May 2nd, 2016 in Design

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This week’s selection is artist Nick Clark’s Project Porygon collection. 

The project, created by Michigan-based artist Nick Clark, explores patterns in 3D printing generated through scanning. 

There are multiple pieces to the collection, including the incredible work at top, which I believe is named “Zephyr Thought”. It was printed in two separate pieces, as evidenced by the change in layer lines. Apparently Clark creates his own unique PLA filament by splicing small segments of differently colored filament together. That alone seems like a tough job, considering the number of different colors in this work. 

Normally I find multi-colored layers uninteresting, because it’s straightforward to switch filaments in mid-print, but Clark has done something quite different here. 

He’s made very small, distinct color layers for one. And even more interesting is that he’s tipped the layers in the piece to provide huge visual contrast between the components, making them both more interesting in the process. Altering the layer direction completely changes how one views the layers. 

But that’s not all there is to the Porygon collection. There are several other works that also explore 3D scanned objects, mostly humans, it turns out. Here we see two fellows scanned together. 

This one involves merging several individuals together in a weird multi-headed creation. Both of these pieces also use the rapidly-changing multicolor technique. 

I’ll show you one more, which appears to be a beautiful mountainous terrain, made all the more interesting by the multicolor layers, which are reminiscent of elevation lines from a terrain map. No humans in this one. 

But wait, there is! Look closer and you’ll a mustachioed gent hidden on the mountain’s face. Ironic, too. 

Via Nick Clark, Imgur and Nick Clark

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!