May 10, 2017 | By Tess
If you’ve dreamed of being a visual artist but have been hindered by your lack of manual skill, 3D printing might have offered a suitable alternative, giving you the opportunity to create without having to use your hands. If, however, you’ve still yearned to make something from nothing using your own fingers, we suggest checking out this nifty new product called Chizzle.
Developed by Israeli startup Formme, Chizzle is a 3D scanner / smart sculpting surface that allows you to sculpt clay with your own hands with some helpful guidance. The creative tool, which just launched on Indiegogo, is designed to help beginner sculptors—or anyone who can benefit from an artistic cheat sheet, so to speak.
How does it work? Well, as the video below demonstrates, Chizzle is to be used as a build plate which, when connected to a laptop or computer, can capture your work-in-progress and display it on your screen in real time. What's pretty amazing about the tool is that once you have selected what shape or object you want to sculpt, Chizzle can give you detailed feedback about where more clay needs to be added or removed, allowing you to create a true-to-form clay model.
Additionally, the 3D scanning tool offers users a number of interactive tutorials which explain and demonstrate various modeling techniques. “Chizzle teaches beginners the foundational skills needed to get started, and guides more advanced artists through the subtle techniques of sculpting masterpieces,” reads the product’s Indiegogo page.
One of the cooler aspects of the 3D scanning product is that it allows users to transform their final sculptures into 3D models that can be shared with the Chizzle community. This means that others can choose to replicate a sculpture using Chizzle or can even 3D print it. Additionally, the technology lets you capture time-lapse GIFs of the making of your sculpture, which can be shared with friends or saved.
Appropriately, Chizzle not only comes with its high-tech components but includes a number of basic sculpting tools, including a flattening and leveling knife, a carving and detail tool, a trimmer, and more. (Backers can also opt to include the “Advanced Modeling Tool Set” which includes a scraping tool, an extractor and carver, a sharp-angled trimmer, and more.)
While a part of me believes that the fun of sculpting is in using your intuition and feeling to create, Chizzle certainly presents an option for those who either want to hone their skill or produce a specific sculpture. Formme says of its product: “Chizzle is revolutionizing the way art is taught and created, enabling anyone to become a part-time apprentice to history’s sculpting maestros.”
If you’re interested in backing the Chizzle crowdfunding campaign, a number of $89 early bird offers are still up for grabs. The early bird reward includes the Chizzle Sculpting Surface, the Standard Modeling Tool Set, and Chizzle Studio Software. Other more expensive reward options include a block of clay, and the Advanced Modeling Tool Set. The Formme team is expecting to ship its rewards by May 2018 if the crowdfunding is a success.
Posted in 3D Scanning
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