For the love of ROBOTS
In the Spring of 2015 I started selling what I call “Posable Art” in the form of robots. They range in size from 3-1/2 inches to 18 inches tall. Like a sculptor I make one version of a robot design and that’s it. I then move on to the next design. For me it’s more fulfilling to design and build a variety of robots versus making the same one over and over again. My inspiration comes from lots of places, but I especially find inspiration in science fiction art books, the internet, movies and every day objects. You really never know when inspiration will strike. For instance, one of my robots was inspired by a door knocker. I ended up naming him Knocker.
After selling a few robots, I decided to build robots based on themes.
My first theme was 1950’s cars. I appreciate the design details of this era of cars and thought it would be a fun and interesting robot theme. Some of the grills even look like faces so it was easy to adapt into a line of robots. They were in the 11 inch tall range which I found to be a lot more impressive on a shelf for display. This size became the normal scale of all my robots afterwards.
Currently, I use PLA filament for all my robots. I plan on using other exotic types of filament such as wood or metal infused PLA in the future. I have tried other filaments but I keep coming back to PLA for it’s strength and ease of use and fine detail.
Post processing is easy with PLA as well. Solvent welding parts together, priming and sanding, and painting are all a snap. Once the parts are cleaned up and ready to be painted I spray paint them with a base coat of the color I want. I then use acrylic paints on top of that. I also use paint markers to add little bits of color or detail. Most of my robots have a worn look achieved by different techniques. My technique of choice is to apply layers of different color using a natural sponge or rag making sure to whip off just the right amount and leaving a nice textured look. Lastly, they are all finished off with a layer of clear coat to protect and enhance the colors.
I have done commission work and have gotten my robots featured in two MAKE magazine issues, in the INNOFIL3D.com blog and Spectrum - The Best In Contemporary Fantastic Art.
