Are computer generated 3d printed sculpts cheating?

[Avenger]

I don't know that I've ever seen anyone ask this, and I'm seeing more 3d print versions of head sculpts showing up, particularly in the customs community. It seems only a matter of time before it spills into the mainstream manufacturers. The likeness is stunning, but is it cheating and somehow no longer art? Does it cheapen the figure or the "specialness" of it. You make the call.

If you're new to this concept, see here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

 

[EVILFACE]

Not really. You are just using a different media to get the likeness.

 

[Lejuan]

Personally I think this technology has more impact on the maker than the user. There is something special about the tactile nature of physical sculpting that makes it a more enjoyable process for many artists. But the end result for the user/consumer is the same, and whether it is produced with pixels or clay it is still a creative process that is, by any measure, art.

 

[gagaliya]

I don't know that I've ever seen anyone ask this, and I'm seeing more 3d print versions of head sculpts showing up, particularly in the customs community. It seems only a matter of time before it spills into the mainstream manufacturers. The likeness is stunning, but is it cheating and somehow no longer art? Does it cheapen the figure or the "specialness" of it. You make the call.

If you're new to this concept, see here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

i wish the sculpt & the paint can all be machine made, then we dont have to worry about chinese workers messing it up.

look how nice those $50 japanese pvc figurs are, they are all machine made. Why cant our $350 statues also be entirely machine made?

 

[Avenger]

I selected on the fence myself. I hate that I typoed "on", but alas.

I feel like I'm torn between wanting the best likeness possible and the uniqueness of knowing someone with incredible skills spent a good deal of time making that head (or whatever) from a lump of material. It's kind of like computer generated art vs hand painted. I've been floored by computer generated art, but there's something special about a masters brush strokes.

 

[Black Magic]

As a traditional medium artist who is just getting into digital now, I have to say that, without a doubt, 3d sculpting/imaging is as true an art form as any traditional medium. I have the utmost respect for those who work with digital as a medium, as it requires just as much skill, if not more than traditional sculpting, in that it requires an understanding of traditional medium sculpting AND computers, so I can't say it is "cheating" as you put it. It requires the same concentration and attention to detail. To say that anyone who works in digital is "cheating" is kind of an insult, although I think I know what you mean.

 

[Avenger]

No insult intended. Making the case either way is what the question is all about.

 

[Black Magic]

No insult intended. Making the case either way is what the question is all about.

Oh, no. This pole is not an insult at all, mate. I'm just saying that there are people out there who dismiss digital art work in general. The crapiness of my digital artwork is testament to how difficult the process is, and the learning curved involved

 

[shocktrooper_au]

Can only help to improve the hobby, opens it up to a load of skilled artists who can do wonders on the screen but can't do jack with a lump of clay or wax

 

[wax murderer]

As a sculptor, I'm hesitant to embrace this;who needs more competition? But I also find likenesses to be about the hardest type of sculpting there is(for me at least), so one has to admire anything that makes for a better piece...PS

 

[Buttmunch]

This isn't new either. Companies have been using scanning for years now.

 

[BuffyGirl]

For me it is about likeness. I buy because I want my item to look like the person or comic character it is supposed to be portraying. So if the computer programs can get it spot on, then more power to em.

 

[NCC-1701 no bloody ABCorD]

As a traditional medium artist who is just getting into digital now, I have to say that, without a doubt, 3d sculpting/imaging is as true an art form as any traditional medium. I have the utmost respect for those who work with digital as a medium, as it requires just as much skill, if not more than traditional sculpting, in that it requires an understanding of traditional medium sculpting AND computers, so I can't say it is "cheating" as you put it. It requires the same concentration and attention to detail. To say that anyone who works in digital is "cheating" is kind of an insult, although I think I know what you mean.

I don't know the process well enough to judge whether it's more or if it's less of an 'art form.' I just know that as a consumer I care much more about the quality of the finished product and the accuracy of the likeness than I care about the process of how it got made. As Bernie Taupin wrote: "...all this science I don't understand..."

 

[Ryanfromindiana]

I'm anxious for when we are finally scientifically able to take genetic material from an actor and clone a living 1/6 version raised to the appropriate age then taxidermied to perfection. Yay!

 

[Mr. EcKo]

Yup IMO 3d printing 1/6 stuff for profit is cheating and i don't f'kn like it

 

[karamazov80]

I like it, and am happy because for some heads we're getting better likenesses than we've really seen from traditionally sculpted methods (such as WGP's Indy). Like Lejuan says, from the consumer's POV, it will matter to some, but not most who just want the best figure on the shelf.

But having said that, something does seem to be lost when sculpts can be made using all the tools and checks that computer programs allow. When you modify a hand made sculpt, you have to make changes based on eyeballing something. You may use reference material, and even rulers, but you don't get the level of assistance that you have with a digital sculpt in terms of modifying textures on a grid with precise distances already listed out for you for every element of the sculpt, overlaying source material with the digital creation, etc. Plus, changes are much less costly to make, and won't ruin the original sculpt, while hand made sculpts can be lost completely when you try to make a modification unless you can afford the luxury of creating multiple casts along the way.

Certainly, I think they are both forms of art. But one option does give you more tools and shortcuts than the other, and requires a different skill set. Does that equate to cheating? I wouldn't say that, anymore than it is cheating to do engineering or architectural work on a computer as opposed to doing it by hand, but I do think creating a great hand sculpted head is the more impressive accomplishment, considering all that.

 

[RIDDICK]

This isn't new either. Companies have been using scanning for years now.

even b4 HOTTOYS were created.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I'm fine with this Zbrush stuff but as much as I've seen many people hard at work on the computer making great 3D "pictures" of sculpts I've seen very little outpouring of the finished casted hard-sculpt.

I'm guessing the process from "drawing" to reality is not so easy.

 

[sarakawa]

As a video game artist who uses zbrush extensively, i have to say that it is NOT CHEATING. Anyone who says it is should try it themselves. If you don't have the necessary art skills to begin with, using said 3d programs will do you ZERO good. That being said, software such as zbrush can give an artist methods to do work faster and with WAY more detail. It definitely enhances how much you can do and how fast you can do it when compared to traditional sculpting. I also have a HUGE respect for traditional sculpting...there really is something special about anyone who can do this well. I also believe that hand sculpting something will always have its own special touches that could be lost in the 3d. There is also head scanning which kind of is cheating since its not created from scratch by an artist. Of course, scanning will probably get you the closest likeness to celebrities.

 

[pixletwin]

I don't have a problem with it, but I don't like how you phrased the polling options. I don't think digi-scans are the highest ideal. But I think they serve a good purpose.