{"id":21214,"date":"2015-06-16T16:17:50","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T16:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=21214"},"modified":"2015-06-16T16:17:50","modified_gmt":"2015-06-16T16:17:50","slug":"why-im-a-maker-ian-dwyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/why-im-a-maker-ian-dwyer","title":{"rendered":"Why I’m a Maker: Ian Dwyer"},"content":{"rendered":"

In honor of National Week of Making<\/a>, we will be featuring makers here from our community at Shapeways! First up, is designer Ian Dwyer (Nvenom8<\/a>).\u00a0Ian finds his inspiration from a number fantastical things: from Dungeons & Dragons to Lord of the Rings, and then makes them into beautiful 3D printed gaming accessories.<\/p>\n

Tell us a little bit about yourself.<\/em>
\nI\u2019m a Marine Science PhD student, but my 3D work has almost nothing to do with that. I started 3D modeling as part of a job I had in college, animating shows for a digital planetarium. I moved on to 3D printing just before I graduated. In all, I\u2019ve been 3D modeling for about four years, but have only been working in the 3D printing industry for the last year or so.<\/p>\n

What inspires you to create?<\/em>
\nI mostly just make things that I would want, and then try to find people like me to buy them. Sometimes that goes well, and sometimes I realize that I\u2019m the only one who would ever want the product.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite part of 3D printing?<\/em>
\nOnly through 3D printing would a person in my position ever be able to bring products directly from imagination to reality. It\u2019s made product design into a much more casual and accessible process.<\/p>\n

What does being a maker mean to you?<\/em>
\nBeing a maker, to me, means that I don\u2019t have to endure the torture of ideas bouncing around in my head forever. I can get them out and bring them to life. It\u2019s borderline-cathartic.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your favorite design (it could be yours, or someone elses). What about it really speaks to you?<\/em>
\nMy favorite design of my own is probably my Elvish D20<\/a>, mainly because it\u2019s just so elegant and organic in appearance. It really looks like something elves would make, and I\u2019m proud of capturing that aesthetic.<\/p>\n