{"id":34819,"date":"2017-10-02T16:00:54","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T20:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=34819"},"modified":"2017-10-12T13:37:26","modified_gmt":"2017-10-12T17:37:26","slug":"__trashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/__trashed","title":{"rendered":"The Drama and Beauty of Comic Con, Cosplay, and 3D Printing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The days leading up to Comic Con<\/a> are when everything falls apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the time until we walk through the doors of the Javits Center gets shorter and shorter, months of planning, modeling, printing, painting, and sewing turn into a fractured mound of last minute bits and pieces. “Fire up the desktop machine! Turns out I DO need that other part! This is not attaching to this other thing as I had hoped, and now it fell off and cracked! Where did all our 3000 bobby pins suddenly disappear to?! Wait, what shoes am I wearing for this?!”<\/span><\/p>\n

The calm only comes after this storm, when we finally run out of time, put it all on, and face the public as someone else, weapons in hand. It is in those moments of conversing with other fans, posing for photographs, and drinking in the rush of the day that we can truly savor and appreciate our 3D printing journey, and look back on how far we’ve come from the very, very beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sarah (left) and Dhemerae (right) in our 3D printed costumes at NYCC 2015<\/p><\/div>\n

We would have never made the work we do now, let alone cosplay, had we not had 3D printing. Living and working in the New\u00a0York metropolitan area, fantasy spaces where you can get down and dirty as makers are few, far between, and expensive! 3D printing has allowed us to create larger-than life-work in the smallest of NYC spaces, and has given us access to a horde of new materials to work in, via companies like Shapeways. The process has allowed us to create work we would have never been able to make with the skill set we previously possessed. It also allows us to truly bring those fantasies alive as cosplayers, but more detailed and dramatic than we ever thought possible. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dhemerae (left) and Sarah (right) in our 3D printed costumes at NYCC 2016<\/p><\/div>\n

And that element of surprise never goes away, even with experience. It comes in many forms, from the shock of success in making an amazing printed prop, to the realization, after many dollars and hours, that your idea failed miserably and it\u2019s back to the drawing board. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, in every case, the surprises turn out to be fantastic learning experiences. 3D modeling and printing have changed the way our brains work in regards to making. We have truly married both our artistic muscles and engineering skills into unique point of views that are continuously learning and growing. It\u2019s exciting to make a piece, realize how many ways it could be better, and then tweak it and reimagine it. Daunting tasks like iteration are interesting and engaging again, for it is now an opportunity, and challenge, to surprise ourselves. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n