A SPECIAL COMMISSION · 3DPRINTICA
Four months in the workshop. One digital sculpture, many separate parts, and repeated rounds of filling, sanding and painting. This is the story of creating a Zen-Sen statue, up to its present form.
The commission that brought a Zen-Sen into the workshop
The Zen-Sen are an alien race featured prominently in the Greek epic fantasy novel «Η Κατάρα της Σκοτεινής Κληρονομιάς», by Apostolis Giannoulas, published by Memento. The author contacted me personally with a clear request: to give a member of this race a physical presence, standing 2.10 metres tall.
For me, Nikitas Misenko of 3DPrintica, this meant taking the piece through the full workshop process, from preparing it for printing to the final painted details.
The digital sculpture and Dimitris Vardas
The original 3D sculpture was created by my friend and fellow Patras artist Dimitris Vardas (@bard0ne), who specialises in 3D sculpting and painting. He provided the design that became the foundation of the project.
I then adapted the sculpture to its 2.10-metre scale and used Luban to divide it into smaller parts, designing the sockets and interlocking connections needed to assemble them.
Four months, one part at a time
Printing was only one stage. For four months I printed, checked the fit, filled joints, sanded and prepared surfaces. Each part had to fit into place, and each seam needed attention so the assembled figure would read as a single body.
The hands, torso, legs, head and tail gradually came together. These workshop photographs document that process as it happened, from white printed parts and visible seams to assembly and preparation for paint.
Bringing the form to life with paint
Dimitris and I laid down the painting base together. I then carried out and completed all the remaining painting and finishing myself.
The skin tones, shadows, small markings and details on the face and hands were built up gradually. At this scale, the paintwork has to hold together from a distance while rewarding a closer look at the surface.
The next chapter
The Zen-Sen statue is now close to its final stage, awaiting collection by the author. Its complete appearance with clothing and a wig is still to come.
Apostolis Giannoulas plans to present the statue alongside his book at Hobbyfestival in Athens. This story documents the current stage of the build; the final appearance will be its next chapter.
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