Hi, my name is Jason Bakutis, and about 6 years ago, Zbrush changed my life!
I am a former special FX makeup guy, back in the 90s I worked with amazingly talented people at KNB EFX, The Chiodo Brothers, and others.
So, I come from the world of CLAY, PLASTER, and RUBBER. When I discovered ZBrush, and saw that other people from the same FX world were into it, likeMonstermaker, I was intrigued.
Like I said, it changed my life. I had to learn it.
In the last couple of years, I learned about the MISSING LINK.
What is the missing link? It is 3D printing.
Why? Because you can take your awesome ZBrush creations and MAKE THEM REAL!
The two things combined, to me, represent one of the biggest leaps forward in the world of sculpting in decades, if not centuries.
If you are still reading this, you probably have an idea of what I have been up to with these skulls. In a nutshell, a couple guys I worked with at a company called Makerbot as 3D modelers/designers, started combining scanning, sculplting, 3D printing, and lost wax casting (ooohhh silicone molds and molten metal, I feel right at home again, haha).
Without going into TOO much detail, this is what I do-
1.) Find an awesome skull
2.) Have it scanned digitally
3.) Take that digital mesh, and realize it will never work unless you ZBRUSH it!
4.) There are holes to fill, details to bring out, and sometimes entire areas that need to be re-sculpted. Thank you Pixologic.
5.) Print the model
6.) Mold the model
7.) Cast the model in wax
8.) Cast the model in silver, bronze, or even gold!
9.) Sweet.
If you think these are as cool as I do, feel free to check out our Kickstarter campaign here.
We are already funded, this isn’t a plea for money!!! I just wanted to share with my peers another use for Zbrush, and to hopefully inspire others.
Also, thanks to all of you who were helpful to me when I first got here!