Artist Jack Elliott 3D prints a tree as a paper sculpture

Artist Jack Elliott 3D scanned a Tasmanian tree, thereafter recreated it using a 3D printer that makes solid objects from paper.

 

How the project came to life?

First of all, he realized the lack of attention or care given to the forest industry. Furthermore, as an artist, Jack Elliott was willing to reveal the beauty of the nature.

That’s why, instead of cutting trees for paper production, he rather digitally scanned and mapped the tree to get a solid 3D object.

the hinge point where two sections of a felled tree fall apart.

 

How he achieved the project

Elliott made use of both 3D scanning and paper 3D printing technologies. Also called photogrammetry, the process consists of “making measurements from photographs. The input to photogrammetry is photographs, and the output is typically a map, a drawing, a measurement, or a 3D model of some real-world object or scene.”

So he scanned the tree using photogrammetry and as well as laser scanners fitted to iPads. It required an entire week to 3D scan the giant blue-gum eucalyptus tree in Burnie, a city known for its paper-making industry.

It took five days of careful bark removal to prepare the tree for scanning.
ABC Northern Tasmania: Rick Eaves

He then created a database of the information from which to reproduce the ideal 3D model.

 

The final rendering

Elliott’s “idea is to inform people about the human-nature relationship.” The artists adds: “trees serve as a good metaphor for a lot of these issues [related to nature], everything from invasive species to global warming, population ecology.”

Jack Elliott’s sculpture, Victus Acernus, latin for vanquished maple,. He hopes to do something similar in Burnie.
Supplied: Jack Elliott

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