Scenic Models

3D printing can be an ideal tool for creating tiny, detailed items such as model furniture and other architectural details found in a theatrical scenic model.

“With Gigi we were doing this ironwork that was elaborate and delicate, and also had different layers to it (see Figure 8.7). The 3D printer was really great at creating those layers [in the model]. If we had made that model traditionally it would have been made with brass and solder. It probably wouldn’t have come out quite as well because there just isn’t the same variety of thicknesses in the brass available, so it would have been a little bit more of a compromise.”

Derek McLane, Broadway scenic designer

Figure 8.7 Gigi model with 3D printed ironwork. Broadway production, designed by Derek McLane.

Photo courtesy of: Derek McLane

As scenic designer and one of John Lee Beatty’s main Broadway associates, Kacie Hultgren models beautiful, printable items for the productions in which she is involved (see Figure 8.8). Hultgren has been using 3D printing in her scenic models since MakerBot first developed the Cupcake consumer 3D printer in 2009. Since then Hultgren’s reputation for precise, accurate, elegant, and exquisite items has become well known in the field.

Figure 8.8 Don’t Dress for Dinner model. Broadway production, designed by John Lee Beatty. Built by Kacie Hultgren.

Photo courtesy of: Kacie Hultgren

Throughout the years, Hultgren’s portfolio has grown to include a wide range of period model furniture that she sells on her Shapeways marketplace: www.shapeways.com/shops/prettysmallthings. There you can find period furniture in 1/4” and 1/2” scale, among others, available in a variety of materials. Hultgren uses AutoCAD to create her models and began by printing each piece at home on her MakerBot for herself and her clients. She soon found that the demand was so great that she partnered with Shapeways in 2014 to outsource her product. In addition to Shapeways, many of Hultgren’s STL files can be downloaded for free from www.thingiverse.com/prettysmallthings/designs for those that have a printer at home.

As her reputation has grown through the years, Hultgren has become a tour de force in the 3D printing world – well representing the field of theatrical design. She has spoken professionally at conferences, maker faires, and has a series of online tutorials on lynda.com.

Hultgren prefers to use 3D printing for detailed items such as model furniture, molding, and other complex architectural details like fireplaces, staircases, and windows (see Figure 8.9). When first building a model, she takes stock of what items could benefit from 3D printing, and what items would be more successful using traditional methods. Most often she makes flat pieces such as walls, legs, borders, floors, and the model box itself out of traditional paper stock items; anything dimensional or finely detailed is usually made with a 3D printer (see Figure 8.10).

Figure 8.9 Long Day’s Journey into Night model (close-up). Guthrie Theater, designed by John Lee Beatty. Built by Kacie Hultgren.

Photo courtesy of: Kacie Hultgren

In general, when working with scale models, there are two ways to look at 3D printing: 1) 3D printing can be combined with traditional techniques in the same model (as Hultgren does), or 2) models can be 3D printed as one piece. Many designers prefer method number one because flat items are more easily and more quickly made from traditional materials – foam core, card stock, illustration board, and the like.

Figure 8.10 Model wall built with both traditional and 3D printed pieces.

Photo courtesy of: Kacie Hultgren

Scenic and lighting designer Owen M. Collins agrees that 3D printing is not the answer to every modeling possibility. It all comes down to manufacturing time. “Many simple model pieces, like basic platforms and flats, can be made just as quickly by hand. Printing model furniture, which is more complex and usually requires multiple copies, is more easily justified.”³⁸

Models printed as one piece may also be difficult to paint. Painting in the crevices is often easier when painting a model in pieces. However, as 3D printing becomes faster and in full color, perhaps one-piece models may become more common. In fact, Hultgren admits that she is printing more and more in large pieces. For Beatty’s production of Outside Mullingar, “I printed the complete sets and walls in one chunk,” she says.³⁹

However, model furniture should always be left loose so that the director can move the pieces around in discussion as desired.

“3D printing is clearly where things are going. Models are outrageously expensive – going into the thousands of dollars usually. This is a great way to offset that cost a little bit. Although we spend a lot of time getting the file prepared for the printer, we’re already saving time, materials, and labor with printing things we use over and over. Sometimes we don’t even have to draw up the objects, like columns; you can pick them up online and rescale them. Otherwise those details [built by hand] can be so time consuming and cause labor costs to shoot up.”

Alexander Dodge, Broadway scenic designer

Figure 8.11 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 3D printed columns. Williamstown Theatre Festival, designed by Alexander Dodge.

Photo courtesy of: Alexander Dodge

“3D printing is fantastic for model building. When we did the model for A Bronx Tale the set is a bunch of multi-story towers that are fire escapes. There’s a lot of ironwork and repeated details over and over and over again. We decided to 3D print the details in the model – it took my assistant about a day to draw it, but it would have taken a week to produce a traditional handmade model (see Figures 8.12a–b). Something like that is a huge time savings.

I did another show earlier this year where I had 35 Corinthian columns. I did the drawing in an hour and sent it off to [Shapeways] and two days later had 35 columns. If I had tried to hand-carve all of those it would have taken a week.”

Beowulf Boritt, Broadway scenic designer

Figure 8.12a 3D printed model pieces for A Bronx Tale, designed by Beowulf Boritt.

Photo courtesy of: Beowulf Boritt

Figure 8.12b A Bronx Tale realized production. Paper Mill Playhouse, designed by Beowulf Boritt.

Photo courtesy of: Beowulf Boritt

Colin Winslow, a set and costume designer, is another designer known for his 3D printing in the field of entertainment. Winslow has been the Head of Design for theatres around the world including the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, The Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, Ensemble in Amsterdam, and several theatres in England. Currently, he teaches stage design in the Department of Drama at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

Winslow was the first to begin writing about 3D printing for the entertainment arts. His books, The Handbook of Set Design (2006), The Handbook of Model-making for Set Designers (2008), and The Handbook of Techniques for Theatre Designers (2010) all discuss his work with 3D printing. His 3D models can be found at www.thingiverse.com/winslow/designs

Winslow began experimenting with 3D printing for theatrical design in 2004. For his first print, he used an industrial style powder binder printer (a Zcorp Z400), which used plaster as the medium. It belonged to the I.T. department at the university at which he worked. He chose to print an entire set all as one piece, but later decided that he might have done things differently if he tried again.

However, he notes that the industrial printing process only took eight hours (perhaps less than the hours of making a scenic model by hand) and cost considerably less than the materials would have cost for a traditional model (see Figure 8.13). The final print was covered with a wax coating and primed with gesso before painting.

Figure 8.13 Model for Don Giovanni printed as all one piece, designed by Colin Winslow.

Photo courtesy of: Colin Winslow

Winslow now chooses to print mostly items that have a lot of detail or pieces that take a long time to produce by hand, such as model furniture. He uses AutoCAD to produce his models and prints on a MakerBot Replicator at home or uses service bureaus, such as Shapeways or i.materialise.

“3D printing solves things that I either can’t build fast enough or can’t build accurately enough … or things I don’t have the patience to build.”

Christopher Scott Murillo, scenic designer

Figure 8.14 1/4” model of Haunted House Party. Designed by Christopher Scott Murillo with 3D printed Getty Villa – Los Angeles, California.

Photo courtesy of: Christopher Scott Murillo

Scenic designer Steven C. Kemp uses 3D printing for models and model furniture. He works in AutoCAD and Vectorworks for modeling, but will occasionally pull already built items from SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse.

Instead of using an in-house printer, he prefers using the service bureau Shapeways. He finds that the service works for his budget if he uses their least expensive material – typically the “strong & flexible,” which is a white nylon powder printed with SLS. He also prefers this material because it takes gesso well as a primer before painting (see Figures 8.15a–b).

He also likes Shapeways’ “frosted detail plastic” for translucent items, which is an acrylic resin printed with SLA. Before choosing a material, Kemp recommends reading the provided information on each material’s tolerances (overhangs, wall thicknesses, etc.). Not only does this enable you to produce a good print, but it may also rule out some material options. He explains, “I love the idea of the colored sandstone, but the problem is the tolerances are not good for 1/4” models and are barely successful for 1/2” ones.”

According to Kemp, one big advantage to Shapeways is that it works with a freelancer’s busy travel schedule. “With as much traveling as we inherently do, not being tied to a physical model building space and being able to continue my design work wherever I am really unlocks possibilities,” explains Kemp. “I can be sitting in tech or sitting in a hotel room on my laptop and still be continuing to work on the model just as if I were in my studio.”

Furthermore, he believes that printing a model may actually be more cost effective than making one by hand. Depending on the complexity of the design, “it can be really economical,” says Kemp.

Figure 8.15a 1/4” printed model for Dead Man Walking, designed by Steven C. Kemp.

Photo courtesy of: Steven C. Kemp

Figure 8.15b Dead Man Walking realized production, designed by Steven C. Kemp.

Photo courtesy of: Steven C. Kemp

Moreover, 3D printing speeds up his design process overall. “It makes my workflow really self-contained,” he says.

Kemp’s 3D models can be found at: www.shapeways.com/shops/kempscalefurniture.

Figure 8.16 Model steel deck, www.shapeways.com/shops/tmp.

Photo courtesy of: Rory McAlister, Middlesex University

Model Furniture

Set designers and their assistants spend hours crafting scale furniture. Conventionally they are made lovingly out of balsa wood, polystyrene, Bristol, or card stock using an X-ACTO knife. This can mean a lot of late nights, sliced up fingers, paper cuts, and abundant frustrations over tiny broken cabriole legs or rows of dentils that took hours to create; and once one dining room chair is carved, there are often five or seven more to go to complete the set! This is an excellent reason why chairs and other intricate objects are great items to consider when thinking about 3D printing – nearly every interior has at least one chair!

Figure 8.17 3D printed Chesterfield chairs for The Second Mrs. Wilson. Long Wharf Theatre, designed by Alexander Dodge.

Photo courtesy of: Alexander Dodge

Figure 8.18 3D printed 1/4” scale Eames chair. Designed by Anshuman Bhatia, www.shapeways.com/shops/ab.

Photo courtesy of: Anshuman Bhatia

These small items with such tiny features can be somewhat fragile during printing or in transit. One trick scenic designer Steven C. Kemp uses for hard-to-print items, such as small model chairs, is that he will create a temporary sprue that links items together (see Figure 8.20a). Kemp adopted this idea from model car or airplane kits that often have small pieces tied together with tiny snap-off points (see Figure 8.20b). The sprue provides structural support for fragile pieces, enabling small items to be printed more easily.

Figure 8.19 3D printed upright piano model.

Photo courtesy of: Colin Winslow

Figure 8.20a Model furniture connected with a sprue.

Image courtesy of: Steven C. Kemp

Figure 8.20b Kemp’s sprue inspiration from a pre-fab model.

Photo courtesy of: Steven C. Kemp

Figure 8.21 Model for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike with 3D printed furniture. Goodman Theatre, designed by Charlie Corcoran.

Photo courtesy of: Charlie Corcoran

Figure 8.22 3D printed scale furniture from PrettySmallThings.

Photo courtesy of: Kacie Hultgren, www.shapeways.com/shops/prettysmallthings

Drawing Adaptation

As more and more designers adopt three-dimensional drafting techniques much of the modeling work is already complete by the time the drawings are ready to print. Perhaps you drafted a fancy fireplace for your elevations. Even if it is drawn in 2D, it is halfway to the status of a 3D model.

Or perhaps your set is more organic. If your drawings are already complete and created in 3D, simply print the organic set pieces to escape all that measuring, guesstimating, and approximating required for carving a model.

Real-World Integration

Photogrammetry and 3D scanning in combination with 3D printing gives scenic designers the shorthand to incorporate real-world objects into their models. Perhaps if your drawing room set mantel has two busts placed on top, 3D technology can help make your process faster. Instead of trying to draw and carve two tiny faces, heads, and shoulders, you can catch or scan two statues, actors, neighbors, or friends and print them out to scale.

Figure 8.24 1/2” scale oversized armchair (left); thing: 18545.

Photo courtesy of: Kacie Hultgren

The possibilities seem endless … candelabras you saw in a museum, the perfect chair from the thrift store, the door you loved from the Cotswolds, the statue on the cathedral downtown, the perfect beach house décor from your vacation … capture them all and start your own library of useful and interesting items. As a matter of fact, Kacie Hultgren’s well-known “oversized armchair” was created from a scan of a recliner in her mother’s basement that she captured while visiting for the holidays (see Figure 8.24).

Scenic and lighting designer Michael Harvey used a similar technique when creating a drawing package for an in-the-round production of Waiting for Godot at Salem State University. He began by creating a 1/4” model by hand using pink foam – sculpting an abandoned island complete with a single tree (see Figure 8.25). “It was exactly what I wanted … and then I had to figure out how to draft it. You can’t just hand that to the T.D. and say, ‘Here! Build this!’” laughs Harvey.

Figure 8.25 Original 1/4” hand-carved model. Waiting for Godot.

Photo courtesy of: Michael Harvey

Instead of attempting to draft the organic item, Harvey decided to make technology work for him. He used photogrammetry to capture the model, and Blender to clean it up. Then he was able to import it into Vectorworks as a full 3D model (see Figure 8.26). From there he produced a full drawing set as well as a printed final model on his Solidoodle 2.

Using this technology allowed the drawings and final model to have exact matching dimensions to the organic shape – no guesstimating required. It also enabled a successful build in the shop – the project was reproduced exactly from page to stage.

Figure 8.26 3D model in Vectorworks made from catch. Waiting for Godot.

Image courtesy of: Michael Harvey

Gentle Giant Studios located in Burbank, California provides digital sculpting, props, and mobile 3D scanning for the film industry. The Vice President of Entertainment, Karl Meyer, began exploring 3D technologies in the early 1990s. “I realized that the ability to capture and control organic geometry would be a solution to a problem,” he explains.

Gentle Giant Studios travels on location and to sound stages around the world in order to digitize the environments. They have worked on hundreds of films including the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter franchises. They have even built custom vehicles as mobile scanning units, which use a mixture of photogrammetry and LIDAR scanning (Light Imaging, Detection, and Ranging) – an industrial cousin to SLS 3D scanning which measures distance by evaluating the properties of scattered light on distant objects.

The geometry that they capture creates a database that can be used for visual effects, game design, set design, and consumer products, as well as pre-production needs like planning camera shots, action sequences, and lighting rigs. In the case of the Harry Potter franchise, the scan data of the scenery created for the films was even translated directly to the design of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks. “It’s the same data from the original designs by the art department at [Warner Bros.] Leavesden Studios all the way through to the ride that you might go on today,” says Meyer. “That real geometry becomes the foundation for making anything that’s based off of it. It takes away interpretation and makes the approval process almost mute.”

Gentle Giant (who was acquired by 3D Systems in 2013 as their entertainment sector) has a full suite of nearly 20 3D printers in-house – no molding or casting in sight. Their workflow is 100% digital, except for some handwork in post-processing. Meyer adds, “If we need to build ten sculptures of a character, instead of molding and casting, we just print them.”

Model Replication

Consider, as the technology progresses, the advantage of having the ability to print multiple, complete models – no longer will the director, stage manager, and scene shop need to fight over the model during the build and rehearsal processes. Perhaps with the future of 3D printing, you can more easily produce several identical copies of your model so that everyone gets his or her own.

In fact, as the technology matures and moves towards full-color mixing, we may see the equivalent of “faxing” your model to others. Instead of flying in with the model for an out-of-town production meeting, you can send the file to the production team. They can print out the model at their location so it can be discussed at the meeting while you telecommute!

Set Decoration

3D printing can be useful for set decoration/set propping as well. Use 3D printing to fill in the gaps and help provide hard-to-find or cost-prohibitive items. Instead of shopping all over town for that one perfect detail piece, you can design it and print it. Design, print, paint, done! (see Figure 8.27).

Figure 8.27 3D printed statuettes used as set decoration in the Public Theater’s Comedy of Errors, 2013. Based on Fountain Statue by Jlbeeftrout; thing: 26476.

Photo courtesy of: Kacie Hultgren

Figure 8.28 Frankenstein light switch plate; thing: 649284.

Photo courtesy of: Jeffrey Kerr

Michael Driggers, Assistant Technical Director at the University of Maryland, uses 3D printing for set construction and decoration. In fact, he used 3D printing to augment the construction of a large 6’-0” tall statue for the school’s production of Tartuffe (see Figure 8.29). The statue, a replica of Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, formed the focal point of the room and was able to roll throughout the stage, light up, and emit fog. The file for the statue was purchased from the repository TurboSquid.

Figure 8.29 Bernini statue for Tartuffe with 3D printed faces and hands.

Photo courtesy of: Tim Jones

Driggers began constructing the piece using a CNC router to create 1/4” stacked pieces of MDF, but soon realized that the faces and hands needed further detail. “The faces, especially – they would stack but they just didn’t look right. It’s a figure you’re so familiar with,” he explains. “And the hands, because of their position, almost didn’t look like anything at that resolution.” Therefore, the decision was made to cut the faces and hands off and use 3D printed elements in their place (see Figures 8.30a–b).

Driggers frequently combines the use of 3D printing with CNC fabrication. “I often use the same files to go between both worlds,” he explains.

Figure 8.30a Statue with face removed in preparation of adding 3D printed face.

Photo courtesy of: Tim Jones

Scenic Painting

3D printing can be used to assist with scenic painting techniques too. Printing out an ornate wallpaper stencil or stamp may be easier than cutting one out by hand, for instance. A plastic stencil may be sturdier than one created by other means too and may withstand a lengthy painting session better.

Figure 8.30b Statue made of stacked MDF with 3D printed hands attached.

Photo courtesy of: Michael Driggers

Paint rollers can also be created with custom printed patterns (see Figures 8.31a–b). The Painted House (although not 3D printed) has a good tutorial on how to use specialty rollers like these, found here: https://youtu.be/bpQ4kfJNkgg. Their patterned rollers are also good for inspiration (see Figure 8.32).

Figure 8.31a 3D printed patterned paint roller.

Photo courtesy of: Matthijs Kok, www.matthijskok.nl

Figure 8.31b 3D printed patterned paint roller with wood grain effect (far left).

Photo courtesy of: Matthijs Kok, www.matthijskok.nl

Figure 8.32 Beautiful Victorian-inspired wallpaper roller by The Painted House, www.the-painted-house.co.uk

Photo courtesy of: Clare Bosanquet

Scenic Construction

Occasionally 3D printing can even be helpful for set construction. Custom jigs can be printed to make a cutting job easier, and custom tools can be made if proper safety testing is strictly considered. When working with structural or functional items use 100% infill and multiple shells for the most strength possible and perform abundant safety checks before utilizing. Do not print anything functional or weight-bearing unless you are sure the force and load can be handled by the print.

Figure 8.33a 3D printed Ethafoam rod splitter.

Photo courtesy of: Christopher Morris

Figure 8.33b 3D printed Ethafoam rod splitter – multiple sizes.

Photo courtesy of: Christopher Morris

Christopher Morris, faculty Technical Director at Salem State University, created an Ethafoam rod cutting tool to help make the repetitive splitting of foam easier (see Figures 8.33a–b). He felt that the traditional ways of splitting Ethafoam were dangerous and unreliable. Using a 3D printed structure with an incorporated razor blade produced a simple tool to accomplish a previously troublesome task.

For safety in regards to weight-bearing objects, Morris prints with 100% infill and strongly suggests destructive testing (making a test item to load with weight until it breaks), then building in a 7:1 safety factor. (For reference, a 10:1 safety factor can hold ten times the weight the item needs – if the item breaks while holding 1,000 Lbs., only use 100 Lbs. to allow for the proper safety factor).

Figure 8.34 3D printed Kabuki drop solenoid rig.

Photo courtesy of: Christopher Morris

Morris believes that the only real way to know what a printed item can hold is through destructive testing. “The problem is because you’re printing [the filament] and layering it and melting it onto itself, you can’t really trust a material’s listed tolerances,” Morris explains. “[Also destructive testing] can be used to determine where on the unit it breaks… can you add more plastic [at the breakpoint] or a gusset to make it stronger?”

Destructive testing can also alleviate the contrast between different machines, different printing temperatures, and even different weather conditions that may affect the resulting print. Morris warns, “One machine may melt [the layers] better together and one may fuse it less.” Destructive testing is the most reliable method for assessing these variances.

Michael Darling, Head of Technical Direction at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), uses 3D printing for small scenic construction needs. “[We print] a lot of brackets – if we need a spring-loaded switch or a bracket to mount something to something else, it’s easier to just start the machine up and let it run while you’re doing other work,” Darling explains. “It’s kind of like growing a third or fourth hand.”

Darling and his students print with FDM using PLA and HIPS; CalArts’ collection consists of two LulzBots, a MakerGear M2, and five Solidoodles. Darling feels the 3D workflow is ideal for students: “They can just think [an item] up and play with shapes in some free software to create any kinds of forms they want to,” he says. “They don’t get so intimidated by all the processes, because there is only one – the computer.”

For the play Hamletmachine, Darling and his team created a 56-foot wide Rube Goldberg machine that used 4 miles of red rope. They used 3D printing to create gears and triggers, such as a finger-like device that pulled a trigger on a prop gun for a mechanical firing squad effect. 3D printing allowed the students to create this invention without knowledge of complex machining. “[3D printing] opens their eyes because these things are non-issues. I love to hear [the students say], ‘I’m just going to 3D print that.’ They don’t say, ‘I’m just going to mill that,’” laughs Darling. “[3D printing] really opens up what they can do, and takes the stress out of [the process].”

Augmenting Traditional Prop Techniques

3D printing is not an all-or-nothing tool. It can be used to augment the traditional prop-making process. Like instead of creating a traditional mold, the mold can be 3D printed and then items can still be traditionally cast. Or an existing prop can be painted using 3D printed tools (see Figure 8.45).

Figure 8.45 3D printed paint roller used to create holiday wrapping paper.

Photo courtesy of: Matthijs Kok, www.matthijskok.nl

Furthermore, 3D printed parts can be added to an existing prop to enhance its features, like 3D printed accents added to a plain chair. These accents can be painted and treated so that the chair is seemingly transformed into a specific time period.

Appliqués can also be printed to make a chair-like structure appear like a chair – for example, a steel frame can be altered into a decorative piece of furniture with the addition of a 3D printed decorative shell.