This advanced course focuses on 3D printing and 3D scanning as tools for creating contemporary artistic objects. The technical component of the course covers complex model preparation, working with scanning and large meshes, advanced slicing, multi-component printing, assembly, and post-processing. The artistic component is structured around self-expression and the development of a specific object or installation. The culmination of the course work will be a complete artistic project where 3D scanning and 3D printing technology forms an intrinsic part of the work’s content.

This course is suitable for:

— Students and practitioners in contemporary art and design who already have experience with 3D printing or 3D modeling and wish to use these technologies as an independent artistic medium.

— Artists and designers who work with objects, sculpture, and installation and are exploring the interaction between digital and physical environments.

— Users of 3D scanners and printers who want to move beyond singular prints toward complex objects, series, and spatial installations.

Proficient command of the fundamental principles of 3D printing and preparing models for production.Basic competencies in 3D modeling and understanding the principles of working with polygonal meshes.Experience with at least one 3D printing technology and a basic familiarity with 3D scanning is desirable.

Throughout this course, students will learn to:

— Design objects while accounting for production constraints and the artistic objective. — Work with complex polygonal geometry and large scanned meshes. — Process, align, and reconstruct the results of multiple scans. — Use scanning to investigate surface, form, and space. — Create digital transformations of physical objects. — Work with deformation, fracture, and reconstruction of digital forms. — Develop objects composed of multiple printed elements. — Design connections, tolerances, and assembly methods. — Configure complex slicing and support strategies. — Work with various materials, coordinating the technical characteristics of printing with the artistic objective. — Utilize errors, artifacts, and production traces as part of the visual language. — Create series and variations of a single digital object. — Develop an artistic statement based on 3D manufacturing technology. — Document and present the final object or installation.

During the course, students will undertake the following assignments:— Researching a physical object through a series of 3D scans;— Creating a single high-polygon model from multiple scans;— Digital reconstruction and intentional distortion of the original object;— Experimenting with various methods of scanning deformation and destruction;— Developing a series of variations based on one object;— Preparing a large model for printing by dividing it into several parts;— Designing connections and assembling the object post-printing;— Experimenting with different orientations, supports, and printing parameters;— Creating an artistic object based on the cycle of «scanning → transformation → printing → re-scanning»;— Developing a physical series or a small installation;— Creating process documentation as part of the artistic project;— Final presentation of the object and the formulated artistic statement.

DIGITAL OBJECT AS ARTISTIC MEDIUM
— Original and Copy
— Digital Twin
— Seriality and Reproducibility
— Materiality of Digital Form
— Scale and Perceptual Shift
— The Object as Data
— Technology as Part of Artistic ExpressionADVANCED 3D SCANNING
— Structured Light
— LiDAR
— Photogrammetry
— Merging Multiple Scans
— Point Cloud
— High-Polygon Mesh
— Textural Data
— Markers and Tracking
— Working with Complex Surfaces
— Accuracy and Scanning ErrorsSCAN MESH RECONSTRUCTION AND TRANSFORMATION
— Geometry Cleaning and Reconstruction
— Remesh
— Retopology
— Decimation
— Boolean Operations
— Deformation
— Form Destruction
— Glitch and Artifacts
— Creating Impossible Geometry
— Digital Transformation of a Physical ObjectCOMPLEX PRINTING AND MANUFACTURING
— Large Objects
— Splitting the Model
— Joints
— Tolerances
— Pins and Mechanical Connections
— Element Orientation
— Complex Supports
— Multi-part Printing
— Optimizing Time and Material
— Assembly of the Printed ObjectMATERIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL TRACE
— FDM / FFF
— SLA / MSLA
— Surface Distinction
— Layer as a Visual Element
— Printing Structure
— Supports as Part of the Form
— Printing Error
— Post-Processing
— Combining Various Materials
— Printed Artifact as an Artistic ObjectSERIALITY AND VARIATION
— One Object, Multiple Versions
— Parametric Variability
— Controlled Change
— Error and Chance
— Replication
— Scale Displacement
— Form Evolution
— Object Series
— Archive of Digital FormsSCAN — TRANSFORM — PRINT
— Re-scanning
— Altering the Derived Form
— Printing the New Object
— Comparing Original and Result
— Iterating the Cycle
— Accumulation of Changes
— Physical and Digital Memory of the Object
— Documenting the TransformationARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND FINAL PROJECT
— Artistic Hypothesis
— Selection of Object and Method
— Process Investigation
— Series or Installation
— Spatial Presentation of the Work
— Documentation
— Project Text
— Presentation of Artistic Statement