My experience with Windows 10...so far.

I recently upgraded my Surface Pro 3 to Windows 10.  I had the Windows 10 icon appear in the corner and after reserving my copy, it downloaded the necessary files for me.  The download did take awhile.  I didn't actually time it, I let it run in the background.

The transition was easy enough.  I followed the instructions and after a short time my Surface was booted into Windows 10.

I wasn't in Windows 10 long enough to run through all the tasks I normally use my computer for.  So, I can't really say too much about differences in performance from Windows 8.1 to 10.

Most of the tasks I did were basic (web browsing, email etc.), the performance was fine and settings were kept.  I didn't find any problems with keyboard or mouse input.  However, when running Autodesk Sketchbook 2015, I ran into pen input issues.

Specifically, the "Layers Menu" didn't read the location of the pen correctly causing that context menu to not work.  Other menus seemed to work fine.  There was also an odd misread of the pen location on the right side of the screen in portrait mode where the pen stopped short of the edge and would jump to the top of the screen.

I tried repairing the Sketchbook install and eventually did a fresh install.  I calibrated the Surface pen several times and restarted the pen.  I ran updates etc. but the problem persisted.  I couldn't find anyone with similar issues on message boards.  I needed immediate access to the software so I downgraded back to 8.1

Fortunately, Microsoft put in a contingency to allow you to easily go back to your previous operating system for up to 30 days after you do the upgrade.  After 30 days, the old OS files are deleted from the system to free up disk space.

In the short time with the interface, it was visually pleasing, and relatively intuitive.  It allows you to operate in two modes, desktop and tablet mode.  Desktop mode operation was a pretty straight forward similar to previous versions of Windows.  Tablet mode was a bit disorienting.

Tablet mode did not operate like Windows 8 or 8.1.  So things like the Charms bar and screen swipes which I had finally gotten accustomed to were gone.  I found even things like the power button and the adjustment for screen brightness in very different locations and will take some time to get accustomed to.

The "Start Menu" is different.  It is neither like the traditional Windows start menu or the Metro Tiles.  It incorporates a bit of both.  It took a bit of time to orient myself to where everything was located.

Writing in Edge was interesting.  It was great to be able to make notations directly on web pages.  But I haven't tried sharing a notated webpage yet so I'm not sure how often I'd use it.  At this point, it seems like something that once I learned how to use it, might be invaluable.

Haven't tried Cortana yet. 

In tablet mode, I found it difficult to keep track of what programs were open.  When I switched back to desktop mode I found a bunch of windows open.

I used the desktop in Windows 8.1 almost exclusively so, I foresee myself using Windows 10 mostly in desktop mode.

I'll update my thoughts as I work with other computers with Windows 10 and eventually upgrade my Surface Pro 3...again.

Please leave any experiences or thoughts you have on Windows 10 in comments section below.

The bronze miniatures of the Fujin (god of wind) and Raijin (god of lightning and thunder) kabuto (helmets) were on display at the Tokyo Maker Faire.  Big thank you to Yui Takahara and her amazing team at i.materialise.

The patina on the center kabuto came out more subtle than I would have liked.  I really wanted a greater contrast between the raised areas and recesses to really pull out the details. 

As a result, the contrast between the PU coated bronze and the patina are not as striking in pictures.  You can read about the patina process I used in here in English or here in Japanese.  Japanese translation provided by Yui Takahara.

I took a series of shots to get a pictures that captured the effects of the patina for the blog post.

Please let me know what you think of the designs, the patina or the patina process in the comments below.

前回の記事に引き続き、こちらも日本語翻訳版です。僕の日本語はあまりうまくないのですが、日本の読者の方にも記事を読んでいただけるよう、i.materialiseのユイに記事を翻訳してもらいました。

風神雷神兜をデザインする前は、 金属素材で加工したことがあるのは鋼、亜鉛めっき鋼、鋳造したアルミとブロンズ一作品だけでした。

最近の作品はどれも3Dプリントで作っているので、年季の入った感じを表現するときには金属風のアンティーク加工や金属製の箔をつけるしかありません。僕の作品はデザインと同じくらいその加工技術も評価してもらっているので、今回はブロンズのミニチュア兜の加工にぜひトライしてみたいと思っていました。

いつもプロジェクトの相談にのってくれるi.materialiseのユイと話して、今回はブロンズ兜のひとつに緑青付けをして東京メイカーフェアで展示することに決定しました。作品をわざと古めかしく見せられる緑青を、加工技術として使った経験はありません。以前ブロンズで製作した作品は、時間が経つにつれて自然に濃い茶色に変色していきました。

今回の兜はイベントの関係上数週間で仕上げなければならなかったので、自然に緑青や錆びが付くまで待つことはできません。人工的に緑青風の加工をするのは、僕にとって未経験のテリトリーでした。

僕が住んでいるハワイはそのユニークな自然環境のため、化学製品の物流や使用が厳しく制限されています。毒性のある化学製品を扱えるスペースも用意できないので、今回は手に入る身近なものでブロンズの古色化に挑戦することにしました。

思い通りの質感を実現するため、何通りかのやり方を試してあります。今回紹介するのとは別の加工方法に興味のある方は、次回以降のブログで詳しく紹介します。

こちらが加工前の風神兜。

i.materialiseから届いたばかりの兜は、強い輝きのある真新しいものでした。表面にはPU（ポリウレタン）の透明コートがかかっていて、これが傷や錆びを防止する働きをします。

アンティーク加工を施すにはこのPUコートをはがす必要がありました。やり方はアセトン液に漬けるだけ。マイケルミューラー氏が以前i.materialiseのブログに寄せた記事でもアンティーク加工の方法が詳しく紹介されているので参考になりますよ。

まずは安全第一。僕は作品を加工する際にはいつも実験用保護メガネやマスクを付けます。

アセトンはアメリカの一般的なホームセンターなら比較的簡単に手に入ります。ガラス容器の中にたっぷりとアセトン液を入れたら、ゴム手袋をした手で完全に兜を沈ませます。タオルはアセトンがこぼれてしまったとき用。アセトンを使って作業するときは、野外か換気の良い場所で行いましょう。

合計90分アセトンの中に兜を漬けたら、取り出して乾かす作業。ニトリル素材のゴム手袋をしておくことでアセトンが手についたり手の油脂が作品についてしまったりするのを避けられます。指紋が少しついてしまうだけでも緑青が均一にならないことがあるので注意。

その後は何通りか加工の方法を試しました。卵、食器洗い機用洗剤、重曹、油、アンモニア溶液、塩やお酢など様々なもの使っての試行錯誤です。

最後にたどり着いたのは重曹。溶解しなくなるまで重曹をお湯に溶かした液の中に、5日ほど風神兜を沈めておきました。 

結果はすごく濃い緑青になった訳ではないけど、明るい茶色に変色しています。古めかしい雰囲気になってはいるものの、金属独特の輝きも保った質感に仕上げることができました。

明暗をはっきりさせてコントラストを強調するため、ネットつきのスポンジと歯磨き粉、スクラブ入り床洗剤を使って凸部分を擦ります。あまり目立つ効果はないものの、ディテールを浮き上がらせることができました。

最後のステップはコーティング。室内で飾る展示用作品なので、ワックスではなくスプレークリアコートを選びました。クリアコートをかけると深みのある色に仕上がります。

僕の日本語はあまりうまくないのですが、日本の読者の方にも記事を読んでいただけるよう、i.materialiseのユイに記事を翻訳してもらいました。

僕は以前i.materialiseとモデラボが共同開催した「兜デザインコンテスト」を盛り上げるため、風神と雷神をモチーフにしたオリジナルの兜をデザインしました。さらにコンテスト終了後には審査員の一人として優秀作品を選ばせてもらいました。

全てのエントリー作品はこちらからご覧いただけます。

優秀作品に選ばれた兜はこちらでも紹介しています。

エントリーされた作品は素晴らしいデザインばかり。優秀作品をi.materialiseを通じてブロンズで3Dプリントしたものが下の写真です。写真は全てi.materialiseの提供。

最優秀賞：TSURU-KAME Kabuto by かわたんさん

鶴と亀をモチーフにした前立てが唐草模様でアレンジを加えた伝統的な形状と合わさり、素敵なコントラストを生み出している兜。滑らかな線の流れが3Dアートの要素と混じっている前立ては特に印象的でした。

2nd Place: Ika Kabuto by Nao

準優秀作品：烏賊兜 by Naoさん

この「烏賊兜」は大胆なモチーフとディテールの作りをうまくまとめた作品。有機的な要素と無機的な要素が組み合わさることで、バイオメカニカルな雰囲気を醸し出しています。イカの触手を前立てと眉庇（まびさし）に見立てたイマジネーションはすごい。

準優秀作品：ウサギの兜 by Naoさん

ウサギの兜は特に興味をそそるスマートな作品でした。一見うさぎと人参にしか見えないのですが、よく見ると実は吹き返し、錣（しころ）、眉庇が人参の葉で表現されていることに気付きます。兜として見るとウサギは確かに前立てとしても機能しています。一見ひとつのものにしか見えないのによく見ると他の要素が浮かび上がるこうしたデザインは、個人的にとても好きなものです。

優秀賞に選ばれた皆さん、おめでとうございます！コンテストに参加いただいた皆様もありがとうございました。

8月1日、2日開催の東京メイカーフェアに足を運ぶ予定の方は、i.materialiseブースで展示される僕の風神雷神兜をチェックするのをお忘れなく。デザインコンテスト優秀賞の作品もモデラボのブースにて展示します。写真でも十分デザインの良さが伝わってくる兜ですが、百聞は一見にしかず。ぜひ直接ご覧ください。

兜デザインへのコメントは、下のコメント欄へどうぞ。

Before the Fujin and Raijin Kabuto project, my experience with metal fabrication was limited to steel, galvanized steel, cast aluminum and only one other cast bronze piece.  

My recent pieces are 3D printed so any aging or metallic finishes have to be artificially done through antiquing or metal leafing.  Much of my recent work is known as much for the finishing I apply to the 3D prints as their design.  So, I was eager to try my hand at applying an aging effect to the bronze miniature kabuto from the 3D design challenge.

For the upcoming Tokyo Maker Faire, I discussed with Yui, my go to person at i.materialise, about applying a patina to one of the kabuto.  I had never worked with patinas before.  The one bronze piece I did create, obtained its dark brown patina naturally over a few years.

The kabuto needed to be ready in a few weeks so I didn't have the time to let it naturally acquire a patina.  I would need to artificially create the patina.  I was headed into uncharted territory.

Because of Hawaii's unique geography, we have tight regulations about the shipping, disposal and use of chemicals.  I also don't have a workspace conducive to working with toxic chemicals, so, I chose to explore methods of creating a patina on bronze using more common items.

I tried several methods to varying degrees of success.  For those who may be interested in trying any of the other methods, I will detail my journey in a following post.

For this post, here is the Fujin kabuto before the patina.

When the Kabuto arrived from i.materialise it had a brilliant shine to it.  It was also coated with a Polyurethane (PU) clear coat to prevent oxidation. 

The first step to applying a patina was to remove the PU coating.  A simple dip in acetone did the trick. There is a great tutorial by Michael Mueller on the i.materialise blog that outlines the basic process.

Safety first. I always wear safety glasses and/or a respirator with an organic vapor filter.

Acetone is generally easy to obtain from US hardware stores.  I filled the glass container with enough acetone to completely submerge the kabuto.

Using the nitrile gloves I place the bronze piece into the acetone.  The towel is mostly for accidental spills.  When working with acetone work outside or in a well ventilated area.

I removed the piece from the acetone and let it air dry.  The gloves keep my hands protected from the acetone and prevent getting body oil on the piece.  Any fingerprints may cause an uneven patina.

I then went through several experiments before getting the final patina.  I experimented with eggs, dishwashing detergent, baking soda, oil and a solution of ammonia, salt and vinegar.

Ultimately, I used baking soda for the patina seen at the end of this post.

I mixed a solution of water saturated with baking soda.  To do this, I continually add baking soda to hot water until the baking soda stops dissolving.

I filled a glass container with the solution and let Fujin sit for about 5 days. 

Not an instant or really dark patina but I managed to get a light brown color.  What was nice about this patina was that it had an aged look but still had a metallic sheen to it.

To give some contrast, on the final piece, I used a netted dish sponge and I experimented with toothpaste and Soft Scrub to buff out the raised areas.

It is a subtle effect but it brings out the details.

The final step was to seal the surface.  Since it was intended as an inside display piece, I opted for a spray clear coat rather than wax.

The clear coat also gave the patina a deeper color.

A little while back I had the honor of designing a couple of kabuto (Samurai helmets) to kick off the i.materialise and Modelab Kabuto Design Challenge.  I also had the honor of serving as a judge.

You can view all the entries here.

The winners were announced here (announcement in Japanese only)

There were some truly amazing designs.  Here is a run down of the winners with pictures of them printed in bronze by i.materialise.  All pictures are courtesy of i.materialise.

1st Place: Tsuru Kame Kabuto by Kawatan
The Tsuru (crane) Kame (turtle) kabuto puts an interesting spin on the "classic" kabuto profile by utilizing a lacy pattern to create the kabuto form resulting in a nice contrast of visuals.  The maedate (front crest) contains an elegant blend of line art elements flowing into 3D sculpted forms.

2nd Place: Ika Kabuto by Nao
The Ika (squid) Kabuto has a great sculpt with a nice balance of broad and fine details with clean lines.  It has a great combination of organic and inorganic forms giving it a bio-mechanical feel.  Very imaginative to utilize the tentacles to form the maedate (front crest) and mabizashi (visor). 

3rd Place: Usagi Kabuto by Nao
The Usagi (rabbit) helmet was especially intriguing and clever.  At first glance, what I saw was the carrot with a rabbit.  However, the more I examined it, I began to see the fukigaeshi (side protective wings), shikoro (neck guard) and mabizashi (visor) formed from the carrot leaves.

In the context of a kabuto, the rabbit is then perfectly placed as the maedate (front crest).  I really enjoy designs that present themselves as one thing but more is revealed as you examine the design.

おめでとうございます Congratulations to the winners!  どうもありがとうございました Thank you to all who entered.

If you are in, or visiting Japan on August 1-2.  The winning helmets as well as my Fujin and Raijin kabuto will be on display at the i.materialise booth at the Tokyo Maker Faire.  As great as pictures are, nothing beats seeing these kabuto in person.

Please leave any thoughts you have about any of the designs in the comments below.

If you've seen my gallery, then you know what I think happens when you mix modern technology and Japanese Samurai helmets also known as kabuto.

Well, the recent Kabuto Design Challenge sponsored by Modelab and i.materialise Japan asked Japanese designers to create what they thought.  Check out the entries here.

There are some pretty amazing entries, and I had the honor of being one of the judges to select the best of the best. 

I was really amazed at the creativity.  Some were dramatic in their design while others were deeply symbolic.  For some, the explanations really brought the concepts to life.

If you can't read Japanese, try Google Translate.  Good enough most of the time.  If you don't want to read, just look at the pictures.

I can't say too much about the entries since the winners haven't been announced yet.  Look for the results coming up next month.

I'd like to know what you think.  Please post your thoughts on the entries in the comments section.  And, if you've ever designed or re-imagined armor - Japanese, European, Spanish etc. I would love to see and hear about your designs.

What do you do when you have a 3D print and you don't want it too look like it's fresh out of the printer?  If it's non metallic you can use a process called antiquing.  I've used variations of this process on many of my 3D printed pieces.  If done properly, it can add a lot of character to your model and highlight details.

In this posting, I'll go through the basic method of antiquing using easy to acquire materials.  We'll start with your bare print and end up with the antiqued piece.

Supplies needed:
Latex or nitrile gloves or similar
Scouring pad (optional)
Paint brush or sponge brush
Damp paper towels
Covered work surface
Gold base coat (or other colors)
Black or grey water based paint (must be water based)
Clear coat (optional)

1) Spray 3D print with base coat color ensuring an even, consistent coat of paint. Allow time for adequate drying often 24 hrs for full cure. Follow recommended safety instructions and dry time as per the manufacturer's product label.

2) (optional) If your model has a lot of flat open areas you can use the scouring pad to distress the surface.  The antiquing paint get caught in the fine scratches left by the scouring pad and give the flat areas texture.  You can be creative and also use this technique for weathering effects. 

3) Prepare a covered work surface and have several sheets of damp paper towels. Half sheets work well. The number of sheets will vary according to size of project and level of detail. Use latex gloves to keep your hands clean. This process can get messy. It largely depends on the complexity of the project.

4) Mix antiquing paint well. Follow manufacturer's label for mixing and safety instructions.  For this blog post, I'll be using black paint.  However, depending on the look you're going for, the paint could be different shades of black, grey, brown or green especially if you're trying to mimic a patina on a metallic surface. 

5) Begin brushing or sponging on the antiquing (black paint) coat in roughly one inch square areas. It may be possible to work larger areas again, depending on surface area, detail etc. Immediately wipe off the excess paint leaving the antiquing coat in the corners and recesses of the model. The main goal is not to cover too much area at one time. If the excess paint dries, it becomes permanent.

6) Allow the remaining antique coat to dry. Apply a clear coat as an optional step.

If you have any tips for antiquing please feel free to share them in the comments section or if you have tried the technique, I would love to see your results and the sort of projects you're working on.

Just about everyone feels like they don't belong at some point in their life.   Well, earlier this year, while showing some of my pieces at the 3D Printer World Expo, I found out how much of an outsider I really was.

Just after the Expo ended, I had the chance to sit down with some of my fellow digital and traditional artists from the show.  Everyone introduced themselves and what digital tools they use to create their 3D models.  Going around the group, everyone mentioned NURBS and how difficult it was.  In fact, everyone seemed to have a NURBS horror story.

I was last.  I gave my name and said I was a NURBS modeler.  That got a laugh from the group.  Then it went silent.  And somebody said, "seriously?"  I said, "yeah".

Out of a group of 15 artists, I was the only one who didn't hate NURBS.  Not only that, I use NURBS as my primary modeling tool...almost exclusively.

I am self taught. I got started from manuals and, back then (about 18+ years ago), books.  The software and hardware was very specialized and in most cases, very expensive. Not much of a consumer and hobbyist market.

Because I am self taught, the way I do things is unconventional. This has been both blessing and curse. I needed to learn as I went so, a lot of how I work feels like workarounds. 

On the other hand, it's led me to a pretty unique build and unique designs.  It has pushed me to look outside the box for ideas and inspiration, even in other areas of my life.  I believe this is at least part of what draws attention to my work.

Long before my fateful artist roundtable in Burbank, I would have discussions with one of my colleagues about NUBRS and Polygons.  He is a former Art Director for a major video game company, who now teaches 3D modeling and runs his own software company.  He is partly self taught and partly classroom taught.

I gained a lot of insight into the world of polygon modeling and designing for video games from him.  I also see the differences (advantages and pitfalls) between being classroom and self taught.

Always being one to constantly learn.  I have been interested in expanding my 3D modeling tool set to include more polygon modeling skills. 

I'm not planning on changing my primary build style and tools.  But the more diverse your are, the better you can adapt to any situation.

Would like to hear any thoughts you have about NURBS vs. Polygon or any thoughts you have about self taught vs. classroom taught.

I recently did an online interview with the good folks over at Business Manufacturing and Injection Molding.  It gave me the chance to give a bit more insight into my work and my thoughts about the art space in the 3D printing industry.

You can read my interview here.

You can also view the Plastic Injection Molding YouTube Channel here.

Thanks Peter!