When Modern Art Meets Traditional Ceramic Culture & 3D Digital Technology Meets Creative Design

Participating in the “2019 Global Additive Manufacturing Application Innovation Competition”, Ye Tianwei and Weng Jia, two designers from Beijing, won the first prize in the “Consumer Goods Upgrade – Cultural Museum & Design” competition with a series of creative derivatives made of famous white Dehua porcelain.

Ye Tianwei and Weng Jia are members of Beijing Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park’s “3D print and Digital Innovation Club “. Their main work consists of architecture and environmental art. Occasionally they enjoy to create some exotic creative cultural products. Participating this competition is a tribute to the crossover creation of culture.

叶天威Ye Tianwei

Bachelor of Architecture, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Master of Architecture, Cornell University

Designer of Actoys Facial Masks

翁佳Weng Jia

Bachelor of Architecture, Tsinghua University

Master of Environmental Design, Yale University

PhD of Architectural history, Yale University

At that time, Fujian Museum had plans to exhibit and introduce the jade-like Dehua white porcelains, which Fujian Province is well-known for across the country, to its audience and to promote its exclusivity and quality to the visitors. The “Wenchang Lord” seated statue, the finest white porcelain in the collection with a delicate body and milky white glaze was to be one of the central exhibits of the museum´s new promotional approach. However, few visitors stopped their steps and carefully appreciated its elegance due to its unobtrusiveness at a first glance. Therefore, Fujian Museum invited designers to create new forms of cultural relics by 3D digital technology, giving the audience a new perspective to enjoy the unique beauty of small cultural relics.

After Ye Tianwei and Weng Jia grasped the requirements of the project, the first ideal tool coming to their minds was the 3D Scanner. The real aesthetic sense of the cultural relic needed to be preserved authentically, a requirement that could undoubtedly be delivered by the 3D Scanner. Based on thorough evaluation and the budget they chose the SHINING 3D EinScan-SE Desktop 3D Scanner.

Solution: 3D Scanning

Step1 – Obtaining the Data of the Statue by 3D Scanning

“EinScan-SE is a fairly cost-effective 3D scanner, performing well in the first step of our creation, and guaranteeing a smooth workflow with the subsequent 3D design, exhibits fabrication and derivatives development.” Ye Tianwei said.

Solution: Optimization of the Model

Step2 – Optimization of the Model in Zbrush for Further Design

The designers had a brainstorming further taking into account the new display of cultural relics, but also creative derivative, so that the whole project became more multifaceted, rich and attractive.

Design Concept

3D Scanning and 3D Printing technologies are used to produce a wall montage. The 3D scanned digital model of the sculpture is divided up into many small squares which are then upscaled in size. Representative parts , including the face, hands, parts of the clothing and extremities are replicated with the help of 3D printing technology and mounted to a wall in the museum. These details, which in the original sculpture can only be viewed up close, have become accessible to a broader amount of visitors through upscaling and the creative ideas of the artists.

White Porcelain Art Display Wall

Each piece of white porcelain on the wall has gone through the process

-3D Data Selection

-3D Printing the part´s mold

-Porcelain Casting

-Firing the porcelain

-Glazing the porcelain

guaranteeing the authentic reproduction of the statue´s detailed characteristics.

The design concept and production journey of the derivatives are in harmony with the art exhibition wall, and at the same time, manage to integrate a multitude of cultural ideas.

The technologies of 3D Digitization (3D scanning) and Additive Manufacturing (3D printing), pave the way for a close connection of the digital and the material world and thereby creating a huge space for innovative design and intelligent manufacturing. Whether it is industrial manufacturing, culture and art, or biomedicine, designers and technical engineers have gained unprecedented creative freedom and creative possibilities by means of 3D Technology!