Award winning contemporary digital art jeweller, Allison Macleod, is combining models created using haptic Anarkik3DDesign programme with models created using her Rhino CAD programme.
Allison can create uniquely different jewellery by combining the precision that CAD offers with Anarkik3D’s way of 3D modelling specifically developed to be more intuitive, organic and free-form.
Allison is a contemporary digital art jeweller and retired doctor. She lives in Broughty Ferry by Dundee. Her jewellery has previously been designed using CAD software, specifically Rhino, and made using 3D printing. Her pieces have been formed from a combination of materials: PLA filaments, recycled mixed materials and recycled silver. Allison’s work can be seen on her website www.phorme.co.uk
Sustainable Practice: 3D Digital Tech
A great working relationship built up between Ann Marie Shillito, director of Anarkik3D Ltd and Allison. They connected over their love of both 3D digital design and 3D printing and their desire to improve sustainability within their creative practice and life in general.
Ann Marie and Allison both joined Applied Arts Scotland’s research group ‘Closing the Loop’. The group formed during lockdown, tasked with generating knowledge and information to help applied artists make changes toward working more sustainably and toward circular design. They are now also members of Katie Tregidden’s ‘Making Design Circular‘ community and learning platform, working on rewilding their creative practice so that both they, their businesses and the planet can thrive.
As part of pivoting her business during lockdown, Ann Marie focused on loaning out Anarkik3DDesign: the haptic 3D modelling software (Cloud9) and the essential Falcon haptic hand control device.
Haptics means ‘touch’. You can feel both material properties of hardness and softness and the three dimensionality of the virtual objects you are creating. Together the haptic software and affordable haptic hardware make this programme unique. Touch makes it more suited to the way applied artists work.
Loaning out products follows the sharing system model, one of the pillars of sustainability. Sharing avoids waste and equipment sitting idle. Think ‘tool libraries’.
Using Anarkik3DDesign and Rhino
This image shows Allison first play with Anarkik3D’s freeform 3D haptic modelling programme.
‘Followed your first instruction to play with a cube. Have had loads of fun already! Cubes reshaped in Anarkik3DDesign then ring bases added in Rhino to make a couple of rings! The ring shank is a rhino model.’
By importing Anarkiki3DDesign models into Rhino, Allison could add them onto a ring shank already created using Rhino’s precision dimensioning capability.
In order to try out this way of working, using Anarkik3DDesign and Rhino, Allison has taken advantage of Anarkik3D’s special ‘loan scheme’. This is offered to Members of Applied Arts Scotland as loaning the package is tremendously helpful for trying out Anarkik3DDesign at a reasonable cost. It is a huge bonus to be able to try the technology this way without all the investment and possible wastage. It frees the artist to have a go, to experiment and play with digital modelling.
Allison found the design software itself really fun to use and easy to learn. She absolutely loves the colourful nature of the graphics and the ease with which organic shapes can be made. Setting up Anarkik3DDesign (hapticated Cloud9 software and the Falcon device) on her Mac was really straightforward . The online tutorial material easy to follow and fun.
There is great support online for any queries so if you can, attend one of Ann Marie’s workshops in Edinburgh as they really are excellent with so many tips and tricks to be learnt.
Email Ann Marie (at info @ anarkik3d .co.uk) if you are interested in loaning or a course and please say why. The loan scheme information is here.
Using Anarkik3DDesign and Rhino: how they complement
As Allison is already a committed Rhino user (a 3D CAD [computer aided design] program), she was very interested in testing how these two programmes would complement each other. She did, though, find the movement of the haptic device handle in all three dimensions a little difficult to get used to. Also, Anarkik3DDesign does not use numerical input via the keyboard for precision measurement as the Anarkik3D way of working is more intuitive and based on tacit knowing. For the precision that she wants she transfers her Anarkik3DDesign models easily into Rhino and is making combination pieces.
The image above shows progression from the left, importing Anarkik3DDesign models into Rhino. ‘The ring shank is a Rhino model. I took the Anarkik3DDesign shapes into Rhino as I find it helpful to be able to view the top, front and side views as I’m ‘setting’ my Anarkik ‘gem’ into the shank.’
For Allison this loan scheme is a successful and sustainable online self-directed and paced learning experience. Anarkik3D’s loan scheme provided a great opportunity for a proper try out at her own pace to decide if this method of working would fit into her creative practice. Her next step is to decide whether to continue with the rental or to purchase her own. I guess we will have to watch this space …
An exciting project! Are you a designer maker using CAD? If you want to try using Anarkik3DDesign and Rhino or other CAD programmes , do get in touch with us. Transfer formats are .stl and .obj.