And if we're sculpting it digitally, then we know from the beginning that the result will be printed. TCT: Can you talk us through how 3D printing was used in the development process?ДD: Generally, if we're starting off with digital assets it makes the most sense to continue to sculpt that collectible digitally. From there, Gary started on what would become the final high-resolution collectible, working out finer details like the muscle definition and fabric folds. These were then workshopped by our lead sculptor Gary Hunt, Richard Taylor (Creative Lead and Co-Owner of WД“tДЃ Workshop), and the team to work out the best overall composition.

From there, Yorke Yu, one of our sculptors, created rough 3D sketches of the strongest pose options. TCT: Can you talk about the inspiration behind the Lara Croft The Lost Valley design? How did you move from initial sketches to 3D?ДD: The initial concept sketches came from our senior designerВ Gus Hunter, who experimented with a variety of poses and compositions. TheВ 3D model is broken down into suitable pieces for manufacturing and assembly.

But mostly, if the collectible is being sculpted digitally, we'll be using digital assets that we produce or are given to us by the client. We have scanning available and use it when we need to capture an element off a sculpture or a hero prop. For our Masters Collection editions, we use pretty much exclusively Formlabs printers of which we have Form 2s, Form 3s and Form 3Ls for different purposes. Now we run a large range of 3D printers - mostly SLA and FDM. But once we got our in-house machine, which was a Stratasys Eden 350V - it changed our manufacturing pipeline completely. Before that we were using a lot more hand-crafted and subtractive manufacturing techniques and only outsourcing parts for 3D printing if it was necessary. ThatвЂ™s when we got our first reliable in-house machine. TCT: Can you talk about how long WД“tДЃ Workshop has been using 3D printing for model making and what machines youвЂ™re currently using? Is there any 3D scanning involved?ДD: We have been utilising 3D printing since before I arrived at WД“tДЃ Workshop back in 2009 but it's only been an integral part of our pipeline since about 2013. Here, Duke (DD) talks us through the development process, the tools used and where 3D printing makes sense. Speaking to TCT, Duke shared how his role within WД“tДЃ Workshop collectibles segment functions as a вЂњtranslator from digital to physicalвЂќ, working with in-house sculptors, model making and moulding/casting teams to figure out how a digital 3D asset can be broken down into pieces for manufacturing and assembly, layout the build platforms to get the best print results, and deliver precise representations of the artists' original sculpture. Sure enough, in a short video fromВ renowned special effects and prop company WД“tДЃ Workshop showing the development of the 1вЃ„4 scale statue titled вЂLara Croft The Lost ValleyвЂ™, Senior 3D Printer Operator David Duke explained how the technology was used to bring this dynamic model of the iconic video game adventurer to life. When this (slightly) Lara Croft-obsessed Editor got wind of a new collectable being developed to celebrate Tomb RaiderвЂ™s 25th anniversary, the second most immediate thought afterВ вЂIвЂ™ve got to have one of thoseвЂ™ was, вЂSurely, they used 3D printing somewhere?вЂ™

Lara croft 3d model