3D Prints from Photographs. This is a presentation I gave to stimulate interest in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics).

1. Science
Technology
Engineering
Art
Math
Scott 28Jul11

2. Objective
Stimulate student interest in Science,
Technology, Engineering, Art and Math by
teaching how to create 3D Additively
Manufactured prints from photographs.
Engineer‟s Laptop Artist‟s Canvas

3. What You will Learn…
How take pictures and turn them into
like these… 3D Prints like these…
…using STEM and ART! Principles… and 3D Printers
Image Credits: Edward S. Curtis
Courtesy Dubuque Museum of Art http://www.dbqart.com/

4. Arts-to-Sciences is a Continuum!
We are all Makers- click here: Makers
“Artists” “Scientists and Engineers”
Creativity and Vision INNOVATION
460 years
Flight Leonardo DaVinci
145 years
Equality Abraham Lincoln
60 years
Cell Phones Chester Gould
54 years
World Wide Web Paul Otlet

5. Part 1- 2D to 3D Process
 Overview
 Perceived versus Real 3D
 Picture Selection
 Image Preparation
 Depth Creation
 Texture Mapping
 Frame Features
 3D Printing

6. Overview- To convert 2D photographs into solid 3D prints:
1. First convert the picture into grayscale where
every pixel is assigned a value between 0 and 255-
with 0 being pure black and 255 being pure white.
2. Using CAD software, map these pixels as a surface
in space using heightfields with the darker pixels
being ‘low’ and the lighter pixels being ‘high’.
3. Next, map the original colors back onto the surface
and give it thickness.
4. Next, use CAD tools to create a frame and other
features.
5. Then, save the model as an .stl file.
6. Finally, print out the .stl file on a 3D color printer.

7. Perceived versus Real 3D
Phobos
Anaglyphs create an illusion- wear your glasses!
(Stereopsis is Greek for “Solid Sight”)
Phobos Imaged by HiRISE (PSP_007769_9010) Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

8. Perceived versus Real 3D
Can you see the shark in
the Autostereogram?
(Hint: cross your eyes a little to line up the
stripes and engage binocular disparity)
Source: Wikipedia; Image Credits: Fred Hsu and Xiong Chiamiov

9. Picture Selection
Choose your subject, any subject.
(e.g., Architecture, Art, Babies, Nature, People, Sentiment
al, Tattoos, Vintage, X-Rays…)

10. Picture Selection- Shadows
Beware of shadows, they
can create false depth.
(Remember, the algorithm interprets
dark as “low”)

11. Picture Selection- Light
Light is just a portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum that our eyes are able to detect
and our brains are able to interpret.
(There‟s so much more out there!)
Source: Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory
http://www.lbl.gov/MicroWorlds/ALSTool/EMSpec/EMSpec2.html

12. Picture Selection- Color
Colors in your photo need to be converted to
grayscale- which consists of divisions of the
diagonal line from K to W in the color cube.
(K is „pure black‟ and W is „pure white‟. There are usually 256
divisions in grayscale which, by the way, equals 2^8…hmm)

13. Image Preparation
Make multiple copies of your photo to
highlight certain areas that you wish to
accentuate or de-emphasize the height of.
(These layer copies will be stacked upon each other in your
CAD model to create a net height in the final geometry)
Image Credit: Mosa Mohave by Edward S. Curtis
Courtesy Dubuque Museum of Art http://www.dbqart.com/

14. Depth Creation
Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their children
When you stack these layers as surfaces, be
careful to search for the balance between a
bas-relief look and 3D ‘Realism’.
(Try to avoid debating the Turing Test- click here: Robot )
Source: Wikipedia; Image Credit: Gerbil from de.wikipedia

15. Depth Creation
You create the surfaces (meshes)
using heightfields generated from the
stacked picture layers.
(Meshes are essentially a collection of XYZ point
coordinates which define a surface. Many CAD software
packages can create meshes and heightfields.)

16. Texture Mapping
Full image size: 748 X 1024 Pixels
Using the Texture Map function,
superimpose the original jpeg back
onto the 3D surface you created.
Then, give the surface thickness.
(jpeg is a type of file that compresses pixel location
information and the CMKY/RGB color values)
Image Credit: Mosa Mohave by Edward S. Curtis
Courtesy Dubuque Museum of Art http://www.dbqart.com/

17. Frame Creation
Intersection Union Difference
Remember that ‘Set Theory’ stuff you
learned in, like, 5’th grade? Mathematicians
call these Boolean Operations.
(Software uses Boolean math in order to intersect, combine or
subtract areas or volumes from CAD generated geometry)

18. Frame Creation
Here’s an example of a CAD generated
Sphere, Box and Pentacone (is that a word?).
Actually, it’s a pentagonal pyramid.
(Taking the Box and subtracting out the other two volumes using
the Boolean Difference operation leaves you with, ehhh…., a rather
interesting shape)

19. Frame Creation
If you create two boxes using CAD
software and then Boolean Difference
out the smaller one, you get a frame.
(Use the same principles to create other features like
keyhole hangers. Intersect these with the 3D surfaces you
created from your original picture.)
Image Credit: Edward S. Curtis
Courtesy Dubuque Museum of Art http://www.dbqart.com/

20. 3D Printing- .stl files
Most 3D Printers recognize a certain
type of CAD output file called .stl.
(An .stl file contains the coordinate information of the
triangular facets from your CAD geometry. This file
format allows efficient encoding of the CAD data.)

21. 3D Printing- Types
Send your .stl file to a 3D printer and
Voilà!- you get a physical part in 3D Color.
(Actually, there are now many types of Additive Manufacturing
machines and processes utilizing a plethora of materials. These
are sometimes referred to collectively as 3D Printers.)
Watch the following videos to learn more: 3D or 3D Deux or 3D Trois

22. Future Presentation Thoughts

23. Part 2- Arts/Sciences Connections
 Proportions _______________ Fibonacci Numbers
 Color and Light _____________ Electromagnetic Spectrum, Waves or Particles?
 Shadows _________________ Grayscale
 3D ______________________ Stereopsis, Rods and Cones
 Analog Photography _________ Chemistry
 Digital Photography _________ DLP’s, Telescopes
 Jpegs ____________________Fast Fourier Transforms
 Form ____________________ Mathematical Surfaces
 Drawing _________________ CAD
 Sculpture ________________ Additive Manufacturing

24. e.g.; Fibonacci Numbers
What are they? Why do they
matter?
Click to play
Click to play
The Golden Ratio is 1.618 to 1
(Digital Cameras have Image Formats in the
proportions of… hmm)
Source: Wikipedia; Fibonacci Image Credit: Rodhullandemu, Source=Scan
from "Mathematical Circus" by Martin Gardner, published 1981

25. Part 3- “Hands-on” Exercise
1. Take a photograph of your hand
2. Perform the 2D to 3D conversion
3. Print out the part on a 3D Printer

26. Part 4- Photo Mosaics
Photo Mosaic created using AndreaMosaic http://www.andreaplanet.com/andreamosaic/

27. Resources
And there are many, many
more, just google 3D Printing.

28. Questions and Comments?