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Gentle Giant Studios creates prototypes of life-sized animated characters for the House of Mouse at high speeds to meet tight deadlines, capture intricate details
Nexa3D, the ultrafast polymer 3D printing leader, announced today its collaboration with Gentle Giant Studios to bring Disney Pixar’s animated characters to life with unprecedented speed and precision. By leveraging the advanced capabilities of Nexa3D’s XiP desktop 3D printer, Gentle Giant Studios successfully produced high-quality, intricate prototypes for Disney Pixar’s film “Elemental,” which opens in theaters today. The collaboration showcases the remarkable potential of advanced 3D printing technology in the entertainment industry.
Gentle Giant Studios, an entertainment and technology company with over 30 years of experience, specializes in data acquisition, product development, and digital services for clients worldwide. To generate excitement for the release of “Elemental,” the company embarked on the ambitious project of creating life-size versions of the film’s characters for photo opportunities at various events worldwide, including its worldwide premiere at Tribeca Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Sydney Film Festival.
“We are thrilled to have partnered with Gentle Giant on this highly creative and challenging project,” said Nexa3D Chief Marketing Officer Nina Swienton. “Artists and designers are constantly looking for ways to bring creations to life efficiently while maintaining fidelity to their vision. By using advanced technologies such as 3D printing, the distance between the artists’ imagination and reality becomes shorter with extraordinary results.”
The primary challenge was the project’s tight timeline. To ensure the prototypes were ready in time for the premiere events, the team required a 3D printer that could deliver both speed and accuracy. This is where Nexa3D’s XiP Desktop 3D printer excelled, with its industry-leading 3D printing speed and high-performance capabilities. Gentle Giant Studios was able to iterate on different designs, securing approvals from Disney Studios within an impressive two-day period. The final designs were then used to produce life-size models, which were delivered to Disney in time for the movie’s premiere events.
“We could not have met our manufacturing timelines with any other process as the iterations involved very challenging painting and lighting effects,” said Jason Lopes, Director of Additive Manufacturing at Gentle Giant Studios. “The XiP Desktop 3D printer enabled us to move revisions into physical form faster than printing in other slower technologies.”
Utilizing Nexa3D’s xMODEL17-Clear resin, a durable and transparent modeling material, Gentle Giant Studios captured intricate details and achieved the desired visual effects of fire and water for the characters. The superior prototypes produced with the XiP desktop 3D printer allowed the artisans to bring the Elemental characters to life for the viewing public.
Learn more about the Disney Elemental x Gentle Giant Studios collaboration here.
