Obama’s 3D printed bust by the Smithsonian

For centuries, artists have used different technologies to create statues of the legends. The Smithsonian Institution in collaboration with the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative technologies has taken up the project of the first Presidential 3D portrait by the latest technology, 3D printing.

The aim of the Smithsonian’s was to make a life mask and a full bust of the President. There was Mobile Stage Setup with 8 high-end DSLRs and 50 light sources. These cameras captured a total of 80 photographs during facial scan, all in single second. As the President sat still, he was scanned with two hand-held scanners. All this process took over 7 minutes.

The light stage and scanned data was combined and processed in Autodesk and within 72 hours print-ready files for an Obama bust and a life mask was yielded. From this, came to life, the 3D bust of the President through a 3D printer.

The portraits were previously displayed at the White House maker Faire June 18. It is now in Smithsonian’s Castle Commons gallery for view.