Artist Creates Film Made Entirely of 3D Printed Parts

French digital artist Gilles-Alexandre Deschaud has created an ambitious short film entirely from 3D printed parts. The project took over two years to complete, and is made up of over 2,500 pieces printed on the Form 1+ 3D printer. It will premiere at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Festival this June, and has also been selected for the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival.

The story begins with a girl walking through a magical forest. During her stroll, her shadow evolves into a monster who chases her through the woods. “Chase Me” is a story about embracing your fears, and turning them into something beautiful,” says Gilles-Alexandre.

Every frame of the film was first designed by the artist in CG, before being processed into 3D prints. The mise-en-scene was then recreated through stop-motion animation (15 frames per second) to produce the film’s final result.

The set and characters for Chase Me were printed in 100 micron resolution, with minimal finishing beyond the removal of the support material. Bigger pieces, like the tree in the forest, were printed in 22 individual parts, then assembled.

Deschaud, a CG animator by trade, has a passion for storytelling through mixed media. “When I first saw the Form 1 3D printer on Kickstarter, I knew that was what I needed to make a 3D printed film. I wanted to bring 3D printing technology to the art of stop-motion animation to create a new kind of film,” says Gilles-Alexandre.

“I wouldn’t been able to have such tiny, complex and detailed prints without the Form 1 printer.”

“Users like Gilles-Alexandre, who are doing incredible things with the Formlabs 3D printer, inspire us to keep doing what we do. Chase Me is beautiful and powerfully moving, both in aesthetics and its attention to detail,” says Max Lobovksy, co-founder of Formlabs, the Boston-based manufacturer of the Form 1+ SLA 3D printers.

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