Specimen 01: From Digital Model to Real Animatronic

I’ve always loved monsters. I really don’t know why, but whether it was dinosaurs, mythology, dragons, or really weird aliens I saw on the screen when I was growing up, I’ve always been hooked. I’ve never outgrown monsters and creatures, and often find myself a little bit surprised that they’ve become something of a profession in some sense. On a conceptual level, (and one that sounds really pretentious), I love the idea of monsters as a type of othering rooted in fear and the unknown. I’m really interested in the notion of monstrosity only being able to exist relative to some type of audience experiencing some type of danger or threat or by causing fear.

As to this specific monster, I’ve always found grubs, worms, and larva to be nasty and simultaneously really fascinating. There’s something about a big worm that feels like the epitome of scifi creatures to me. Real arthropods are already really bizarre and alien when you get right down to it, so it’s no wonder that in everything from timeless classic like Star Wars to cult classics like Starship Troopers and Tremors, their reputation to make people feel grossed out and repulsed makes them fantastic monsters. Those were three sources of inspiration I had in mind while designing this creature.

“Specimen 01” is the product of an idea that practical effects animatronics can be quickly and effectively created by combining traditional design and fabrication pipelines with 3D modeling and 3D printing. As it currently stands at my team’s third motion test, our theory is correct. The bloated and overgrown worm you see to the left and in the video above began it’s existence as a 3D model sculpted by me entirely in Zbrush. In this case, the model itself was optimized for the specific set of criteria we developed in producing the finished animatronic. Since everything is digital parts can be sized, fit, and custom hardware designed entirely int he computer. From there, 3D Printing is the key: At times as an intermediary process, as with the body, which was then modeled to create a soft silicone skin. At other times 3D Printing produces the end use parts. In the case of animatronics, hard surfaces like the head, or custom hardware that integrates with the robotics to produce specific motion and effects. What really gets me excited about this process is that since it all starts out digital you still have an easy option for VFX and CGI as well as the practical effects. It’s fast, efficient, and opens up some incredibly cool doors.

In this project, the process has been extremely fluid, adaptable, and quick at the juncture of our second motion test.

From here, we are planning to further refine the existing motion of Specimen 01 as well as adding additional effects and beefing up the look even more with some fine details.

-Weston