3D Printing Brings Comic Character Mono off the Page and into Creator’s Hands

The comic book character Mono, created by Ben Wolstenholme, isn’t going to be winning beauty contests any time soon, but he certainly does turn heads – especially in his 3D printed figurine version created by SR Partners’ visual design consultancy. Even if you don’t know who Mono is already, it will be hard to forget him once you’ve seen the amazing results of this 3D print collaboration between comic creator and 3D maker. Standing 20″ high, and literally bursting the seams of his clothing, this humanoid creature stands on two feet while sporting a long, lionesque tail. Complete with simian features and a utility belt, he may have a receding hair line but I bet nobody points that out to him.

The collaboration between Wolstenholme and SR Partners began several years earlier while working together on a project for Moving Brands that Wolstenholme co-founded. The character Mono was developed for a new studio that Wolstenholme founded called Madefire, which creates motion books for digital devices.

In an interview with 3DPrint.com, Simon Jones, Director at SR Partners, explained the origin of the project to produce a 3D printed version of Mono:

“We had already completed a project for Madefire where we created the sound library for the software as well as the theme music for the three flagship characters Mono, Captain Stone, and Treatment. I believe the idea came about when I mention we were interested in the new technology and wanted to explore it using Mono as the guinea pig. We thought it would be a great idea to use for promotional purposes at Comic Con and other press events as well as possibly opening up a merchandise stream as well.”

Wolstenholme enthusiastically agreed and provided SR Partners with sketches from all angles and detailed drawings showing accessories and other essentials for the character. The team at SR then worked in ZBrush, continually checking their modeling against the drawings in order to create the best possible model. When it came time to move the model from the digital to the physical realm, they turned to 3DPrintUK, who recommended printing with their EOS P100-SLS.

They decided to commission four prints for the first wave, two which were to be hand painted in full color and two monochrome variants. SR Partners found themselves highly pleased with the polishing that 3DPrintUK had performed on the pieces allowing them to easily paint the smooth surfaces of the figures.

Mono is terrible, in the traditional sense of the word, but it is nearly impossible to take your eyes off of him. The connection between his powerful presence and the fierce bestiality of a silver back ape is clear in every detail, from his bared teeth to his muscular toes. SR Partners has done a masterful job of giving him a depth that allows his 3D figurine to carry forward to power of his 2D existence.

Let’s hear your thoughts on Mono being 3D printed.  Discuss in the 3D Printed Mono forum thread on 3DPB.com.