For this week’s edition of Inventor Spotlight, we talked to the talented 3D artist and drafting technician from the Netherlands, Jarno Nieuwenhuijsen, also known as Private Polygon. We chatted about his inspirations, his creative process, and advice for people starting with 3D printing.

What Inspired Jarno to Create the Elephant Model?

When Jarno started 3D modeling and sculpting years ago, the elephant was the first organic piece he made. Being his favorite animal, seeing them endangered angered him a lot. When he bought an Anycubic Photon in early 2020, he knew that his first project would be to physically hold the elephant model that he created years ago and put it on display on his TV cabinet.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Hi everyone! Happy and proud to show off not only my first mini but 3D print as well! Made this elephant in Zbrush and Cinema 4D years ago as I’m a fan of these awesome giants. Bought an Anycubic photon a couple of months ago and decided to print it (also my first 3D model from back when I started modelling). Got an airbrush from my brother and bought a ton of colours, mud, dust and some little grasses to scatter on to the base. It was a great journey discovering some painting techniques and getting familiar with the airbrush. While it’s far from perfect and not even close to the quality some people here post, I’m quite satisfied with the outcome. Though I’ll probably add some hair for the tail and some small colour adjustments. Hope you like it 🙂 #3d #3dart #3dartist #3dsculpting #digitalsculpting #3dprint #3dprinting #sculpting #3dmodelling #miniature #miniaturepainting #minipainting #elephant #african #africanelephant #anycubic #anycubicphoton #zbrush #pixologiczbrush #pixologic #cinema4d #c4d #maxon #animal #thebigfive

A post shared by PrivatePolygon (@privatepolygon) on

What Makes Jarno Happy and Proud of His Work?

Jarno never got any education in the field of 3D, and he has worked tirelessly for years, getting familiar with lots of programs and techniques. He likes to create pieces to show people a physical 3D model that they could hold and look at. It gives them a better understanding of the amount of work it takes to create a digital model in the first place. Seeing them amazed by the detail he has worked on for dozens of hours gives him a great feeling.

How Does Jarno Go About Creating Figures Like This?

Since this was his first 3D printed project, he had a lot to learn. Before starting, he watched hours of videos on techniques and materials required for a project like this. The resin printer was easy to handle and did not require a lot of knowledge to operate. After some tests and successful prints, he gathered reference material on the elephant-like color and environmental effects like dust and mud.

He purchased supplies like tools, paints, and weathering effects for post-processing. Then, Jarno just dived in and went at it. He primed the model with the airbrush, applied color gradients, some ink, and after that, more color variations. When he was satisfied with the coloring, he applied dried mud combined with sand that he found on the beach. Lastly, he used some dust effects to finish it off.

Advice for Beginners?

Jarno suggests that you should have patience, do a lot of research, and do not expect to succeed on the first try. Achieve your goal through trial and error. Only from your failures you will improve yourself, and it will be reflected in your work overtime.

Make sure you get advice from forums like Reddit, there are a lot of people out there willing to share their knowledge, and they are great! Creation through passion and dedication always appears in your projects.

Where to Find Jarno?

You can find him on Instagram at @privatepolygon.

If you would like to be featured in our Inventor Spotlight, feel free to send us an email to contact@bionicinventor.com. We would love to hear from you!