MASTER CHIEF FROM the Halo series is one of the most fearsome computer-generated characters of all time， as well as a popular product license for everything from action figures to desk toys. When Funko licensed characters from the iconic Xbox franchise to make bobble heads， they recruited digital sculptor/3-D printer artist Khurram Alavi to handle the mini-makeover.

Alavi grew up on a steady diet of animated shows and videogames from the ’80s and ’90s and dreamed of becoming a comic book artist. After earning a design degree in Pakistan， he joined a local animation firm where he discovered ZBrush， a powerful digital sculpting package developed for the entertainment industry. “The world of 3-D just opened up to me，” says Alavi. “It was as if I was sketching， but with actual clay. I started using the software and began entering online contests. I won a few and managed to get some gigs with Marvel and Sega-based characters.”

He went on to model characters from Star Wars and completed projects for Valve Software， but the Halo bobble head project proved to be more difficult to manage than anevil mutant or fearsome Street Fighter because it had to becute. “Trust me when I say this — cute and small is not as simple as you may think，” says Alavi. “In fact， it is very challenging as the simplified forms and curvature need to be perfect in every way. I’ve spent days on the simplest of designs just to get the curves right.”

The character and a rough idea for a pose are all Alavi had to work with. “Funko sends over rough ideas for the pose and that’s about it.” says Alavi. “It’s my job to translate it and make it work in 3-D.” Funko also provided the original 3-D models used in Halo 4， but they were of limited use because of the differing requirements in videogames and design for manufacturing. “I could barely use those models as they were made for the game， but they did help speed up with sculpting process.” he says. “I was able to nail the costume elements and details very quickly.”

The model had to capture Master Chief’s unique look， but was also required to be manufacturable at a low cost， which required great artistry from Alavi. “When you bring more than 40 individual costume elements into the mix， it gets far more complicated，” he says. “Then to make sure that the parts are thick and detailed enough and will be produced properly is another challenge within itself.”

In order to test his models， Alavi turned to 3-D printers and worked with a firm in Hong Kong called Ownage Manufacturing， which specializes in 3-D printing complex ZBrush models. “The approval process is usually very painful， with a lot of back and forth between myself and the licensor.” says Alavi. “They want their designs to be as accurate to the source material as possible， and rightly so. A one week job can go up to two months sometimes in the collectibles business.”

Fortunately for Alavi， working in pixels has huge benefits over modeling with plasticine clay. “The digital sculpt is very fast in this respect as we can make changes on the fly and takes less time when compared to making changes to a physical， real world sculpture.”

CAD software and 3-D printers have essentially become a “reset” button for the real world.

自動翻譯僅供參考

CAD設計師將士官長改造為泡泡龍公仔

士官長從光環系列是有史以來最可怕的計算機生成的人物，以及一切從動畫人物到臺玩具流行的產品許可證之一。當Funko行貨字符標志性的Xbox專營權，使漏接頭，他們招募的數字雕塑家/ 3-D打印機藝術家Khurram阿拉維處理小改造。

阿拉維從小就對一個穩定的飲食動畫節目和視頻游戲從20世紀80年代和90年代，并夢想成為一名漫畫家。賺了設計學位在巴基斯坦后，他加入了當地的動畫公司，在那里他發現ZBrush的，對于娛樂行業開發了功能強大的數字雕刻包。 “3-D的世界只是開辟了我，”阿拉維說。 “這是因為如果我是素描，但實際粘土。我開始使用該軟件，并開始進入在線競賽。我贏了一些，并設法得到一些演出與Marvel和世嘉為基礎的人物。“

他接著從星球大戰和Valve軟件公司完成的項目字符模式，但最后一戰漏接頭項目被證明是更困難比anevil突變或可怕街頭霸王管理，因為它不得不becute。 “相信我，當我說這一點 - 可愛的小并不像你想像的那么簡單，”阿拉維說。 “其實，這是非常具有挑戰性的簡化形式和曲率必須十全十美。我花了好幾天的簡單的設計只是為了讓曲線向右“。

字符和一個姿勢一個粗略的想法都是阿拉維曾與合作。 “Funko發送過來粗略想法的姿態，這就是它。”阿拉維說。 “這是我的工作就是把它翻譯并使其在3-D工作。”Funko還提供了最后一戰4使用原來的3-D模型，但它們的用途有限，因為在電子游戲和可制造性設計的不同要求。 “我幾乎無法使用這些模型，因為他們為比賽做，但他們確實有助于加快與雕刻的過程。”他說。 “我能夠非常迅速地釘服裝元素和細節。”

該模型曾捕捉到士官長的獨特的外觀，而且還要求是在制造的低成本，這需要極大的藝術性從阿拉維。 “當你帶來超過40個人的服裝元素融入進來，它變得更加復雜，”他說。 “然后，以確保該部分是厚，夠詳細，會得到妥善的制作本身在另一個挑戰。”

為了測試他的模型，阿拉維轉向3-D打印機，并與香港一家公司合作稱為OWNAGE制造，專門從事3-D打印復雜的ZBrush模型。 “在審批過程通常是很痛苦的，用了很多來回我和許可的。”阿拉維說。 “他們希望自己的設計，以盡可能準確的源材料成為可能，這是正確的。一個星期的工作可以長達兩個月，有時在收藏品的業務。“

幸運的是阿拉維，以像素為單位工作多年來一直與橡皮泥造型巨大的效益。 “數字造型是在這方面非常快，因為我們可以在飛行的變化和需要較少時相比，在更改物理的，真實世界的雕塑時間”。

CAD軟件和三維打印機具有基本上成為一個“復位”按鈕的真實世界。