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.

CAD设计师将士官长改造为泡泡龙公仔

士官长从光环系列是有史以来最可怕的计算机生成的人物，以及一切从动画人物到台玩具流行的产品许可证之一。当Funko行货字符标志性的Xbox专营权，使漏接头，他们招募的数字雕塑家/ 3-D打印机艺术家Khurram阿拉维处理小改造。

阿拉维从小就对一个稳定的饮食动画节目和视频游戏从20世纪80年代和90年代，并梦想成为一名漫画家。赚了设计学位在巴基斯坦后，他加入了当地的动画公司，在那里他发现ZBrush的，对于娱乐行业开发了功能强大的数字雕刻包。 “3-D的世界只是开辟了我，”阿拉维说。 “这是因为如果我是素描，但实际粘土。我开始使用该软件，并开始进入在线竞赛。我赢了一些，并设法得到一些演出与Marvel和世嘉为基础的人物。“

他接着从星球大战和Valve软件公司完成的项目字符模式，但最后一战漏接头项目被证明是更困难比anevil突变或可怕街头霸王管理，因为它不得不becute。 “相信我，当我说这一点 - 可爱的小并不像你想像的那么简单，”阿拉维说。 “其实，这是非常具有挑战性的简化形式和曲率必须十全十美。我花了好几天的简单的设计只是为了让曲线向右“。

字符和一个姿势一个粗略的想法都是阿拉维曾与合作。 “Funko发送过来粗略想法的姿态，这就是它。”阿拉维说。 “这是我的工作就是把它翻译并使其在3-D工作。”Funko还提供了最后一战4使用原来的3-D模型，但它们的用途有限，因为在电子游戏和可制造性设计的不同要求。 “我几乎无法使用这些模型，因为他们为比赛做，但他们确实有助于加快与雕刻的过程。”他说。 “我能够非常迅速地钉服装元素和细节。”

该模型曾捕捉到士官长的独特的外观，而且还要求是在制造的低成本，这需要极大的艺术性从阿拉维。 “当你带来超过40个人的服装元素融入进来，它变得更加复杂，”他说。 “然后，以确保该部分是厚，够详细，会得到妥善的制作本身在另一个挑战。”

为了测试他的模型，阿拉维转向3-D打印机，并与香港一家公司合作称为OWNAGE制造，专门从事3-D打印复杂的ZBrush模型。 “在审批过程通常是很痛苦的，用了很多来回我和许可的。”阿拉维说。 “他们希望自己的设计，以尽可能准确的源材料成为可能，这是正确的。一个星期的工作可以长达两个月，有时在收藏品的业务。“

幸运的是阿拉维，以像素为单位工作多年来一直与橡皮泥造型巨大的效益。 “数字造型是在这方面非常快，因为我们可以在飞行的变化和需要较少时相比，在更改物理的，真实世界的雕塑时间”。

CAD软件和三维打印机具有基本上成为一个“复位”按钮的真实世界。