3D Printed Eyeballs

I'm pleased to finally share some of the R&D I have completed for Weta Workshop over the past few years! I developed an art-directable method for 3D printing hyper-realistic eyes on the Stratasys J750. Using voxel printing, six materials are dotted together to create the natural variations in transparency and colour you can see here. The system was built in Houdini, translating tools typically used for VFX into tools for SFX manufacture.
Supervised by William Furneaux, with thanks also to James Doyle, Jason Docherty and Richard Taylor.
https://www.artstation.com/william_furneaux
The photos and videos you see here are from a recent article released by Weta Workshop, and materials shown at SIGGRAPH 2019.
https://www.wetaworkshop.com/news/weta-workshop-sets-its-sights-on-giant-human-eyes
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3306214.3338555

Here you can see how we were about to harness the transclucent qualities of the J750 to create realistic volumetric variations in materials. Video produced as part of our submission to SIGGRAPH 2019.

A small collection of some of the eyes developed for Weta Workshop's large-scale hyper-realistic figures.

A small collection of some of the eyes developed for Weta Workshop's large-scale hyper-realistic figures.

An example of a voxel printed eye at 2.4:1 scale.

An example of a voxel printed eye at 2.4:1 scale.

Another view of a voxel printed eye at 2.4:1 scale.

Another view of a voxel printed eye at 2.4:1 scale.

Diagram from the SIGGRAPH 2019 abstract: a) The digital model is sampled by a slicing grid. b) Slice 650 of 992 images generated for a 2:1 eyeball. c) Visualisation
of the voxels in a small section of the iris.

Diagram from the SIGGRAPH 2019 abstract: a) The digital model is sampled by a slicing grid. b) Slice 650 of 992 images generated for a 2:1 eyeball. c) Visualisation
of the voxels in a small section of the iris.

A cross section of an eye, visualising the distribution of voxels in the limbus area between iris and sclera.

A cross section of an eye, visualising the distribution of voxels in the limbus area between iris and sclera.

A small sample of the eyes printed throughout the research process, presented in the SIGGRAPH 2019 poster.

A small sample of the eyes printed throughout the research process, presented in the SIGGRAPH 2019 poster.

A procedural Houdini system was developed, which translates 3D models (volumetric and mesh) into image slices for printing.

A procedural Houdini system was developed, which translates 3D models (volumetric and mesh) into image slices for printing.

My desk in the 3D department, covered in far too many eyes (you get used to them looking at you).

My desk in the 3D department, covered in far too many eyes (you get used to them looking at you).

Thank you to Will for being so supportive throughout the research process!

Thank you to Will for being so supportive throughout the research process!

Some photos taken for the Meet the Maker series on Facebook and Instagram... I think everyone who sees these eyes does this at one point or another!

Some photos taken for the Meet the Maker series on Facebook and Instagram... I think everyone who sees these eyes does this at one point or another!