Leo Haslam's Creature Creations
We’ve been a fan of Leo Haslam's work for some time now. Seeing the level of creativity and inventiveness he pours into every model is very inspiring. That's why this week we not only bring you his 3D printing story, but offer you four of his amazing models to download, print and enjoy! Scroll down to the bottom for the models if you just can't wait to start printing.
“It all started when I was a kid. Throughout my childhood I was always drawing monsters or making strange aliens out of clay. Eventually I discovered ZBrush which opened up the world of digital art and I was hooked.”
Growing up with films such as Aliens, Terminator and Predator had a profound effect on Leo and really influenced him creatively. He also played a lot of computer games and loved reading comics. “I think this is what really inspired me to start creating my own worlds and characters,” Leo tells us, “I also draw a lot of inspiration from artists such as H.R.Giger, Aaron Beck and Kurt Papstein.”
After he started painting Judge Dredd models for his brother, Leo got into Games Workshop miniatures and then applied what he’d learned to the models he created himself. When he first started it wasn’t easy. At the time 3D printing was mainly for industrial manufacturing and only just being considered for the film and toy industry. “Up until this point, 3D printing was a little crude and couldn’t give me the finish I wanted,”Leo said.
“Then one day my girlfriend told me about the iMakr store in London and we headed over to check it out. I was blown away by the quality of the 3D prints on display! I couldn’t believe they’d been printed on a consumer printer.”
From that point on he was hooked and decided that he wanted a 3D printer. After doing his research, he opted for an Ultimaker 2. “I love it. It’s a real joy to use. Whatever I design, I can send it to my Ultimaker and it builds it. Basically I can make my own toys, how awesome is that?!"
"Occasionally I’ll run into a small problem like a blocked nozzle or something but these kind of issues are really easy to solve, especially with the help of their online community which is second to none. Seriously, the online community is awesome and there’s always someone who has the answer to your question.”
He continued, “The Ultimaker 2’s really robust and easy to upgrade too. You can take things apart to fix blockages or add your own 3D printed upgrades and you don’t have to worry about ruining it. It’s something you just can’t do with more expensive resin printers on the market.”
London is really embracing the world of 3D and Leo is right in the middle of it all. “It feels like there’s a new 3D printing store popping up every day and there are always new 3D printing meet ups and events happening around the city. I’m very excited to see what’s coming next.” And so for that matter, are we.
FOUR OF LEO'S MODELS AVAILABLE FOR FREE AT YOUMAGINE
Cortex, with Typhon and Depth Charge
Tombstone
Blockade
Head on over to Youmagine where you can download the busts of Blockade, Tombstone, Cortex and the amazing full set of Cortex, Depth Charge and Typhon. And don't forgot to visit Leo's site to see more of his amazing work!
Disclaimers: The content of the webinars, podcasts, videos, etc contained on, linked by or referred to on this page may have been created and/or owned by the relevant brand owners or other third parties. As such, Imaginables cannot warrant or make any representation as to the content's suitability or reliability.