To write in the air: No more Fiction

According to some Korean folk tales, the time when the tigers used to smoke or, in simple words, a very long ago, a sapling of a concept known as art sprouted in the human minds. It has become an enormous ancestral tree by now through the cycle of time. It has spread itself to cover a vast portion of human life. I am sitting in its shadow and looking at its peculiar branch. Suddenly, I can write anything in thin air. I am awestruck! What do you think made this fiction come to be a reality?

To quench your curiosity, allow me to offer you an answer. A one-of-a-kind art form and scientific innovation made such a way of writing possible! That is to create crafts using a 3D pen. You can draw or write anything in the 3d space while having such technology as a tool. 

The ink and its flow mechanism differ from a simple pen but not the purpose. In a 3D pen, this plastic ink called filament is first melted and extruded(pushed out by motor) out the nozzle or tip. The plastic freezes mid-air upon extrusion and after cooling down, it lets you draw upon your previous steps. Our dear power source electricity, which facilitates heat generation and filament extrusion, empowers it. The temperature and speed control are great additions to this. They allow you to choose between the wide range of filling the sketch and making a basic skeletal structure.

You may draw arbitrarily in the air or trace on a 2D design template and then build it in 3D. The templates remove the restriction of being a pro-artist to create beautiful crafts. With enough practice, you can truly create wonders. The availability of special filaments like neon, transparent, matte, etc types opens up endless possibilities to create what you want.

It may sound exaggerated. But still, it is another form of art that possesses uniqueness. Also, a food for thought: What is art? How do you define it?

While the definitions may differ, I like to think of art in its simplicity as the culmination of observing nature, its patterns and structures and reproducing them in artificial form. Even the most basic of cave arts were the same. Not only the art forms mentioned now but also the current arts of drawing and sketching are no exception. Here comes 3D pen craft, taking this process to literally another dimension. It encourages us to leave the world of 2D behind and think in 3D. The 3D structures might become fragile and unstable if not given correctly positioned supports. So, we always have to think about it when creating in 3D.

The crust of art, which we know of, can be defined by some of the few things. 

• To think differently from what we had thought previously. 
• To imagine what can be different, what can make us feel different.
• Also, to get a holistic view of the complete process of making something and its result.

Does 3D pen satisfy such criterion of the general definition of art? The answer is yes. But still, the question remains: In particular, what made me do this? Let me tell you about something.

I needed some motivational boosters to fill in the void of negativity and dullness created by COVID-19. While surfing the internet, I came to know about 3D pens. During my childhood, there was a kids’ show. It had a magical pencil called “Shakalaka boom boom”. It used to produce anything out of a mere sketch in thin air. Now, 3D-pen has put forth an opportunity to make that fiction into reality. It opened up a world of creation where the creations can have all the shapes, sizes and forms I wish for. I took that chance. Now, I am here sharing my experience with you all. 

Coming to an end, I can say: ”We think before we write. We also think before we draw. This thinking builds our imagination. Positively, it is good nutrition for our minds. Following an art with a hungry heart can ignite our passion. This pathway is one everyone can and should follow. To find out what can make your fiction become not fiction anymore. You may be surprised by what you can hope for.”

3D pen craft has become a beautiful experience for me with how looking at it from different perspectives can show me various colours of my passion. I hope you find your passions or lost dreams in such fateful encounters. I will be excited to hear about your adventures on this journey!

~ Mandar Kulkarni