EnvisionTEC’s Perfactory Gives Huge Boost to Award-Winning Stop Animation Studios

The possibility of turning any digital design into a real object within a few hours opens up incredible possibilities for any artist with creative talent. If the artists involved are particularly imaginative, and the technology is the best you can find, then the results will truly be limitless.

Which is exactly what happened when award winning Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, one of the most talented and renowned stop animation studios in the greater Los Angeles area, brought their production in-house by purchasing and EnvisionTEC Perfactory 4 series 3D printer. The results can seen by everyone in a the new Super Mansion animated show, which was presented on July 9th at San Diego’s Comic Con, together with the new streaming television network Crackle.

Thomas Keiser, who was already working as a Zbrush modeler and animator at the studios, decided it was time for the company to invest in bringing a high end 3D printer in house. He did some research and finally settled on EnvisionTEC’s Perfactory 4XL. The company had already been using EnvisionTEC’s high precision DLP technology for over two years through outsourcing, but having the machine in-house changed everything.

In his new role as director of digital design, Keiser found himself overseeing a growing range of new productions, as well as improved production rates for current projects such as the studios hugely popular Robot Chicken show. “By 3D printing the majority of the parts we no longer have to mold and cast anything. We don’t even have to clean up complex parts, such as the hands or the heads, and we are also able to mass produce them, since the machine has a large build volume,” Keiser says.

With in-house access to a high end 3D printer, multiple artists are able to use it and the designs they are able to create are much richer, allowing them to focus more on the puppet’s engineering and reiterate the design until its mechanical properties are ideal.

Accelerating the turnaround has also enabled the studios to diversify production and become involved in toy and props prototyping for several TV commercials. This also included a recent TV spot that aired on Adult Swim for the new season of Rick and Morty, where several props used in the commercial were 3D printed.

Most parts are 3D printed using EnvisionTEC’s RC 31 high temperature resistant materials. More recently the design team introduced the new AB-flex material, which gives the puppets more flexibility without breaking. Not that it would be a huge deal if they broke. “It used to be a real hassle for stop animation because every puppet was unique and replacing broken parts was took a long time. Now we can just upload the digital design and hit print.” Keiser confirms.

The best part is that there greater speed of manufacturing did not in any way result in loss of jobs. If anything, it has been the exact opposite. “For the type of production we do, we like our puppets to be hand painted in order to give them a more realistic feel,” Keiser says. “The result is that our artist team has grown significantly, as 3D printing has enabled our designer to create a lot more items for them to paint.”

The quality of the products has also continued to improve and Stoopid Buddy Studios has great ambitions for the new Super Mansion show, which debuts this fall exclusively on Crackle. The show features series’ voice talent Bryan Cranston, Seth Green, Jillian Bell, Matthew Senreich, Zeb Wells, Heidi Lynn Gardner, Tom Root and Tucker Gilmore. And a Perfactory 3D printer, of course.