Photo By Staff Sgt. Samuel O'Brien | 3D printed figures sit under a magnifying glass as they await painting sits on a shelf...... read more read more
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When COVID hit, Will Martinez went into his own world.
Let’s clarify a little, he didn’t become a hermit or regress from society. He started building his own world. Or more accurately, printing it.
“Everything was shut down, there was nothing to do, so it seemed like the perfect time to expand my skillset, teach myself something new.”
Will is an artist. Pretty much since birth.
“I probably had a pencil in my hand a few months after I was born. My dad was an artist.”
Not only was his dad an artist, but also a military member, riding around on warships during Vietnam, making trench art out of whatever was left around on the ship.
“He has a couple pieces hanging up in the Navy Atrium.”
Will, however, branched out past trench art and painting. He went digital.
“I’ve worked on a couple of mobile video games, a couple apps. Some stuff that’s released. Some that hasn’t.”
It’s a living. But it’s not exactly a killing.
“I was making enough to support myself doing my own art, but that’s about it.”
Which made it somewhat inconvenient to pay out of pocket for things that he wanted. Things he later realized…he could just make.
“I do tabletop gaming, so I’m always looking for new pieces. And you have to buy the pieces, then you have to paint them. And sometimes you have an idea of what you want but no one makes your exact idea.
So, with COVID-19 in full force and unable to leave the home, it was the best time to learn. Will purchased two small 3D printers. But then came the question of how to use them.
“I spent maybe a thousand hours on YouTube. Went through some trial and error. Had some bad prints. One guy’s arm completely collapsed. But I figured it out eventually.”
Now Will can go directly from his massive digital drawing tablet, to his computer, to the printer. And all because his dad, the old-school trench artist, didn’t think digital art was a big enough leap.
“He’s actually the one who told me, you need to move forward, embrace technology, make it a business. He thought I was more talented than him, so he pushed me to make this a livelihood.”
Because of that push forward, Martinez is now making his own tabletop gaming pieces, action figures and more. Everything up to cosplay weapons. And as new skills and technologies develop?
“Now that I know I can teach myself anything, I don’t think I’ll wait for a global pandemic to learn something new.”
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2021 04:20 |
| Story ID: | 407888 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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