Sculpture fabrication for an artist's maquette that needs building at full scale
You have the maquette on your studio table, or a 3D model on your screen, and a commission for a piece many times its size. You need a fabricator who will make the work at scale without changing it: faithful to the form, the surface and what you meant by it.
From maquette to full scale
The maquette is 3D scanned, or your digital model is taken as it is, and turned into a full-size model that can be checked before anything is made. Enlarging a form reveals things a small version hides: a thin section that needs support, a join that needs somewhere to go, a surface that reads differently at a distance. We raise these with you at the drawing stage, show them in a realistic render at full scale, and agree every decision with you.
You approve the form before it is coated and the surface before it is finished, in person or from photographs and video, so the piece that leaves is the one you signed off.
Materials and methods
The method follows the piece. Large forms are often machined or carved from foam and coated in resin or fibreglass, then painted or given a metallic finish. Timber can be carved, laminated or CNC-cut. Steel and other metals are cut, formed and welded, both for internal armatures and for pieces where metal is the finished surface.
Where a piece is permanent or public, durability decides much of the specification: how it weathers, how it is cleaned, how it stands up to being climbed on. Those questions are answered in the drawings before the build starts.
Surface and finish
The surface is where much of a sculpture's character lives, and it is often the hardest thing to carry from a small maquette to a large piece. Tool marks, texture and patina that look right at hand size can look coarse, or disappear, at full scale.
We make test panels of the finish at full size for you to see and touch before it goes on the piece, and match metallic, painted or natural finishes to your references.
Structure and installation
A large sculpture needs an internal structure, fixings, and a foundation or base, and a public piece usually needs structural calculations signed off before it goes up. We plan how the piece is sectioned for transport, how it is lifted and how it is fixed on site, and then we install it.
For public art commissions, the commissioner will often ask for drawings, a method statement and a risk assessment for the installation. These can be prepared as part of the work, so the approvals don't hold up the build.
If the piece will be lit at night, the lighting is planned into the structure so cables and fittings stay hidden.
About sculpture fabrication
Does the artist keep control of a fabricated sculpture?
Yes, the artist should keep control. A fabricator's job is to realise the artist's work faithfully. Decisions that affect the form or surface, such as where joins fall or how a thin section is supported, are raised at the drawing stage and agreed, and the artist approves the form and the finish before the piece is completed.
What does a public art commission need beyond the sculpture itself?
Usually a base or foundation, fixings, structural calculations for the installed piece, a method statement and risk assessment for the installation, and a plan for cleaning and maintenance. Commissioners often ask for these before approving the work, so they are best planned alongside the fabrication from the start.
Can a sculpture be fabricated from a digital model instead of a maquette?
Yes. A 3D model from your own software can go straight into the fabrication drawings, and it is often more precise than scanning a maquette. It still needs checking at full scale for thin sections, joins and how the form reads at a distance before anything is made.
Send us the page of the deck with the prop on it.
Or the product file, a photo of the maquette, or the window measurements. Tell us how big you have in mind and where it has to stand.
Or write to info@stillroomcreative.com
Hal is automated, so there is no wrong hour to ask. Say what the prop is, how big it needs to be and the shoot or install date.