Intervista a Carlo Bernardini

For the column Let's Get to Know the Students of Rainbow Academy, we interview Carlo Bernardini, Character Artist author of the "Jaws of Crow" mask. The dark-fantasy mask was conceived, modeled and then made with 3D printing by Carlo, who personally managed all phases of the project.

Upon completion of his Master's degree in 3D Digital Production, Carlo had the opportunity to intern in Rainbow CGI's Animation Studio and then permanently join the Production Team and work on international projects, such as, just to mention the latest in chronological order, 44 Cats .

He is currently a freelance Character Artist. His work can be seen on his channel on ArtStation.

How did the idea for this dark-fantasy mask come about?

The initial idea was to create an organic version of the famous mask of the cerusic or plague doctor. I have always looked at the original masks and reconnected them with beaks, so I came up with a design that represented jaws precisely. I love the dark-fantasy style, so I thought of giving it the shapes of a metal mask with monstrous and aggressive jaws. For the jaws, I was inspired by a concept by Darya Kikimora: "The Crow-Monster." For the metal part, on the other hand, I was inspired by Crow's mask from "Dishonored," I wanted to add gold floral patterns to make it more elegant and impactful.

Modeling a mask with these characteristics clearly appears to be very complex, what were the challenges you faced and what were the most difficult stages to overcome?

The real challenge was to make a mask designed to be wearable, in which the jaw had to be able to open and close at will. Consequently, digital modeling and sculpting proved to be complex precisely because of the functionality that the mask had to have once printed. For the modeling of the jaws, I started with the concept and then refined it according to how I needed it. Great attention required all the work necessary to avoid teeth interpenetration at the opening of the jaw. Once all the parts were defined, I applied a surface noise that gave the roughness of the bone. The metal base was a quick step, while the floral pattern proved more complex. I started from a pattern on which with Maya I modeled planes giving it the silouette of flowers. Then I switched to ZBrush, here I duplicated them so that they filled the surface I was interested in and projected them onto it to match the shapes. Finally I used the "inflat" deformer which pushed the planes just a little inside the geoemetry to avoid unintentional holes during 3d printing by going to extrude the planes to give the thickness.

How did you handle all the technical part related to the wearability of the mask?

I first created the jaw joint and the one for the lenses and the loops for the laces, while for the head shape I found a printable geometric mask model on thingiverse. Then I created basic geometries that I then went to join or subtract in boolean to the jaws.

From 3D modeling to 3D printing: what were the steps?

I subdivided the mask into pieces with the inscasts to send it to print. I then exported the split and optimized model to Cura to create the .gcode and finally sent it to print. After about five days the parts were ready. I cleaned the pieces and grouted the cracks in the joints, before painting I went through a few coats of opaque and then the ivory and metal spray paints, the details I colored with brush and acrylics. Finally I glued the plexiglass lenses with unidirectional film, glued the rubber band for the jaw closure, and tied the side clamps.

Timing, intent, and outcome. What is your personal assessment of this project?

The total time taken was about a month and a half, and it was a great test of how to create accessories for cosplay and beyond. The result at the same time amazed and excited me!

Thanks to Stefano Gilioli for the author photos to Carlo Bernardini wearing his work "Jaws of Crow."