Clay Sculpting Carves its Role in the Digital Age

(This article originally appeared on Buick.com)

Mark Dybis, creative sculptor, works by hand to bring the designers’ vision of the Buick Avista Concept to life. © General Motors.
Mark Dybis, creative sculptor, works by hand to bring the designers’ vision of the Buick Avista Concept to life. © General Motors.

Classic artisan techniques inspire contemporary Buick Avista concept

DETROIT – The collaborative energy inside the Buick design studio shows how proven artistic methods and cutting-edge technology work together to create beautiful vehicles.

Interior designers of the award-winning Buick Avista were tasked with creating an interior of equal beauty to the exterior. While sketching and refining the door in digital mockups they reached the point where they wanted to see it in physical form. They gave the detailed sketch to the clay sculptors and left the next step in their hands. For a designer, the transition from 2D to 3D is the moment of truth.

“We are really fortunate to work with such a talented team of sculptors,” said Aaron Stich, creative designer for Buick. “They brought the design to life in a way we never could have imagined; it was absolutely inspiring to see how they interpreted what we had done with pen and paper. This is what it’s like in the Buick studio right now, there’s so much energy, and everyone is itching to contribute. It’s fueling the creative renaissance of the brand.”

Mark Dybis, creative sculptor, remembers his initial reaction when seeing the drawing of the door and quips that it reminded him of an M.C. Escher artwork. Dybis, who has spent the majority of his decade long career as an automotive sculptor in the Buick studios explained the lofty nature of making this proposed door design work.

“It was an amazing door design, but it was longer than we’re used to, so we knew we’d have to pay special attention to the curved lines to make the physical model look just as graceful as it did on the paper,” Dybis explains. “Our job is to bring the designers’ vision to life, and we know there are things that have to be considered when transitioning a drawing into the tangible world. In the end, I appreciate that a modern-looking car like the Avista, and all Buicks, are styled with time-honored methods like hand drawing and sculpting.”

 

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