A cartoon about 3D printing (additive manufacturing).
A cartoon showing a computer-generated 3D statue of a man generated from digital scans of the man. The cartoon was drawn before the concept of 3D printing entered mainstream public awareness, and definitely before the cartoonist (me) had heard of the existence of 3D printing technology, so it’s an early reference to 3D modelling in cartoons, if not one of the first.
I’m sure that 3D technology must have existed for a few years before I drew this cartoon, but possibly mainy in research labs and places that were experimenting with early prototypes of 3D printers. 3D printing definitely wasn’t in the zeitgeist.
The humour in the cartoon lies in the fact that highly advanced, even futuristic, computer technology is being used to produce a representation of a stereotypically simple and technologically conservative old gardener.
The cartoon is partly a comment on the fact that advanced technology inevitably often ends up being used for mundane purposes (just look at television and mobile phones, where ludicrously trivial content abounds). This is not a criticism of this phenomenon, just a humorous observation.
A cartoon about hi-tech manufacturing, garden furniture, garden statues, statuary, sculpture, self portraits, gardening.
Drawn: June 2011
Cartoon reference number: a194
See my book of gardening cartoons here.
