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Michelle Sleeper Creates 'Gaming, Comics, and Pop Culture Based Props'
If you go to a sci-fi or gaming convention you'll see people in exotic "character" costumes, often holding exotic props, with some of the most popular being futuristic firearm mockups of one sort or another. Who makes all these cool fannish items? A whole bunch of artists and artisans, including Michelle Sleeper (who says she got tired of jokes about her name many years ago). She's not only one of these artisans, but is also a committed 3-D printer user, since 3-D printing is how she forms a high percentage of her props (with the word "props" being used here in the theatrical rather than the nautical sense). To keep up with what Michelle is making, you should check her blog. One of her most interesting posts, titled Atlanta Mini Maker Faire: On missing deadlines, failure, and triage, is about preparing for the event where Timothy Lord met and interviewed Michelle.
Even if gamer gatherings and SF conventions aren't your thing, the interview (along with the links above) gives a nice glimpse into the life of an independent artisan who uses technology to create a lot of her art. (Alternate Video Link)
Even if gamer gatherings and SF conventions aren't your thing, the interview (along with the links above) gives a nice glimpse into the life of an independent artisan who uses technology to create a lot of her art. (Alternate Video Link)
Michelle Sleeper (who says she got tired of jokes about her name many years ago)
I see what you did there.
Sorry, I just can't think of any jokes about a Michelle.
Sigs are for losers
How is reproducing Iron Mans helmet via a 3d printer art she created?
Have we accepted a female into the family of Pickens Haselton and Katz. A distributed social network.
Who makes all these cool fannish items? TFS (because there isn't a TFA) would love to have us think it's Michelle and folks like her... But I suspect that the vast majority of the time, it's the guy (or gal) carrying it around or one of their close friends. If not, it's a cheap Chinese knockoff from an online store, or a less cheap (in dollar cost anyhow) Chinese version from Toy 'R Us. Vendors and tailors like Michelle selling detailed props and costumes of any significant quality are actually pretty rare.
Outside of the pop culture hype and exploitation machine that is Comic-Con, there's a strong self-Maker culture among fandom and it's one that's also usually deeply concerned about budget. Not mention that most of fandom doesn't give a hoot about whether or not your costume is perfectly accurate (they leave that for the SCA*), it's the attempt that counts the most.
*I kid, I kid... I'm a long time player in the SCA.
There are countless people across the world making knock-off props (both theatrical AND nautical, as if you'd mistake the two...) and the quality can vary wildly. The stuff she shows in the video looks OK, but that just means she knows how to download a 3D model from the internet and print it. People who make really good copies of famous paintings are still artists, and it's only forgery if you try to pass off the dupe as original content; so while the question of whether she's stealing IP is in the air.. I guess she's an artist *if* she make the models herself, which isn't clarified in the video. Regardless, her products are derivative -- I would expect that she either had some novel take on prop-making, or made them from trash/scrap metal/something unique, or designed her own props from scratch instead of copying pop culture items, for her to be featured on /. -- and this "article" must have a reason for being posted which isn't apparent.
All this time I thought costumes grew on trees.
I'm so glad he mentioned that. I was thinking aeronautical props so I was completely off base!
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
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Surely she has licensed all this IP, right? Otherwise, where all the IP defenders bitching about theft?
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Michelle Sleeper (who says she got tired of jokes about her name many years ago) I see what you did there. www.alamnisaa.com