Ricardo Martinez Herrera is a Mexican artist known for combining traditional sculptural techniques with new and experimental materials, practices, and methods. He works in many mediums including sculpture, painting, and photography.

We are currently obsessed with one of his latest projects, involving an out-of-this-world moon sculpture that he Doodled and will be bronze casting. Check out this great interview we had with Riikc recently to check in on him, his current projects, and what he’s been creating with his 3Doodler Create+ 3D pen as of late.

Can you please introduce yourself?

— My name is Ricardo Martinez Herrera, and I’m a Mexican artist based in Belgium. Sculpture has been my passion since I was young, and like a lot of people, I took the lockdowns in 2020 as an opportunity to make a living out of my passion.

Can you talk about your artistic process, as well as your inspirations? 

— My inspiration comes from many places— as someone coming from Latin America and now residing in Europe, I have encountered a lot of contrasting experiences, ways of life, and even people that inspire my creations. As for the creative process, it’s all about translating these experiences into geometrical shapes, as well as spicing things up with some anatomical references.

Can you tell us a little bit about the Metztli moon project you’ve been working on? Where did that idea come from?

— To be honest, I tried to find the most complicated way to draw a sphere with a 3Doodler. After a few days of work, the swirl pattern on the sphere began to look really special. Before I knew it, the sculpture started to remind me of a moon painted by an impressionist, and that’s how the project came to be. I feel like sometimes the best plan is having no plan, and these sculptures start revealing themselves organically.

As for the final result, I’m trying to cast this massive moon twelve times in bronze using the lost wax technique. I can already see the 12 metal moons being shown in a gallery, each with its own different shade of bronze, surrounding the spectators. It’s an exciting project, and just some weeks away from becoming a reality.

When did you add 3Doodler 3D printing pens into your artist’s toolbox?  

— I discovered 3D pens in my last year of studies while researching new ways to create sculptures. After testing a couple of different 3d pens on the market, I got my hands on a 3Doodler, and I haven’t let go of my Create+ pen since.

Do you have any suggestions for people new to Doodling?

— Absolutely! I recently gave a workshop on creating art with the 3Doodler, and I found that the best exercise for them was to create many 2D shapes first, such as triangles or squares. After having a good amount of little doodled squares, it becomes easier to put them together and create volumes such as pyramids or cubes! After that, it’s all about patience!

Make sure to follow Rick on Instagram and YouTube. He’s always sharing fun art projects and plenty of Doodles. 

As a parent, making sure your child has everything they need to kick off the new school year is important, no doubt about it. But outside of the material things, it’s equally important to make sure their school is providing the best educational opportunities for learning in the 21st century.

This is where advocating for how your child learns, and engaging with their teacher or administration, comes into play. Depending on your child’s age and grade level, you might advocate for different things. For us at 3Doodler, we are big believers in the benefits of fostering a STEM culture both at school and at home, and all that comes with it.

What is STEM and Why is it Important?

STEM is short for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM Education makes learning “real” and gives students opportunities to see the connection between the content they are studying and the application of that content in authentic and relevant ways. STEM teaching encourages a hands-on creative learning environment to help develop their problem-solving skills. While some schools may have a STEM class, we advocate for a culture of STEM learning to be adopted into any class or subject matter.

You probably have also heard of STEAM, which adds “Arts” into the mix. The concept here is that by adding Arts, you are adding creative thinking and design skills to STEM projects so that students can imagine a variety of ways to use STEM skills into adulthood. STEAM uses design methods to approach STEM subjects creatively, and make them real-world relevant to all students, not just those already interested.

So if this kind of learning and teaching sounds interesting to you, or you think could be helpful for your child, send their teachers a quick email to ask how they are embracing STEM learning in the classroom this year, or if nothing else, be sure to ask about it in your next Parent-Teacher Conference.

Can’t forget to Doodle

If you are in the South or West coast, you’ve likely already started school. If you’re on the East coast, you might be preparing for school to start next month. Regardless of which camp you fall into, we thought this would be a great time to bring out some functional Back to School stencil favorites. So if you need pencil caps, cord holders, or a pencil box we’ve got you covered!

In this week’s tutorial, we also have a fun back-to-school project. The days of sending your child to school with a real consumable apple for their teacher might be over, but the tradition can live on! We show you how to Doodle an apple instead with this fun stencil. Your child can use this as a conversation starter to explain how much fun they had Doodling it, and it can also symbolize the fact that you recognize the work your teacher, and the school, is putting into fostering a STEM-based culture.

Special Announcement

Be on the lookout for a special back-to-school sale starting later this week on August 26th and running until September 7th. There will be specials on Start+ and Create+ Learn From Home and a special new add-on bundle will be available.

On July 20, 1969, the world stood still as two astronauts did what no human being had ever done before, walk on the Moon. 52 years later we still remember this day and celebrate it as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Why and how did we end up on the Moon?

After the Russians launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957 the space race was on. Four short years later on April 12, 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, became the first human to travel into space, followed by American astronaut Alan Shepard one month later.

Following this accomplishment, President John F. Kennedy challenged NASA to send a person to the Moon in less than 10 years. On July 16, 1969, the spacecraft Apollo 11 was ready to do just that, sending three American astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the Moon.

After the spacecraft launched the astronauts spent four days floating through space. When they finally approached the Moon’s surface the team split and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin headed towards the Moon’s surface while Michael Collins remained in orbit above them. After a risky landing Armstrong and Aldrin were on the Moon and became the first human beings to step foot on anything outside of Earth.

After collecting samples and exploring the surface of the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin reconnected with Collins and headed back to earth, returning safely on July 24, 1969. Over the next several years, 10 astronauts would follow in Armstrong and Aldrin’s footsteps. The last mission to the moon was in 1972.

There is so much left for us to explore!

We are living in an exciting time! We have satellites out in the deepest parts of space and robots rolling on mars. Now is the time to explore your interest in space, science, or engineering. The world will need the next generation of scientists and engineers to help get our future selves where we need to go in space.

Whether you are learning about the moon or learning about Mars, we have a fun hands-on activity that’ll keep you tuned into your surroundings. Start by downloading this FREE out-of-this-world spaceship stencil and then follow along with our step-by-step tutorial that walks you through how to build it. This way, even from the comfort of your own home, you can join us in celebrating the great space race and all the advances in science it has given us.

If you’re interested in building your own DIY spaceship out of cardboard, check out this video. You can even add finishing touches and details with your 3Doodler 3D pen to make it a complete work of art.

If you’re anything like us, you probably spent a lot more time than usual in front of the television over the past year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In that way, the U.S. launch of Disney+ in November 2019 came at just the right time — and many of us have a newfound appreciation for the fine art of animation.

After rewatching so many of our favorite animated movies, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Lilo and Stitch, the 3Doodler team is more excited than ever to celebrate National Cartoonist Day this month. From the oldest animated cartoons to more recent hits, animation has captured our attention since the early 1900s — and cartoon drawings have kept us spellbound for even longer.

Introducing the Flipbook

Have you ever wondered how cartoon animations were created?

A flipbook is a great example of an early animation technique. It is a series of images that gradually change from one page to the next. When you flip through the pages, the images appear to move.

Here is an example of an early vintage cartoon flipbook.

In honor of National Cartoonist Day, we encourage you to create your own flipbook. Instructables has a great tutorial on how to make a high-quality flipbook with pen and paper. Keep in mind: the average 25-second animation takes around 130 images! That’s a lot of drawing! But, the end result is something to be celebrated.

Animation techniques have become more sophisticated over the years. However, we still rely on cartoons as a foundation. Here’s an example of how the Walt Disney Company used to animate its cartoons. Computers have made this process a little easier over time, but there’s still a lot of creative effort necessary to make the quality animations we look forward to watching today.

Creating a 3D Flipbook

We thought it might be interesting to take our exploration of cartoon animations off the page. We wondered: What’s the 3D version of a flipbook?

Join us in creating your own 3D flipbook in honor of National Cartoonist Day! Download this free stencil to help you create your own cartoon character, and we’ll show you how to easily animate it with a unique stand that you can Doodle yourself.