3D Makery at Memorial City Mall scans people and prints them out as 3D figurines, called Shapies. They are the absolute, without a doubt, PERFECT gifts for your loved ones! And there’s a discount for HFM readers….check the end of this article for details!
By Sara G. Stephens, Managing Editor, Houston Family Magazine
You have the kids all dressed up and ready for their annual holiday photo, the one you ultimately frame and send to Grandma or give to Dad for his office desk. But before you snap that shutter, let me tell you about an alternative keepsake that will blow Dad and Grandma away: 3D portraits.
On a recent trip to Memorial City Mall, I discovered 3D Makery, a Shapify photo “booth” that lets you print a Shapie (a 3D sculpture-like photo) of yourself. Imagine having a sculpture-like figurine of your kids or yourself to share with loved ones–or to keep for yourself!
The Shapify “booth” is really a giant scanner: a series of tall, white panels that surround a small, circular platform, on which the subject stands. To my daughters, it felt like a high-fashion photo shoot, with the stage and the bright white lights, and they loved it! The only difference is, rather than striking a series of poses, they were instructed to strike a single pose and hold it for 12 seconds, while the stage slowly turned 360 degrees for the scanning.
After each girl was scanned, we waited a few minutes for the 3D image to appear on a monitor. The staff technician rotated the image on-screen so we could see how the final, printed figurine would look from all angles. I noticed on my older daughter’s scan that her skirt hem was uneven, and the staff let us rescan her.
Once we approved the images, they were sent to the 3D printing lab. The lab emailed us another image for final approval before printing. Again, e were able to rotate the image 360 degrees. We then ordered our “prints,” choosing from three styles of bases (or none at all) and four sizes of statuettes (from 9 cm to 18 cm). The Shapies were then printed using a gypsum-based polymer and mailed to us.
Let me say we were in utter disbelief at the quality of the images we had seen on-screen. But to open the box and see the actual Shapies was nothing short of surreal. There were my two “babies,” in miniature form! Every detail, every fold in their shirts, every pleat in their skirts, right down to their shoelaces was, well, REAL! And their facial expressions, their eyes, their smiles, their profiles, the backs of their heads, where their hair parts in their signature ways, were, well, THEM!
The figures stand proudly on the bookshelf of my home office, where I can look at them as I write. I can’t put my finger on why looking at these 3D replicas of my kids give me so much pleasure, more so than a framed photo, but they do. It’s kind of like having my beautiful daughters here with me as I work (without the fighting), and they make me smile.
I highly recommend you make someone you love smile with one of these Shapies. Not mine, of course. You’ll want to make your own. 😉
Prices for the printed shapies start at $139 for the XS size and go up to $299 for the Large size. The scanning is free, and you are under no obligation to purchase the Shapies, as they are printed only after your approve and order them.
Finally, there’s great news for all you Houston Family Magazine readers: 3D Makery at Memorial City Mall is offering you a 10% discount through December 15! Simply mention “Houston Family Magazine” when you sign up for your Shapie scan to get 10% off your printed Shapie!
Don’t waste another moment to take advantage of this offer. Take your kids, your husband, your fiance (can you say “engagement photo?”) over to 3d Makery today and print a lifelike replica that will bring smiles for a lifetime.
For more information, visit http://www.3dmakery.com/.
