Brian McLean

It's not just the quirk in the retina that allows us to see film and animation.

Our brains are hardwired to be imaginative, to take in reality, in this case a series of still images, and create something new and innovative out of what it was given.

But when I was in sixth grade, I wasn't thinking of any of that.

I just loved stop-motion animation.

King Kong, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, scenes from Star Wars, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Wallace and Gromit.

I spent my childhood wondering what types of tools these filmmakers used to create movie magic.

Artists, technicians, cinematographers and animators were creating groundbreaking visuals using primitive tools compared to today's standards.

Audiences leaving the theaters wondering how the heck those geniuses pulled it off.

That was me.

So I went to school to study art.

When I graduated college in 1999, I barely knew how to write an email.

Computers were not something I was comfortable with, so I resisted.

Like many artists, I bounced from job to job.

My career path was not a straight line.

Eventually, I ended up at a design school running their model shop.

It was here the trajectory of my life changed.

I was introduced to a 3D printer.

This amazing tool was like science fiction.

It bridged the digital world and the physical worlds together.

And for me, it made the digital world far less intimidating and more approachable.