Not all 3D printed objects are tangible. For Aaron Bothman, a student at the California College of the Arts, he wanted to bring a unique light and shadow effect into his thesis project, *The Red Witch*. His inspiration came from an artist named Ekaggrat Singh Kalsi in Beijing, who used a modified 3D printer to create "light paintings." This innovative technique caught media attention, sparking Bothman’s interest in exploring similar possibilities. This kind of "light painting" isn’t something you can see with your eyes directly—it only appears in photographs or videos. That was exactly what Bothman aimed for: capturing fleeting light trails that would only exist in digital form. To achieve this, he and his father built a small Delta-style 3D printer from a kit. They made a few custom modifications, replacing the standard hot end with an LED light. As the printer moved, Bothman set up a camera with long exposure settings to track the glowing path of the LEDs, creating a mesmerizing "light animation" that was then recorded as a film. This wasn’t their first 3D printing collaboration. In an interview, Bothman shared how his father had always been a big influence in his creative journey. “My dad taught mechanical engineering at UCSB,” he said. “He helped me a lot with this project. I learned 3D printing from him in high school, and it became a key part of my work as a stop-motion animator. It allows me to make more complex designs without needing expensive tools.” Now based in Los Angeles, Bothman works as a cartoonist and animator at a small studio called JibJab. He recently graduated from the California College of the Arts with a focus on animation. “3D printing has opened up new ways for me to express my ideas,” he added. “It’s a simple process that lets me build things that would be impossible otherwise.” To create the light animation, Each frame of the animation in Maya software is sent to the 3D printer one by one. Over time, these individual frames come together to create the illusion of motion—similar to traditional stop-motion animation. The final result is a dynamic visual piece, constructed layer by layer, but without using any physical materials. It's a blend of digital art and 3D technology, proving that not everything printed in 3D needs to be a physical object.

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