Nicholas Ta is the founder of “Reef Renders,” a company focused on enhancing scientific communication in natural sciences through 3D arts, including 3D printing, creating immaculate and to-scale depictions of underwater organisms.
Ta was a huge fan of video games as a child, along with toys and movies that featured special effects and animation. He still is. He’d visit museums and aquariums and seek out miniature models of animals from the gift shop. He enjoyed spending time outdoors — hiking, climbing, and dabbling in photography. Days inside were spent painting miniatures and watching movies — engaging his imagination in both realistic and surreal media depictions of nature. The untamed creativity of his imagination led him to pursue marine science.
For the past decade, Ta has explored Monterey Bay’s marine environment through scuba diving. Ta was sure that his two passions could be combined, but he had been warned against pursuing them too widely.
“I love diving. I was attracted to the endless possibilities of underwater life. I’d dive twice a day almost every day.” As a dive professional, Ta utilized his background in environmental science to lead educational dive tours. “I really enjoyed inspiring ocean education and accessibility. But the pace at which I worked took so much energy and time that I was unable to devote any time or effort elsewhere. I sustained an injury and then everything came to a halt,” says Ta. “Imagine having the one thing you built your whole life around suddenly become inaccessible.” This forced time out-of-water was a pivotal turning point in Ta’s career. “It allowed me to reflect on how I could express myself and the energy I want to put into my community,” he says.
Ta began his studies at Monterey Peninsula College with a class on dimensional arts. He quickly progressed in 3D Printing, digital and clay sculpting and scanners. Ta is now assisting the 3D Arts program, collaborating on various printing projects with students, visiting companies, and departments.
Ta and MPC students worked together with Monterey LED lighting company Light and Motion on a prototype for a new diving light handle. “We’ve been successful because of team efforts. By 3D printing USGS topographical maps, we helped a professor of geology explore new ways to teach topographical map. Most recently, we created a custom trophy for the Monterey County Culinary Challenge,” he says. Ta will now work with MPC Horticulture Club in order to determine if 3D-printed tools could increase gardening accessibility.
A hobby that began as a passion has now become a profession. One of Reef Renders’ series is 3D printing detailed and brilliantly painted nudibranchs, or sea slugs, found in the subtidal and intertidal environment. Three dioramas of nudibranchs and their underwater environment were featured in the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History during the “Art in Nature” exhibit. The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History also offers public painting classes where participants can explore miniature paintings and learn more about nudibranchs. “It’s like taking a piece of the ocean back home with you,” he says. Ta’s career and personal experiences led him to want people to be able to relate easily to the ocean, even if they couldn’t dive or tide pool. “The ocean is for you to enjoy, it’s something you can access through many different facets. There are no language barriers when you pick up a 3D printed organism, and no boundaries if you’re exploring a digitally created ocean. You can touch and examine, it’s a tangible and multisensory experience.”
Reef Renders’ printed works are made using filaments made from starches such as corn and sugarcane, or infused with nuisance-algae or wood, and soy-resin mixtures. Ta is very careful to reduce waste and reuse material. He is experimenting with a new filament called PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoate) which is made of sugars from fermentation and is compostable on a home scale. Ta thinks that 3D-printing can help increase sustainability in the world. “Instead of shipping a product, you can share digital files and then print something at home using your choice of raw filament. There’s no wasteful packaging and no shipping footprint. People can even create their own machine to reclaim specific recyclables and re-extrude them back into filament.”
Ta believes 3D is more accessible than ever. “We’re entering an era of ‘How can I make this?’ rather than ‘Where can I buy this?’” He continues, “It’s possible to create large prints in a small room at home. Companies that offer 3D printing are making the technology affordable and opening up different types of software. Everyone can contribute to innovation, and this is especially true when people work in open communities. Libraries and other public locations host Maker-spaces where people can experiment. Printing is starting to show up everywhere.”
Ta says that Reef Renders has taken off since 2022. This is due to the collaboration process, and to partners’ willingness to experiment with 3D art in scientific outreach. Art is a way to accurately communicate specific information. Professionals provide the knowledge. Kalikonani Dailey, a marine scientist and research diver for Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans, is a co-creator of Reef Renders’ nudibranch dioramas. “Her expertise on invertebrates and sea floor substrates was immensely helpful when arranging underwater dioramas,” says Ta. “It was one of the reasons the nudibranch dioramas were so successful. There was special attention to every detail that anyone could appreciate.” Ta recently completed a commission with colleague and mentor Cady DeLay with the National Marine Mammal Foundation to 3D print two halves of a large replica dolphin. The exterior of the 3D dolphin forms part an interactive piece for educational purposes. “The dolphin started as a plaster cast mold made by Cady, and then I scanned it into a digital file to print. My favorite part about this is we now have a digital file that can be reused and modified for any future projects.”
Ta recently visited Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Deep Sea Exhibit. “It was so validating to see this particular exhibit. You can engage your audience with lifelike animals, interactive mixed-media displays, animation and video game-themed exhibits. The level of 3D work I aim to attain is impressive. There are so many opportunities for 3D arts to enhance scientific communication.” Readers can learn more about Ta’s models and upcoming events by following @reefrenders on Instagram and visiting www.reefrenders.com.
Rachel Kippen is an ocean educator and sustainability advocate in Santa Cruz County and can be reached at [email protected].