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 enjoyed video games, toys and movies with special effects and animation as a kid, and he still enjoys them today. 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 inspired him to pursue marine science.
For the past decade, Ta has explored Monterey Bay’s marine environment through scuba diving. Ta’s passions were a perfect fit, but he was often warned against combining them.
“I love diving. “I love diving. 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 that I kept required so much energy and time, I didn’t have time to do anything else. 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 enrolled in Monterey Peninsula College, where he started with an introduction class on dimensional arts. He quickly progressed in 3D Printing, digital and clay sculpting and scanners. Ta is now assisting the 3D arts programme by working with other students, departments and visiting companies to complete a variety printing projects.
Ta and MPC engineering students worked with Monterey based LED lighting company Light and Motion on a prototype for a new diving light handle. “We’ve been successful because of team efforts. We helped a Geology Professor explore a novel way to teach topographical charts by 3D-printing USGS maps. 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 can be used to increase gardening accessibility.
What was once a full-time passion has become a career. 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. He also offers public workshops to teach people about nudibranchs, and how to paint miniatures. “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 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 uses materials efficiently and reduces waste. 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 believes 3D-printing can improve global sustainability. “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 accessibility has never been greater. “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. The technology is now more affordable thanks to 3D printing firms, and software options are also becoming more accessible. Anyone can drive innovation in this industry, especially when we work together in open communities. Libraries and other public locations host Maker-spaces where people can experiment and enjoy. Printing is starting to show up everywhere.”
Ta says that Reef Renders has taken off since 2022. This is due to the collaborative approach and willingness of partners to explore 3D art in scientific outreach. Professionals provide specific knowledge that is then accurately communicated through art. 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 3D exterior is part an interactive piece for education. “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. There are lifelike replicas and mixed media dioramas as well as video games, animations, and interactive exhibits. This is the level of 3D arts I aim to achieve. 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].