Aslan's Story: From Screen to Steamroller

⏱ Time to Complete: 2 Weeks from First Call to Event Day
🔧 Tools Used: CNC Routers, Adobe Illustrator
💡 Key Learning: Always test at scale before the steamroller shows up
🎯 Skill Level: Professional Artist, first large format CNC cut
📍 Location: Norfolk

The Problem

Sarah from StudioShift called with two weeks to go for an event.

Artist Aslan had been selected to create a large scale print for the Chrysler Museum's Ignite Ink event. The design existed in Adobe Illustrator. Detailed, intricate, ambitious. The plan was to carve it into a large panel, ink it, lay fabric over it, and press the image by rolling a steamroller across the whole thing.

The carving had to be done in reverse. At scale. With enough detail to survive ink, fabric, and a 10 ton roller.

Two weeks away. Could we help?

We said yes.

The Build

Aslan had never designed for a CNC before. There's a real difference between artwork that lives on a screen and artwork that gets carved into a physical panel, inked, and pressed by a steamroller. What reads beautifully in Illustrator doesn't always survive the translation.

So we worked through it together.

We talked through what would read best raised versus recessed, how much detail the carve could hold, where the geometry needed to be simplified so the ink would transfer cleanly under pressure. Aslan refined the design. We cut test pieces. Looked at them. Talked about what was working and what wasn't. Refined again.

By the time we cut the final panel we had gone through enough iterations that we knew it was right. That back and forth, between the artist and the machine and the people who know how to talk to both, is exactly how a project like this is supposed to work.

The final panel came off the CNC router ready for the event.

The Outcome

A crowd gathered outside the Chrysler Museum. Volunteers helped position everything. The ink was laid. The fabric went down.

And then Sarah's mom climbed into the steamroller and drove it across the whole thing.

When the fabric lifted Aslan's design was there. Every line. Every detail. Pressed into a one of a kind print in front of a crowd who watched it happen in real time.

Here's what made it possible:

• A CNC router big enough for the job. The design needed to be carved at a scale that isn't possible on a desktop machine. We had the equipment to do it.

• Time to test properly. Multiple iterations meant the final carve was right. You don't get a second chance on event day with a steamroller waiting.

• Collaboration between artist and machine. Aslan had never designed for CNC before. Working through what reads raised versus recessed, what simplifies well at scale, that's a conversation. We had it together.

• People who said yes. Sarah brought the project and us together. Aslan trusted us with the vision. A crowd showed up for the event. Sarah's mom drove the steamroller. That's community.

Aslan continues to make art, in all sizes and recently moved. We cant wait to see what they make at their new home.

That's what we're here for.

Ready to bring your idea to life?

If you have a project that exists on a screen and needs to become something real, let's talk.

👉 Schedule Your Free Tour we'll show you the space, walk through what tools are available, and have an honest conversation about whether we're the right fit for your project.