This bust is my personal interpretation of Case, the protagonist of Neuromancer, William Gibson’s groundbreaking novel that has shaped my imagination ever since I first read it in the late ’80s. At the time, cyberpunk was still a fresh, disruptive movement, and Gibson managed to describe a future where computer networks, artificial intelligence, and decaying urban landscapes blended into an aesthetic that would inspire movies, comics, and video games for decades. Case, the console cowboy of cyberspace, is a character marked by loss, addiction, and the search for a second chance: an anti-hero surviving in a reality dominated by megacorporations and the constant presence of technology. His image is never fully described by Gibson, leaving readers free to create their own mental version of him.
I wanted to sculpt this bust in Nomad Sculpt as a way of translating into three-dimensional form the vision of Case I’ve carried for years, unshaped by any official illustrations or visual adaptations. It was important for me to complete this project before the Apple TV series is released, because that adaptation will inevitably impose its own version of the character on collective imagination. By finishing my bust now, I preserve the purity of my personal interpretation and can later compare it to the on-screen depiction.
On the technical side, the bust was sculpted entirely in Nomad Sculpt, an iPad app that allows for fluid, organic digital sculpting. Once the digital model was complete, I prepared it for 3D printing using Lychee, a slicer that let me optimize supports and ensure the preservation of small details, such as facial lines and hair texture. The physical bust was then resin printed on an Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra, a machine known for its precision and smooth surface finish, perfect for a piece intended to be painted afterwards.
For references, I deliberately avoided external visual material. My inspiration came only from memory, notes, and sketches made over the years while revisiting the book. I wanted Case to look believable, shaped by a harsh life and difficult choices, rather than a heroic or idealized figure. The bust aims to capture that mix of inner fragility and hardened survivor’s toughness, which defines him as a character who moves through a ruthless, corporate-controlled world.
This project is more than just a sculpt: it’s a way of merging my passion for digital art and 3D printing with a tribute to one of the novels that influenced me most. By shaping Case, I’m also celebrating a vision of the future that defined an era of science fiction, and at the same time telling a small piece of my own story.
