An island-based French artist is blending traditional physical sculpting with modern digital workflows to preserve the complex history of Cyprus through detailed miniature figures.
Working under the trade name 3D Historic Miniature from his studio in Lofou, Yves Kervella hand-crafts scale models of prominent historical figures such as Makarios III, Glafcos Clerides, and Georgios Grivas.
His process combines archival research, manual sculpture, and digital photogrammetry to ensure historical accuracy while enabling scalable reproduction for museums, collectors, and educational use.
“The greatest challenge is balance between detail and proportion,” he says. “At such a small scale, even a tiny mistake becomes very visible”.
Hand-Sculpted Miniatures Based on Historical Research
Kervella begins each project with extensive archival research to ensure historical accuracy. He then hand-sculpts the original prototypes using polymer clay and epoxy putty, carefully shaping fine details such as facial expressions, clothing folds, and posture.
Each miniature is built as a physical reference model before any digital processing begins, ensuring the craftsmanship remains central to the final output.
Photogrammetry Applied to Fine-Scale Sculpture
Once the physical sculpting phase is complete, Kervella uses photogrammetry to capture the models in high detail and generate accurate 3D datasets.
Although photogrammetry is typically used to digitize large-scale environments such as archaeological sites or architectural structures, in this case it is applied to micro-scale handcrafted objects. This allows the preservation of fine surface detail that might otherwise be lost during reproduction or scaling.
Scaling and Reproduction for Multiple Uses
The resulting digital models allow the figurines to be reproduced at standardized miniature scales, including 24mm, 28mm, and 1/35 formats. This enables consistent reproduction across museum displays, private collections, and educational exhibits.
The digital workflow ensures that each scaled version retains the precision of the original hand-sculpted prototype.
Bridging Physical Craft and Digital Heritage Tools
This integration of photogrammetry with manual miniature artistry highlights the potential of combining traditional craftsmanship with modern reality-capture technologies.
Traditionally, photogrammetry is used for documenting large-scale environments such as landscapes, archaeological sites, or buildings. Kervella’s approach reverses this application by using the same tools on small-scale artistic objects.
Expanding Uses for Reality Capture in Cultural Work
The project reflects a broader convergence between geospatial recording tools and creative production. As high-resolution capture technologies become more accessible, they are increasingly being used in art, museum design, and cultural heritage preservation.
This workflow demonstrates how digital modeling can preserve fine detail while enabling flexible reproduction formats for education and exhibition.
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