Bringing Anime and Fantasy to Life with 3D Printing

Our August 2018 Hacker of the Month is the proprietor and designer behind Lindy Design Lab, based mostly in Melbourne, Florida. Lindsey makes use of a number of sorts of media to get wonderful outcomes for her cosplay and prop manufacturing enterprise and interest. Up till 2016, she was utilizing typical cosplay supplies for her builds; EVA foam, Kydex, wooden, material, and leather-based. As soon as she was launched to 3D printing by a good friend, she was hooked! Along with her background in AutoCAD and 3D modeling, she was capable of transition into 3D printing so as to add one other artistic device to her arsenal. Now, she primarily makes use of Fusion 360 and MeshMixer to design the 3D fashions that she prints on her Ultimaker 2+. Lindsey will get most of her artistic inspiration from sci-fi, anime, and fantasy.

How did Lindsey get began in 3D printing? I’ll let her inform you: “3D printing is cool! It is mesmerizing and thrilling to observe one thing rising that beforehand existed solely in your thoughts and in digital kind. The particular initiatives I design and print usually are impressed by issues that I take pleasure in such because the Lord of the Rings movie interpretation of Tolkien’s Center Earth and the Fullmetal Alchemist anime sequence. It is much more attention-grabbing and difficult to create one thing impressed by a personality with which I am initially much less acquainted, as was the case with Matrim Cauthon’s Ashandarei.”

“Quite a lot of years had handed since studying any Wheel of Time books, so I researched, in search of to know the character earlier than designing something. That was a protracted however fulfilling course of which even concerned translating phrases as faithfully as potential to an incomplete fantasy language! The 3D printed detailing for the Ashandarei plus my 3D printable interpretation of his Fox Head Medallion exist due to this era of immersion within the character’s lore. As thrilling as 3D printing will be, for me it is a device that helps me make cool issues based mostly on related analysis and considerate design work.”

She has created some spectacular items for cosplay not simply from The Wheel of Time sequence, but additionally costumes and props from Fullmetal Alchemist, The Lord of the Rings, and Physician Who. The number of supplies she considers for every product is wide-reaching, and she or he selects the supplies that can most faithfully assist her recreate a selected piece.

For her Witch King gauntlets, she utilized 3D printing and Cheetah versatile filament by Ninjatek to get the segments of the gloves to maneuver extra simply as soon as a hand was contained in the glove the armor was affixed to. 3D printing sure components additionally enable her to get the next degree of consistency that may be onerous to attain with different supplies.

Lindsey has additionally used PETG for inflexible armor purposes, and most not too long ago she has been working with matte fiber HTPLA which is robust, light-weight, and tremendous clear to print with. It additionally doesn’t put on down the nozzle like glass-fiber or carbon-fiber bolstered filaments. She has not too long ago up to date her model of the Edward Elric Automail with HTPLA, which printed extraordinarily properly!

Lindsey additionally enjoys the pliability that the digital design course of provides her: “When making one thing new I alter my thoughts loads till the design lastly feels proper and capabilities accurately. Digital modeling fits that artistic course of completely – I do not waste supplies on preliminary iterations, and the completed mannequin goes on to the prototyping stage by way of 3D printing. The power to design one thing as soon as then 3D print a number of variations is highly effective. I can change the scale or element to swimsuit completely different wants with out having to assemble and retailer a bunch of molds or patterns.”

After all, 3D printing weapons, armor and props means numerous ending work! “Any gaps get stuffed utilizing a 3D pen, after which every part will get sanded with the Dremel. I’ve discovered that versatile filaments work greatest with acrylic paints and an acrylic paint sealer. The end on inflexible filaments will get additional refined with layers of excessive construct primer and extra sanding earlier than getting base coated in spray paint, weathered with acrylics then prime coated with automotive enamel.”

As Lindsey explains, the ability of 3D printing isn’t only for props and armor: “I hope that the challenge tutorials I share spark some concepts whereas offering a sensible thought of what it takes to make completed props utilizing 3D modeling and printing. Designing and ending a posh, customized half can take numerous time, even after constructing the technical abilities required for constructing the digital mannequin and getting it to print out properly. Leaping in with sensible expectations for what the instruments can do may simply make the method much less irritating for anybody new to 3D printing.”

“Additionally, it is good being able to resolve on a regular basis issues with high-quality 3D printed components. For instance, when my mom wanted a specialised wall bracket which was overpriced and aesthetically unappealing,  I designed my very own resolution and printed it in Cheetah filament, creating a brilliant robust half that obtained the job finished and regarded cool. One other time my dad and I each wanted a protecting cellphone case which was on backorder. After just a few iterations we every had a case that match completely, dealt with properly and offered some much-needed influence cushioning.”

We stay up for extra anime and fantasy literature impressed items by Lindsey sooner or later and extra wonderful tutorials!

Go to Lindsey’s YouTube channel and subscribe right here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCN213CAC4VJvXjaHE-cxlA

It’s also possible to go to Lindsey’s web site for extra info, and get in touch with her straight for questions or commissions:

http://lindydesignlab.com/

Need to be our subsequent Hacker of the Month? E mail chris.morgan@matterhackers.com, and inform us about your 3D printed creation – you would be featured in our subsequent e-newsletter. Hacker of the Month wins 3 free spools of PRO Sequence PLA or ABS filament to additional their pursuit of 3D printing greatness.