How I Printed a 40cm Celestial Warrior in 72 Hours
Community member NeoSculpt shares the full process behind their viral Celestial Warrior figurine — from AI generation to final paint.
The Idea
It started with a single prompt: *"armored celestial warrior, flowing cape, glowing runes, dynamic pose."* Within seconds, Printastic Studio's AI had generated a concept I couldn't stop staring at.
Choosing the Right Material
For a 40cm piece with fine surface detail, I went with high-detail resin. PLA would've been faster, but the rune engravings on the armor needed sub-0.1mm resolution.
Slicing & Supports
The biggest challenge was the cape — it overhangs at nearly 70°. I used tree supports with a 0.3mm tip diameter to minimize scarring on the fabric folds.
Print Settings
- Layer height: 0.05mm (ultra detail)
- Exposure time: 2.8s per layer
- Lift speed: 40mm/min
- Total print time: 68 hours
Post-Processing
After washing in IPA and UV curing, I spent about 4 hours sanding from 220 → 400 → 800 → 2000 grit. The runes got a black wash to pop the depth.
Painting
Base coat in Vallejo grey primer, then zenithal highlight with white. The glowing runes were painted with Citadel Tesseract Glow — three thin layers for the OSL effect.
Final Result
The piece sold out in 48 hours on the Printastic Marketplace. I've since printed 21 more for customers across 9 countries.