Lord Kavra - Prints With No Supports! - Original Mage Character

Technical excellence and ease of printing

 With this in mind, I worked extremely hard to make this model print without supports. Successfully! You can print this whole model (with the base or without) without needing any supports. How I achieved this was by using the cape in a clever way. I basically made the cape flow inwards to support any areas that would normally need supports. And by carefully positioning everything else, like the staff at a slight angle as to support the arm, I was able to make this a full character without compromising anything I wanted in the original design.

Background story and design documentation

 I’ve included the background story below, it’s a short recounting of Kavra (this character) struggling to find a place that accepts him and his students.

 As for design documentation, I recorded the entire modeling session and the whole painting and finishing process. I’ve uploaded them here so you can watch in it’s entirety: http://bit.ly/2mMINKa 

 I’ve also recorded a presentation video in the normal format I use on my YouTube channel. It’s a quick 10 minute summary of what I did to create this model and to show the final product off. You can watch that here: 

Design creativity and uniqueness

 For this, I had quite a few goals going into the modeling process. I had a basic story written, so I knew that I wanted this character to be a mage. Not only a mage, but a leader of mages, and a very powerful mage himself. And I knew that I wanted this print without supports, so a lot of his design centered around that. For example, the robes were chosen to give me a little more freedom in his pose because I could use the flowiness of the robes to mesh with the cape a bit easier. Likewise he was given a cape to hold everything together. His hair and beard ended up being long because they were a great way to support the overhangs on the head.

 I chose to add in a staff, for extra built in support, but also as the staff fits a mage very well. The top is a crystal meant to amplify magical powers. I also included some fire on his left hand as more of a visual indicator that he is a mage and can summon fire at will. Then as a finishing touch, I added a chain around his neck, holding a talisman that has a design on it. This is the symbol of the Chaos Mage. It means that the holder is extremely powerful, but will only use their power in defense of themselves or others.

Presentation: Image quality, print settings

 No assembly instructions, unless you print the character and base separately. Then all you have to do is set the character on the base. You can super glue it easily if you want. But I have also included a version that prints with the base attached already.

 I’ve also included several images during each step of the process. There’s an image of the finished model, the printed part, and the fully painted and finished character. There’s also a ton of footage of this during each step of the process included in the videos I’ve linked above.

 And as for the print settings, there’s nothing special going on here. I’ve included what I used below. But this model should print with just about any settings and any material as long as it can handle a slight overhang. I think the only thing I would recommend is having as much cooling as possible while printing. Because there are a few areas where the overhangs go slightly over 45 degrees, but with good cooling (depending on the material of course), you should have no problem printing this. I printed it in PLA and had a desk fan blowing across the bed as my printer doesn’t have a filament fan. Also printing it bigger is better because it’s a very detailed model.

Printer: XYZprinting Da Vinci 1.0 Pro Filament: Hatchbox Yellow PLA Layer Height: 0.1mm (but the lower the better for more details) Infill: 20% Supports/Raft: No Speed: 30mm/s Temperature: 200 C for extruder, 50 C for bed

The Story of Lord Kavra

 A peaceful and kind man, Kavra was an explorer in his early days. He traveled across the continent of Adelung, learning all he could about the art of magic. He never had any intention of becoming a mage for the purpose of fighting or using it against anyone else. He just wanted to learn everything he could, fully realize the power locked away inside of him, and help others along the same path.

 After a few decades of traveling and learning, Kavra stumbled upon a very powerful secret that would allow him to unlock the inner potential of his magic. It was a frightening energy, and he knew that not everyone could be trusted with it. So he moved into a mountainous region in North Eastern Adelung to build a monastery. Over the next few years he found a decent number of students that were willing to open their mind and learn. He crafted a very long and arduous method of training that would push people to their limits and take many years to complete. This was designed to keep people from gaining this knowledge and misusing it.

 Kavra was a very happy man, and his students all looked up to him. However, Kavra began to notice that public opinion of mages was starting to fall. Non-mages in surrounding areas were beginning to fear and dislike mages because of the dangers they pose and the power they possess. There were also whispers about how strong the mages at his monastery were. Even other mages were nervous about Kavra and his students. He returned to the monastery and brought together his more senior members to warn them that there might be trouble in the future.

 A few months passed without incident, but soon he heard of rebellions breaking out, and mages being hunted. One day, a small army showed up at the foot of the mountain, calling for them to surrender and be taken into the central government. Kavra ordered his top students to take the families that lived there, further up the mountain and he ordered them to defend. Not attack, just defend.

 He held off the army for as long as he could, and despite his warnings and pleading to stop the advance because he doesn’t want to hurt the men in the army. They disregard his pleas and a section of the warriors breaks off to head up the mountain and go after the students. Kavra is left with no choice, with an ear splitting scream he lets out a huge blast of magic energy and kills the majority of the army. They retreat.

 After this event Kavra knows they need to leave. Mages are being hunted nation wide and as a result mages have gathering and fleeing via boat, to head east to a new land where they can live in peace. Kavra takes his group to board one of these ships.

 After a few month trip, they land in the new land of Chrolia. They set out and explore a bit until they find a big island to the South of the continent. Kavra takes this island for himself and creates the island of Kavra where he and his family of Chaos Mages can live in peace. His goal is to defend his island and allow his students to come into their own power and know how to use it for good instead of for destruction.