The Future of Cosplay? Actress Felicia Day models The Dreamer’s Regalia, 3D printed armor designed by New York based artist Melissa Ng.

Melissa Ng is a self-taught designer who uses cutting edge 3D printing to bring her beautiful drawings to life. Her most recent project, the Dreamer’s Regalia, is the result of a lot of hard work and self-learning, with the finished result modeled by actress Felicia Day.

Ng has described the project at length on her website Lumecluster, which she started in 2012. Initially she was using the site to post ink drawings and sketches, but in 2013 Ng began experimenting with 3D model design and 3D printing in earnest.

All of her hard work has since paid off. Ng is now able to create beautiful detailed jewelry and masks, and has completed the Dreamer’s Regalia with enthusiastic support from partners Shapeways, Geek and Sundry, and CoKreeate.

How was The Dreamer’s Regalia created?

This project took 228 hours, and required detailed 3D modeling, 3D scanning, pattern drawing, and even video editing. Impressively, Ng admits on her blog that much of the project required skills which she didn’t possess.

“I didn’t know how to do everything I needed in order to accomplish the project,” Ng wrote. “But I knew I could at least start with one little challenge at a time to get there.”

Felicia Day was 3D scanned for the armor for a custom fit by Cokreeate, and Ng then worked with 3d printing service Shapeways to fabricate the piece.

There is a dreamer theme to all of Ng’s work, and she says the intricate, hand-drawn designs are “a visualization of the dream’s beauty, spontaneity, fluidity, and chaos.”

Once the Dreamer’s Regalia armor was printed, work had to be done in order to both hand paint and spray paint the piece to perfection. As well as this, the finishing process also involved sanding and adding gold elements for a gorgeous finish.

With Day modeling the stunning result, this is clearly a case of one small step for a designer, but one giant leap for cosplay. Let us know what you think in the comments.

(Source: Lumecluster)