Skull Bowl

thingiverse

I carefully hollowed out the skull within Meshmixer and then meticulously performed the trephination, finishing off with a precise touchup in 3D Coat. Our SeeMeCNC Orion precision printer brought the print to life in white PLA. While white PLA is known to scratch and discolor when sanded, this drawback surprisingly became an advantage here. Once I had effectively sanded away the noticeable layer lines, the model took on a deceivingly natural appearance, completely disguising its origins as a 3D-printed object. Next, I gave it a few coats of warm, golden acrylic paint, then quickly wiped back some of the wet paint before it had a chance to dry fully. After this peculiar treatment, the overall effect became remarkably eerie and unsettling. When it comes to the design's size for drinking tea directly out of your foe's skull, this particular print size hits just right - perfect for that sinister experience. For mead enthusiasts who desire something more substantial to drink from their 3D-printed skulls, they may want to consider scaling up slightly. Meanwhile, the small stature unexpectedly contributes to its unsettling factor, effectively transforming it into an uncanny miniature replica of a young skull or a cunning homonculus. On a related note, host Dave Gibbs and I dived deeper into this and more fascinating topics surrounding 3D printing on episode 23 of our 3D Printing Today podcast - listen to it right now for free by subscribing via iTunes, Stitcher Radio, or by heading over to http://threedprintingtoday.libsyn.com/ for direct access.