In a photo shoot and video feature for Geeks and Sundry, Felicia Day tells the touching story of Melissa Ng, a 3D printing artist who was inspired by Day’s character Codex on The Guild to pursue her passion. In Day’s case, it works out really well, as the talented creator then gave Day the opportunity to wear her stunning and intricate designs in a fantasy photo shoot.
Watch the video of Felicia Day modeling the original “Dreamer Regalia” design of artist Melissa Ng below:
The Dreamer Regalia took six months and over 200 hours of design to create. “It’s designed partly from Guild Wars 2 armor, partly from Codex’s armor and partly from the idea of an elven dream goddess, which she said that I reminded her of,” said Day.
Ng worked with a company called Shapeways to 3D-print the design she created for Day to model. On their company page, Shapeways says they are “the World's Leading 3D Printing Service & Marketplace” with a thriving entrepreneurial community to match. According to Day, “it’s one of the only places that could do it.”.
On Ng’s part, she admits that she had no formal training as a 3D printing artist. In addition, the similarity between her career trajectory and that of Day’s is not lost on Ng.
“Part of not receiving a formal education is great, because you have no guidance,” said Ng. “But it’s also bad, because you have no guidance (laughs). I was able to pick and choose mediums that seemed interesting to me.
“I had a lot of people that ignored me in art arenas,” Ng continued. “There’s this expectation of an unspoken script, an assumption that [creators] should have some sort of known story that’s typical of artists. This is why I admire Felicia so much, her story of her acting career is not conventional in many ways.”
As for Day, who can argue with the chance to wear awesome original 3D-printed armor which you helped inspire?
“I am impressed and so grateful that I could contribute to her life and she could contribute to mine. That’s what art should be about,” said Day.
You can view a sampling of the Dreamer Regalia photos below.
For Day’s full photoshoot, shot by veteran fantasy photographer Eric Anderson, check out the gallery over at Geek and Sundry here. Ng’s website may be found here.
