Articulated Crystal Night Dragon v1.3 (low poly remix)

*** Free to print, NOT to sell *** For Commercial Rights, you must join my Club.

Dec 15 - Informed there may still be an issue with the links sticking.  I will correct this this weekend. Until then, just Split the model into parts or objects (the icon that looks like paper with an O or P on it).  The slicer will no longer try to merge walls that are too close. It will print walls around the individual objects.

Dec 10th Update - Added version 1.3. Received a couple comments about fused pieces. I believe this to be caused by the latest update to PrusaSlicer and related slicers. Because I have quite a few these printed previously on older versions of the slicer without issues. I believe they are corrected now. Please let me know if you find issues, I will correct them ASAP. I am very active on Printables and will usually correct them before the end of the day.  Thanks, and enjoy! 

Sep 17th Update -  Added v1.2 of the original model. Cleans up some of the thin sections or oddly shaped base layers. Cleaned up odd shapes, made pieces more symmetrical like the blunt model. Reassembled to ensure no bonded segments.

Blunt 1.2 Update - This version should be the last needed for the blunt model.  I found no touching pieces. I modified and reinforced the tail piece improving flexibility. Feedback is appreciated, so I can provide the best model possible.  I have found during all this testing that separating the model into individual objects improves the slicers separation of the parts.  This is why it took hours to ensure the pieces didn't touch. I would slice model, see pieces touching, separate the model and shift the offending piece. Then, merge and save, close file, reopen file,  reslice and now some other pieces were connected. Rinse and repeat. It was super tedious, and may vary by slicer, so please let me know if you find some merged pieces.  But I believe it is good now. 

Still need to update the original model, but that means both will be 1.2 in the end.

Sep 6th UPDATE - The blunted model has been added. Special thanks to @Roman and @KarminSupreme for feedback and assistance with testing the “kid friendly” blunted version. Their feedback helped me polish out the kinks. Changes include:

• Removed the sharp points and edges. This obviously increases the poly count, but reduces the pain. Want kids to be able to play with the dragon :)
• Reduced the size/protrusion of the horns and frills. Required to make it curved, but it also resulted in faster and easier prints.
• Improved symmetry of the 1st layer body and tail pieces. The poly reduction of the organic shape caused a lot of irregular shaped on the base. I balanced those out, thickened some thin areas, and reshaped some of the pieces.
• Lots of work on the tail and body segment the tail connects to. This should improve symmetry, movement and increase durability.

The symmetry and durability updates will be made to the standard model by the weekend.

Crystal Night Dragon

Low Poly Contest Entry.  From 3 million polys to about 30k. That is 1%. Most of those are in the connecting pieces. I had to keep those slightly curved. External pieces are the lowest poly count I could make and retain the general shape.

Clear PLA was a poor choice to show detail, but seemed appropriate. Printed without issue at 80% scale. Some parts were touching at this smaller size, but broke away easily for full articulation. Purple/green dragon is at 100%.

Please let me know if there are problems; easily broken pieces, too sharp pieces, etc. I will correct it. Keep an eye on this listing for additional variants. Enjoy!

IMPRESSIONS

With clear filament, it looks just like the night spirit.  Silk filament shows the differences much better. My daughter and I like this one better than the original. I expected it to be a lot sharper, but it is less so. I think you will like it, too. 

PRINT SETTINGS

• 2+ walls   [I use 3]
• 10%+ infill   [I like 20% weight, but lightning or 0% should work]
• Any layer height your printer can handle. Looks good at .2mm
• No supports or brims required   [YMMV, I don't know your printer]
• Scaling 75% or greater successfully tested so far. 
• RECOMMENDATION: Separate the model into individual objects before printing. The slicer then does a better job of ensuring the walls don't connect.  Especially useful for scaling the model down. It should be fine at 100%, many hours spent ensuring that is the case.

CHANGES TO NIGHT SPIRIT

Lowered poly count from 3mil to 200k in the slicer. Opened in Blender and reduced poly count on non-linking areas as low as I could without losing the general shape. The head required significant remodeling to restore some density to make it printable. The tail changed a bit to eliminate excessive overhangs. The body was reassembled from one piece. I will work on improving symmetry with upcoming revisions. Final poly count is around 30k now. 

ATTRIBUTION

Thanks to sunset, sunset_3d_design and MZ4250 for making and uploading awesome models! Attribution of them and myself required if relinking this model elsewhere.

COMMERCIAL RIGHTS

I purchased commercial rights from sunset3d for the dragon model. So I have commercial rights to my derivative models. Commercial access provided by joining my Printables Club. I will be adding an exclusive maker coin to show you are a club member when selling the dragons. The club membership will cover all models I create. I plan to make more than dragon variants, but these are what I enjoy making right now. My models will always be free to print, but have to join club to sell.

UPDATE ARCHIVE

Blunt 1.1 Update - After posting the new model, I started it printing and saw there were two tail segments that weren't flat on the bottom. So now Blunt model 1.1 was added to correct the issue.  Sorry if you downloaded it in the 15min between posting 1.0 and fixing it with 1.1. The good news, both current models are version 1.1 now :) 1.0 is archived.

Sep 3 Update - Added a beta blunted version in the Kid Friendly folder.  If it gets the thumbs up, I will remove BETA from the folder and label it 1.0.  Until then, please let me know what you think. It is definitely more polys than it before. But maybe adding hundred, so it is still low-poly compared to the original.  

Update 1.1 - Modified the head to mirror the better side, to improve printability. I also increased the indentation for the mouth so it is more noticeable. I will work on the other parts over time. V1.1 printed in purple/green coextrusion filament from Gratkit above.

Articulated Spirit Dragon V9 > Articulated Night Spirit = Separated segments, alternate heads, blunted and reinforced at easily broken areas, changed heads to a cool Night Dragon head, on same fixed, reinforced, body.

Articulated Night Spirit > Articulated Crystal Night Dragon = Low poly remix. From about 3 million triangles to <27k. The change gives the model a very different look. Added a kid friendly blunted version too.