Daniele Guerrini

After months of designing, modeling, 3D printing, sanding, painting, wiring, programming, testing, failing, modifying... and trying again, Lumina is finally complete.

This project evolved far beyond what I originally imagined.

Lumina was not originally created as a physical object. She was born as one of the main characters of “Oltre il Protocollo 404” (Beyond Protocol 404), a story I created with the intention of developing it into an animated project.

At some point, however, imagining her was no longer enough.

I wanted to see if I could bring that character out of the screen and into the real world, while preserving her identity, personality and stylized appearance.

Some details changed many times along the way. Her eyelids alone were redesigned four times, trying to give her a more feminine and natural expression while remaining faithful to the original character.

Her eyes and eyelids are mechanically animated, while a three-axis neck allows her to rotate, tilt and move her head. But I didn't want Lumina simply to move. I wanted her movements to express something.

So I began combining eye movements, eyelids, head positions and lighting into different behaviours. What started as a few simple tests eventually became 19 programmed gestures and expressions: curiosity, surprise, confusion, sleepiness, suspicion, winking... and even anger.

Lighting also became part of her personality. Cyan light strips were integrated into the body, together with illuminated details, facial lights and the Δ symbol on her forehead, allowing her appearance to change when she “comes alive”.

Even the base was a last-minute decision. I designed and built it specifically for Lumina, adding the LUMINA lettering and Δ symbol, with details finished in the same pearl paint used on her body.

The body itself went through several stages of sanding, masking and painting, combining pearl white and black surfaces while preserving the mechanical character of the original design.

Almost every stage required experimentation, adjustments and sometimes starting again. This project brought together many of the things I love: 3D modeling, additive manufacturing, mechanics, electronics, programming, painting and storytelling.

Looking at her now, it feels strange to remember where all of this began: first as an idea, then as a character in a story, and finally as something I could actually build with my own hands.

There are imperfections. There are things I would probably redesign if I started again tomorrow. But perhaps that is exactly why this project means so much to me.

Every part of Lumina taught me something.

A lot of work. A lot of patience. And, above all, a lot of love.

Lumina was born in a story.

Today, she exists in the real world.

This is Lumina. Δ

Lumina has entered her final stage.

Painting, masking, sanding, assembling… and then doing some of it all over again when the result wasn't good enough.

I've shared almost every step of her creation so far, but I think it's time to stop showing pieces of her.

From now on, no more previews.

The next time you see Lumina, you will see her as she was meant to be.

See you at the final reveal. Δ

Another week, another step closer.

Lumina's body is now fully assembled and has entered the final finishing stage. After many hours of sanding, filling, refining and preparing the surfaces, the first coats of primer are finally on.

There are still details to finish, colors to apply, lights to install… and very little time left. 😅

But for the first time, I can look at her standing in front of me and see not just the individual printed parts, but the character I imagined months ago.

This will be my last work-in-progress update.

The next one will be Lumina.

See you at the final reveal.

A small update on Lumina.

Eyes, eyelids and the 3-axis neck are finally beginning to work together.

Until now, I was testing individual mechanisms.

This time, for the first time, I tried to combine them into something more than movement:

an expression.

There is still a lot to refine, but for a few seconds I almost forgot I was looking at servos, wires and printed parts.

I simply saw Lumina waking up.

Nine days to go. Let’s see how far she can get. 😉

Ciò che è nato come personaggio, per poi diventare un modello 3D, si sta trasformando lentamente in qualcosa di reale.

Oggi ho raggiunto un altro traguardo importante: la sua testa e il suo collo animatronici si muovono finalmente in sincronia.

Il sistema è ancora un prototipo. C'è molto da affinare — meccanica, bilanciamento, elettronica, movimenti degli occhi, palpebre, illuminazione e finiture — ma vederla muoversi così per la prima volta è stato qualcosa di completamente diverso rispetto all'osservare un modello CAD o un rendering.

Ho progettato e realizzato questo progetto combinando modellazione 3D, stampa 3D, elettronica e animatronica, con un unico obiettivo: trasformare Lumina da personaggio digitale a presenza fisica.

E questo è solo l'inizio.

Prossimi passi: movimenti coordinati di occhi e palpebre, illuminazione del volto... e forse qualcos'altro che non svelo ancora. 😉

Benvenuta nel mondo fisico, Lumina.

This week was mainly focused on redesigning Lumina’s neck mechanism.

After the first physical tests, I realized that the original configuration, based on two compact MG90S servos, would not provide enough torque for the final head assembly. The current tests were performed without the animatronic eyes and hair installed, both of which will add additional weight.

Rather than trying to force the original solution to work, I went back to CAD and redesigned the internal mechanism around a larger, higher-torque servo.

One of the main challenges was fitting the new system inside the very limited space available within Lumina’s head while maintaining the required range of movement. Several configurations were evaluated in Rhino, checking dimensions, rotation angles, mechanical clearances and the position of the different components.

The new support system was then 3D printed and physically installed inside the head.

This has been an important step in the development process: the first prototype allowed me to identify the limitations of the original design, and those results directly guided the development of the new version.

The next step will be to integrate the animatronic eye mechanism and test the complete head under a more realistic load, including the additional weight of the eyes and, eventually, the hair.

There is still a lot of work ahead, but Lumina is gradually moving from a digital design to a real mechatronic system.

And the journey continues!!!

Another important step forward!

The main parts of Lumina's 1:1 scale body are finally printed and I was able to assemble the torso for the first time.

Some of the prints were far from perfect — I had a few printing failures, damaged areas and surface defects along the way — so quite a bit of manual work was needed to recover the parts: cutting, repairing, filling, sanding and adjusting the joints.

There is still a lot of finishing work to do, but seeing all the main body sections together for the first time completely changed the perception of the project. At full scale, Lumina is starting to have a real physical presence.

I also completed the upper chest section and a removable neck/collar piece, which will allow easier access to the internal structure during the next stages of the build.

The arms are printed as well, up to the upper arm, but they are still separate while I work on a removable mounting system.

Next step: the head.

And I think that's going to change everything. 😊

The first full-scale body parts have now been 3D printed and the assembly has begun.

Not every print went according to plan — some parts required quite a bit of repair, sanding and post-processing — but that is part of turning a digital design into something real.

Seeing the different sections finally come together at this scale is a very different feeling from seeing them on a screen.

There is still a lot of work ahead, both on the body and on the internal mechanics… but Lumina is slowly leaving the digital world.

Next step: giving her a head. 😉

The physical head has now been printed and the animatronic eye mechanism has been integrated into the custom-designed internal supports.

I am currently developing the mechanical neck system, which will allow the head to move on multiple axes while keeping the structure as compact and lightweight as possible.

Next step: bringing her first head movements to life.

Some of the first actuators have finally arrived.

I still don't know exactly how many movements I'll be able to implement before GWCC 2026, and I'd rather avoid making promises I can't keep.

My priority remains creating a beautiful sculpture.

If I can also bring some subtle motion to her eyes, head, or expression... that will be an incredible bonus.

Every component teaches me something new.

Every experiment brings Lumina one step closer to reality.Some of the first actuators have finally arrived.

I still don't know exactly how many movements I'll be able to implement before GWCC 2026, and I'd rather avoid making promises I can't keep.

My priority remains creating a beautiful sculpture.

If I can also bring some subtle motion to her eyes, head, or expression... that will be an incredible bonus.

Every component teaches me something new.

Every experiment brings Lumina one step closer to reality.