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