3D Printing Designers Interview: Wesley Millora aka BIG LiL DESIGN

1. First, can you say a few words about yourself and your work?

My name is Wesley Millora and I was born in the Philippines and grew up Seattle. I went to college in New York City and landed my first job as an Industrial Designer in Seoul. I now reside in Orange County, California with my wife. I guess you can say I love to travel and experience different cultures. As an artist/designer, I'm shocked that I've never been to Europe so it's very high on my priority list.

2. Where do you get your inspiration to create these fabulous designs?

I get my inspiration from several sources: 80s cartoons, sci-fi movies, comic books, art & design museums, and the Instagram community. Oh and of course, Pinterest. This is my go to source which pretty much replaced my routine to visit book stores / magazine shops to quickly absorb the latest and greatest in art & design.

3. Which CAD software(s) do you use to make your designs?

I use Siemens NX (similar to Solidworks and Pro-E). Unfortunately, NX is not ideal for character design so I see myself learning another program which will enable this. But until then, I'll stick with the geometric, low poly style which I absolutely love!

4. What 3D printer have you got and what are your regular printing settings?

I own an Ultimaker 2 at home and have access to Makerbot Replicator 2 at work. On my UM2, I have the stock 0.4mm nozzle, use Cura software, and only print in PLA. I like to keep things simple, not only in my setup but also in my designs. One criteria when deg a new character is to have minimal or no structure. This makes it easy to print and requires little or no post-process work.

5. Finally, among all your great work, what is your favorite creation?

My favorite is the Low Poly Figure. I wanted to use the human body as inspiration and create a figure that was simplified using the low poly style. I love how the print receives light and shadow with its faceted surfaces. This was a good start bringing a concept to reality and has opened my mind to future projects.