So I'm fairly new here and I thought in order to contribute I would add a quick guide on how to 3D model OCs for 3D printing. To do this we will need two programs, one web based and the other will need to be downloaded and installed:
PonyLumen's 3D pony creator:
This will let you create a rough start out of your OC by taking parts of common ponies and mixing them together. Though it may not get you to a finished product, it's far easier to edit a base into what you want than to start from scratch. (At least in my experience)
http://ponylumen.net...d-pony-creator/
MeshMixer:
This program will convert the .obj model from pony creator into the standard format of .stl for 3D printing slicing software. It will also allow for further editing and customization of the pony model, so don't sweat if the pony creator doesn't have exactly what you want.
http://www.meshmixer.com/download.html
To begin open up PonyLumen's editor, should look something like this:

It's a pretty intuitive interface. The color codes are a bit unusual but they're not important here. 3D models don't care about the coloration, so just make sure your pony is the right shape. Don't worry about the hair jiggle animation, the final model will come out solid. Once you've gotten as close as you can with the pony creator, go to load/save and save the ponyfile to back up your pony so you can make adjustments later, then download the .obj file.
You will end up with a file called pony.zip that looks like this inside. Extract all contents to a folder called pony:

Open pony.obj with MeshMixer and you will see something like this:

Go to import in the upper left and import all of the rest of the .obj files in the pony folder. It hasn't happened to me, but it may give you some warning messages about size and position of imported objects. Once you've imported everything you should see the full model. with a objects browser with all of the files.

Now it is time to edit things. You can select individual items and move them around to customize the mane and tail a little, but for more complicated edits you'll need to get a bit familiar with MeshMixer The basics you'll need are sculpt, edit, and select. Select is good for deleting things. You can do a bunch of stuff with edit, and sculpt let's you actually start pushing the mesh around to reshape it. If you have any questions on this post them below.
Once your done select all of the objects in the object browser at once. A box will appear that has an option to combine. Make sure you are finished with all of your editing first before combining the objects. Then you can export the model as a .stl. There are two types of .stl files, binary and ASCII I use binary but both work. Then you can give the finished .stl to a 3D printing service or to a friend with a 3D printer to have printed.
If you have any questions, would like me to do more guides or are looking for help with a project. Please just post below.
Thanks everypony, see you on the server,
Trotsky the Hell Steed
Edited by Trotsky, 19 November 2015 - 02:30 AM.





