Beautiful Final Fantasy 7 Aerith Gainsborough 3D Printed by Wayne Wong

Fans of Final Fantasy 7 and Remake remember a playable character, beautiful FFVII Aerith Gainsborough. This pretty Flower Girl’s alternative name is Aeris. She is tender, magically gifted, joyful and carefree. No wonder the adorable Final Fantasy 7 Aerith figurine for 3D printing is so popular among the collectors of 3D printed video game models.

Maker Wayne Wong did not hesitate when he came across the highly-detailed Final Fantasy 7 Aerith 3D model STL files. This talented Gambody enthusiast from Malaysia printed and painted an impressive version of young FFVII Aeris. And he is glad to share his painting techniques and 3D printing secrets with you.

FFVII Aerith

The famous Flower Girl looks like an ordinary human cutie. However, Aeris FFVII character is the last representative of an ancient race known as the Cetra, with magical abilities that allow her interacting with life on the planet. Aerith Final Fantasy 7 character loves adventures and freedom so much she is always willing to join your quest to build a collection of 3D printed FF7 models and figures.

3D artist Arkey (FuMake) recreated an adorable Final Fantasy 7 Aerith 3D model for printing. His version of the playable FF7 character is available on Gambody – Premium 3D printing marketplace, and it boasts many intricate details. The Flower Girl’s face shines with a pretty smile, and Aeris’ classic dress, jacket and short boots resemble the original outfit.

Download the Aerith Final Fantasy 7 3D model STL files to 3D print this beauty and recreate her necklace, bracelets and a basket of flowers. And if you are new to printing or painting 3D printed figures, read our interview with Wayne Wong to peek behind the curtain of his exciting 3D printing workshop.

1. Wayne, it is a pleasure to look at the 3D printed FFVII Aerith figure you made. Can you please introduce yourself to Gambody readers? Where are you from, and how 3D printing is popular in your country?

Good day Gambody! I’m honoured to be in this interview! I’m Wayne from Malaysia.

I first started a FB page to share some Transformers news and selling some Transformers toys. But then I got bored with it and started loving awesome big statues, especially the Prime 1 Studio Transformers statues. But all the hi-end statues are too expensive for me. And one day, I saw some 3D printing-related post, and I asked myself, why not trying to 3D print some statues as it was way affordable and achievable for me.

So, I started to browse around and google searching for Transformers STL files. And the first result was the TLK Megatron model from Gambody – Premium 3D printing marketplace! I immediately bought the Megatron 3D printing model STL files and sent them to a printing guy to help me print the model because I haven’t bought a 3D printer yet at that time (you guys share my pic on your Megatron STL link, hehe).

Unfortunately, 3D printing in Malaysia is mostly business-oriented and not hobby-oriented. Most local companies provide 3D printing services such as printing some machinery parts and other stuff that is not really related to hobbies. But I like to 3D print Anime, Comics, and video game characters for my own collections.

2. Are you a big fan of Final Fantasy 7 models and games? What do you like the most about this media franchise?

YES! I’m a huge fan! I played the 1997 version of Final Fantasy 7. I am deeply in love with the Advent Children movie, and I play the PSP crisis core version!

But too bad I don’t have a PS4 to play the Final Fantasy VII Remake. Still, I love the remake version characters design a lot!

3. Is FFVII Aerith Gainsborough your favourite character from Final Fantasy 7? Why did you choose to 3D print and paint this fantastic Flower Girl figure?

I am always in a dilemma between the Tifa figure and the FFVII Aerith Gainsborough statue. Tifa is such a cute girl, and Aerith is like a mature lady.

So, I 3D printed Tifa using Tifa Lockhart 3D printing figurine STL files from Gambody first. I totally loved how FuMake designed both Tifa and Aeris 3D models. I chose to complete my Final Fantasy 7 models collection and paint everything. For this, the Aerith Gainsborough 3D printing figure is a MUST!

4. Did your brother Panda Studio 3D print Final Fantasy 7 Aerith on his Industrial SLA printer for you? Which 3D printer brand was it?

Yes! I have an FDM 3D printer. But when I choose to work with beautiful STL files, I ask my brother to print them for me. I am not too sure what brand that printer is because China has got way too many industrial SLA 3D printers, and it’s getting bigger and better.

Even for normal 3D printing enthusiasts like me, all of these companies use resin 3D printers and not an FDM printer already.

5. Have you ever 3D printed anything yourself? If not, why?

Yes, I bought a China brand FDM 3D printer in 2018 when I first joined this community. I did so without proper research and knowledge. The first day I received the 3D printer, it was already not functioning well.

So, I googled a lot and watched many YouTube 3D printing tutorials. Eventually, I became an expert in fixing and maintaining my FDM 3D printer, lol.

6. You mentioned that you made the Aerith FF 3D printed figure in ¼ scale. Which software did you use to upscale the 3D model’s STL files? Did you do this yourself, or did Panda Studio work with 3D printing files?

When I send a model to Panda Studio for 3D printing, they will do all the sizing for me. But when I’m printing using my FDM printer, I usually work in Simplify3D or sometimes Meshmixer for scaling.

I adjust the scale manually. Sometimes I use the existing STL with the size, for example, ¼ scale head file. I place the STL file that I want to 3D print side by side with the ¼ scale head and scale it to a similar size. Then I write down the percentage and add the same percentage to other parts of the 3D model.

7. Are you best friends with FuMake, a 3D artist who sculpted the beautiful Final Fantasy 7 Aerith 3D model for 3D printing?

Nope, I didn’t know him at first. I printed the Tifa figurine from another designer and uploaded the pictures and repaint video on my FB page. I said it was the best Tifa in the entire 3D printing community, but one of my page fans messaged me and showed the FuMake’s Tifa WIP pictures.

I was amazed! Then I contacted him and told him I would 3D print it, paint it, do some review, paint video, and promote his Gambody Tifa 3D printing figurine STL files link.

FuMake is a good guy, and eventually, we became friends in this 3D printing community.

8. What do you love more, to airbrush 3D prints or hand-paint models with regular brushes? Why?

Hand painting is straightforward because I hate masking! But most of my 3D prints are made in ¼ scale, so using hand painting only will be very tiring.

So, now I use both painting techniques. I usually airbrush the figure’s skin and use hand painting for makeup and outlining small details.

9. Did you apply the white base to the Final Fantasy 7 Aerith Gainsborough figure’s dress and platform only? Why did you choose not to use it for other parts of the 3D printed model?

Using white as the base makes it easier to apply different colours. As for the FFVII Aerith dress base, I’m really an impatient guy, so I spray it white and leave it there. Looks good and less job needed.

10. What paint brands did you use to breathe life into the 3D printed FFVII Aerith figurine?

For airbrushing, I’m using a Thailand paint called Skull colour. It’s a premixed colour that I can use straight away without mixing with thinner.

For hand painting, I’m using AV and Citadel.

For shading effects, I would prefer the Citadel shade.

11. How do you add highlights and shadows to create natural shades?

I like the dry brushing method. I use cotton bud like the swabs used by girls for eye shadow application.

12. How do you mask the parts of the 3D printed model while airbrushing it?

I really hate masking, but sometimes I have no choices. I use either masking tape or putty to cover the painted parts.

If I’m sluggish, I will touch up with the hand-painting technique the parts that I accidentally airbrushed off the line.

13. Why did you choose to use the dark pink colour as the base for the 3D printed Final Fantasy 7 Aerith skin?

Most of the time, I use dark brown or orange colours as the base for character skin. But after I saw a tutorial book, I thought of trying something different. I hope the Aerith FF statue doesn’t look bad with this dark pink as the skin base.

14. Do you mix medium and light skin tones yourself, or are there ready-to-use paint colours for airbrushing realistic human skin tone?

I mostly get ready to use paint colours by Skull Colour. But sometimes, I mix paints by adding dark brown, red or orange shade if I want to try some different effects.

15. Did your wife help you to paint Final Fantasy 7 Aeris figure’s face? Did she hand-paint it or airbrush?

Yes, my wife is good! Even without painting knowledge, she knows how to create fantastic makeup.

So, after I finished painting my Final Fantasy 7 Aeris 3D print, she will check and see. For example, for the Aerith Gainsborough statue, she used the cotton bud to make the eye shadow darker. She said that my shadows were a bit soft. She mostly touched up by dry brushing the makeup.

16. What super glue brand did you use for glueing the 3D printed parts together?

No brand. It was a random choice from a convenience store.

17. Did you really complete painting the 3D printed FFVII Aerith Gainsborough statue in just one day?

Yup, because I’m really an impatient person.

I started painting the Final Fantasy 7 Aerith Gainsborough statue in the afternoon, sat there for a few hours and brought the 3D printed model home to continue.

I was rushing to finish this project because I was quarantined for two weeks and couldn’t paint it. I wanted to help FuMake and Gambody – Premium 3D printing marketplace to promote this beautiful Final Fantasy 7 Aerith figurine.

18. In your video, the painting and assembling process look so easy. But in reality, does it require much patience or not? Is it challenging at all?

Yes, if you want to achieve a great result, you must always be patient. That’s why I think my painting skills are still not too good. I am still learning to be patient while painting the 3D prints.

Hopefully, I can break through myself and become a better painter.

19. How many 3D printed Final Fantasy 7 models do you have in your collection now?

I have five Final Fantasy 7 models. They are Cloud, two Tifa figures, Sephiroth, and FFVII Aerith statue. All these are 3D printed in ¼ scale and painted by me.

20. Where do you display the Final Fantasy 7 Aerith 3D printed figure?

I currently display all my collection in my office.

21. What is your next 3D print to paint?

There are too many STL files that I want to 3D print. But I haven’t decided yet. I am quite busy with other stuff right now, lol.

Are you planning to 3D print the Final Fantasy 7 Aerith figurine to start your quest to fight Shinra? Use the 3D printing magic for breathing life into your Aeris statue. Also, join Gambody 3D Printing Community on Facebook. This place is the best to share your 3D printed figures’ photos and get amazed by the creations made by other hobbyists from across the world.