Make a Funko Pop style figure of yourself
This guide was drafted with AI assistance.
A vinyl-toy figure is a big head on a small body, with simple shapes and flat colours. With a 3D printer you can make one of anyone from a single photo: the Meshcast head generator turns the photo into a Big head style head, puts it on one of nine mini figure bodies, and hands you a painted multi-colour 3MF or an STL to paint by hand. About an hour of printing, no modelling.
The short answer
Upload a front photo, pick the Big head style, approve the clay preview, choose the Mini figure template and a body, then print the head and the body as two parts and plug the head onto the peg.
The photo
- Face the camera, head and shoulders in the frame, soft even light, no hand or sunglasses on the face.
- One person only. Crop anyone else out.
- Hair off the eyes if you can; a fringe over the eyes comes back as a solid brim.
- Take thin glasses off. Thin frames are too fine to print at this size.
- Got photos from the side or back? Add up to three. They help the hair and the profile.
Making it, step by step
- Open the head generator and upload the photo (or try the example run first, no sign-in).
- Who: a person, or a pet.
- Style: Big head for the vinyl-toy look; Cartoon if you want normal proportions.
- Colour: In color for a painted 3MF on an AMS or MMU printer, One color to paint it yourself.
- Expression and hat: keep the face from the photo, or pick happy, laughing, angry, sad or scared; add a Santa hat, crown, party hat, cap, beanie or one of the others.
- Approve the clay preview. Not quite them? Try again before the 3D step.
- Template: Mini figure, then a body: T-shirt, suit, football kit, dress, casual man or woman, sporty woman, bodybuilder, or sitting.
- Size: set the height in mm. 90 to 120 mm for the whole figure prints well.
- Download. The head and the body come as separate parts; the head plugs onto a peg.
Printing and painting
- Layers: 0.12 mm for the head (the eyes and mouth need it), 0.2 mm is fine for the body.
- Supports: usually only under the chin; the head prints standing on its neck.
- Material: matte PLA hides layer lines and looks most like vinyl.
- Colour on one nozzle: print in white or light grey, prime, then acrylics. Flat colours, black dot eyes and no shading is the whole look.
- Colour on an AMS: the painted 3MF opens with its colours in Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer. The multi-colour without an AMS guide covers swapping filament by hand.
Gift ideas
- A figure of the whole family or team, same body, different heads, from one photo each.
- A bride and groom on the suit and dress bodies for a cake or a shelf.
- A pet in Big head style; pets come out especially well in that style.
- The same head as a bobblehead (it rocks on a printed pin or bounces on a pen spring), a keychain or a fridge magnet. Finished heads stay in your library, so a second template costs no new AI build.
Other ways to do it
- Bambu MakerLab PrintU has a Chibi and a Bobblehead style and can follow a pose; see our PrintU comparison.
- Meshy has a Vinyl Figure card in its Creative Lab; see our Meshy comparison.
- By hand: sculpt the head in Blender or Nomad Sculpt on a stock body. Hours, not minutes, but every detail is yours.
What a photo can become
Open the head generator →
Questions
Can I make a Funko Pop of myself with a 3D printer?
You can print a figure in the same big-head collectible style: the Meshcast head generator turns a photo into a Big head style head and puts it on a mini figure body, as two parts that plug together. It is not an official Funko product, and figures should not be sold as one.
How big should the figure be?
90 to 120 mm for the whole figure. The head is printed at 0.12 mm layers so the eyes and mouth stay crisp.
Do I need a multi-colour printer?
No. Download the one-colour STL, print it in white or light grey, and paint it with acrylics. With an AMS or MMU, the painted 3MF prints the colours for you.
Can I make one of my dog or cat?
Yes. Pick Pet as the subject; the Big head style suits pets well. Use a photo at eye level with both ears in the picture.
Can I sell figures I make this way?
Check the commercial terms of your Meshcast plan, only make figures of people who agreed to it, and never sell them as Funko or Pop! products: those names are Funko's trademarks.
Made by meshcast.app. Funko and Pop! are trademarks of Funko, Inc.; Meshcast is not affiliated with Funko. Questions? Email us.