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To say that Vedran Marjanovic – a.k.a. Wekster – is a must for our Designer Spotlight series is an understatement. With over 140 Club Members in Printables, dozens of very popular mini models, and a story that’ll make any Queens of the Stone Age fan jealous, we couldn’t not reach out to him to learn a bit more about his background and creative process.

And while we’d normally be inclined to talk a bit more about the featured designer before jumping into the Q&A, we just really want you to get to the QotSA part. You’re welcome.

Q&A

All3DP: Tell us a little about yourself – what’s your background?

Vedran: My name is Vedran but most people know me as or call me Wekster. I live in Croatia, where I work as a director for TV commercials and I’m co-founder of a company that specializes in game trailers, Trailer Squad. I’ve been obsessed with comic books, movies, and games my whole life. I loved to draw stuff and in the end I combined everything I loved into my work, especially over the past 7 years since I joined the 3D printing community.

How do you get the ideas for your designs?

Most of my stuff is based on pop culture, but in almost every design I try to bring something slightly different, something that has my “signature”. I love making original stuff too, there’s just something great about not having a reference, exploring different stuff, and shaping it into something that you can be proud of in the end.

How much does the technical side of 3D printing (e.g. supports, a design that requires assembly or one that’s printable in one piece) come into play when you’re designing? Or is your designing entirely independent from 3D printing and you later figure out how they work together best?

In the beginning, most of my creations were made in a way that they didn’t require any support, which was sometimes hard because I had to make some “bad” decisions just to be able to have a support-free model, limiting my creativity. These days I still think about printability first, but I don’t let my idea suffer because I was trying to please everyone.

Of all the things you’ve created, which are you most fond of and why?

The first one is my first mini dude character (mini Hellboy) because that one started my whole series of similar characters that I’m still creating.

Once a guy on the other side of the world asked me if I could help him make something for his daughter and I agreed because I also have a daughter I would do anything for. I created Bulby from a Queens of the Stone Age album, and the band reached out to me later and invited me and my family to their concert. I made a video about the whole thing 🙂

If you could step back in time and give yourself some advice from the beginning, what would it be?

Honestly, I’m really happy with all the decisions I’ve made in the past, so I would probably give myself some financial advice. That way, I could work less in the future and sculpt more 🙂