For some time I have been seeing photos of beautiful miniature shibari “sculptures” floating around the internet. With christmas just around a corner, those sculptures seemed perfect to be christmas ornaments. And since I own a 3D printer the hardest part of getting a torso or a silhouette of a body became easy. If you want to create your own you will need a 3D printer or a friend with one, some natural twine, precision tweezers and CA glue which is not required but makes the job a lot easier.
3D Printing
I needed to find correct 3D models online. Mostly I looked on cults3d which I believe is the only 3D model catalogue that explicitly allows 18+ content. I also used yeggi and stlfinder which are aggregators collecting models from multiple other sites. If you want to find other models, you can start with phrases like “naked woman torso” or “female body”. Few things to note, you want to keep in mind the tie you want to make when choosing the model. If you want to tie a chest harness, arms should be slightly raised so that twine doesn’t fall down. And for a crotch harness buttocks should be pronounced and there should be small gap between thighs. In both cases waist should be significantly narrower than hips or arms, so that the rope doesn’t slide around, keep in mind that plastic print is hard opposed to the human skin that is soft and provides some friction. You will find links to models that I used at the end of article.
After you choose the models that you want to use you have to print them, additionally you may want to edit them in some way. Since most of them will be STL files which contain mesh bodies. it will be hard to edit them in any CAD, on the other hand most slicers will manage simple edits in STL files. I used Cut function in prusa slicer to cut the torso models so that ass and chest can be printed as two separate objects.
Another important thing to remember is scale, most of those models have very different dimensions, and you probably want them to be the same size. Last thing is choosing filament material and color, since it is only ornamental you can use PLA or any other material you use normally, when it comes to color since you will be using light coloured natural twine it is important that the color of the print is dark to provide a lot of contrast.
Tying
Tying the twine on the prints is not easy, you need to be precise and delicate. Precision tweezers will help you to pull the free end under and around other parts of twine, and a very small drop of CA glue will help to keep the harness from moving all over. Important thing to remember is that CA glue will leave white residue while drying, so be careful with the amount. it is best to glue the twine to each other in a few places after you tie the whole thing. Since tying twine on the small print is different than tying ona human, it is helpful to use some tutorial even if you are experienced in shibari. Personally I used The Duchy and Crash Restraint, you will find links to other tutorial sites at the bottom. The process will be frustrating but with each “sculpture” that you make, it will be easier.
After tying, secure both ends, tie a simple knot on each end and cut the surplus of the twine. The last thing to do is to add a small loop at the top so you can hang it on the christmas tree.
Shibari tutorials:
Rope 365
“Monkeyfetish” Rope Tutorials
The Duchy
Crash Restraint
Models that I used:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3620216/files
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/woman-torso-light
https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-print-models/art/sculptures/woman-body-polygon-reduction
https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-sexy-nude-woman-body-142296
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/naughties/woman-s-ass-piece
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/naughties/female-torso-din3d