Printing Possibility: Zachary Derman Reimagining The Boundaries Of 3D Printed Cosplay
What began as a hobby for Penn State student Zachary Derman during 2020 has transformed into something bigger. Over the years, he has mastered the art of 3D printing realistic cosplays that feel like they came right from the screen.
Many of the characters Derman creates are from his favorite forms of media, with a focus on cosplaying superheroes from the Marvel and DC universes. He shows his progress on his work through his Instagram.
Derman discovered his passion for 3D printing several years ago during summer camp, where he first learned CAD, the software used to create custom 3D printed models. It wasn’t until December of 2020 that Derman would receive his first 3D printer, the Creality Ender 3.
“It required a lot of tinkering and trial and error, but I learned all of what I know from watching YouTube videos,” he said. “Now, there are much better options for cheap printers that don’t require as much tinkering.” He claimed that he isn’t the greatest at CAD yet, but is continuing to further his CAD knowledge through his engineering courses at Penn State.
Derman’s favorite creation so far is his functional Iron Man suit, which he says has been a dream project for him.
“I even wore the suit to a children’s hospital, since I had seen people dress up as superheroes and visit kids,” he said. “As much as I love the suit, the biggest downside is the mobility since it’s not the most mobile with it all being made of plastic.”
“For the Iron Man suit, it took me 7 months to print it, paint it, make it wearable, and do the electronics,” Derman said.
His most recent 3D-printed suit is modeled to look like the Wolverine suit from Marvel’s 2024 film “Deadpool & Wolverine.” This suit took over a year to finish.
To print something smaller, such as a helmet, would take under a week to print and finalize for Derman.
For anyone interested in purchasing a 3D printer of their own, Derman recommended the Bambu Lab A1 or the Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro for a cheaper option.
To see more of Derman’s work, folks can visit his website here.
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