u/TrasnoStudios

I wanted to see if I could turn this fictional creature into a real, working object, so I designed and built my own version from scratch.

The project combines a bit of everything I love about making: sculpting, 3D printing, woodworking, painting, electronics and animatronics.

An Arduino controls two servos for the eyes and mouth, while a DFPlayer Mini handles the sound. Getting all the mechanical movement, audio and timing to work together was definitely the trickiest part!

The end result is a little animatronic creature that can actually come to life. 🐌

(Full build video on my profile and YouTube channel!)

One of my favorite things about my hobby is taking something that exists only in a fictional world and trying to figure out how I could actually build it in real life.

This time, I decided to make my own Den Den Mushi! 🐌

I sculpted and built the body from scratch, painted it, and added electronics to make it an actual little animatronic creature — with moving eyes, a moving mouth and sound.

It started as a silly idea and turned into a much bigger project than I expected… but honestly, that's half the fun of having a hobby like this. 😅

Really happy with how this little guy turned out!

(Full video on my profile and YouTube channel!)

For this project, I used an Arduino to control two servo motors and a DFPlayer Mini to bring this little creature to life.

The setup controls:

• 👀 One servo for the eyes
• 👄 One servo for the mouth
• 🔊 DFPlayer Mini for the sounds
• 📞 A physical switch to trigger the interaction

The idea was to make the Den Den Mushi feel like an actual little creature rather than just a static prop. The Arduino handles the timing and movement of everything, including the different states of the animatronic.

It took quite a bit of experimenting to get the servo movements and audio timing to feel natural, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!

(Full video on my profile and YouTube channel!)

I’ve been wanting to turn one of the weirdest creatures from One Piece into a real prop for a while, so I finally built my own version from scratch.

It’s fully animatronic, with moving eyes, a moving mouth, sound, and a real telephone cable connecting it to the phone. The goal was to make it feel less like a static prop and more like an actual little creature.

The build involved a lot of sculpting, 3D printing, molding/casting, painting, electronics and way too much time getting the tiny movements to feel right. 😅

Really happy with how this little guy turned out!

(Full video on my profile and YouTube channel!)

I’ve been wanting to turn one of the weirdest creatures from One Piece into a real prop for a while, so I finally built my own version from scratch.

It’s fully animatronic, with moving eyes, a moving mouth, sound, and a real telephone cable connecting it to the phone. The goal was to make it feel less like a static prop and more like an actual little creature.

The build involved a lot of sculpting, 3D printing, molding/casting, painting, electronics and way too much time getting the tiny movements to feel right. 😅

Really happy with how this little guy turned out!

(Full video on my profile and YouTube channel!)

I’ve been wanting to turn one of the weirdest creatures from One Piece into a real prop for a while, so I finally built my own version from scratch.

It’s fully animatronic, with moving eyes, a moving mouth, sound, and a real telephone cable connecting it to the phone. The goal was to make it feel less like a static prop and more like an actual little creature.

The build involved a lot of sculpting, 3D printing, molding/casting, painting, electronics and way too much time getting the tiny movements to feel right. 😅

Really happy with how this little guy turned out!

(Full video on my profile and YouTube channel!)

I’ve been wanting to turn one of the weirdest creatures from One Piece into a real prop for a while, so I finally built my own version from scratch.

It’s fully animatronic, with moving eyes, a moving mouth, sound, and a real telephone cable connecting it to the phone. The goal was to make it feel less like a static prop and more like an actual little creature.

The build involved a lot of sculpting, 3D printing, molding/casting, painting, electronics and way too much time getting the tiny movements to feel right. 😅

Really happy with how this little guy turned out!

(Full video on my profile and YouTube channel!)

We wanted to bring one of the most iconic communication devices in One Piece into the real world: the Den Den Mushi.

In this project, we built a fully functional animatronic version from scratch — combining 3D modeling, printing, electronics and coding.

What we built:

- A moving Den Den Mushi with animatronic eyes and mouth

- Integrated sound system to simulate communication effects

- Fully custom 3D modeled shell and body

- Internal structure designed to hide all electronics cleanly

- Hand-painted finish inspired by the One Piece aesthetic

The goal wasn’t just to create a prop, but to explore how a fictional biological “device” would behave if it existed physically — something that feels alive and usable, not just decorative.

🎥 Full build video: https://youtu.be/yD_tWzhc3mc

What other One Piece technology would be interesting to recreate as a real functional object?

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

Full build video if you'd like to see how it came together and/or support my work 😊:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i85A2a-z9ME

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

If anyone is interested in prop making, creature building, 3D printing, or bringing fantasy creatures into the real world, I'd be happy to chat about the process!

(Full build video on my profile and YT if you'd like to see how it came together 😊)

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

If anyone is interested in prop making, creature building, 3D printing, or bringing fantasy creatures into the real world, I'd be happy to chat about the process!

(Full build video on my profile and YT if you'd like to see how it came together 😊)

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

If anyone is interested in prop making, creature building, 3D printing, or bringing fantasy creatures into the real world, I'd be happy to chat about the process!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

If anyone is interested in prop making, creature building, 3D printing, or bringing fantasy creatures into the real world, I'd be happy to chat about the process!

(Full build video on my profile and YT if you'd like to see how it came together 😊)

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

If anyone is interested in prop making, creature building, 3D printing, or bringing fantasy creatures into the real world, I'd be happy to chat about the process!

(Full build video on my profile if you'd like to see how it came together 😊)

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

If anyone is interested in prop making, creature building, 3D printing, or bringing fantasy creatures into the real world, I'd be happy to chat about the process!

(Full build video on my profile and YT if you'd like to see how it came together 😊)

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

If anyone is interested in prop making, creature building, 3D printing, or bringing fantasy creatures into the real world, I'd be happy to chat about the process!

(Full build video on my profile and YT if you'd like to see how it came together 😊)

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a project that started with a cheap wooden chest I bought and ended up becoming a full-size D&D Mimic.

The build combined a bunch of hobbies I love: digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, painting, traditional sculpting, and resin work. I modeled and printed all the missing wooden planks, teeth, and details, sculpted the gums by hand, painted everything from scratch, and added resin effects to give it that suitably disgusting Mimic drool.

It's also a good reminder that you don't always need a perfect starting point. Sometimes a cheap store-bought chest can become the foundation for something completely different.

If anyone is interested in prop making, creature building, 3D printing, or bringing fantasy creatures into the real world, I'd be happy to chat about the process!

(Full build video on my profile and YT if you'd like to see how it came together 😊)