It starts as a sculpt, not a scan
A common assumption is that a caricature figurine comes from a 3D scan of the person. It does not, and the difference matters. A scan reproduces someone exactly, which sounds ideal until you see the result at ten centimetres: an accurate scan of a face shrunk to the size of a thumbnail is unrecognisable, because the features that make a person recognisable are proportionally tiny. A caricature is sculpted by hand in digital clay, working from your photographs, and the sculptor deliberately pushes the features that carry identity — the shape of the jaw, the set of the eyes, the way the hair falls — so the figure reads instantly as that person even at a glance across a room.
Choosing what to exaggerate
This is where the craft lives. A caricature that exaggerates everything becomes a cartoon of nobody in particular; one that exaggerates nothing is just a small doll. The sculptor studies the reference photos looking for the two or three things people would name if asked to describe the person — a distinctive nose, a particular smile, the beard, the glasses — and builds the figure around those, keeping everything else honest. It is also where the clothing is decided: the jacket from one photo, the shoes from another, the watch that is always on that wrist. Those specifics are what make someone laugh when they unwrap it.
Full-colour printing, layer by layer
Once the sculpt is approved, it is printed on a multicolour 3D printer. Rather than printing a plain figure and painting it, the printer lays down each colour as it builds — skin tone, hair, the blue of the jeans, the white of the shirt — so the colour is part of the object rather than a coat on its surface. That is why it does not chip or wear off the raised edges. A single figure prints in a few hours; a couple or a rider on a motorcycle takes longer because there is more material and more colour changes. The base, with its name or message, is printed separately and joined.
Finishing, and why it takes a week or more
Off the printer, the figure still needs work. Supports are removed, joins are cleaned, any rough patches are smoothed, and the whole piece is inspected against the photographs one more time. The sculpting is what takes the time — a day or two of skilled work per figure — which is why a custom caricature is quoted at a week to ten days rather than the two or three days of a ready design. It is also why the price sits where it does: you are paying for a sculptor's time and judgement, and the printer is the cheap part.
