Nativity animals: 3 Sheep and a Camel

The 3 Sheep and Camel set is fun on its own, but it also completes the animal additions for the nativity scene, bringing charm and authenticity to your holiday display. This set includes three sheep and one camel, designed to complement other figurines from Nativity related models. Each animal has been carefully crafted to match the scale and style of the existing collection in my profile, but is a great addition to other sets, offering a delightful touch to your nativity setup.

Dimensions:

• Baby Sheep: 3.3 cm (1.30 inches) long, 1.8 cm (0.71 inches) wide, 3 cm (1.18 inches) high

• Middle-Size Sheep: 5.6 cm (2.20 inches) long, 2 cm (0.79 inches) wide, 3.9 cm (1.54 inches) high

• Sheep with Horns: 5.5 cm (2.17 inches) long, 2 cm (0.79 inches) wide, 4.4 cm (1.73 inches) high

• Camel: 9.1 cm (3.58 inches) tall, 10 cm (3.94 inches) long, 3.4 cm (1.34 inches) wide

About the Design:

After much debate within my family, this set includes three differently sized sheep to suit various preferences. While I initially aimed for larger, more realistic sheep, I was overruled at home, and the result is a more compact size. However, the beauty of 3D printing is customization—if you prefer larger sheep, simply adjust the scale in your slicer. 

Printing Details:

Printing these animals comes with its own challenges, especially for preserving details:

Sheep Printing Tips:

• The sheep have flat backs (as sheep do) therefore are positioned at an angle during printing to preserve the details on their backs and prevent an unattractive appearance.

• This requires supports on the feet and backsides. Post-processing with a side cutter or sandpaper is necessary to clean areas like the tail, horns, and hooves. Be cautious when removing the supports, especially around the legs.  

• For the Baby Sheep, the support between the base and ears should be cut halfway to maintain stability, then gently wiggled to free the ears individually.

• For the Sheep with Horns, cut the support halfway between the horns and base, then carefully wiggle the horns free to avoid damage.

Camel Printing Tips:

• The camel requires significant support due to its size and shape. Be extremely careful when removing it from the print plate to avoid breaking its legs or tail. Allow the plate to cool fully before removal.

• Post-process rough areas from supports on the camel’s legs, tail, and underside with sandpaper or a side cutter for a clean finish.

Personal Note:

The addition of the sheep and camel came from requests by my family and the community. I hope you and your family enjoy these figures and that they bring an extra touch of charm to your holiday decorations or are simply fun on their own.

With all my projects I am learning new technics, with the figurines I was trying out sculpting and I learned doing imports and exports to several new 3D programs does not help speeding the process up. Time to move on from sculpting tools. 

If you like this set, feel free to explore my other holiday-themed designs and share photos of your completed nativity scene. Seeing your creations would bring me great joy!