In the era of 3D printing, sometimes its easy to take things like sculpting for granted. As a new timelapse video from DC Collectibles shows, however, despite the power of 3D modeling software, it ain't the Auto-Tune of sculpting.

DCC says it starts a bust, statue or action figure -- in this instance the upcoming "New 52 Lex Luthor (Armored) Deluxe Action Figure" -- by creating low-res polygon proxy models, which are refined and replaced as an item is formed. From there sculptors figure out where points of articulation makes sense as the figure progresses. After that, finer details like muscle definition and facial expressions make the sculpt scene. Working out the articulation aspect seems like it'd be the least fun step in the process, though, and I'm pretty sure that part might be contracted out to actual Cybertronians.

Watching the video, it looks simple and almost effortless...but only in the way pro athletes make their respective feats look easy.

You can see a bit of what goes into digitally sculpting Lex Luthor below.

More From ComicsAlliance