As we get closer to Christmas, you’ll be able to find more and more themed maker projects like this Beholder Christmas tree topper, which is 3D printed.

Maker and game dev Erik Beyer is to thank for this festive take on the classic Dungeons & Dragons monster.

When we spoke to Beyer he told us that modelling the print took him around six hours in Maya. The bulbous Beholder had to be sliced down the middle to make printing possible, and the eye stalks presented a problem, needing to be thick enough to survive the slicing process.

Printing of both sides took around 12 hours, resulting in an ornament 5 inches high, 5.5 inches wide, and 3.5 inches deep (12.7 x 13.9 x 8.8 centimetres).

Most of the colour here comes from the green filament it was printed in. The white details for the eyes and teeth were done with white-out, and the different colours inside of the eyes are simple Sharpie markings.

To make your own, start with the free files hosted on Thingiverse. You’ll notice that the main eye is hollow, which is an intentional choice to allow the Christmas tree lights to shine through, giving your Beholder a more menacing look.