Here we introduced a simple workflow for tailoring LC alignment in 3D and then fixing it in a 3D-printed microstructure, so that it finally can be actuated by temperature. The method relied on exploi�ng the surface characteris�cs of PDMS, which influences the orienta�on of the LC molecules throughout the sample. Employing the PDMS microstructures as confining scaffolds, the LC directors arranged according to the influence of their specific geometries and as predicted by Landau de Gennes theory, resul�ng in LC topologies of varied complexity which could not be achieved with the conven�onal surface alignment method. The achieved alignment paterns were then fixed in 3D-printed microstructures. Their actua�on was correctly predicted by an elas�city theory with spa�ally varying metrics.