Page 3 of 14

Posted on

Design for Manufacturing

I was talking to a friend of mine today about a 3Dprinting project. He was unaware that I had a 15 year background in design for manufacturing, and I realized that maybe it would be a good idea to talk about CAD (Computer Aided Design), and how I integrate it with some of the work I create for 3Dprinting.

When creating an object that is to be manufactured, or that has to mate up with other components, It is critical to use CAD to make sure that all of your dimensions and tolerances are going to work. Much of my freelance work combines CAD with digital sculpting, allowing me the best of both worlds–especially when dealing with 3Dprinting.

Part of a Tap Handle designed in Rhino
Incendiary Tap Handle for Big Bridge Manufacturing

For this tap handle for Big Bridge Design, which is manufactured with resin 3Dprinting, the handle needs to mate up with a brass insert nut, so that the handle can be screwed onto the beer tap. Using Rhino I am able to utilize the clients 2D Illustrator file (.ai) to create a 3D model with the basic graphic design elements at the precise size, and also create the threads to receive the metal insert. The skulls are sculpted in ZBrush.

Turning the World of Calindria into a 3D model

This globe project was to create a 3Dprintable world for Noble Dwarf, the publisher of a tabletop role-playing setting Legends of Calindria. It is not too difficult to generate terrain based on the clients map, but it also needed to be printed in sections and have keys for assembly.

I created a globe in CAD and split it into sections. then used ARRAY commands to position all of the interlocking keys. The surfaces of the sections were subdivided and projected against the terrain in ZBrush to get the final shape.

Jewelry is also something that is a good opportunity to mix sculpted elements with CAD. This set of cuff links and pendant for 44th Legacy combined a relief sculpture from ZBrush with elements modeled in Rhino. The final pieces were created in bronze with the lost-wax process.

cuff links and pendant for 44th Legacy

Another jewelry example combines a conch shell with other elements for a custom bracelet for BEACH BY JEWEL

CURE Collection for Beach by Jewel
Posted on

Girl Gnomes

These are some gnomess miniatures that I made, which you would not be embarrassed to give your daughter for her D&D character. There is no shortage of female character minis out there, but many of them have a “pinup” aesthetic… I’m not against that, but I wanted to make my figures attractive rather than sexy.

The Gnomess Cleric was my first girl gnome,created to go with my other Guardin’ Gnomes.

This Gnomess Warrior has scalemail armor, helm and shield. She also has a Scarlet Johannson smile!

The Gnomess Ranger has studded leather armor, short sword and bow. She is super cute–but I may think so because she looks like my granddaughter!

All of these girl gnomes are available on my Etsy shop. Scales are 28mm D&D, 32mm Heroic, 54mm, 75mm, and 100mm.

Posted on

Christmas Gnomes

I made these Christmas gnomes last year. This is an example 3Dprinted by Mad Max Miniatures,and Painted by Vincent T. (@scales20.100 on Instagram). I have these Figurines and Ornaments now available on my Etsy shop! You don’t have to learn about 3Dprinting or have access to one, because I take care of that for you!

If you do have a 3Dprinter, you can get the STL files on Cults3D and make gifts for all your friends and family.

These gnomes are available as 4″ figurines or 3″ ornaments. They are solid resin and unpainted. You can paint them with inexpensive acrylic craft paints. This might be a fun holiday project or activity for the family!

Posted on

Burn it with Fire!

It all started innocently enough. I was scrolling through Facebook as I usually do in the mornings, checking my posts for comments, engaging, etc… There was a post in The Troll Market, a group that I often post to, about whether the group should allow AI ‘art’. My clever response was “Burn it with Fire! 🔥

OK, so Facebook doesn’t understand that trolls are vulnerable to fire? Is this an algorithm flagging the phrase or the emoji? Did some user not understand and report it?

Here is the problem. I use my Facebook account to promote my art–being locked out means that I can’t respond to questions or comments! So I can’t direct someone to my Etsy shop where they can buy a miniature or figurine! And Facebook is threatening to restrict or disable my account!

Having spent advertising money and countless hours building a following, I can be shut out–not for any real reason–clearly, it is a mistake– and all of the boosted posts and effort is made worthless!

There is now a danger to posting or commenting at all, because any random comment in a thread anywhere can potentially lock me out of my business. This 24 hours has been a cold splash of water in my face! I realized I have zero control over what Facebooks algorithms can do to me, and how they can hurt me.

The potential customers that I interact with on Social media are using Messenger or Direct Messaging to connect with me. Not email, not telephone–they use the tools built in to the social media platform. So I don’t have a way to contact them if they are not on my email list.

I realized that I need to be posting my work here, not Facebook. I can still share a link, and invite those social media followers to discover this blog….

Posted on

Dungeon Blocks!

They stack just like children’s blocks, and are hours of fun! You can even play D&D!

The idea for this is pretty simple. Building blocks for tabletop terrain, with stone textures on all sides. Since most Dungeon Masters don’t build elaborate terrain for their games, I wanted to create something better than just marking out the terrain with a dry erase marker, but not as complicated or expensive as buying Dwarven Forge tiles. The DMs that I know either use only theater-of-the-mind or will use minis only for a tactical combat.

dungeon blocks

Another question that I’ve heard from people interested in using terrain is,”how do you store it?” Huge sets of interlocking tiles can be bulky and difficult to transport–I wanted to make a Dungeon in a box. You can fit all of your Dungeon Blocks in a small box (or treasure chest) that is easy to bring to the game!

There are only 10 basic pieces. All 3Dprintable, so that you can make as many as you want. They are all based on a 1″ grid, so they are perfect for Dungeons & Dragons or any other tabletop RPG.

The “Stair Jack” is a small platform for miniatures, which fits the tread pattern of the steps. It will let you place a mini anywhere on the stairs.

The Stair Jack is a platform for miniatures to place anywhere on the stairs!

The STL files are available for purchase at DriveThruRPG or Cults3D

Posted on

The Scroll of TAR: Menace of the ChikTak Horde–Now available on ComiXology or Kindle!

The second issue of my graphic novel series is available for Kindle or ComiXology. This is drawn entirely on my iPad, with fully painted interior. I chose to publish this series digitally because I want you to see it the way I created it,without losing any fidelity to the colors..

I shared the secret of this comics technique in an earlier blog post, A Different Approach to Digital Painting.

If you have Kindle Unlimited or ComiXology Unlimited,you can read the whole series for FREE

Posted on

Flamingo Warrior

This was the concept sketch for a figurine for my Patreon. I wanted to create a “Death Dealer” gnome as an homage to Frazetta…

Using my sketch as a reference in ZBrush, I posed my gnome and started sculpting his equipment.

Here he is 8″ tall and hand painted. I also made a bronze version using the Sculpt Nouveau metal coating and patina.

This is my favorite Guardin’Gnome to date! If you would like one, I have them listed on my Etsy shop. Or if you have a 3Dprinter,the .STL file is part of my Patreon.

Posted on

3Dprinting for Artists

When I started using 3Dprinting, I saw it as a potential market for selling files that users could print themselves. Over the last couple of years, I have watched the field explode with artists thinking the same thing–all jumping in with their latest Kickstarter or Patreon, seeing this technology as a “gold rush”. There are now thousands of Patreons offering 3dprintable miniatures now!

There are so many STL files being released each month, that you could never print them all (much less paint them…). Many patrons just collect the files, with a fear of missing out driving them. Artist’s are joining this churn trying to offer more and more files/month at lower and lower prices. Most of the files make it onto Telegram or other pirate sites, which drives the value of the STL files even lower. It is a frustrating rush to the bottom…

But what about using the 3Dprinter as the means of production? Not selling a merchant license for other people to sell their prints of your work, but producing your own miniatures and figurines?

There are a number of advantages to this. When you are doing the printing, you remain in control of the quality of your work. Your intellectual property can not be shared or pirated, if you are only selling physical items. 3Dprinting allows for details as fine as a human hair, and geometries that would be impossible for recasters to duplicate.

Another advantage is that there are a LOT more customers who might like your art, than there are hobbyists using 3dprinters themselves.

example of real bronze patina on 3dprinted resin

Using a 3Dprinter to reproduce your work is more efficient than mold-making and casting, and will allow you to offer multiple sizes of the same sculpture.

multiple scales of the same Gnome Druid

The learning curve is not that difficult, if you are already sculpting digitally, consider adding a 3dprinter to your studio!

Posted on

Miniatures now available directly on Etsy!

If you have been wishing you could use one of my Gnome miniatures for your next character or campaign, but do not have a 3Dprinter, now you can buy physical miniatures directly from me! I have added a Miniature section to my Etsy shop. These miniatures are printed by me in a durable ABS like resin. They are 28mm scale (1:56) for tabletop games like D&D or Pathfinder.

These are just the first available– I will be adding more as I have a chance to print and paint. Make your next character a Gnome!

Posted on

The Scroll of TAR: The Dancing Girls and the Demon–Now on Kindle and ComiXology!

cover art

My first graphic novel in the series “The Scroll of TAR” is ready to read on Kindle and ComiXology. I am very excited to share it with you! You can read it for FREE on Kindle or ComiXology Unlimited, so If you have one of those subscriptions, I hope that you will check it out–leave me a review and some stars!!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09T53MXDT

I have another book in the series almost ready! “Menace of the Chiktak Horde”, but I need to draw the cover and do some other formatting, so it will be up in a few weeks hopefully.