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Dungeon Vibes, Miniature Painting

When I painted my PuzzleLock Dungeon, I simulated torchlight with drybrushed oranges and yellows. In the same way, I wanted to give a “dungeon vibe” to these minis by painting an undercoat to simulate torchlight. This is a variation on zenithal highlighting.

Starting with a black primer over the entire mini, then came back with a blue-gray ambient light which is drybrushed on top. Since the idea is to give it an ambient occlusion, I payed attention to the angle of my brush, leaving the underside and recessed areas black.

Next I used some oranges to start simulating the torchlight. I chose one side/direction for the mini which would be accented with torchlight, and carefully drybrushed the areas that would be hit by this light. Using the handle of the brush as the direction of the light, I was able to see where the light would hit, and where it would falloff.

I started with a pretty deep orange, and then added a little yellow to it as I went back over the areas that would be closest to the light. When I painted the actual torch, I went another shade lighter by adding more yellow, and finally white.

Here I’ve repeated the same steps on a larger figurine

I painted the colors in thin layers, allowing the underneath colors to influence it. The only place the color is almost the pure hue is on the bright side closest to the torchlight. The colors on the far side end up a bit muted and darker.

I used a wash of Army Painter Soft Tone over the paint job, which darkened the colors even more in the recessed areas.

Overall I am happy with the way it turned out. Even the minis not carrying a torch have one side accented with the torchlight, and they all fit together naturally as the under painted lighting ties them all together.

Give this a try on your next group of adventurers! Let me know what you think in the comments.

These minis and figurines are available in my Etsy shop. If you would like to 3Dprint them yourself, the STL files are available at Cults3D.

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Gnomess Rogue

She is a little cutpurse female gnome that I sculpted for my Etsy shop. I offer her painted or unpainted, as a D&D sized miniature, or display sized–even Garden sized!

Are you a discerning gamer who demands the best? Do you want to take your tabletop experience to the next level? Look no further! My handcrafted gnomes are designed to bring a touch of magic to your game, with intricate details and textures that will amaze your players.

By choosing my gnomes, you’re not just buying a miniature – you’re making a statement. You’re showing that you have an eye for quality, a passion for the game, and a desire to create an unforgettable experience for your fellow players. My gnomes are not mass-produced or generic; each one is carefully crafted with love and attention to detail, ensuring that every aspect is a delight to behold.

Whether you’re a seasoned collector or a gamer looking to upgrade your game, my gnomes are the perfect choice. They’ll add a personal touch to your game, spark conversations, and inspire new adventures. So why settle for ordinary when you can have extraordinary? Choose my gnomes and elevate your game to new heights! #GnomeMiniatures #TabletopGaming #MiniatureCollectors #GamingWithStyle

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Hand-Painting and Size Options added to my Etsy shop!

Now when you buy one of my Gnome miniatures on Etsy, you can choose between 3 size options, and whether you would like it unpainted, or hand-painted!

  • 28mm (D&D)
  • 10cm (4″), Display
  • 20cm (8″), Garden

There are a lot of different designs available, and I’m always adding more. So whether you are looking for a mini for your Dungeons & Dragons character, or you want to make a badass fairy garden, there is a gnome for you!

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Resolution

When it comes to 3Dprinting there is a lot of confusion about resolution. It is important in different contexts, so I hope this post can help to demystify it.

Scanning is a method to capture geometry from real world objects to create a digital model. Here is a scan of my head, using a structured light scanner attached to an iPhone. On the right hand side, you can see a triangulated mesh of polygons. This mesh is the 3D model. Notice the lack of details in the face, especially the eyes. the Mesh is composed of 53,000 polygons.

This Gonk Gnome is a digitally sculpted model for 3Dprinting. The STL file is what is used by the slicer to output the instructions to the printer. This polygon mesh is 338,813 polygons. The resolution is higher than the scan–meaning that the triangles are smaller, and denser.

In ZBrush, the original mesh that is the actual digital sculpture, is over 4 MILLION polygons! If you notice those darker gray areas around the eyes, those are even denser polygons than the rest of the mesh. Sculpting digitally, you can zoom in and add more detail, and resolution (to the limits of the computers memory).

The reason that the STL file is less polygons is that it is decimated from the higher resolution mesh. A 3Dprinter slicer will have a hard time with a mesh over 1 million polygons, so you have to balance the amount of detail you can reproduce with those constraints and the intended size that you will print.

Here is a picture of that model 3Dprinted in resin. the layer thickness for a resin printer is .05mm (about the thickness of a human hair), so you need a magnifying glass to be able to see the layer lines…

3Dprinters are advertised with 2K, 4K, 8K, 12K (even higher has been announced), which is referring to how dense the pixels in the LCD screen are. This can get confusing, because a small screen size that is 2K might have the same density of pixels as a larger screen that is 4K. So, in choosing between the different resolutions offered in 3Dprinters, it is important to choose a size that fits your needs, then worry about how much resolution in in that LCD screen. Ideally, the XY resolution (the LCD screen) and the Z (the layer height) should be the same.

This Gonk adventurer is the same model, but at different scales. the density of the polygons is high enough that even when printed larger the detail is there. If the gonk was printed even smaller than a D&D miniature, you will start to lose the finer details as the size of the triangles of the polygon mesh become smaller than the XYZ resolution of the printer. If you printed larger than a figurine, like a 4′ or taller statue, the size of the triangles of the polygon mesh would become visible.

Because there can be so much variation in size for the 3Dprints, I usually will decimate the mesh to between 300,000 and 600,000 polygons. That provides enough resolution to the polygon mesh, so that the detail is there even if you need some 2′ Guardin’ Gnomes.

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Princess Cottongrass

This is an illustration by John Bauer from a fairytale about Leap the Elk and Little Princess Cottongrass, written by Helge Kjellin and illustrated by John Bauer (1913). I thought it would be a fun project to try to make a sculpture based on this story.

concept sketch

I started with some mesh balloons in ZBrush to block out the basic moose shape. Next I used Dynamesh to merge it together and sculpted the details. I made a ZSphere armature for the princess to give myself a basemesh to sculpt.

After the digital sculpture is finished, I use a resin 3Dprinter to reproduce. Next is a 3 step process of applying a bronze metal coating and acid patina.

This edition is limited to only 20 pieces, and comes with a certificate of authenticity. It is 6″ tall and about 8″ from end to end.

https://zandoria.etsy.com/listing/1685783997

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PuzzleLock Dungeon II

PuzzleLock Dungeon II is a 3Dprintable terrain system for tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder. Bring your miniatures game to life with this immersive, detailed dungeon.

There are 47 unique STL files in this set. Not just tiles–print entire rooms and corridors! The innovative offset wall design gives you the full grid to play on. The walls are 32mm tall (overall 35mm), so they will not obscure the miniatures. The pieces connect with my original PuzzleLock. No clips, no magnets, they connect like a jigsaw puzzle!

The doorways feature working doors! There is a pin edge to the doors, with corresponding holes in the doorways.

Pillars, stairways and rubble are scatter terrain. Place them directly on top of the tiles to create unique rooms.

There are also many tiles to let you build any room that your dungeon may require.

The entire PuzzleLock Dungeon II set of STL files is exclusively available on Cults3D for only $10.

If you have just discovered PuzzleLock, you might also like to check out PuzzleLock Caves and PuzzleLock Sewers & Undercity!

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Art vs Artist 2023

As the year wraps up, I have been thinking about projects that have been on the back burner that I would like to finish. I have been working on freelance projects the past few months, so haven’t had as much time to devote to them…

I also want to start using this blog, instead of social media. I am going to post new work here first, and then share it to social media instead of directly posting it there. I have been following the rise of AI over the past year, and companies like Meta are scraping up every piece of content to train them. It is very disheartening to me.

At long last, I am ready to launch the new version of my Puzzlelock Dungeon 3Dprintable terrain. I have test printed it and am painting it up for photos, and will put it up on Cults3D soon.

Another project that I want to finish is my interpretation of a fairytale about Princess Cottengrass. In it, the young princess goes on an adventure riding on the back of a moose elk named Leap.

This is my concept sketch. Below is a screenshot from ZBrush of a work-in-progress of the moose. This will be a resin sculpture with a bronze finish, for my Etsy shop.

Of course, there will also be more gnomes in 2024

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I made this for you!

When I’m sculpting or painting, I’m just trying to do my best to put the vision into a physical form. Where it comes from is a mystery, some liminal place like a dream…

I have to trust that whatever Muse inspired me to create a piece of art also plays a role for the viewer, because I don’t know who it is for when I’m creating the work…

If my art resonates with you, if it calls to you, then it was made for you.

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What is Patreon?

It is really that simple. Artists like myself are struggling. Things like AI are taking over illustration work, and may soon even start generating digital sculpture. With all of the competition and uncertainty, it is hard to know what the future hold for the artist in our culture.

Patronage of the arts is no longer something reserved for the wealthy or philanthropists. Patreon is like crowdfunding for individual artists–small donations, only $1 a month, from the fans who love their work, can help them keep creating.

If you are a fan of my art, and would like to go behind-the-scenes and follow along as I create new concept art and sculptures, I would really appreciate it if you would join me on Patreon!

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Artificial Images: AI and the Death of Art

One of the things that I find particularly sad is when fellow artists say that they want to use AI for inspiration…

I have written before about the homogeneous look of Artstation, or Marvel movies and CGI—where artists are trying to emulate a look, in order to get an “industry” job. It is understandable, because the artists are using the same tools and bounce between studios and projects. Artists also spend a lot of time studying each others work and taking influence from each other. My own artwork is not immune to this influence–and in the Internet Age, It is difficult not to be influenced–yet this is not the original meaning of the word inspiration….

When artists say they want to use AI (Artificial Images) generated images for inspiration, It seems they are used to this bad habit of regurgitating the same derivative ideas.– AI generated images are doing exactly that; pulling latent images from a database of billions and creating a mashup through a process called Diffusion. The Artificial Images suffer from an even worse homogeneity than the art that they are derived from, which is one of the reasons they seem so soulless and uninspired.

Many artists (especially young artists who are just learning the craft) will copy or imitate the art that they have seen—and maybe some of that original inspiration kindles their work…But as they mature, their work will draw from a liminal source, and their own art and style will emerge. What do I mean by this?

In my own imagination and dreams, there is an ineffable connection to something BEYOND—I don’t know how to explain, but the vision doesn’t really come from me. It is from somewhere else. It is a liminal experience, like a Muse has just granted me a glimpse of something, from a deeper reality, or world—It is given to me from beyond…As an artist, I TRY to bring it to life, with the limitations of my skills, but the inspiration is from somewhere beyond my self.

I believe that an Artist is somewhat akin to a shaman or seer—bringing a boon to the people from the visions granted to him. So inspiration comes from a special connection to the Muse (which is as close to putting it into words as I can). That is the value of Art, and why I think it is important to humanity.

The AI images are a counterfeit, soulless mockery of art. There is no connection to the liminal reality that I’m trying to describe, and so no message or vision to share with the people… We will be left with just this poor substitute in the place of Art.

Where there is no vision, the people perish…Proverbs 29:18