The next Generation sculptors... software and a 3Dprinter?

[DixonCider]

what about getting sculpts from history? taking a statues from history may be cool

[axiom]

I'm guessing in many cases the switch may be generational - older traditional putty sculptors may not have inclination to retrain (especially small scale or freelancers where downtime = loss of income). Younger guys may take to it more easily.

Personally I hope we keep traditional sculpting. 3D modelling can't match the form, style & execution of putty on many figures (yet!)

[GalakStarscraper]

To go along with the topic. Here is a picture of a figure that we have being moulded right now for Impact! that was done using 3D artists. As I said half of the range for our newest KickStarter was 3D done and the other half was physically sculpted by Andrew May and Jason Wiebe.



Tom @ Impact!

[Darkson]

Is it possible to combine 3d and traditional sculpting? Say do the pose, musculature and clothing via 3d, then add fine detail "old skool"?

[GalakStarscraper]

Is it possible to combine 3d and traditional sculpting? Say do the pose, musculature and clothing via 3d, then add fine detail "old skool"?

Yes it would be as long as the detail was adding putty onto the figure rather than trying to remove material from from the 3D work.

[Steam Ball]

Some materials can be carved and sanded. The 3D can always be casted and then it's like in the past, where masters are reused to make new versions (2nd ed teams anyone?).

About not the same thing... you would be surprised with current products, some brands are revealing now they do 3D, others have been saying it up front. It's more about the artist and a proper printer in the end, just like picking the right putty. Examples? What about a 54mm thug? Or 28mm heads?

BTW, speaking of more multiparts... scroll down a bit until you see the pantograph, zinc, 3d CAD list.

[VoodooMike]

Will this be the new way of the miniatures "sculpting"... ehm... a kind of 3D-Software-using Sculptor?

Eventually you can pretty much bet on it. On a long enough timeline, you'll be printing your own minis relatively inexpensively.

The price of both to create a 30mm miniature is the same for us so no cost savings at all using the 3-D sculptor for us.

...for now. The technology is still relatively new and expensive for both machines and materials. It's pretty safe to say that 3D printing is going to be a huge thing in the future, and any technology that has interest and buyers gets cheaper over time. My first digital camera was $1000... you can get them for about $20 now, in your choice of My Little Pony designs.

[GalakStarscraper]

The price of both to create a 30mm miniature is the same for us so no cost savings at all using the 3-D sculptor for us.

...for now. The technology is still relatively new and expensive for both machines and materials. It's pretty safe to say that 3D printing is going to be a huge thing in the future, and any technology that has interest and buyers gets cheaper over time. My first digital camera was $1000... you can get them for about $20 now, in your choice of My Little Pony designs.

You misunderstood. The fees charged by the 3-D artists for a 30mm model to be created + the cost of printing the miniatures currently is also exactly the same for us as hiring a sculptor to sculpt it physically for us.

Tom

[spubbbba]

The price of both to create a 30mm miniature is the same for us so no cost savings at all using the 3-D sculptor for us.

...for now. The technology is still relatively new and expensive for both machines and materials. It's pretty safe to say that 3D printing is going to be a huge thing in the future, and any technology that has interest and buyers gets cheaper over time. My first digital camera was $1000... you can get them for about $20 now, in your choice of My Little Pony designs.

You misunderstood. The fees charged by the 3-D artists for a 30mm model to be created + the cost of printing the miniatures currently is also exactly the same for us as hiring a sculptor to sculpt it physically for us.

Tom

True, but once home printing becomes viable then your manufacturing costs drop to zero if the customer pays you for the design and then prints the model themselves.

Of course the piracy issue will be huge, GW being the biggest player has the most to worry about this but it will work its way down to smaller companies too.

I’d love to see an option for personalising your model’s look just like you can characters in a video game. You could even scan your own face onto the star blitzer/army general.

Also Mike’s a Brony!?

[GalakStarscraper]

Of course the piracy issue will be huge

Even as a small company ... I'd have to really think twice before I allowed the design to be a Purchase to Download item.

Impact! is trying to stay as up to date as possible with the tech as it happens ... so we don't become buggy whip sellers.

Tom

[apricotsoup]

The problem with the piracy isn't necessarily people getting hold of the files used by big companies but talented individuals creating copies and giving them out for free.

I'm a 3d modeller/sculpter and work with many people that are more than capable of creating sculpts that are easily of a comparable level to the current mini lines and are just held back by the costs and hassle of actually getting the models printed.

Hell, when it comes round to it and I get my own workspace sorted I'm likely to sculpt myself a few teams.

[VoodooMike]

You misunderstood. The fees charged by the 3-D artists for a 30mm model to be created + the cost of printing the miniatures currently is also exactly the same for us as hiring a sculptor to sculpt it physically for us.

The cost will go down... way down... over time. The tools for creating printable 3D will also get better and cheaper, increasing the available talent pool and making the market more competitive. Maybe physical sculptors will lower their prices to stay in competition with that, but I suspect there's only so low they can go without it no longer being a viable operation for them. Either way, I understand what you were saying, and still say "for now..."

Even as a small company ... I'd have to really think twice before I allowed the design to be a Purchase to Download item.

This isn't going to matter in the long run - alongside 3D printing is 3D scanning, which will turn the physical miniatures into templates for printing. The only defense against that will be to ensure that the products are printed/cast with a higher resolution than the cheaply available scanners can scan at, which would mean constantly staying ahead of the technology curve - it'll be pushed down in cost and up in capability over time too.

It's probably an awesome time to start thinking about how you'll handle these new technologies in the long run. It's always best to plan around the idea that, regardless of how expensive things are today, they'll be in the back pocket of every 11-year-old eventually. Waiting until that happens lands you in the same boat as the music and movie industries...

Also Mike’s a Brony!?

Close enough: Mike is the father of a 4-year-old girl.

[Chris]

My daughter wants a 3d printer, being a 12 year old girl her head is full of things she could make...

It will progressively be the end for the miniatures business in the current format. What excites me most as someone who likes to play games as opposed to fiddle with models and brushes is the colour 3d printing that can be done. GW already have problems as with some of their products it is already cheaper to 3d print certain models.

Saying all that I have no idea what the future for miniature games is, back to cottage industry status or with one or two big companies using economies of scale that will still exist with 3d printing, though they will be far smaller than today.