Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 1: Modeling Software
I just got a 3D printer (I ended up choosing a Prusa MK3 kit because I'm a nerd), mainly to make upgraded components for my tabletop games. As such, it was pretty important to me that I be able to print minis, so I was a little hesitant to go the FDM printer route. In the end, I decided to go that way because I didn't want to mess around with the resin from an SLA printer (I've got young kids in the house), and the Printed Minis subreddit had some pretty good looking FDM prints, so I figured that I'd give it a try.
How do you get started with 3D printed minis? Well, firstly, there's some software that you need to know about. I'd say that there are two general categories of software that you'll use in 3D printing: software for making 3D models, and software for getting ready to print 3D models. Of course, there is some overlap where a piece of software can do both, but 3D printing generally requires software to do those two things. Today, I'm going to talk about the software that I use for making 3D models.
When I'm making (or tweaking) a 3D model, I use these three programs: Fusion 360, Blender, and Sculptris. Those three programs offer very different modelling experiences. In fact, they represent a gradient from "100% precise, parametric design" all the way to "free-flow, what even is a number, anyway?"
Fusion 360 is CAD software, and I love it dearly. When I'm making something that's functional (or even just non-organic), it's my tool of choice, as I can precisely define every aspect of my shapes and let the computer figure out how to actually represent the shapes that I've described. Also, they offer a free license for hobbyists, which is super cool of them.
On the other end of the spectrum, Sculptris gives you a lump of virtual clay and the ability to poke it and prod it into whatever shape you can imagine. I don't think I've ever even seen a number in the interface, much less specified exactly how long something was. This is great for making organic shapes like people, but it's not so good at changing a model once it's already built (like posing it, for example). This software is also free!
Blender is right in the middle of the other two. It has a "sculpt" mode where it gives you a virtual lump of clay, like Sculptris, and it has direct vertex manipulation, which can give you precise changes like Fusion 360. So, why not use it exclusively? It simply doesn't do the exact parametric-style designs of CAD and it doesn't sculpt as well as Sculptris. What it does do is twofold: provide a mid-ground between the two extremes by way of vertex manipulation, and provide posing tools. Blender, as an Open Source tool, is not just free, but free to be improved! What are vertex manipulation and posing? Read on!
Vertex manipulation is when I take individual vertices (the points on a 3D model that join the triangles that make actual model) and move them around. To make things easier, we can also manipulate the lines between vertices (so, basically, manipulate 2 vertices at once) or even the faces between lines (manipulate 3 or more vertices). When fine tuning a model, I like to use this style of editing (the really skilled people use it from the ground up, but I'm not that good). It's also a good way to expose and resolve potential problems in a model.
I really like using Blender for posing. It's really difficult to sculpt a human (or monster) shape in the exact pose that you want, especially if you care about little things like "proportions" or "feasible anatomy". So, I make my basic sculpt in a neutral pose, with arms and legs extended. That makes it way easier to get their lengths correct and just generally create a shape that looks right. Once I have my basic sculpt, it's time to rig the model. Rigging is the process of drawing bones, which in turn can be rotated or moved around in order to move the model. So, after I rig my model, I can then move the bones around to get it into the pose that I actually want it to be in!
Rigging isn't perfect, though. Well, to be more accurate, I'm far from perfect at rigging, so small details tend to get a little funky when I make big changes to the pose on the model. So, for that reason, I strongly recommend doing posing work before detail work. After the model is posed, I either suck it up and add details in blender, or I admit defeat and import my posed model back into Sculptris for a round of detail. I'll bounce around between the tools, but eventually I find myself in Blender, arranging everything and basically finalizing my model.
Once the model is finalized, it's time to get it ready to print... and there's a whole other set of tools that I use to do that which I'll explore next time!
Articles in this series (to be updated with links as the posts are written):
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 1: Modeling Software
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 2: Printing Software
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 3: Downloading Models
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 4: Cutting Basics
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 5: Cutting and Supporting a Mini
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 6: Slicing a Mini
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 7: Finishing and Painting a 3D Print
How do you get started with 3D printed minis? Well, firstly, there's some software that you need to know about. I'd say that there are two general categories of software that you'll use in 3D printing: software for making 3D models, and software for getting ready to print 3D models. Of course, there is some overlap where a piece of software can do both, but 3D printing generally requires software to do those two things. Today, I'm going to talk about the software that I use for making 3D models.
When I'm making (or tweaking) a 3D model, I use these three programs: Fusion 360, Blender, and Sculptris. Those three programs offer very different modelling experiences. In fact, they represent a gradient from "100% precise, parametric design" all the way to "free-flow, what even is a number, anyway?"
Fusion 360 is CAD software, and I love it dearly. When I'm making something that's functional (or even just non-organic), it's my tool of choice, as I can precisely define every aspect of my shapes and let the computer figure out how to actually represent the shapes that I've described. Also, they offer a free license for hobbyists, which is super cool of them.
On the other end of the spectrum, Sculptris gives you a lump of virtual clay and the ability to poke it and prod it into whatever shape you can imagine. I don't think I've ever even seen a number in the interface, much less specified exactly how long something was. This is great for making organic shapes like people, but it's not so good at changing a model once it's already built (like posing it, for example). This software is also free!
Blender is right in the middle of the other two. It has a "sculpt" mode where it gives you a virtual lump of clay, like Sculptris, and it has direct vertex manipulation, which can give you precise changes like Fusion 360. So, why not use it exclusively? It simply doesn't do the exact parametric-style designs of CAD and it doesn't sculpt as well as Sculptris. What it does do is twofold: provide a mid-ground between the two extremes by way of vertex manipulation, and provide posing tools. Blender, as an Open Source tool, is not just free, but free to be improved! What are vertex manipulation and posing? Read on!
Vertex manipulation is when I take individual vertices (the points on a 3D model that join the triangles that make actual model) and move them around. To make things easier, we can also manipulate the lines between vertices (so, basically, manipulate 2 vertices at once) or even the faces between lines (manipulate 3 or more vertices). When fine tuning a model, I like to use this style of editing (the really skilled people use it from the ground up, but I'm not that good). It's also a good way to expose and resolve potential problems in a model.
I really like using Blender for posing. It's really difficult to sculpt a human (or monster) shape in the exact pose that you want, especially if you care about little things like "proportions" or "feasible anatomy". So, I make my basic sculpt in a neutral pose, with arms and legs extended. That makes it way easier to get their lengths correct and just generally create a shape that looks right. Once I have my basic sculpt, it's time to rig the model. Rigging is the process of drawing bones, which in turn can be rotated or moved around in order to move the model. So, after I rig my model, I can then move the bones around to get it into the pose that I actually want it to be in!
Rigging isn't perfect, though. Well, to be more accurate, I'm far from perfect at rigging, so small details tend to get a little funky when I make big changes to the pose on the model. So, for that reason, I strongly recommend doing posing work before detail work. After the model is posed, I either suck it up and add details in blender, or I admit defeat and import my posed model back into Sculptris for a round of detail. I'll bounce around between the tools, but eventually I find myself in Blender, arranging everything and basically finalizing my model.
Once the model is finalized, it's time to get it ready to print... and there's a whole other set of tools that I use to do that which I'll explore next time!
Articles in this series (to be updated with links as the posts are written):
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 1: Modeling Software
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 2: Printing Software
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 3: Downloading Models
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 4: Cutting Basics
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 5: Cutting and Supporting a Mini
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 6: Slicing a Mini
Getting Started with 3D Printed Minis, Part 7: Finishing and Painting a 3D Print
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