I received the 3D prints of my Druid Signet ring, the Druid Glyph ring and my set of Gearpunk dice. Shapeways does good work… though it looks like I need to do a little still with the D24 to make it read cleanly. (So to the one person so far who has ordered the ten die set, I’m sorry! Please contact me via the contact info up there on the About tab, and once I get this D24 model all happy again, I’ll print out another one and send it to you. It’s not really Shapeways at fault here, I didn’t design the numbers well enough.)
It looks like I was aiming too small for the detail work, but overall, for custom 3D printing, these turned out really well. Only a decade ago, this would have been absurdly expensive to do. Now, for all three prints, it was around $50. It’s not practical for big stuff, but for little cool widgets and wodgets, this is awesome.
Druid Rings Together
The big ring is size 10 and the small ring is size 6. Bigger is better for detail work, apparently.
Druid Rings On Hand
Both of those are on my fat-fingered hand. Note to self: hands on the same person can vary in size somewhat… the ring almost got stuck on my right hand, but fit just perfectly on my left (it fit nearly as well as my wedding band; it’s quite comfortable).
Gearpunk Dice Set
Dice Size Comparison
I fully intend to dye the dice black and drybrush them with metallic paint to get the proper steampunk feel, but that will come later.
In the meantime, there’s also this little gem that I burned 12 hours on over the last few days. A World of Keflings, now in Sculpey! (Based on this promotional poster, direct from NinjaBee, my employers.)
A World of Keflings
Wire, armature wire and tinfoil armature on wood, 2 hours. This is really the crucial part, because it’s the skeleton of your sculpture. It needs to be solid (though you can fudge it a little bit with a thin layer of Sculpey you put on and then cook, then put on your detail layer) so you don’t have trouble with the structural integrity. Like a figure drawing, you really need to nail down the proportions or else all the detail work in the world won’t help down the road. (Notably, I should have made Doug’s arms longer so his face would be more visible, but once I got the clay on, it was too late.)
Kefling Armature
Tools of the sculpting trade, Super Sculpey and a pair of simple plastic tools. Yes, this is really all I used beside my own two hands. You can do a lot with simple tools if you’re careful.
Tools of the Trade
Base and some detailing, 3.5 more hours. Most applications of the Sculpey are 1/4″ or less. Thinner layers bake better and faster, and are lighter so the armature doesn’t get overloaded.
Getting Started
Finished product, 6.5 more hours, plus cooking. 45 minutes at 200F, standard electric stove, cooled for 1 hour before I took it out of the oven.
They Probably Don't Need Their Winter Coats
Hero pose!
Grand total, 13 hours or so. Totally worth it. Maybe someday I’ll paint it with acrylic paints, but for today, I’m happy with it in this “raw” state. There’s a certain appeal to the basic sculpture.
In The Soft Daylight
Fantastic “How to…” create an awesome looking sculpture. Definitely going to have to try my hand at this now. Thanks!
Might be worth noting that the thickest wire is special armature wire; it’s far more pliable than a standard steel wire would be at that thickness. It’s stiff enough to support the sculpture, but flexible enough to be easy to work with by hand or needlenose pliers for tight spots. The tinfoil (packed tightly) is there for the bulk; you only want about 1/4″ of the Sculpey stuff as the shell. A good armature is the key to a good sculpture, like a good sketch is key to a good figure drawing; it’s where you nail down the proportions.
This was a valuable reference:
http://www.danperezstudios.com/workshoppages/sculpting.htm
Congratulations!
These are awesome! Nice!
Really awesome stuff here Tesh!
I’ve been watching Shapeways for a while (trying to get a Ferrel miniature done) and it is good to know you had a great experience with them.
I just might have to check out that dice set!
[...] I’m joining the digital SLR ranks with a Canon Rebel T3. Also on order, a white umbrella, some slave flashes, and a remote control (all the better for those “bulb” extended exposures like star shots and light painting). Then, I’m going shopping for supplies to build some do-it-myself tripods for the flashes and umbrella (I’m thinking of bugging the local hospitals to see if they have old IV stands for sale/free, and maybe repurposing some old office chairs and such), and maybe even setting up a muslin backdrop and tie dyeing it with the leftovers from the Great Dice Experiment. [...]