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Making Toys from 3d Art

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Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
I've been posting a few images sporadically in the running "What are you working on" thread but there's no reason to flood that one with older images, and it might be helpful for anyone who has questions if there was a single thread.

I've been making toys for a number of years now. Some of them are based on the designs of fine artists, or video game assets, or graffiti artists, or graphic designers, etc.

Almost exclusively the toys have been produced from digital models. I use 3ds Max for building a base mesh, and Zbrush for adding detail, then going back to Max for retopologizing if need be.

Here's an example of a series of toys made from game assets. I was given a set of open non-watertight highly detailed Zbrush files for all three characters from God of War. These excellent sculpts were made by a group of artists for the video game, if anyone knows who made what, let me know.

6143451433_7daf00bbce_b.jpg

I had to rebuild all the meshes, using Topogun, and reproject the original detail on the the new watertight models. Then I resculpted, refined and added detail in Zbrush that didn't project well.

Then a seemingly never ending series of turnarounds got sent to the client for review, in order to tweak the poses just right. The models then get sliced up using boxes and booleans, in Max. At this point, the magic happens, and the models are printed using rapidprototyping.

Usually the output is cleaned, sanded, and prepped then recast in a very hard wax. The wax master is then engineered further with joints being added, or complex structures broken down into smaller, simpler parts.

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  • Ravenok
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    Ravenok polycounter lvl 7
    This has always fascinated me.

    Could you write up a short tutorial on how to get a digital sculpture ready for printing, and what's a good way to print it out (types of printers, materials, etc)?
    That'd be really useful and interesting.

    3D Printing is so expensive, I wouldn't want to throw that money away because I don't really know what to be careful of.

    PS - the sculpts look awesome :) I never saw such quality in 3D printing before.
  • skylebones
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    skylebones polycounter lvl 10
    Thanks for posting this! I've always found this subject interesting and have been looking into it more recently. The biggest drawback I have with game art is that unless it's a truly amazing game it's usually forgotten in a couple years and doomed to a life in the bargain bin. I love the idea of taking digital art and transforming it into something tangible and real.

    Please post more! Those toys are great.
  • Wells
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    Wells polycounter lvl 18
    These turned out great! Thanks for sharing.

    I own a rapid-prototyping company, and it's really cool to get to be part of the process. You never get over seeing digital art made tangible :)

    Post more pics of the process, if you've got em!
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Blaken wrote: »
    This has always fascinated me.

    Could you write up a short tutorial on how to get a digital sculpture ready for printing, and what's a good way to print it out (types of printers, materials, etc)?
    That'd be really useful and interesting.

    3D Printing is so expensive, I wouldn't want to throw that money away because I don't really know what to be careful of.

    PS - the sculpts look awesome :) I never saw such quality in 3D printing before.

    There are two key issues to focus on when prepping a digital file for output, and a ton of little issues.

    First and foremost, the model has to be watertight and "STL legal". A plane is not watertight, nor is a sphere that is missing even a single polygon. Everything in the model must have thickness. STL preparedness can easily be checked in 3ds Max, there is a modify in the drop down menu that will do the work for you. For a highpoly model it can take a very long time to process, but it will highlight holes, double polygons, etc.

    Second, look out for thin parts that can support weight and tiny detail that will snap off the model. Everything must intersect for the output to be generated as a single piece. Thin legs or thin necks are bad. Hanging thin details like chains and ropes are bad. Bulk up the chains and have them intersect the main model. Again, easy to fix in Max, using the "Push" modifier.

    Oh, and that image is NOT a photo.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Sectaurs wrote: »
    These turned out great! Thanks for sharing.

    I own a rapid-prototyping company, and it's really cool to get to be part of the process. You never get over seeing digital art made tangible :)

    Post more pics of the process, if you've got em!

    Here are three images from the process:

    First, the beautifully done high poly model from the developer. It's a terrific model and will work fine for projecting high poly detail onto low poly game art, or middle poly cinematic art. However, it can't be printed, since it is mainly open shells.

    Second, retopologized with a watertight low poly mesh.

    Third, projected high poly detail onto low poly mesh.

    Fourth, fully detailed new high poly mesh from low poly mesh.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Fifth, posed.

    Sixth, cut up for printing.

    Seventh, digital paint master for factory to reference and for marketing.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    4ccb62a806c143c0b29e4791218664a5.jpg

    Urban vinyl collectible figure by Jamungo, designed by Clay Ferguson, who is a good friend and here in Austin. He gave me a very tight set of turnarounds that he had put together in Illustrator. Modeled in 3ds Max, mostly polys, a little bit of NURBs.

    Produced and manufactured by 3Zero.

    One of the final retail versions. Every few months, Jamungo releases a new design, with a full outfit, and sometimes new weapons:

    c202442c8dceb8861661f3a7eb1bbc8f.jpeg
  • skylebones
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    skylebones polycounter lvl 10
    Awesome man! Thanks for posting those process images.
    Everything must intersect for the output to be generated as a single piece. Thin legs or thin necks are bad. Hanging thin details like chains and ropes are bad. Bulk up the chains and have them intersect the main model. Again, easy to fix in Max, using the "Push" modifier.

    Very interesting, I was curious how you did the chains for the guy on the right.

    After it's cut for printing (Stage six), the pieces are made, are those individual pieces then connected back together before the wax mold stage?

    Also, if the final toy is articulated, do you do that is is that stuff added further down the pipeline?
  • MartinH
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    MartinH polycounter lvl 8
    a very refreshing read, im getting more and more interested in attempting to do a 3D print on a model myself.

    I was wondering, once you've recieved your print, do you need to do any sort of treatment on it like sandpapering out artifacts and/or any sort of touch up work at all?

    If you would want to do some painting on your print, what would be a good paint/ink to use, or is it mostly airbrushing?

    Does zbrush have a feature that checks your model for 3D print capability?(I dont use 3DS Max)

    thanks again for an interesting read

    -Martin
  • Wells
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    Wells polycounter lvl 18
    MartinH wrote: »

    Does zbrush have a feature that checks your model for 3D print capability?(I dont use 3DS Max)

    thanks again for an interesting read

    -Martin

    http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=71266

    3D Print Exporter for Zbrush

    I haven't used this in a little while, but I believe it will tell you if you fail an STL check
  • keres
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    keres polycounter lvl 12
    3D printing is fantastic technology. It can even do hollow and concave geometry!
  • MartinH
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    MartinH polycounter lvl 8
    right on sectaurus, ill give that thing a shot and watch the fireworks as it finds a million breaking points lol
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Sectaurs wrote: »
    http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=71266

    3D Print Exporter for Zbrush

    I haven't used this in a little while, but I believe it will tell you if you fail an STL check

    Zbrush also has a "fill holes" function that will patch openings with a crude polygon. It breaks the subdivision levels but has some uses. I usually do all the patching and rebuilding by hand.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    skylebones wrote: »
    Awesome man! Thanks for posting those process images.



    Very interesting, I was curious how you did the chains for the guy on the right.

    After it's cut for printing (Stage six), the pieces are made, are those individual pieces then connected back together before the wax mold stage?

    Also, if the final toy is articulated, do you do that is is that stuff added further down the pipeline?

    I didn't make the chains on that character, but I have made chains for other sculpts. Max is very very cool about chains. You can lay out a long chain and use a deform to path modifier that will move and deform the chain along a spline path. The spline path and the model both remain live so the path can be tweaked. It's good for ropes too.

    The pieces are not rejoined before mold making, they are cut up in order to establish the early stage of articulation. The wax masters that are made from the output are modified by hand to incorporate final articulation techniques. So yes, articulation can be added further down the pipeline. It can also be done digitally, and some clients and projects require it.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    MartinH wrote: »
    a very refreshing read, im getting more and more interested in attempting to do a 3D print on a model myself.

    I was wondering, once you've recieved your print, do you need to do any sort of treatment on it like sandpapering out artifacts and/or any sort of touch up work at all?

    If you would want to do some painting on your print, what would be a good paint/ink to use, or is it mostly airbrushing?

    Does zbrush have a feature that checks your model for 3D print capability?(I dont use 3DS Max)

    thanks again for an interesting read

    -Martin

    Yes, the output requires quite a bit of refining. Even after the raw output is sanded and primed, a wax recast will sometimes be made in order to refine the model further.

    It is possible to paint a well sanded and PRIMED output, but not recommended. It's better to make a silicone mold and recast your model in resin. This will give you a more physically stable model to paint, and you can make more than one to experiment with.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Another sculpt that I did for Reckless Toys. This time it's Mike Giant's Toypunk mascot.

    6160754039_442e2cd530_z.jpg
  • EarthQuake
    Cool, love seeing this stuff man. You did some work on Ashley Wood's Popbots too didn't you? Would love to see any associated screenshots or anything you have with that stuff.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    EarthQuake wrote: »
    Cool, love seeing this stuff man. You did some work on Ashley Wood's Popbots too didn't you? Would love to see any associated screenshots or anything you have with that stuff.

    I modeled and engineered the original giant sized Bertie and all his weapons, back before the creation of 3A. I have a lot of material from that project, so let me see what I can dig up.

    In the meantime here is a series of notes about the renders. Playdo hit me up in PM, I hope he doesn't mind, but he asked excellent questions that maybe, just maybe, other people would like to know.

    The images of toys that I post are mostly renders. I do all of the development and design digitally, using Max and Zbrush, and it's very hard to take a great photo without a full blown studio set up with lights, backdrops and a good camera.

    Although some of the models are produced as real, collectible artwork, I still prefer to show the renders. Some of the models have never been produced, so renders are all we have.

    For the renders, I use Vray, which is available for a few different packages, although any good program will work, there is nothing all that special about the way I set up the scenes. They have mainly simple textures and simple lighting setup.

    Sometimes I'll use a matte/shadow material on the background plane - usually when I need a plain white background, this results in no physical background in the render, just the color or image based virtual background. I never drop in a full blown background in PS, because there is too strong of a relationship between the lighting and reflection in the scene and the background. I do a lot of sweetening to the background in PS however, curves, hue/saturation, lens blur, diffraction effects, usually a hot spot, occasionally some dust or lightray effects.

    No photometrics, just Vray lightplanes. No HDR for lighting or reflections, I used to, but fell out of the habit, and switched to lightplanes with gradient maps.

    The plastic is a very very small noise in the bump, at a very low value somewhere from 2-5, usually 2 or 3. There are a couple of renders where I didn't drop the noise in bump, but rather in spec, but that's uncommon.
  • EarthQuake
    If you're interesting in building a low tech product photography setup let me know, I do product photography for an eBay store that I run in my spare time, and for under $1000 you can get a camera, lenses, flash and some basic lighting and backdrop material. Especially if you're only do web-res stuff, you can pick up a $2-400 camera body in that case, $1-200 macro lens and some basic lighting and backdrop kit and you're set. Or follow one of those build your own light box tutorials.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Thanks EQ. I have a camera, an old Nikon D50, and a pop tent thing for shooting. I really enjoy shooting pics of toys.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Hboybowen wrote: »
    how much did you pay for your printer? What kinds of printers do you recommend using?

    You know, we don't have a printer, we use a couple of great output services. We also have a few factories overseas that handle output, cleanup and reproduction for us, so we don't need to have an in-house device.

    It would be great to have a rapid-prototyping machine in-house, to play with and print little toy tests on, but they are terribly expensive and require continuous upkeep. They also go out of date, and can later be replaced by newer better machines.
  • Un_Delincuente
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    Un_Delincuente polycounter lvl 6
    wow this is amazing! Im not sure if you already said this or I missed it, but do you have to model to the actual size of the final toy or is it just a scaled size obj that the 3D printer reads?
  • JoseConseco
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    JoseConseco greentooth
    Coll man. I was enjoy wathing your stuff.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    wow this is amazing! Im not sure if you already said this or I missed it, but do you have to model to the actual size of the final toy or is it just a scaled size obj that the 3D printer reads?

    You didn't miss it, and that question brings up a great point that we always try to explain to customers. Digital sculpting can be printed at multiple sizes. You don't always need to have your scale set in your modeling software to the exact measurement for the final.

    When modeling a 10 inch resin statue or a 8 inch vinyl figure, I'll rough out the model around that size. But at any point, the client might change the size of the final manufactured toy to 12 inches, or 6 inches. No problem.

    However, when modeling something that is very engineering intensive, like a 12 inch articulated GI Joe style figure with a ton of joints, the precise measurements will be established up front, and we stick to them.

    Example of a vinyl figure that could be printed at different sizes, MadBattleMan - designed by Mike Sutfin:

    6128233036_f0647020f3_b.jpg
  • FAT_CAP
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    FAT_CAP polycounter lvl 18
    These look amazing Scott, and I love all of the rest of the figures on your site!

    Big thanks for helping explain the practices and sort of pipelines that need to be dealt with. I'd love to produce some physical prints someday soon, as it always seems a shame to me that all of the work I do, never really leaves a monitor screen. The quirkiness of the designs in the "vinyl toy" scene is really appealing to me as well, compared to a lot of games/ films/ advertising.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    FAT_CAP wrote: »
    These look amazing Scott, and I love all of the rest of the figures on your site!

    Big thanks for helping explain the practices and sort of pipelines that need to be dealt with. I'd love to produce some physical prints someday soon, as it always seems a shame to me that all of the work I do, never really leaves a monitor screen. The quirkiness of the designs in the "vinyl toy" scene is really appealing to me as well, compared to a lot of games/ films/ advertising.

    Sam, I remember when you were looking into doing up some Ghoul School action. I know that I probably recommended that you have a nice broad audience first before investing the time and money. That's what we recommend for everyone. Know your audience, know your market. Otherwise you'll be very cramped at home with 100's of boxes lining your dining room. Anyway, you are a solid designer, someday you'll get something grab-able out there.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    This character's name is Flange. He's one of quite a few random character designs that I have floating around. The simple setting is just a way of showing him off.

    Flange-A.jpg
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Another recent sculpt...

    Churm-A.jpg

    Churm is a slippery little guy, just looking for love.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Thoza comes to stomp us all!

    6725980213_102d71b308_b.jpg
  • Zelenkov
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    Zelenkov polycounter lvl 9
    Wetterschneider thank you for all the time you've taken to post your work and explain your process. It has been a very exciting read! :)

    I've actually been researching the topic as of late and couldn't find too much relevant information, and this thread is a God-send!

    I do have a question. Earlier you answered to Sam with a suggestion to know your audience. But how exactly do you go about finding information about the audience and the specific part that you do? How did you guys break into it?
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Zelenkov wrote: »
    I do have a question. Earlier you answered to Sam with a suggestion to know your audience. But how exactly do you go about finding information about the audience and the specific part that you do? How did you guys break into it?

    On one hand, there's an entire industry of marketing specialists who specialize in the specialty of finding out everything there is to know about a company's target market. On the the other hand, there are small independent creators who need to know how many people are interested in buying this or that piece of art.

    There's no easy answer here. Pay attention to how many copies/units of something similar to your product have been moving in the marketplace. Pay attention to how many fans your Facebook page has, or how many comments your posts get. These are all examples of measurable metrics, but the difficult challenge is how to translate the numbers into strategy. What I mean is, you have 2000 fans, so how many copies of a toy do you make? 10 percent? Half a percent? I like half a percent as a good safe number.

    Also, you don't have to be a pandering sell-out to be successful, but you do have to be aware as to what your market likes. This is also a massive challenge.
  • spiderDude
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    spiderDude polycounter lvl 8
    Great Thread and great questions here.
    I just started working for sculpting toys and it is nice for me
    to read your experience so far.
    Thank you Wetterschneider :D
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Designed internally at Blizzard. I sculpted and engineered him, using the supplied raw model as reference. And Ben Mathis laid out the UV's for the pre-viz rendering.

    6128232444_5d2a4b73ee_b.jpg

    6127685303_b9ccb1a086_b.jpg
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    I know I posted this one in the WAYWO thread, but what the heck, here he is again, in case anyone has any questions. Of course what is there to say? Chug is a big fat monster.

    6303947440_0fd716251b_o.jpg
  • Bigjohn
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    Bigjohn polycounter lvl 11
    Got a quick question for you. Earlier you said the the model has to be watertight. What does that mean for intersecting geometry?

    Like say on that first model, the body and the beard are separate objects in Max, but not on the final print. So does it know to just use the outer-most area? Or did you have to print the beard separately from the body?
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Bigjohn wrote: »
    Got a quick question for you. Earlier you said the the model has to be watertight. What does that mean for intersecting geometry?

    Like say on that first model, the body and the beard are separate objects in Max, but not on the final print. So does it know to just use the outer-most area? Or did you have to print the beard separately from the body?

    Intersecting geometry is fine. You can have big old bodies and little decorative elements be individual and as long as they intersect with each other, the print will come our as a single piece.

    Additionally, and more interestingly, SELF-intersecting elements work fine too. If the arms of your character are against the sides and part of the arm intersects the body... it will still print.

    Errors are produced by polygons that are too small, floating elements that are unattached, open meshes that are not watertight, and single sided polygons.
  • Bigjohn
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    Bigjohn polycounter lvl 11
    Oh, that's interesting. So you can maintain several separate objects in 3dsmax then, and it'll come out as one solid object at the end.

    So does it only print the outer shell? Or does it print one solid form for the whole thing? I mean, can you have the figure be hollow, or is it always solid?
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Unless you have specifically modeled an interior surface, and your model is literally, physically a shell, the output will be solid.

    To clarify, a 6 polygon cube with all polys facing out will be solid when printed.

    A 6 polygon cube with all polys facing out that has a second smaller cube inside it with all polys facing in will be hollow when printed.
  • Bigjohn
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    Bigjohn polycounter lvl 11
    I understand. Hey, thanks for the info man. Real interesting stuff.
  • Lee3dee
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    Lee3dee polycounter lvl 18
    I need some new models for my desk! This is great reading! Is the store online only? or do you have a location in Austin.

    You should come out to the Polycount Austin meetup sometime!
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Lee, I'm at the Wednesday night Conan's Pizza sketchgroup meeting pretty much every week. Is there a separate Polycount meeting? I didn't know that.

    We only have an online store where we sell directly, but a lot of stores around the world carry our product. We have a distributor out in Cali who handles our wholesale.

    I'm not going to throw a direct link to the store here, since that's kind of bad form, I would guess - but you can get there through our big pro portfolio. The link is in my siggy.
  • lewis
    hey, great thread, very interesting.
    i run a rapid prototyping company, we own a 3d printer and we also specialise in PU casting. here is a link to our website http://www.pdmodels.co.uk/

    I would love the oportunitly to work with you guys. keep us in mind.
    keep up the good work!
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    There's been progress on the development of the Instagram Mascot. Here's a parts breakdown for rapid-prototyping. When making a toy like this, I divide the model up not just to make it come out to the mold easily, but also to be able to cast the different parts in different colored resins. This is why the lens is a separate piece.

    3d-Instagram-01.jpg

    3d-Instagram-02.jpg

    3d-Instagram-03.jpg
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Digital sculpt, rapid-prototyped and on it's way to become a sweet vinyl figure.

    "Modern Hero" by Madl, and sculpted by me.

    9424142665_2a4b8a9402_o.jpg

    9427151740_1e99d5e768_o.jpg
  • Boozebeard
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    Boozebeard polycounter lvl 11
    Usually the output is cleaned, sanded, and prepped then recast in a very hard wax. The wax master is then engineered further with joints being added, or complex structures broken down into smaller, simpler parts.

    So you don't have to model the joints and breaks yourself then? That's cool, definitely something I'd be interested in getting into.
  • kimchee519
    Wetterschneider, love your work. Is the Urban vinyl collectible figure by Jamungo, designed by Clay Ferguson, the final version with the white camo and gas mask still available to purchase? If so, where can I buy, would love to have that on my desk while I work!
  • seth.
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    seth. polycounter lvl 14
    excellent stuff man, really nice and clean....printers are so much better than the old days...cleaning print lines on a 150 lpi Zcorp....I do not miss wetsanding one bit :) do you even have to send out paintmasters anymore or is it all in the digital file?
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Boozebeard wrote: »
    So you don't have to model the joints and breaks yourself then? That's cool, definitely something I'd be interested in getting into.

    I do a fair bit of "pseudo-engineering" by cutting joints and articulating the figures, but a lot of it can be fine-tuned at the wax stage. For vinyl that is. It takes a special level of experience to make sure the soft vinyl can be pulled from the mold and assembled.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    Gruesome anatomical model of the infamous Minecraft Creeper that I worked on recently. Digital sculpt that was rapid-prototyped and then made into a massive vinyl figure.
  • Wetterschneider
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    Wetterschneider polycounter lvl 18
    I'm sharing this hideous monstrosity as a free downloadable model. He's mostly quads, watertight and ready to 3d print, if you're one of the lucky few with a printer! I also posted a super simple, super basic step-by-step breakdown that answers common questions:

    It's here, on Artstation:
    https://www.artstation.com/artwork/kzB1K


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