Sculpting miniatures, though they are small, can be an intricate process. Creating such fine details on a small scale is often difficult. To sculpt these minis, you’ll need to have an understanding of each phase of the process. Today you’ll learn about how miniatures are used in games and the main components of the sculpting process.
Modeling Miniatures in Games
In miniature wargaming, battles are simulated with miniature models that are created to scale. These modeling miniatures are created to help track visual aspects of game positioning. These can be made for warriors, vehicles, artillery, buildings, and terrain. They’re often referred to as “minis.” These minis have been traditionally sculpted by hand, and are now commonly sculpted through software.
Today, they’re often 3D printed out of materials such as metal, plastic, or paper. When utilizing computer software to sculpt these figures, it’s easier to achieve finer details that sculpting tools can’t. Another benefit is that digital models can be saved and edited, so different variants of sculptures can be multiplied without starting over.
Of course, with any software, there is a steep learning curve. It’s not as simple as firing up the software, clicking a few buttons, and having a perfect model ready. There are a few key components throughout the process that you’ll need to master.
Key Components of Professional ZBrush Miniatures
Everything you need to know about crafting professional ZBrush miniatures can be broken down into six different parts: knowing the basics of human anatomy, learning to create equipment for the miniatures, achieving dynamic poses, clothing, fur, and hair, finalizing the details of your mini, and learning the actual process for 3D printing.
Learning Basics of Human Anatomy
Learning the basics of human anatomy is crucial for creating any model in the gaming industry. It’s especially important when you’re trying to create a realistic model on a small scale. To achieve professional quality and a realistic look, having an understanding of muscle function, muscle insertions, and facial anatomy will be a great place to start.
Creating Equipment for Sculpting Miniatures
Next, you’ll want to learn how to create armor, weapons, and other objects that appear on the “outside” of the figure. These are often used as the “outer layer” of 3D printed fantasy miniatures. Start by learning the basic principles of designing pieces of equipment.
Achieving Dynamic Pose
ZBrush is one of the most commonly used softwares by professionals today. After you learn the basics of creation, you’ll want to learn the workflow for posing within ZBrush. This involves creating a low resolution mesh and re-projecting details.
Clothes, Fur, & Hair
As another element of the “outer” layer of your model, you’ll now want to focus on achieving a realistic look of clothes, fur, and hair on a small scale. You’ll need to create dynamic capes, clothes, and banners with the thickness required for 3D printing while maintaining quality at a smaller scale.
Finalizing Details
One of the last aspects of sculpting miniatures that you’ll need to perfect for professional quality is the details. This involves sculpting hair, beards, and small details such as facial features. Your final details may also include creating Nanomesh Brushes for the best chainmail and scalemail effects.
Cutting Parts for 3D Printing
The last element of sculpting professional quality ZBrush miniatures is learning the basic principles of cutting parts for 3D printing. The actual printing process and casting in resin and metal will be a part of this learning process. This will also involve exporting, making parts ready for printing, and hollowing parts in the Meshmixer.
The Learning Process Made Easy
To make this process as simple as possible, it’s best to find a mentor. Now, most people don’t have a professional within the industry near their home, so how can you learn best? Sculpting Miniatures Bootcamp!
Sculpting Miniatures Bootcamp is an online course in which a professional will mentor you and walk you through each concept of sculpting miniatures. Your mentor will show you how to create 3D printed miniatures from start to finish. This involves learning digital sculpting, 3D printing, sculpting hair and bears, and creating weapons, armors, and clothing.
What You’ll Learn:
The course will walk you through each concept of creating ZBrush miniatures that you learned above. This involved the full process of sculpting and preparing models for 3D printing. You’ll learn how to create these figures on a small scale while maintaining anatomical and facial details. Accessorizing with armor and weapons, achieving dynamic poses, and adding clothing elements and textures will also be included. You’ll learn how to get the most out of all of the tools available for the highest quality results.
By the end of the course, you’ll:
- Know the principles for working with small-scale sculptures
- Know the workflow for cutting and keying parts for 3D printing
- Have mastered your way through the miniatures pipeline
- Have created your own miniature sculpture from concept to completed 3D print
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the course format?
Vertex School is a one-of-a-kind alternative to expensive college degrees. The primary goal is to make art and design education widely available to all who may not have access to college classes.
All Vertex School classes are hosted online in a pre-recorded format, so you can take the information at your own pace. Each course is taught by a professional within the specified industry, and all student work is critiqued by highly skilled Teaching Assistants. You’ll also have access to the Teaching Assistants for answering any questions you might have and a private Discord group to discuss with peers.
What software do I need?
The only software that you’ll need access to is ZBrush. This course is designed for beginner and intermediate artists.
What is the refund policy?
Vertex School strives to create happy artists. Your investment is fully backed by the 15-day money-back guarantee. For more information on the refund policy, refer to this page and scroll down to the frequently asked questions.
How long will I have access to the course?
When you learn from Vertex School, you’ll have lifetime access to the workshop videos. This allows you to refer back to them again and again as many times as you need to.
Take the Next Step
Learning the process of creating detailed minis doesn’t need to be complicated and confusing. The course will walk you through the process from start to finish, and you’ll have access to Teaching Assistants to answer any questions that you may have.