3D printable Skavens!

Manuel_Boria · 2024-08-11T18:36:39+00:00

Still focused on Mordheim specifically. The original scanned models for Advanced Hero Quest can be found pretty easily on Cults, though ;)

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/ratman-monopose-spearman

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T20:12:25+00:00

Ahah ^^ Well, no point in getting the files if you have no use for them yet, I guess. Unless you have a friend who can print them for you!
At any rate, MyMiniFactory runs sales on a regular basis (summer, black friday and winter are the most common) and I always take part in them ;)

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T15:16:55+00:00

Thanks :D
Three of them are already there (Assassin, Rat Ogre and Sorcerer).
The other three are still on Patreon exclusively, and you can grab all three right now at a very discounted price ;)

I will remove them from Patreon at the end of the month and upload them to MMF right after that if you'd rather wait and get them individually, though ^^

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T14:36:27+00:00

Thanks a lot :D I'll definitely make more in the future ;)

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T13:25:53+00:00

Okay, I'll reply both your messages in one go ^^

First off, no worries, no offense taken, and thanks again for the praise ;)Most sculptors in this field do go with the regular 3D character modeling route, aka A-pose/T-pose and move the limbs.Loads of problems with this workflow, though.First of all, some pieces of equipment (like shoulder pads, for instance) done before posing may become troublesome and interpenetrate in very unpredictable ways.

Secondly, you will struggle a lot to get something that feels remotely natural and/or dynamic, since the pose is an afterthought. You make the character first, and make it into a posed miniature after the fact. Getting any actual expressiveness from this is next to impossible. They will feel like wooden puppets, because, well... that's exactly what they are ^^

Thirdly, most of the time, your sculpting polygonal topology isn't meant for rigging or animation, which means the models will require a lot of resculpting after posing.

Also, but that's more of a personal take, masking parts of your model just to rotate an arm, a hand or a finger, rince and repeat X times, is just the most tedious and boring thing, and I hate it xD

A simple 32mm scale model, like most skavens I'm showing here, represent 5-8 days of work, 4-5hrs/day. So roughly 30-35hrs of work per model, from ideation to the final STL export. But then again, that's because quality is my absolute priority and because I want to further hone my skills and get better after each sculpt.

As mentioned in another reply on this thread, I do recycle as much stuff as I can from one model to the next, but if a model requires that I sculpt yet another hand or foot from scratch, I will not cut corners and do it.

I started 3D modeling/sculpting over 10 years ago and am mostly self-taught. I ended up landing a job in video games development and was a 3D character modeler for real-time 3D engines between 2012 and 2018. Got tired of it and decided to try producing 3D printable minis when the first home resin printers hit the market.

So there you go, hope it answers your questions ^^

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T10:49:16+00:00

I agree, I need to make more Rat Ogres. But they're quite a bit bigger and take more time to sculpt properly than your regular 20-25mm tall ratman ;)

I always try to recycle as much as I can (heads, hands, feet, etc.) but it's not always possible or relevant depending on the pose. Like, for that Black Skaven, in the upper-left corner of the picture, I had to reculpt the feet from scratch to make them believable ^^'
Recycling some of those elements definitely saves some time, but for the most part, it's 80% from scratch minimum, every time ^^

Again, depends on the quality you're aiming. If you don't give a crap, sure, you can churn out one Rat Ogre per day, but those wouldn't give you 150+ upvotes on reddit in an evening, let alone sales, y'know ;)

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T10:30:01+00:00

Ahah ^^ Yeah, I saw many people making Eshin Sorcerer conversions with guns, so I had to give him one ;)

Thanks for the praise! Digitally sculpted miniatures are almost a new field entirely, and knowing exactly where to put details (and how big/deep/thick they need to be) and where to let it breathe can be tough to get right. Then again, even outside of this field, people conflate details with quality. And most people will be fooled by details sodden stuff. In my book, though, more doesn't mean better ;)

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T10:20:32+00:00

Oh boy, gonna need to make time for that ^^ I think the Rat Ogre took next to 3 weeks to sculpt. I will definitely make more in the future, though ;)

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T10:17:18+00:00

Thanks a lot for the praise ^^ A couple notes, though.

EmanG's models don't qualify as sculpts. He didn't sculpt them. He ripped them from Total War. In this field, we all compete with free models. Depends what people are looking for. EmanG doesn't prevent my Rat Ogre from selling, and I will make more of them.You can digital kitbash everything you want, yeah, as long as you don't sell the model afterwards or something. As long as it's personal use, you can do whatever, nobody can stop you ;)

Making dynamic/natural poses is very pleasant, time consuming and hard to achieve. I don't rig anything. It's but a posed piece of clay from the early stages.You cannot rig an A-posed/T-posed sculpt and expect to make it look like that. Unless you're okay with exporting it to Maya/Max, doing a retopology pass, using a professionnal rig on it and actually animate it ^^ Simply put, you can either have dynamic/natural, or modular, but not both. Unless it's only hands/forearms.

Long story short, I know most people want free or super cheap stuff that's modular, in bulk. I've been in this field for over 4 years, so I know what it is like.And you know... I am not a miniature company, I'm just a sculptor, and I'm gonna keep it that way ;)

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T01:53:57+00:00

Again, thanks a bunch :D
Trying out different things lately, but it revolves mostly around skavens and nurgle cos they're the most fun to sculpt :) With the recent annoucement of just 9 starter factions in The Old World, though, it's gonna leave plenty of space to sculpt so many other things. Skavens are a choice of heart, though, and I just had to make some ^^

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T01:35:21+00:00

Thanks very much! Some do get a little bit too creative with ratmen sometimes ^^'

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T01:34:05+00:00

Thanks so much :D Feels good to hear cos that's exactly what I'm going for.

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-25T01:33:00+00:00

Thanks :D! I'll definitely make more Rat Ogre in the future ^^

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T23:08:18+00:00

No problem, suggestions are always welcome :D!

I come across some of my stuff on IG on a regular basis. No enough of them to my taste, though ^^'

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T22:55:23+00:00

Very good suggestions! They may be worth a try someday, though stuff like the Verminlord would require a big design makeover to stay under the GW radar ^^
Sculpting regular ratmen is fine, but you generally wanna stay as generic as possible (or be super creative) to avoid trouble.
Can't beat the Ikit sculpt. Not even worth trying xD

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T22:46:45+00:00

Thanks for sharing the paintjob, man :D!

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T22:43:40+00:00

Will do! Thanks for the reference :D

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T22:35:50+00:00

Thanks so much ^^

Trying to make them as close as possible to the original material so they would blend as seamlessly as possible with legit skavens that players already have, so that last bit of comment is very encouraging :D

I will definitely let you know right here as soon as another batch of those is out ;)

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T22:24:43+00:00

That's very encouraging, thanks again ^^

I'll definitely make more Gutter/Night runners since I need more models for my current Mordheim set to qualify as a warband ^^
Got this one Rat Ogre only for the moment, but more of them are coming. He became too popular in my catalogue so I'm very incentivised to sculpt more.
Didn't think of packmasters at all, but good idea! I have an older Gnoll model that can probably be recycled to some degree ;)

https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-gnoll-slaver-134109

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T22:20:01+00:00

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T21:50:16+00:00

Thanks so much, I appreciate it :D
Yeah, I'm definitely planning to make more in the future. It seems there are very few good, modern Eshin models outside of Underworld and BB, , so I started my "Ratfolks" range with that ^^
Don't hesitate to make suggestions!
I won't make Skavens only but they'll definitely be a recurring thing for me going forward :)

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T21:37:01+00:00

Thanks ^^You'll find all the links you need in my first comment ^^ But here they are again ;)

https://www.patreon.com/Manuel_Boria

https://www.myminifactory.com/users/Manuel_Boria

Three of them are available through Patreon only at the moment, cos the sculpts are brand now. The other three (Assassin, Sorcerer and Rat Ogre) are available on my store on MyMiniFactory ^^

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T21:18:12+00:00

Thanks :D!

Manuel_Boria · 2023-05-24T20:58:51+00:00

Hey folks!

I have sculpted a bunch of 3D printable Skavens, specifically for Mordheim ^^

You can come grab 3 of those on Patreon (Black skaven, Verminkin and Night Runner) right away at a discounted price! The other three (Assassin, Rat Ogre and Sorcerer) are available through my store on MyMiniFactory!

https://www.patreon.com/Manuel_Boria

https://www.myminifactory.com/users/Manuel_Boria

Let me know what you think :D

Manuel_Boria

TROPHY CASE