[UPDATE] 3D-Printing The Monster Manual

Mercule · Apr 16, 2015

Nebulous said:
Of course I don't have any clue what the time investment or backend cost is involved with making these. Anyone know?

Looking on Amazon, it looks like the printer prices are between $350 and $3500. I assume the quality difference is noticeable. I think I bought a half dozen or more cases of the 3.5 Minis for around $100 a pop. Of course, I've used about half of them.

Actually, I would say in about 5 years, it will be reasonable for many households to have 3D printers. The corner print shop will be able to service most other folks. That's long enough off to frustrate early adopters, but close enough in that artists/publishers/minis companies should be thinking about their business model. They need to be able to monetize the designs, not the end product. The guy who did the PoA and LMoP artwork has the right idea.

Nebulous · Apr 16, 2015

Mercule said:
Looking on Amazon, it looks like the printer prices are between $350 and $3500. I assume the quality difference is noticeable. I think I bought a half dozen or more cases of the 3.5 Minis for around $100 a pop. Of course, I've used about half of them.

Actually, I would say in about 5 years, it will be reasonable for many households to have 3D printers. The corner print shop will be able to service most other folks. That's long enough off to frustrate early adopters, but close enough in that artists/publishers/minis companies should be thinking about their business model. They need to be able to monetize the designs, not the end product. The guy who did the PoA and LMoP artwork has the right idea.

Good point. Selling the digital designs and models for personal use, that's going to be where the market is. Well, also pre-painted because some people just don't like to paint or can't or don't have time. I can't wait to see what direction this goes, it's going to change the market in big ways.

Nylanfs · Apr 16, 2015

Makers, by Cory Doctorow

talien · Apr 17, 2015

The book and music markets are good examples of how this will likely work. Music went from vinyl to CD to MP3, with vinyl returning as a collectible item. I can imagine sculpted, professionaly painted stuff will still have value. But the actual content becomes the value of the thing, not the material. So it's the sculpt (which you can download in digital form) that has value, not the plastic and paint on it. Books are now this -- you pay a fee for the ideas, not for the production of the physical thing.

It's going to be a serious problem for companies like Reaper and Dwarven Forge, who -- if they're smart -- will license out their designs for a fee. The problem is 1) piracy, and 2) the cost of the designs will be so low that the money they'll need to make it up in volume, which takes years to produce. Just look at Games Workshop as an example of how hard it is to pivot when the market changes direction.

Morrus · Apr 21, 2015

UPDATE: WotC has apparently sent a C&D to Miguel, who has removed the designs and left a note saying "Oh well. It was a fun ride

"

talien · Apr 21, 2015

I wasn't going to make a big deal about it, but WOTC claims ownership of how the Tarrasque LOOKS: http://www.examiner.com/list/the-sad-brief-tale-of-the-tarrasque-miniature

So I suspect there's all kinds of pitfalls in creating miniatures from D&D that they might feel they own based on appearance alone. This is part of the ongoing battle -- it won't be the actual miniature itself but the IP of the thing (its appearance, I guess?) that will matter in the future of miniature sales.

mouselim · Apr 24, 2015

Why the C&D from WoTC?! Miguel isn't selling them and making a profit from it. Moreover, it is a hobby and he is not doing this full-scale neither...I will suggest to Miguel to just change twitch the appearance and call it something else...owlbear? No problem, bird-wierd.

Jester David · Apr 25, 2015

UPDATE!
From Reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/33tfa3/3d_printing_our_favorite_monsters_wotc_has/

Hello again. So, I have some good news. Earlier this week I posted that WOTC had requested a DMCA take down for my models, and Thingiverse complied. After hearing you all, I decided to go about the diplomatic approach and contact Wizards about the issue.

Well, they responded. They stated that they in fact want me to continue modeling and printing their monsters. They would just prefer it if it were on a site they approved of. Shapeways.com it turns out, does have an agreement with Hasbro to print all their fan art. So, all of my stuff is now there.

My new page is: https://www.shapeways.com/designer/mz4250 The one stipulation they requested is I don't sell my stuff. This is fine on my end, because I was never intending on competing with them or making a buck. I just wanted to share my models with players so they can add some customization to their games.

Now when you click on each monster's page, to download the file, you'll have to sign in to Shapeways. The account is free though, and the models are free too. The download link is usually at the bottom left of each model's page.

This is a nice middle ground I'm content with. Its not exactly "fight the power" as some of you wanted, but I'm ok with this. As long as players can download my stuff I'm content. WOTC has pleasantly surprised me this week, and I'm happy they were pretty reasonable in the end.

Anyway, BACK TO MODELING! Here is where I am in Letter G. Almost done with the Genies. Take care

darjr · Apr 25, 2015

Hwua...... That is awesome!

A friend of mine brought in a mind flayer to our game.

Morrus · Apr 25, 2015

Issuing a DMCA takedown notice seems an odd way of starting a "could you do that on Shapeways instead?" conversation, especially if that was their intent all along.

[UPDATE] 3D-Printing The Monster Manual

Mercule

Adventurer

Nebulous

Legend

Nylanfs

Adventurer

talien

Community Supporter

Morrus

Well, that was fun

talien

Community Supporter

mouselim

First Post

Jester David

Hero

darjr

I crit!

Morrus

Well, that was fun

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