From your artwork to a resin master

You have drawn the character. Now you want it in your hand, and then you want to make copies of it yourself by moulding and casting. That takes two things: a 3D model that is faithful to your art, and a printed master clean enough that the silicone picks up the sculpt rather than the printing. We have been asked for exactly this, so here is how we go about it.

What to send us

• Your artwork. A turnaround sheet with front, side and back views is ideal, and a three-quarter view helps a great deal.
• Close-ups of the face, the hands and the small details that make the character yours.
• The height you want the master to be, and whether it should be one piece or split into parts for moulding.
• What you plan to cast it in and how you plan to make the mould, if you know.
• Whether you want the 3D model file as well as the print, and whether more characters in the same style may follow.

From flat art to a mould-ready master

Drawings cheat in ways a sculpt cannot. A pose that reads perfectly from the front can have an arm that would pass through the body when seen from the side, or a cape that only exists in one view. We work through the art with you first and agree how the parts you never drew should look, so the model is your character from every angle rather than our guess at it.

You see renders of the sculpt before anything is printed and can ask for changes. Once you approve it, the master is printed in resin, which holds far finer detail than filament, and the supports are removed and the contact points cleaned back. Tell us it is a moulding master, and about any undercuts or thin parts you are worried about, and we prepare it with the mould in mind rather than paint.

If this is the first of a series, say so at the start. Keeping proportions, base size and level of detail consistent across several characters is much easier to plan for than to fix afterwards.

Size, material and finish

Size

Standard, around 15cm, suits most character masters. Small, around 10cm, and large, around 20cm, are both possible, and the size decides how much fine detail a mould will pick up.

Material

Resin, for the finest detail and the smoothest surface. Filament layer lines would show up in every cast.

Colour

Single colour, unpainted. A master is for moulding, and paint only adds thickness over the detail.

Base

No base, or a simple plain one if your mould needs a flat footprint.

Model file

Ask for it in the quote request, so the file is part of the job from the start.

How long it takes

The quote comes back within one working day. After that the sculpt is the slow part, and a character worked up from flat art usually needs a round or two of renders before it is right. The quote gives you a lead time for your job before you commit, and if you are working towards a market, a launch or a deadline of your own, put the real date in the form.

Questions

Other figurines people ask us for