You know: since the beginning of the 3d sculpt era, there have been bitter debates about which way of sculpting was better.
Obviously, it's a pointless discussion since both 3d sculpt and traditional sculpt are awesome, but I think that there is an aspect of traditional sculpt that I'm very jealous of: the immaterial limbo.
With this word, I refer to that timeframe between the sculpture itself of a character and its 3d print.
I don't know if it is only my suggestion, or another side of my brainy mind, but I've always that kind of feeling of not having accomplished anything, until the moment I can hold something real in my hands.
For this reason, despite we are working on this range for almost two years and we have already done so many things, I kept having that annoying feeling of incompleteness.
Well, at least 'till now!
Today, in fact, I've received the first 3d prints of several characters and I'm sparkling joy all around me!
Before going on, however, let's see those glorious children of the most advanced technology:
Leaving aside the comments on the quality of these guys (I don't want this post become a commercial ad), I'm totally exalted because finally, after years, I see something in my hands, and now I can really judge our work!
Working with 3d sculpture, in fact, I have not always a real perception of things, because I'm used to see these characters as 3d renders at full screen!
So, or at least it's what I perceive, it's only when I have the 3d prints, that I can legit say "wow, I've made new miniatures!".
I know that I'm getting pedantic on this subject, but I'm really enthusiastic about Flonzi. I know, they are not that kind of "mainstream subjects" (like, for example, pinups), but I can't help but love these adorable freaks of magic world.
In real, I think that their proportions are just perfect: they are basically heads, with a ridiculous body attached to. If you want to practice with painting faces, Flonzi are great!
What I liked the most, about seeing these figures finally in real, is that I think we (ok, Valerio...) improved by far the technical quality of our sculpts, in 3d print optic: all the details are well defined and they adapt perfectly to the 32mm scale, the joints between parts are more accurate and in general I find these guys more painter-friendly then some of our Dwarves.
For example, I've always thought that the decorations of the Bluecoat Admiral uniform were too simple, but seeing them in real, I'm really glad of not having asked to modify them with a more intricate design, because they would have been too difficult to paint.
The Pathfinder, one of the most complex kits we've ever designed, stands perfectly as it is: the work that Valerio did on the plumage is impressive, but again, the texture in real is not confusing or too intricate.
I'm really happy about the result of these first 3d prints, and as you may imagine I can't wait to see all the range on my desk!
But before indulging on beautiful dreams, we need to stay focus and make a great Kickstarter campaign all together, because even if now I can see that the gears are moving in the right direction, our journey has yet to begin!!
So, another big step towards our goal is done and now I can continue working on the Kickstarter campaign description, which is cool because I see the date looming upon me too fast and I feel the panicometer runs wild.
PS: would you like to see a size comparison between a human of Inneath, and a Dwarf of Kazhuk Izril?
As you can see, our Dwarves may be short in height, but they are scary the same with their extreme proportions! I think that a Dwarf could swallow a whole Flonzo in a single bite. Not that somebody would really want to do it, I know..