Today, I realized a video about the differences in 3D printing from the eyes of printing out D&D money. This blog gives more information about the pieces of the video and more tips.
Link to the D&D Coins file - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2863900
Huge shout out the work of Lil_Doodie. This is a great file and tip the designer if you can. Support their work as an artist. You can tip them on the Thingiverse link above.
I printed this file on two different printers using the base settings. The PLA Printer is the Makerbot Replicator+, the coins were printed face down and standing with supports and a raft. There are other PLA printers that have better small detail on prints but that is not the strength of this Makerbot.
In the video I talk about the differences in the prints. Since most people do not get to see the differences first hand, I think this video will serve to show people what they can do on this small scale. But also, this is for pieces to hand to players when they loot during D&D so if they aren't perfect - Who cares?
The Resin Printer is a Anycubic Photon Printer. Those coins were supported and slanted so all supports were on one side and the bottom. The program used to support and slice was Chitubox. I use specific support settings not the base ones (if you want to know about them, I can make another post).
After printing, I sanded all of them. Could I have sanded the PLA Prints more? Yes. Did I? No. I wanted you to see what it looked like as a difference between the prints.
Now to Prime and Paint!
Steps ( I took):
Clean off sanding dust. For just the PLA printed coins, I coated them in XTC-3D which is suppose to cut down on the layer divide.
Prime with spray primer. I used a basic primer from Rustoleum but usually use a spray primer used for mini figures/Warhammer 40K.
Next, get all of your paints together. I used a mix of Citadel and The Army Painter Paint. I am lucky enough to have a game store in town that carries those paints. If you can, shop local to keep those awesome businesses alive (even if you are buying them over the phone or for curbside pickup).
Now to do base coats of the colors. The only one that has a base color and wash is the Electrum Coin. It has a base of the silver used on the silver coin and a light layer of blue paint overtop (usually called a glaze).
OPTIONAL: For the prints that weren't super dimensional - I used some black to make the details sand out a little more.
Now for weathering! Just used black for these to show grim build up. But next time, I am going to patina the copper pieces so it looks really aged.
Final Look:
If you want more information about supplies, let me know in the comments.
As always, Happy Making!
Nicole