Turning Daz 3D models into 3D Printable and hand painted figures.
GamePrint
Posts: 539
Hello everyone
I wanted to share a few pictures of the making of a figure which was designed by Cake One, 3D printed and hand painted by our team.
Hoping to capture the experience of the process of turning a Daz3D model into a collectible figure and bringing it to life.
This thread will be a first of a series of Daz 3D figures in the making and the fun that happens behind the scenes.
Day 1 : 3D printing and assembly
After repairing the model using our technology and 3D printing it, we start the modelling process by cleaning up the supports and smoothing the rough edges.
The first image attached shows the printed model.
The team are having some good time while cleaning the part and preparing it for assembly
The second image shows the cleanup work, this is tedious but also very important!
The third image shows fusing the parts together
An important step, especially with dynamically posed characters or larger collectibles. Not only it has to look good, but we also have to ensure the joints will be strong enough and can carry the weight of heavier elements.
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Comments
I think it will be really neat to see behind the scenes, thanks for sharing! And welcome to the Art Studio.
Cathie
Thanks, Cathie, we are happy to be here!
Glad you started this. As an engineer, I always like to see and understand how things work.I just placed my first order today, looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Congratulations on your first order, we are super happy to make your model. Stay tuned for more how to's, and behind the scenes.
Day 2: Priming and Base coating the model
After the assembly of the model, a careful inspection for any imperfections in underway. The Approved model is handed over to our painters who start by applying primer, a smooth layer of primer is essential to making the figure look good. If anything goes wrong with priming, we could lose the model.
Here' we are applying the primer paint, a crucial and necessary step! If we mess this up, its GameOver for the print.
Airbrushing in the base coat while the compressors buzz in the background.
Adding the base coat comes after priming, we usually pick the most dominant color in the model and use that for our basecoat, in this case, its the skin color. The basecoat is applied with an airbrush, and sometimes we have to use masking to create several basecoat colors, but in this specific model, the skin colour occupies most of the model, so we keep the tape in the drawer for this one.
Let us know if you want us to explain anything, or if you have used any of these technics while you paint. Stay tuned for Day 3 tomorrow!
Ahhh, the ever-important priming step! Can I ask what primer you guys use? I'm partial to both Vallejo Surface Primer and Badger's Stynylrez. I see a lot of Vallejo Model Air on the workspace. Do you ever use any other brands, or are you mostly true to the Model Air line?
What tip on the brush do your artists usually paint with? I favor a .3mm, myself.
Hey Hanabi
We have multiple Primers that we have around the Studio, but our preference is always Vallejo Surface Primer, and sometimes we use Citadel. So yes you found our Primer in our workspace ;-)
When it comes to Air brush's
We usually use 0.4mm for the base coat, its great for covering the most surface area. We use the 0.2mm most of the time, and it helps with generally everything. Finally the 0.15mm for fine detailing around small areas like fingernails, eye's, eyebrows and other tiny spaces.
Hanabi,
We're curious to see one of your painted models. Can you share a pic of one?
I personally love Harder and Steenbeck Infinity CRPlus 2 , 2 in 1 airbrush. Great flow and control and can be used with a variety of tips down to .15mm. It's very expensive (around $300). On the low end side, I like the Masters Airbrush series like the G233. Comes with different tips .2mm-.5mm and is very economical (around $30).
Do You have a Youtube Channel?
Hey Josphlemons,
We are putting together, a Youtube channel, and a series of how to video's.
Stay tuned on this post, and or sign up at https://daz3d.gameprint.net/ and we will let you know when its live.
What are you mostly interested in seeing?
That's our perfect choice, we usually use Evolution series for most things, but our veteran and master painters use the Infinity series.
How long have you been a painter and modeler?
Day 3 : The Base: Every solid model needs a solid base!
This model came with a great base designed by Cake One, which complemented the model perfectly, with a pool of blood with some rusty gears in it.
This image has been resized to fit in the page. Click to enlarge.
Carefully detailing the gears to give them a rustic weathered look. The pink gloves are a must!
After priming the base, we start detailing it. In that case, there were two main components for the base:
The reflective pool of blood and the rusty weathered metal gears.
Our painters and modelers use their experience to create a faithful representation of these elements; this can't be done with an airbrush, so we move to more specialized tools and supplies here.
This image has been resized to fit in the page. Click to enlarge.
As rust was the main visual element of the gears, we were going through each gear over and over till perfection, so CakeGirl would get the base painted in the same way she designed it on her model.
Here you can see the placeholder to where the base and the model will connect. With some fragile parts, it is crucial to decide how to assemble the model and where to place the connections before painting.
The final BASE!
That's the end of day 3, Stay tuned tomorrow for Day 4 as we start detailing the model which is the hardest part and requires our top master painters focus. A big day tomorrow!
I commented earlier (in the other thread) that I thought that your prices were very decent when viewing the quality of the final produce and the amount of time and talent that was going into the finished product. Now that we’re seeing how much extra work is also being done (slicing the model into two pieces and rejoining it, adding pegs on the feet to make a better connection to the base, etc.) I’m beginning to think we’re cheating you.
Thanks very much for the behind-the-scenes stuff, it’s very much appreciated.
— Walt Sterdan
WOW this is soooo cool to see behind the scenes of how this printer works!!
Thank Wsterdan,
We do what we love, and we love what we do. Happy to finally find a way to make a living out of it!
Thanks for your great words of encouragement.
We look forward to making your model tomorrow!
Glad your enjoying this, stay tuned more fun to come!!!
Day 4: Detailing Part 1 the hard parts!
Mixing the colors is the most crucial part of the work. It's important to get the right shade and effect for each part of the figure. We use a broad selection of paints and painting supplies to ensure high-quality representation of your designs.
Here you can see the model after base paint!
We start detailing the tail of the model!
Our artists have to be skilled both in airbrushing and traditional paintbrush techniques because every model includes details that cannot be painted even with an airbrush, or which are simply easier to achieve with the good old brush. Some techniques use large stiff brushes, while fine detailing takes a good retouching brush, focused sight and steady, trained hands.
Take note of the metal elements, and highlights of the skin. We avoid making the skin look flat by adding layers of shadows to build a natural look. .
This ends part 1 one stay tuned tomorrow for part 2!
Also if you do have any questions for our master painters, please let us know in the thread, and we should be able to get you the answers.
Here are a few of my latest:
Hanabi
That's very impressive! Clearly, you've been doing this for a while.
Any tips you would give someone new to Painting?
Day 5 : Detailing Part 2. Getting our hands dirty!
Adding the second tone to the hair and finalizing the details on the clothes and armour to give it a rusty worn out feel. You can also see some initial detail work on the face.
Day 5: Close up of the painted face horns, and eyeshadow details.
Cake One paid great attention to the makeup of her demon lady, and our artists did their best to stay faithful to how she envisioned her character
Day 5: Painting the wings!
Painting the wings.
This model needed something more than a flat color on the thin part of the wings, so with a subtle highlight, we were able to give it a translucent effect.
Our artists know that sometimes they need to enhance the natural lighting, to bring out all the visual appeal from the model.
This is for the collectible paintjob, right? Can you also show the standard in closeup, so we can see how it differs?
Great job at the painting, I really love it.
Also, Hanabi, those models look great!
I will make a side by side post to show the comparision between the level of details between a collectible and standard model.
Day 5, notice the base color of the wings are yellow, and we add different layers of paint to give it the effect we are looking for!
Hi guys
Just for Info, the model used here is this one : https://www.daz3d.com/tara-2-hd-for-victoria-7-victoria-8
Kayleyss's models are just some of the best i have seen since i started 3d characters on poser or Studio :)
The textures, bump map, normal maps etc are incredibely detailed and i think the GamePrint team did an amazing job on both sizes.
Here is a picture i took of both models side to side.
I added a 50 euro cents coin as scale. (yes, i am THAT rich ^^)
I don't know if i'll ever be able to try another print, but having made one already makes you wanna do more, WAY MORE :).
I would love to try a bust if that is doable, or a dragon.
I think a dragon would be cool...
What do you think?
C.
Very nice work!
@GamePrint thank you! The models look fantastic in any case.
@Cake One The bust option sure is interesting, but I don't know how you could do it in DS. You'd probably have to export the character to a modelling software, or something like that. Of course, then you'd need a sort of marble colour painting... And a dragon looks always cool. It's in their nature. ;-)
Day 6: The final steps before shipping
Painters inspect each corner of the figure, before the final assembly and packaging.
Each section of the model was handled by a different artist depending on their speciality. The process is overseen by our more skilled painters, who provide's direction and guidance to our team.
Collectively all artists inspect the model, looking for things that could be wrong, or need to be redone!