Stretch Goal Unlocked: The Spider Queen Cometh!
almost 6 years ago – Fri, Jan 25, 2019 at 11:16:19 PM

Campaign is chugging along! I am *VERY* proud to say that, due to a combination of no sleep, insanity, and determination, ALL the models released so far, including all the stretch goals, with the exception of one single character model in this last stretch goal, are FINISHED and will be included in initial model delivery after KS closes and payments clear. This isn't one of those kickstarters where you have to wait six months for files! As things stand there are now over $70 high-quality minis, which means at the all-in pledge level you are still getting pro mini STLS (including many larger creatures and a dragon) for < $1 a mini, and that's not even touching the value of all the terrain/buildings/etc that's included - so thank you so much for your support!

The Spider Queen Cometh!

One of the funnest things about this campaign is that , *multiple times* I have said to myself that this is the coolest piece I have ever made, and this stretch goal is no exception. Herein we delve to the inner sanctum of the Spider Queen on the Abyssal Plane, where she lives surrounded by her handmaiden's and abominations!

We have a new Spider Archway entrance and a Jagged Cavern set on Thingiverse for DungeonSticks. 

The Spider Queen herself is present in two of her forms. The first, "arachnid form" is a huge, epic print, composed of the bottom legs/thorax portion and 3" rocky base,  and the upper torso (available topless and with some chest armor). Her second form, a beautiful dark elf, is a work in progress and will be available to see shortly. Two of her handmaidens attend her needs, one of which is captured mid-transformation to a dark elf. Lastly, an abhorrent hybrid of a dark elf and a demon lurks throughout her chambers as her favored pet.

For terrain we have multiple skull/chain rocky pillars, and themed columns for scatter. A huge portal ordained with skulls, spider motifs, and cascading blood fountains grants entry to her inner sanctum. The portal has a webbed or spell-effect insert that can be printed in various translucent filaments for effect and swapped out. An unfortunate human sacrifice lies on a rocky slab waiting for his eventual demise (the sacrifice mini was provided by Morgan of Printed Obsession, and can be used all over the place, including on the table in the Dark Elf Cathedral Unholy). A large dais provides a spot for the Spider Queen to rise above her subjects when in arachnid form, and a huge throne set piece provides an epic focal point for the dark goddess to rule from.

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Gnoll pack from the "Lair of the Mind Horror" stretch goal finished

These guys are awesome, they are on the printer now and I'm stoked to see em done - check it out!:

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Community Artist Spotlight: Nickey's Hatchery &  Francesco A. Pizzo

A double whammy on the community artist spotlight for this update - two awesome dudes whose character art is included in this unlocked stretch goal and have both recently fired up their own Patreons:

Nickey's Hatchery

Nickey has a very "clay-influenced" style that lends itself very well to organic sculpts and really stands out as a unique style in the 3D-printable miniature world. Nickey also contributed some awesome sculpts for our first stretch goal (Deepfin shaman and lurker), and created both of the Handmaidens for this one. He's currently working on some really cool goblin and orc sculpts for his new Patreon which is absolutely worth checking out, and some huge monstrous creatures for a future Kickstarter. You can see more example of his cool work on his Instagram as well!

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Francesco A. Pizzo

Francesco (aka Ghamak) is a digital sculptor with a detail-oriented and aggressive style that really pops! He recently brought his sculpting skills to Patreon and is making models that range from fantasy heroes to wargaming troops, tanks and more. Francesco created the amazing Dark Elf / Demon Hybrid for this stretch goal and more of his work can be found on his Patreon page - Check him out especially if you have a resin printer and want models with epic attention to detail!

Battle mats, some new prints, and a preview of the Spider Goddess' Inner Sanctum
almost 6 years ago – Fri, Jan 25, 2019 at 09:46:27 PM

50 Shades of the Spider Goddess

Hello! Things have slowed down a bit but we are *SUPER* close to the next stretch goal, where we explore the Spider Goddess' inner sanctum on the Abyssal plane! Here's a rendered preview of the sex dungeon... er...  I mean inner sanctum:

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Battle Mats

Many people have asked me about the cavern battle map in all the pics. That's actually a prototype of my own product! I have long thought that no battle maps really serve the needs of gamers that focus on 3D terrain - vinyl mats slide around too much and never sit flat, and wargaming mats are often not gridded. These battle mats i'm developing are 24x24", gridded, and feature beautiful but simple designs for commonly used terrain scapes but feature no obstacles, so you can decorate with whatever terrain you want. The mats are square so can be tiled for larger areas, roll up for easy transport, and lay perfectly flat. They are 3mm neoprene and cloth (like a mouse pad) so are non slip for terrain/minis, great for rolling dice on, AND they are double sided with a different design on each side!

** YOUR FEEDBACK NEEDED ** 

I'm hoping to launch a kickstarter to fund production of the first batch of these right after the Skyless Realms KS concludes. I already have the first 2 (or initial 4) designs ready and a supplier picked out - looking at somewhere around ~$25 / mat, and am curious to hear your feedback/input on these mats - are they something you are interested in using? What do you think of the price point?

Here's the first set of designs and another pic of the prototype in use:

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A few new prints

I'm trying my damndest to get as much printed and painted to show off *during* the KS, but there's just sooo many pieces. I wanted to share a few new (unpainted) prints I did from recent stretch goals though:

Here's the mushroom huts from the Mushroom Grove stretch goal (both with removable tops)

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And here's the central pool, telepathic central brain (in attack pose), and small larva pool from the Mind Horror stretch goal. I hollowed out the large head of the central pool and printed in translucent PLA, to leave eyes clear when I paint and put a tea light inside. This is one big, epic scene.

Small Update - Fun with resins, humungus fungus, FDM vs Resin for minis, and an extra model
almost 6 years ago – Fri, Jan 25, 2019 at 06:42:35 AM

Things are coming along great, and I'm hard at work putting stuff together for the next stretch goal, which is gonna be sweeeeeet.  Nothing huge to share until next goal is unlocked but wanted to share a few small things to keep the coals hot!

Translucent Resins

One thing I enjoyed in this campaign so far is using various translucent resins for effects - below you can see translucent green on the ooze, and clear resin for deep fairey and invisible mind horror.  This effect can be achieve with many minis in the campaign, including things like spell effects.

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Myconid Behemoth : Paint Up

I got the Behemoth finalized and WOW do I love this guy, so much so that I had to share - included with myconid minis to show scale.

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FDM vs Resin

I wanted to show some examples of some of the larger monsters printed in both FDM vs Resin for those folks who have asked about it. You can see many examples of resin minis in the main picture gallery, and some examples of FDM on a stock Ender 3 in the FDM gallery, but here's some side-by-side shots off the cave troll and myconid behemoth. FDM examples were printed keyed and unbased, then assembled, and resin examples were printed in complete based models in 1 go.

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Free Model - Spawn Pool

Because he can't stop being cool, Nick from Battle Boss Heavy Industries added one more model for the last unlocked stretch goal,  "Lair of the Mind Horror" - a very cool spawn pool! This will go perfect with the rest of the terrain already included in that goal.

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That's it for today, I'll have lots more to share this week, including a hopeful journey deep into the inner sanctum of the Spider Queen! If you have any ideas/thoughts/suggestions for models for this KS, don't hesitate to toss em in the comments!

Themed OpenForge Release: Dark Elf Sentry Tower
almost 6 years ago – Tue, Jan 22, 2019 at 09:41:29 AM

OpenForge Release

If you aren't familiar with OpenForge, it's a patreon dedicated to releasing monthly sets of tiles, scatter, and more tabletop gaming stuff. I'm partner over there, so to bring the two worlds together I created an awesome release this month themed to The Skyless Realms - a Dark Elf Sentry Tower! This tower has multiple modular pieces, topper variations, and an optional rock bottom, and represents the quality and style of all the other stuff in this KS - as well as being available to print on Thingiverse now, thanks to the awesome support of OpenForge backers. If you haven't seen it yet, I encourage you to check out the OpenForge Patreon.

You can download the Dark Elf Sentry Tower right HERE

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Community Artist Spotlight: Fabio Schizzo (Fabio's Art Box)

Fabio is another awesome character artist who agreed to join me on this collaborative Kickstarter! He produced the sculpts for the Dark Elf Matron and High Priestess (which are both wonderful!). Fabio produces lots of amazing minis over on his Patreon - he just teased an amazing sculpt for a Naga that will be in his next release (pictured below) on his Facebook Page - he's definitely worth checking out!

Feedback Request - DungeonSticks
almost 6 years ago – Mon, Jan 21, 2019 at 02:32:14 PM

*Note on stretch goal* - will post full update with pics and models for "Lair of the Mind Horror" late this evening, still finishing some stuff up for it!

DungeonSticks - Geometric Possibilities and "StarLink"

For those of you that have used / enjoy DungeonSticks - I'm experimenting with a new "StarLink" peg for geometric DungeonSticks. Looking for folks to test print a few, try em out and let me know if they like this system vs the regular peg/hole fully rotating ones for Caverns - check out test Thing here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3362571 

Basically the star system allows the sticks to lock in nice shapes for corners, angles, etc - but has some drawbacks limiting flexibility vs the rotating peg design of caverns. I want to determine which system people like most before committing to the star one for other sets. If I go with the star link for geometric walls, I will also include a few random pieces to finish off gaps (like from triangles and what not). VERY interested in all your feedback / thoughts!

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Update to DungeonSticks: Caverns

I found the peg to be weak in DungeonSticks - updated so it gets printed with a hollow X, giving good strength through sidewalls while still allowing for printing stick with low infill. Fully compatible with previous ones but prints great. Updated dry/wet/crystal sets already and working on other sets now!