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Are you into D&D or tabletop gaming? If so, we’ve got you covered. After all, we’ve got guides on 3D printing D&D pieces, printing minis in FDM and resin, painting 3D printed figurines, our buyers’ guides on best printers and best resins for miniatures, plus amazing dice tower models and accessories.

And if you’ve already got your bearings and 3D print your own designs, odds are you’ve heard about this week’s Designer Spotlight featured maker, Miguel Zavala, a.k.a. MZ4250.

With a whopping almost 1,200 models on Printables, it’s more than likely you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for. His most popular designs include the red dragon, the goose hydra, and his collections of monsters and animals. (Is the editor of this piece transfixed by the honse? You know it.)

Time to start a campaign and ask him some questions…

Q&A

All3DP: Tell us a little about yourself – what’s your background?

Miguel: I’m a 3D artist who focuses on 3D modeling free 3D printable miniatures for tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, etc. I’ve been at it for over 11 years and have made 6,000+ minis so far. All are free, posted online on Printables, Thingiverse, Patreon, etc., as “MZ4250”.

How do you get the ideas for your designs?

I get my ideas from either official TTRPG art and stay within the guidelines of fan content policies or the requests from my patrons. It’s a very random assortment of things.

How much does the technical side of 3D printing (e.g. supports, a design that requires assembly or one that’s printable in one piece) come into play when you’re designing? Or is your designing entirely independent from 3D printing and you later figure out how they work together best?

Everything I design is with 3D printing in mind. Its why many of my humanoid minis can be printed in FDM when you lay them on their backs. Some minis are harder to pull off in FDM though, so I always supply a pre-supported file for resin users.

Of all the things you’ve created, which are you most fond of and why?

Of all the things I’m most fond, of I’d say its all the dragons I’ve made. I love dragons. If it has wings, claws, and goes “Rarr”, I’m here for it.

If you could step back in time and give yourself some advice from the beginning, what would it be?

If I could go back in time, I’d tell myself to make all my models very detailed right from the start. Back when I started, it was just FDM and you didn’t need to worry about details. Now everything is resin, so I have about 2,000 models out there that look very old and sad, haha.

Image of:
So. Many. Cool. Models. (Source: Miguel Zavala)

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License: The text of "Designer Spotlight: Miguel Zavala (MZ4250)" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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