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Tutorial:

1. Get the sprite sheet (or make your own), due to the transparency, the sprites should be side or 3/4 views since you won’t be able to see the backs (since they’ll show through).
   
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2. Get some print friendly transparencies. There’s a good variety but I went with Apollo ink friendly transparencies since they’re easy to find on amazon. [this one is what these are printed on](https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Universal-Inkjet-Transparency-CG7033S/dp/B003BM42L2)
   
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3. Get some stands. Also on amazon. [I used these.](https://www.amazon.com/Value-Pack-12-stand-up-multi-color/dp/B01MD1A7QH)
   
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4. Print sprites on sheets! Ink should go on the rough side, not on the glossy side.
   
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5. Cut out the sprites in a rectangle around the image and mirror image. The sprites are spaced to be folded in half so that the image and mirror overlap perfectly.
   
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6. Align the pixels and fold the transparency so the rough sides face each other and the smooth sides are facing outward. This protects the ink from damage during storage and also gives it a nice glossy finish.
   
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   6a) Use a small dot of Elmer’s glue to secure the sides together. It’ll dry clear, but means you won’t be able to play right away. Important: do NOT put a huge glob.
   
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7. Trim as close as you’d like to the pixels, I tend to leave a good gap since I’m not terribly great with scissors.
   
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8. Slot the folded transparency in and you’re good to go!
   
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   Hope that helped! This method creates pretty thin minis that can be carried around in a book for easy transport! Once I get the video done I’ll post it here and on my Patreon.

I had this posted in r/DnD for a bit and someone suggested I post it over here. Im not sure how crossposting works, so I just did a copy/paste. I know some DIY subreddits aren't fans of 3D printers and such so if this is against the subreddit please let me know and I'll take it down.

So we recently upgraded our Monoprice 3D printer to a swanky new Prusa i3 Mk3 and after setting it up and printing some things we had a moment of "What else can we do?" Now my FIL is a carpenter who, after seeing the Wyrmwood Arsenal Kickstarter, we challenged to also build one. It came out beautiful, but was very large and very heavy. We decided to also try our hand at it, but we are not carpenters. We are gamers and have a host of technology skills.....sooooo we bought a shit ton of wood filament and learned some CAD.

After a couple iterations of magnet location changes, size changes, and the like we managed to get the vault and box into a size that will fit (most) plastic and metal dice sizes while also being light and compact. We remixed the logo on the box from another thingiverse model. The wood filament stained up super nice and we are really excited about it. Bought some cork sheets and some premium felt from the craft store that will line the box so you can use it for rolls and acoustic foam that will go in the vault for the minis and dice.

It may seem simple but it took us quite a bit of time to get everything sized in mm just right, learn the software, and print off each iteration (the final wood print took just under 23 hours for just one side of the vault at optimal settings)

All the photos: https://imgur.com/gallery/5KpwCl3

The Thingiverse File for Everyone to love: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2892142

Update! (5/6): Image of everything put together with stain, foam, and padding.

Magnets:

Neodymuim Magnets: These are the ones we usesd but obv you can adjust for whatever you have or can find.

[Edit by Popular Request] The Dice:

Blue/Black Metal

Blue plastic

Dwarven Metal

Filament:

Colorfabb Woodfil Fine Filament

Thanks! I'm hoping it can help people looking to make stands for relatively cheap. As others have posted, a more opaque black may blend better, but this still works well for my needs. Plus I like to see what's below the stand anyways.

Also, I'll possibly post a quick tutorial on the houses I made up the other night for my city combat. https://imgur.com/a/5qYM6 They're pretty much made out of foam core and hot glue. :P I think it must come out to maybe $0.75 a house. The flat roofs are nice, as you can describe them as a steepled roof, but it gives you a place to set a mini. The multi-level buildings can be split and pulled apart.

I got the foam core at amazon, and I use 3-2-1 blocks for aligning the walls when gluing. The only thing I'm not sure about is how long they will hold up. My main concern is moisture and warping, as I do not have a bottom piece on the buildings (only a roof).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018YLE368/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Should be an interesting session tomorrow. Largest battle yet! The large group on the main road are civilians, the invaders are coming down the streets. The party has defend the civilians as they retreat to the castle (not pictured) on the right of the map. I still have to set a few more tokens on the map (including the PC's and some of their allies), but it should be quite a bit of fun assuming I can keep combat flowing well (Oh, and that minitaur is actually a giant ape... polymorph is a powerful spell)!

Oh man, all these digital suggestions are great, but as a player that got started in about 1994, let me make one suggestion that will solve a few of your bullet point issues. A sheet protector and a nice dry erase marker will go a long way. That should cost a total of $2 at walmart or target. You'll never have to erase money, HP, temporary bonuses or penalties, etc.

Sometimes simple is better :)

I don't have any "methods," since I've never tried to sculpt individual feathers (just a feature "texture" on wings). But I'd suggest using green stuff or a similar two-part epoxy putty, if you weren't already. It holds detail amazingly well and dries almost as hard as plastic, while being much less brittle than modeling clay. Something that protrudes off the edge of a model (like, I'm guessing, your feathers) could still get snapped off, but during normal play, or even if you drop the model from a reasonable height like a game table, it should be totally fine. I'm not a sculptor by any means, but that's the best material I know to recommend.

But as for a "way to sculpt or apply feathers" once you have the green stuff, I'm not sure, and it would depend on how big you want the feathers to be. I can attach some pictures of a project I'm working on to give you ideas, if you want, but I haven't yet added any free-standing feathers. They're molded directly onto the wings of the model, so I don't have to worry about them breaking off.

Cool, thanks! There's a few in stock at my local Joanns, I'm gonna hit that up.

Edit: If anyone else is interested in trying this, I found them on Amazon, 20 for less than $10. These are super cool.

For paintbrushes and small tools I use a songmics acryllic make up organiser this it separates into two sections, the two drawers in a box and the top section that clicks into place and holds nicely but can be removed if you just want to take your brushes and a few bits somewhere in the house.

I'm waiting to order a paint organiser. Something like this has the bonus of being able to store miniatures as well. I'm the same and need to keep clean and tidy. I also have a set of plastic drawers I keep odd bits in (flock, scissors, felt tips, tiles)

I think it all looks pretty rad. A little on the cartoon side, but that's not bad and it all fits style-wise, there's no disparity between pieces. I also really like the color for the portal and circle.

> how to make some pools of blood without painting them directly on the tile

Overhead projector sheet, or something like microscope slides/thin plastic or glass bits you can paint on.

Alternatively, lay down some hot glue on waxed paper and let it cool. Hopefully it'll smooth out a bit and not be lumpy like hot glue often does. Paint it red. Done! You can paint/dye some rice or grains and throw it in before it cools to add some viscera or gore type stuff, too.

for large creatures!

The hole punches are pretty cheap on amazon ($11 for 1", and $12.50 for 2"), so even if you only deal with a few dozen large creatures over your DM life, it could still save you a decent chunk of time. But I'd totally understand if it's not a regular thing for you/your campaign(s).

For me, because I play on a whiteboard on the wall instead of on a mat on the tabletop, I instead use 2" per 5ft so that my players can more easily see everything.

I also print a lot of doubles for each token in different colours. This means that each mini has a unique colour (or different hair, weapons, etc). Which gives me flexibility to represent different setups for a fight, and it helps me keep track of each creature's hp without having numbers on every single mini.

To store and organise all of them, I bought some 3-ring binders, and clear photo sleeves. I also "borrowed" a sheet of sticky labels from work.
Originally I just used one envelope per monster type, and rubber-banded them together. But I found that got really annoying to deal with once I got to like 15 different monsters - an alphabetised folder is much faster and easier to flip through.

Materials Needed / Directions:

Mist maker, I used an ultrasonic mist maker. This $30 one from House of Hydro. There are many cheaper options on Amazon, but I went with House of Hydro because their products have much longer lives than the cheap stuff.

https://thehouseofhydro.com/store/p80/1diskmistmaker.html

Terrain I bought three of these but only used about half of the them because I only needed the edges. I painted them with regular grey primer spray paint from Walmart, then slate black spray paint. Touched up with some dry brushing. Sealed with spray on sealer so the water doesn't take away my dry brushing.

https://www.amazon.com/Locking-Dungeon-Tiles-Miniatures-Paintable/dp/B07GJZ7GGN/

A cheap plywood sheet approximately 1/2 inch thick, and 2x4. I got one at Home Depot for $5 because someone bit it. But something like this. You will need a saw or a powertool to cut a hole in the middle. So it looks like this.

https://imgur.com/a/WVd89FS

Primer and water seal it. It will get wet and you don't want it warping on you.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-2-in-X-2-ft-X-4-ft-PT-CDX-1500104/203183091

One under bed plastic tub

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-Corp-Underbed-Box/25460732

Three or four of these dollar store tea light holders. For the floating platforms.

https://www.dollartree.com/long-stem-glass-tealight-candleholders/162129

Food coloring to turn the water red or black or blue or whatever you want.

Minis to taste!

Warforged Beholder Original Eberron post https://i.imgur.com/CoJssWx.jpg

EDIT 1: Would anyone believe this campaign started as a mild rewrite of Lost Mines of Phendelver? Its true!!!

I simply download pictures of whatever mobs I want to make and minimize them to an appropriate size and print out a sheet of them. Here's an example of a group of kenkus that I made a while back.

Then I use self-stick furniture pads & a round paper punch to make custom tokens. I've found that with my particular punch it's better to use a thicker paper, like a cardstock or construction paper.

Then for storage I simply put them into a fishing tackle box. I've made several hundred that way.

https://www.amazon.com/WizKids-Icons-Realms-Falling-Sailing/dp/B07G4HSG36 is available for pre-order. It'll have several levels and is huuuuge. Looks amazing. The price matches the coolness of it though...

Thanks. I got the Dwarf from the Icons of The Realms Starter Set. It comes with 5 others, along with the Dwarf.

This is the link for the Amazon page. https://www.amazon.com/WizKids-Dungeons-Dragons-Realms-Starter/dp/B01M1CRRY3