"Technology is killing art." Topic

I've seen several kickstarters with really poorly done miniatures. THe detailing and proportion are perfect. Thats what computers do.

So far I have seen two that used the same face on every miniature. Some really flat figures, too. Everyone can be an artist now…

The same face on every mini. That is crazy!

The same face on every mini. That is crazy!

I grew up on MiniFigs in the 1970s so it seems pretty normal to me!

Mind you, it's definitely a missed opportunity…

John T

Get off my lawn! Or to put it another way, crap existed long before digital printing and kickstarters.

I had some fairly flat figures from a Kickstarter – I assumed it was poor mould making rather than the original sculpt.

I don't understand. Are you saying you they're poorly done because the detailing and proportion are perfect?

There have always been bad miniatures. We just don't remember the failed lines because…well…they failed. It's just that the internet makes it easier to put more eyeballs on your bad miniatures before they fail.

I've seen some well-done AutoCAD figures, but in general I agree that they lack style and individuality. I can always spot them a mile away. The OP is saying that they're done with numeric properties in software and copy and pasted elements as this promotes mass production and can often compensate for a lack of talent by the "sculptor." The figures often lack individuality and, frankly, soul. It's akin to the difference in craftsmanship between say a handmade piece of antique furniture and IKEA furniture. The only company I've seen that seems to do the AutoCAD thing and retain a sense of artistic style and integrity is GW--probably because their folks are real artists trained in traditional media and because they lavish a lot of extra time.

You either need a wide range of skills or a large staff who specialize in various aspects of the manufacturing process. We run over a dozen 3D printers of various sizes at the university I'm at and just because you can draw incredible buildings, science projects, figurines, etc., doesn't mean that they will print correctly. We spend a lot of time consulting with students and turning their project into something that actually ends up looking good. With large companies like GW you have artists, then manufacturing skills who can take those files and work with them so it produces figures that look very good.

The technology continues to improve each and every day. Within the last three years there have been a number of 3D modeling programs, from Slic3r to Rhino, with each one taking its turn as the leader. We're ordering copies of Substance Painter today for our labs and you can do some amazing things with that program. Each one makes things easier and easier, so in a few years you won't need incredible skills to make 3D models. Of course, those who spend time with these programs, improve their skills, stay up to date with the technology, etc., will be able to do incredible things beyond what most people can do.

All I can say is this; the more I learn how to sculpt digitally, the less impressed I am when I see a digital sculpt.

I have far more respect and admiration for traditional sculpting now.

@ 20thmaine – I thin that has more to do not with poor moldmaking, but most sculptors, and an increasing number of them, don't really have any experience with making molds so they don't know how to properly layout a figure for moldmaking, as in making the model thicker on the plane where the mold halves will separate (due to shrinkage).

I've been making molds since I was 18, I'm 46 now, and most sculptors I've met have only the most rudimentary knowledge of how molds are made. Most of that is also garnered by them "having a buddy that knew a guy that once worked for GW retail and he got to talk to Jes at Games Day back in '05 and this is what he was told".

So that is what passes as knowledge and experience these days. There is a real lack of knowledge when it comes to manufacturing in the wargames industry, and it's only getting worse due to outsourcing.

/Cynicism

There was an old Atari game called "Adventure" – original dungeon crawl game.

link

Take a look and then compare to today's games.

We really do not need to blame technology for badly designed figures. Some of the figure lines from the 1970's and 1980's were so awful that the only practical use I could see for them was to melt them down into ammunition for my replica long rifle. I will cite the Napoleonic lines by RAFM and Mike's Models as examples--grotesque blobs not worth wasting time to paint. Although I have not seen any recent productions as bad as those from established manufacturers, there are still plenty of figures on the market that are pretty bad in terms of anatomical proportions and realistic poses, which is more important to me than individuality and style.

I have far more respect and admiration for traditional sculpting now.

+1

Digital sculpting is the future though. Nothing excuses bad miniatures

John

> I've seen several kickstarters with really poorly done miniatures.

And I've seen many KS with really great miniatures.

KS has lowered the barrier to entry, so I'm not surprised if you can find poor quality metal and resin miniatures, or badly drawn renders. However, as a boardgamer, I know that the quality of miniatures has substantially improved, thanks to CMON, aka. Cool Mini or Not, a company who originally started in miniatures. As a regular on the Reaper KS forum, I have no difficulty whatsoever finding high quality miniatures funded through KS.

Look harder.

attilathepun47, lol!!! I remember some sculpts so bad they
were akin to the few times I tried the art. The thing that cracked me up was that you could see the sculptors fingerprint on the minis!

I have in my possession more awesome kickstarters than naught. Zombiecide Dark Age, Blood Rage, Cthulhu wars,
Reaper bones. Many that are so good that I dont care if
I ever paint them, they are art as they are.

BTW I didn't understand some of the things I wrote.
Too many meds, too much insanity. What I don't understand
is how can someone who does not have some art background make these 3d things? Are there templates, is it easy to copy a face you see in a magazine?

I am sure that real art will endure and crap will meet the paper basket.

I am sure that real art will endure and crap will meet the paper basket.

Won't happen. There are still plenty of bobblehead and cartoon figures being produced for historical games. Wargamers like crap.

Well they are welcome to it. I probably like stuff they would hate.