Design Process Articles

How a 3D printed collectible is designed: sculpting, printability, print-in-place engineering, finishing, and the artists behind the models.

Two kinds of work meet in this section. Some pieces begin as our own sculpts and run the full loop — concept, printability review, test prints, revisions, production. Others arrive already designed, from community artists whose models we license and bring into production. Both paths are represented here, and we are explicit about which is which.

The craft articles cover what makes a model production-ready: wall thickness and overhangs, tolerances on print-in-place joints, why layer lines appear where they do, how multi-colour changes the design brief, and what sanding, priming and painting can and cannot rescue. They also cover the less comfortable part: why a design that looks flawless on screen can still fail its first test print, and what we change when it does.

The designer profiles cover the other half — our own design archive alongside the community artists whose work shapes the catalogue, among them Flexi Factory, Cinderwing3D, McGybeer and Arbiter Miniatures. Those profiles explain how the partnership model works and why naming a designer matters.

Continue to Product Spotlights for the finished pieces, Behind the Print Farm for the production side, or browse the 3DCentral catalogue.

31 articles