Sculpting Miniatures for 3D Printing in ZBrush - FOUNDERS LAUNCH

📍Course Overview:

This course teaches aspiring and intermediate sculptors how to design, sculpt, and prepare miniatures for 3D resin printing using ZBrush. Focusing on 32mm scale miniatures for tabletop gaming, students will learn how to optimise details for readability and paintability, create compelling characters, and produce watertight STL files ready for printing.

Combining professional sculpting techniques with home-printer-friendly workflows, this course bridges the gap between digital design and physical tabletop miniatures.

Whether you’re a hobbyist wanting to bring your own characters to life or a professional looking to break into the miniatures market, this course delivers practical, real-world skills that lead to great results to begin building your miniature portfolio.

We'll be making a miniature from artwork that Dan has commissioned for his Adventurers Guild range - Gro'lok, Orc Barbarian Chieftain. This character has a good range of different techniques to employ.

🎯 Course Goals:

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Confidently use ZBrush to sculpt stylised 32mm miniatures
• Design strong silhouettes and readable details for small-scale printing
• Pose and finish characters with a painter’s eye
• Prepare and export clean, efficient STL files for resin printing
• Troubleshoot common print issues before they happen
• Approach miniature design with both form and function in mind

🧠 What You’ll Learn (Module Breakdown):

Module 1: Getting Started with ZBrush for Miniatures

• Interface overview
• Sculpting for scale: what works at 32mm
• Setting up your scene and scale references

Module 2: Base Mesh Building & Blocking

• Anatomy for stylised characters
• Working from concept (sketch, photo or imagination)
• Blocking with primitives and DynaMesh

Module 3: Sculpting Details That Matter

• Stylisation vs realism: what works for gaming
• Clothing, armour and gear that prints cleanly
• Hair, beards, and surface texturing tips

Module 4: Posing and Character Expression

• Creating dynamic, readable poses
• Tips for balance, movement, and silhouette
• Expression and gesture at small scale

Module 5: Cutting, Hollowing & Optimising for Print

• Preparing the model for slicing
• Strategic cutting and cleanup
• Hollowing and drain hole placement (Larger models only!)

Module 6: Exporting and Test Printing

• Exporting STL from ZBrush
• Supporting your miniature in Lychee
• First print & feedback cycle

Bonus Content:

• Dan's Custom, pre-scaled base meshes
• Custom brush pack
• Selection of pre-made weapons and components to use in your sculpts
• Timelapse sculpts with commentary
• Tips on sculpting with painting in mind

👨‍🏫 Instructor Bio:

Dan Kelly is a professional miniature sculptor and game designer with over 20 years of experience in miniature sculpting and 34 years in miniature painting. He has been sculpting digitally since 2010, and 3D printing professionally since 2016. He is the founder of The Lion’s Tower, where he produces original STL files and physical resin miniatures, as well as full tabletop games.

Dan teaches sculpting techniques live via streaming on Twitch, Youtube and Facebook, and combines artistic creativity with production knowledge to produce painter and printer-friendly miniatures beloved by tabletop fans.

👨‍🏫 Who Is This Course For?

✅ Beginner to intermediate sculptors
✅ Tabletop gamers, painters and creators who want to design their own minis
✅ 3D artists who want to break into miniature design professionally
✅ Hobbyists who are tired of STLs that print poorly or are impossible to paint

🎁 Pay What You Want Pricing:

Founder Tier - £29 Limited to first 25 signups — early access, lifetime updates

Early Bird - £39 Open until full launch

Full Price - £79 After course is fully recorded and released

Estimated Launch Date: 15th September 2025

❓ FAQs

Q: Do I need experience in ZBrush?
A: Not at all. I’ll walk you through from the basics, using a small range of simple beginner-friendly tools and workflows. A little art experience will help a lot though, no matter the level

Q: What software do I need?
A: ZBrush and Lychee Slicer. I’ll cover setup in the first lesson. Due to the nature of sculpting, we'll need to use brush dynamics, so a pen tablet is also an essential requirement.

Q: Can I use Blender instead of ZBrush?
A: This course is ZBrush-specific. Blender users will benefit from the design advice, but the workflow won’t translate directly.

Q: What Pen Tablet do you recommend?
A: Having used most popular brands over the years, I personally I love my Huion Kamvas. They can be a bit pricey but you can draw directly onto the screen. If that's outside of your price range, or you want to hang back on investing too heavily straight away, then a Huion Inspiroy or A Huion HS64 will suffice at much lower price points. With these models, you'll need to practice hand eye co-ordination though as they map to your monitor and do not have their own screens.

Q: How long will I have access to the course?
A: Forever. Once you’re in, you get lifetime access to all current and future content.

Q: Will I get feedback on my work?
A: Yes! I’ll be answering student questions during the course rollout and hosting optional feedback rounds. You can also enrol for Mentorship through Patreon and get regular 1 to 1 sessions, direct feedback and critiques of your work, and assistance to set up your own miniatures business or portfolio.

Q: When does the course begin?
A: The first module will drop on or shortly after 15 September 2025. New lessons will follow each week.

Q: What format is the course?
A: Pre-recorded video lessons + downloadable files, hosted directly on Gumroad. You'll be notified by email when new content drops.

Q: Can I sell what I sculpt in this course?
A: Sadly not as we'll be copying other models and working from reference images, but we'll use them to build a portfolio and get you on track to make your own unique miniatures which you can monetise in no time!

💥 Reserve Your Spot Now:

Ready to get started? Grab your founder spot now and help shape the next generation of miniature sculpting.