Sculpting practice has driven me into mold making and resin casting too. Dice seemed like a natural extension of that.

I 3d printed some master dice with custom designs to make molds out of. I made these monster dice...

...as well as these holiest tilapia dice. This example is sanded--note the glossier finish.

It turned out sanding would consistently be the biggest timesink in dice making. My first set of masters took about 5 hours to sand with 6 different grits of polishing paper.

I ended up investing in a mini pottery wheel and strapping some sandpaper to it. It's saved me about half an hour per dice set, and two hours per set of masters.

My first attempt at a mold. I didn't let the masters de-gas for long enough apparently, and the resulting mold had sticky, uneven surfaces.

I was out of silicone so while more shipped I decided to try the mold anyway.

The colors are beautiful but the numbers are totally gone and the faces are way too uneven.

I cleaned that first set up for posterity, but it took way longer than I'm willing to repeat, and most of those numbers are freehanded.

With my new silicone came a pressure pot. Popping the dice in right after I pour them makes a world of difference in the consistent lack of bubbles.

For reference, this is the best die I could make without a pressure pot. Note the pitted surface.

The pressure pot has to stay sealed for nearly 24 hours after the resin goes in, so I made this ridiculous rack to cram as much in as I could. I also experimented with different molds. I ended up sticking with vented squish molds but skipping high sides, as cuts and keys on the outside of the mold gave me the best alignment.

After a series of unfortunately unphotographed experiments, I settled on a mold design I liked and finished my first sale-quality set!

Finished sets, all packaged up and stamped with feesh blessings.

Here's a closeup from my favorite set. It's fully clear resin with some preserved moss inside.

Exploring resin casting and making my own RPG dice.

Holiest Tilapia

Adventures in Dice

Exploring resin casting and making my own RPG dice.