Colony Castings

 (Pm me if you have any requests for resizing or rebasing)

COLONY CASTINGS
The Colony Castings line is mainly intended for at home hobbyists who wish to order a single 'master copy' and then drop cast or press mold a whole army using those masters- if you dont know how to do this PM me or look up Miller Bros Sculpting on Facebook and I can show you how this is done in a variety of methods.

Most of what you see in theShapeways shop for Colony Castings is designed for WSF as many of the people who contract me want nice gaming pieces rather than detailed miniatures for display- however I can reformat to suit your needs.

    Likewise at first I offered many models in the polished WSF but have found that the polishing process leaves a lot to be desired as it rounds off what limited details there are so I stopped offering it in that format- instead I suggested using metal embossing tools to plenish the regular WSF- DONT SAND IT; polishing those flat parts you want smooth and leaving the detail to remain.  I have videos showing how to do this on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/359229084109707/videos/1137586972940577/





Hiring Me:  

    I've been sculpting fine art and miniatures for companies and private collectors since 2003.  Although my work featured here is primarily 3d design I am also available for traditional methods.  Much of the designs I post are currently for smaller scales such as 1/285 (6mm) because the nature of 3d printing is costly for larger projects however I can be contacted to do whatever scale and size you like- just shoot me a message.  

1) For a reasonable fee I can provide you with the file in the following formats:  Blender .dae .3ds .fbx .ply .obj .x3d .stl

2) I can help you upload the file to Shapeways if you do not already have a printer in mind and walk you through the process of ordering your design- I currently do not offer prints from myself personally- Shapeways has a far better satisfaction gaurantee than I do.



  

General Information about commissioned work:

1)Sculpting figures takes time- THE FEE : although my rates are reasonable and I have a sliding scale I don’t work for free. My typical wage works out to the local minum wage- which is roughly $12/hr.   Even the smallest 6mm figures will take 2-3 hours, and the larger ones will literally take months. To be clear: If I am to spend 10 hours on a project it wont be a $20 figure. This really shouldn’t need to be said and yet I have it as number 1 because it comes up far more often than I would like. You don’t work for free*, neither do I.

(*If discussed before we start I do some times do work in trade, however trying to barter after the work is done is unacceptable).

     In general my rates are $100usd for each 1" (2.5cm) of detailed sculpture- details finer than 0.3mm often cant be see clearly and so those are not a part of the quote- if you require precision detail finer than that it will cost extra .  This typically takes roughly 10 hours of time to both create the file and check it for errors (and Shapeways issues if that is your choice of printer). This can vary with complexity so if that 1" is highly detailed such that it takes longer, then it could run as high as $200 or more.   The point being, if you come to me with a 15 hour job and expect anything less than at least $10/hour then you are simply wasting both of our time.    Likewise, if someone else has offered to do the job for much less and you are satisfied with their credentials then go with them (I honestly wont work for less just because someone else who doesnt value their time or skills will).  Sorry but this last is a pet peeve of mine because I know my rates are far more reasonable than most and I have no shortage of work currently so to get PMs from people trying to berate me into working on their project for less than what I can make working a cash register or waiting tables is a bit insulting ;)  Skilled art can be reasonably priced but that doesnt mean 'super cheap'.  My rates are reasonable... but if you want retail cheap then go to Wal-Mart.
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2)The right person for the job- If you are not confident in a sculptors work and style then do not hire them in the first place. As pretty much all of them have portfolio work to view you should familiarize yourself with their style before you contact them for work. If you prefer the style of another artist then hire the other artist or accept that you will be getting an approximation of the other artists style.

3)Getting started- I will discuss your project with you, however I will not start any project based on that alone. I require you to provide concept material (pictures are preferred)  and will quote a due date as well as a fee after I see exactly what you have in mind.   If you don’t have any art I can be hired to draw some up with your description so you can see what you will get.   The cost to do a single fast sketch conceptual picture is $25 per sketch.   Please dont bother to tell me to watch some movie or read some comic book or Google things- you need to do the work of providing your concept unless the whole point is you want a 'Miller Original'-  otherwise I need to bill you for the time spent searching to find the concept material and it may not be what you had in mind which can get costly.   Why?  Because I cant read minds and far too much time can be wasted trying to get the 'right look' wich only exists in your own head.   You prolly dont want to have to pay me for that time so it is vital that you know what you want before hand.  Without adequate resources to describe the subject you run the risk of getting something different from whats in your own minds image.


You must be able to tell me the exact size and scale of the project. If you switch scales half way through the project it pretty much resets the clock back to zero for traditional sculpting - it may not be an issue for SOME 3d renders though some scale issues may result and that may change the time required and the labor hours involved and I don’t refund the time I already spent on the first sculpt so knowing what you want and need before we begin really is vital.

  In addition you are responsible for any and all copyright and Intellectual Property issues that result from your project- I cant possibly be expected to determine ownership of every artwork provided to me and so the onus is on you.   It is something to keep in mind as you provide me with the concept art materials if you want me to copy something exactly as you see it without permission from the owner... and a lawsuit may be the result of it. Further if you plan on selling copies of the artwork be sure you obtain proper licencing from relevant IP owners first as I can not grant you permission to other people's IP... and a lawsuit may be the result of it.    If you approach me to do any work it is under the assumption that you have permission to do so: again, as an artist I do not have the resources to check your sources or to verify if you have permission or not to fund any project you hire me for, and as such the onus is on you to be certain you are not violating any laws by requesting my services.

4)Commitment- I require at least a 50% deposit before I will devote any of my time to any project. Simply put I get 2-3 emails a week from people who are ‘interested’ in having me sculpt something and most of that is wasted time as it never gets any further than them talking about it. I love a good 'pipe dream' as much as the next person but for me this is my livlihood and has been for over a decade: Until you are willing to invest in your own project you can’t reasonably expect me to invest my own time in it.  With this in mind many people prefer to pay 100% up front if they are unsure of having the funds on hand when I complete the work (see point #6).


5)Completion- I provide work in progress pictures and encourage active feedback from the client. At the end of the project I will provide the final images for your review. At this time you can suggest any small alterations but large changes will require an extension to the due date and possible fee increases if it is a substantial change from the original request. At this time the remaining 50% of the fee and the shipping cost are due before I ship the finished work. I always finish my work and the vast majority of my clients are pleased with what I show them (and most say the sculptures look better in person).


6) Disappearing Act- In the past 10 years I have had one client who dropped off the face of the planet (owing several people outstanding fees). As a result I now require you to contact me with final payment within 30 days of my due date. If I do not hear from you and work out some form of payment then I reserve the right to sell your project to recover the remaining 50% of my fee.