With a lot more detail of course on this 28mm tug boat.
Would digital 3D-sculpted files (originally created for the contest occasion) be something which we should welcome in CDO contests? Or should painted physical prints be mandatory?
If allowed, for what contests?
Some notes on the first question: We have a growing number of 3D-sculptors, and several evil dwarf manufacturers have started to release products as STL files (@LKMinis and Dancing Yak Miniatures at the moment). 3D-sculpting is obviously a genuine creative outlet which requires skill and lots of work just like handsculpting do.
Some notes on the second question: Our two competitions dealing with miniatures (not writing) are Golden Hat and Artisan’s Contest. Golden Hat (GH) is our flagship competition, and focused on painting.
Artisan’s Contest (AC) have always been more of an exploratory type of event, more about raw creativity and crafts. At first glance, AC would seem better suited than GH for digital sculpts (not prints) if they are to be welcomed. Giving green light for original digital 3D-sculpt files (not prints - which are just ordinary physical miniatures same as castings are) would also give green light for unpainted sculpts and conversions in Artisan’s Contest.
Chaos Dwarfs Online has always been about encouraging creativity, and we are fortunate to have talented 3D-sculptors putting our niche at the forefront of groundbreaking technology.
So where do we draw the line, and for which contest type?
Please discuss.
Side note: It would probably be better to have this covered in general rules for all contests of AC and GH respectively, rather than hosting a yearly 3D-sculpting competition or the like (which most members couldn’t participate in). Keep it inclusive.
I have no opposition to STL files being entered into comps. Not sure about having a STL only comp as I don’t know whether we have enough people who do 3D sculpting; that being said, it might be incentive for people to give it a go and learn how to do it, so I wouldn’t rule it out all together.
IMO we should keep GH for painted entries, but for Artisian it would be fine to enter an STL-file… The more the merrier, and people vote for what they enjoy the most anyway.
I think STL would be fine for any 2D media contests such as many of the Artisans contests. Perhaps specific contests for STL files would be in order. Maybe a new category.
I would not recommend allowance for Golden Hat. While both require skill and time, painting by hand is a very different skill set than digital artwork.
It’s a very good point. In my opinion STLs could be artisan entries definitely. I’m not sure it would work for golden hat unless it’s been printed and painted. STL is essentially a sculpt (albeit a digital one) and we wouldn’t accept an unpainted hand sculpted miniature in GH even if it was very nice.
Thanks a lot, gentlemen! Then Golden Hat will be physical painted miniatures only, but let’s try with first opening up Artisan’s Contest for unpainted handsculpts and digital 3D-sculpts. It’s not like they will have a strong advantage over actually cast, printed or sculpted minis with colours on.
We could sure experiment with 3D-sculpting contests, but turnout risk being low. And there is a limited amount of contest slots in a year. That said, it rhymes a lot with thoughts of arranging a CD music contest which I’ve had recurringly over the years. Also a clear risk of low turnout, but could be great if it works out.
Perhaps a rollcall of interest will be called for in the not so distant future?
