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Thanks for your feedback. I've used PPT my whole life and didn't know that! I moved the base eyes to PPT and scaled them down, and they are muuuuch higher resolution. Didn't mean to creep you out 🤪 I just wonder when people make decals, how do they get the dimensions so accurate when there are so many changing factors like canvas size, paper size, and the funky margins different printers make.

@Chronocidal I tried your method and got much higher resolution results. Although I used a much larger canvas by mistake. Do yo think that will have a bad effect? Here is the file if anyone wants to print some eyes!

@Chronocidal Wow, awesome feedback. I will get on it and see how it goes. Thanks.

So here is my first painted 3D printed figure. Freyja gets to be the guinea pig, as I try to figure out the best way to do these. I hand painted her eyes, so you can see why I am trying to print eye decals. But for my decals to be the right scale, I would need my smallest eyes from the previous file reduced by 50% - 75%. I don't even know if that is possible to print decals so small.

Thanks all for your feedback. I appreciate it. I will try your recommendations, although I am a bit confused. My process was I drew the largest eye, then I scaled down 10% each additional eye, but always using the original drawing as the basis to scale down. @Chronocidal I am not sure my printer has anything to do with it. You can see the pixelation even on the original file before printing. Unless I am using Paint wrong.

I find that eye decals are very helpful for finishing figures. But they don't seem to sell them in all scales, and certainly not in the small sizes I want. So I designed some eyes in MS Paint. But after printing them, I realized that this software is not high definition enough for decals. Can anyone recommend a good software for designing decals? Preferably free. I've attached the file as well, in case someone can do something with it.

Fantastic preshading and lining. Nice work!

This if for you Delta connoisseurs. Don't want anyone to feel left out. I tried to cut corners and just get her done. But she was still a PITA to finish. This is an example of how they look primed with an airbrush. Lets see how the print lines look after a few coats of hand paint. Keep in mind these are very small figures and I'm taking very close up shots. You wouldn't believe how much lighting is needed to photograph these things. You cannot see the print lines at even 3x magnification.

True, that's why I'm keeping it low key, staying just on this forum for now.

Wow, you designed all these stickers yourself?

Mechtech, Your details are looking great. Reminds me a bit of Masamune Shirow's manga designs.

Thanks Thom. I wouldn't monetize unlicensed IP. But eventually once I finish my project, I will find a way to release all my figures for free. I am using some parts made by other people; So I need to figure that out too.

Macross Idol Project Cont'd... This is a special treat for Macross II fans. She is completely scratch built from parts, with sculpting and added clothing details (If you can call it clothing😃). The last two photos are actually of a print fail on her left side and left hand, which I reprocessed and printed for first photo. Not my favorite character, but can't wait to paint and highlight these details.

A Lot of amazing valks and Macross planes have shown up on Cults and Thingiverse. Get 'em while you can. They are free.

This addresses the issue about field of vision and distance for head magnifiers.

repost

Kodai is just for practice, but he won't make the stage unless he's a soprano🙃 It WAS you who got me thinking about adding details. Thx for that.

@MechTech You had asked me if I can add detail to clothing to make painting easier. I just figured out a method based on traditional scultping. I'm not sure how pros do it, but this is simple and effective. First I draw the shape I want directly on the figure's pixels. Then straighten the lines. Then I fatten or extrude the section to get a body hugging design detail. Then we smooth everything out to get a better shape. Now it looks like it will be a ton of fun to paint! I have a lot of ideas for Macross figures now that I can add some details.

Thanks Derex. How close do you have to hold the objects to focus is?

Derex3592, I have a question about the head magnifier you are using. The one I have I need to hold the objects just 4 or 5 inches away from the glasses, which is not practical. I cant really work with both hands so close to my face. Is it the same with yours? Any recommemdations appreciated.

Thanks guys. My goal is to have every Macross idol up on my stage. Delta is in question though. I may just do Freyja out of the goodness of my heart.

I am not sure how well Nadesico holds up after all these years, but it was a blast back in the day. I don't want to turn this into a 3D Printing thread, and I am also fearful that people will try to monetize Macross intellectual property. The pandora's box of 3D printing is open, anyone can search the web and learn how to do this. But if you want to know more about the process, I will try to give some details with each figure, because the process always differs. To start with, I will give some steps on my next Ranka figure to go with Sheryl. Keep in mind that my 3D Design skill level is zero, so any feedback is welcomed. Ranka is an MMD file. This is how she looks before processing. With MMD files you can apply pose libraries, because MMD files use standard bone armature naming. Other files like STL and XPS, you have to pose yourself with an armature or posing app like Mixamo. But those tend to cause a lot of deformations that need to be resculpted later. With MMD pose libraries, the poses are cleaner and require less work. With this pose, I needed to consider how it will print, so I put the fingers together as much as possible to make solid objects for printing, and avoid very thin parts that will easily break off. I also changed the pose to hold a microphone, and imported an UTA Macross mic. Ranka is still low poly, and at some stage I will smooth the surface. When depends on if I get any distortion, if I do, I delay processing to a later stage. The same goes for all my processing, the order depends on a visual check of results. There is no set order. I scale the figure to my size of 3.6 cm, then I run a thickness inspection to see where I have problems. I want most parts to be at least 0.2-0.3mm thick. The red parts don't pass the test, and I will try to thicken them. Some edges will remain too thin and not form during printing, but that's okay with me. Visual inspection shows that the hair bangs are too thin, so those need thickening. As do all the little ribbons she is wearing. Checking this ribbon on her wrist we see that many of these details are not actually attached to the model, so I need to push them in. After exporting the model to STL and repairing in 3D Builder, a lot of the thickness problems are already solved. Every 3D model needs to be repaired to make it manifold and printable, you can do this with Netfabb, Microsoft 3D Builder or Microsoft 3D Repair. Ranka is one simple model, so I had to repair her only once. Other models made out of disparate parts kitbashed together may need to be repaired separately then brought together. Before Thickening Parts: After Thickening Parts: These Before and After shots show the results of thickening her hair, ribbons and dress parts. I also made the object "solid" in Meshmixer, which further prepares it for printing and adds some thickness everywhere, it has the drawback of also losing small details like on the face, as you can see. She is ready for supports and printing at this stage. But these designs are very delicate, so you have to be very careful removing from the sprues, I don't rip them off like on large prints, I snip each one off carefully with nippers and model blade and magnifier to avoid causing any tension. Years of hobbying experience helps me get them off without damaging weak thin parts, but I always lose a finger or two that need remolding and sculpting. For this size figure, I use 0.3mm support contacts points, which are strong enough to anchor the model. For thin parts like fingers, hair and delicate dress edges, I use 0.2mm-0.25mm contact points to not damage the features, but I have to be sure to anchor them with a 0.3mm support very nearby, or they will rip off during printing and result in a failed print. As you can see above, my biggest concern is the fingers and ribbons and dress edges. Due to good pre-planning, each hand only needed two supports to print correctly, without each finger needing a support. I angle the figure to build on itself, and avoid any supports on the front of the figure. The final result after postprocessing and curing. No sanding involved with these two, I will deal with imperfections after priming. Credits: Models by DeNA and PON. Conversion and edit by makochips. Pose by snorlaxin. Resculpting, posing, editing, printing by me. This is fan art for personal use, not for sale or distribution.

Just got back from break. I stayed away from the net to refresh, but I haven't been away from Macross! Hot of the printer, and I mean really smokin' hot! She is based off an MMD model with heavy editing from me (not heavy breathing), 3.6cm height, 1/48 scale (but not really), for my Macross stage diorama. The usual disclaimer: This is fan art, not for sale or distribution. I have 10 figures in some stage of production. Should I wait till their printed to show you? Or just throw everything at you along the way? And lots of great builds from everyone while I was away: Liking Derex's lighting (looking forward to the Q-Rau), Gabe Q's valk, Peter's everything, Electric Indigo's FSS resin painting, and Mechtech's amazing detail work (Do you love Nadesico to bits like I do, or is this just a bit of kit-bashing fun for you?)

I will be away from home, so this is my last project of the summer. Hope you like this rockin' pair! Mylene's Bass Guitar courtesy of a kind pro on Artstation https://www.artstation.com/artwork/E3Rge Models from from Uta Macross: Smartphone Deculture. This is fan art. No sale or distribution.

Thanks. I do have the aperature icon on my camera and video. Let me see how it looks. My photos suck!!!!! These phone cameras give icons, but they don't say what they are. I also have ISO and a couple other unamed things. So for a noob like me, I have no idea. Any idea how to do black background "night' shots. The type where the object looks like its in the dark but all the details are clear.