How to Make 3D Printed Miniatures From a Photo

Make the model from a photo

Here is the route in Bake3D. For other ways, like scanning a real person with your phone, see the figurine guide.

1. Pick a good photo. The whole body in the frame, standing, on a plain background with even light. Arms a little away from the body help the AI tell them apart. You can pose them back in later. A three-quarter angle shows more of the shape than a straight front view.
2. Check it for free. The free picture check reads your photo and tells you the exact price before you pay. It needs a free account, and you can do three a day. Try finished characters in the free 3D demo first if you like.
3. Make the model. It costs 30 credits at Draft, 40 at Standard or 55 at High. For a real person, High quality with the Faithful face option keeps the eyes and face shape closer to the photo, for 14 credits more. Two to four photos of the same subject from other sides cost 10 credits more and give the AI less to guess. The smallest pack is $5 for 80 credits, and every price is on the pricing page.
4. Add a rig if you want a new pose. A rig costs 25 credits. With it, you can play a free preset motion and pause on the frame you like. You can also describe a pose, such as “sit down and look up”, for 10 credits. See the 3D character maker for what the rig can do.
5. Export an STL. In the Export tab, STL saves the model in its current pose, as geometry only.

Know the limits. From one photo, the back is a guess, and a face looks like the person in shape and style, not a perfect copy. Bake3D does not add a base, supports or drain holes, and it does not split the model into parts. The steps below cover those.

Set the size yourself. The studio’s STL uses the model’s own units, not millimetres, and its up direction is Y, while most slicers treat Z as up. So in your slicer the figure may open tiny and lying on its back. Turn it to stand on its feet, then scale it until it is the height you want, such as 34 mm to the top of the head.

Pose it so it survives the printer

A pose that looks great on screen can snap off the build plate. At tabletop size, every part that sticks out on its own is a weak point.

• Keep arms and hands against the body. Where an arm touches the side, the body holds it up. A free hanging wrist only 1.2 mm thick does not have that help.
• Stand on both feet. Two feet on the base give two strong joins, instead of one ankle holding the whole figure.
• Keep weapons and tools short, or let them touch the body, a leg or the base.
• Lean, do not reach. A forward lean or a turned head adds life without thin parts sticking out.
• Bend thin things toward the body. Tails, ears, capes and hair are safer close to the body than flying out.

If you want an action pose anyway, plan to support the raised parts well, or split them off and print them separately.

Print it in resin

Resin printers cure liquid resin with light, one thin layer at a time. They are the usual choice for miniatures because they keep fine detail.

Layer height. Anycubic says its default of 0.05 mm balances detail and speed. Formlabs says its printers can go down to 25 micron layers, which is 0.025 mm. Start at 0.05 mm, and only go thinner if you can see layer lines on faces.

Orientation. Formlabs suggests tilting a model about 45 degrees instead of standing it straight up, so each layer changes less from the one before. Point the face and the front away from the supports. A hollow shape with its opening toward the build plate can act like a suction cup and pull the print off. Turn it so the opening faces another way, and add drain holes.

Supports. Most slicers can add supports for you. A guide on the Lychee slicer’s site sets light supports at a 0.3 mm tip, medium at 0.4 mm and heavy at 0.6 mm. It says light supports are only for keeping detail, while medium ones hold the print’s shape and keep it on the build plate. A miniature usually needs medium supports under the body and light ones under small details.

Hollowing. A 28 or 32 mm figure prints solid. Hollow a bust or a larger figure to save resin. Prusa suggests at least two drain holes, so resin can flow out and air can get in.

Wash and cure.

1. Wash the print in isopropyl alcohol of 90% or stronger, as Formlabs recommends. Its wash machine runs 10 minutes by default.
2. Let it dry for at least 30 minutes.
3. Cure it under UV light. Formlabs notes that curing is optional for its standard resins, but it makes most resins harder.
4. Remove the supports. Formlabs suggests doing this after curing, while many hobby printers do it before. Try both and see which leaves fewer marks.

Stay safe. Formlabs asks you to wear nitrile or neoprene gloves and safety glasses. It also says not to run a printer in a closet or other room with no air flow. Hobby resins differ, so read the safety data sheet for yours. Isopropyl alcohol catches fire easily, so keep it away from flames.

Print it on a filament printer

You can print miniatures on a regular FDM printer, the kind that melts plastic filament. The details are softer, but it works for gaming pieces and test prints.

• Use a small nozzle. Prusa’s guide uses a 0.25 mm nozzle. Bambu Lab’s blog suggests 0.2 mm.
• Use thin layers. Prusa suggests 0.07 or 0.1 mm. Bambu Lab says 0.08 mm works well.
• Slow down and cool down. Prusa suggests printing slower, about 5 degrees cooler, and with the extrusion multiplier at 0.9 instead of 1.0.
• Use soft supports. Prusa says its organic supports are easy to remove and do not scar the surface. It also says its printers handle overhangs of 45 to 60 degrees without support, and less with small nozzles.
• Expect a few hours. Prusa says one figure can take 2 to 3 hours.

Remember the wrist measurement above. At 32 mm, a free hanging arm is only a few nozzle widths thick, so choose a pose with the arms against the body.

Split big figures into parts

Bigger figures, busts and action poses print better in parts. Each part can face the best way, and you need fewer supports.

• In your slicer. PrusaSlicer and Bambu Studio both have a Cut tool that can add connectors, such as plugs and dowels, so the parts line up when you glue them.
• In Blender. The Bisect tool cuts a mesh in two with a flat plane, and its Fill option closes the cut. Our bobblehead guide shows the steps with pictures.
• Leave room for glue. Prusa says its printers are accurate to at least 0.2 mm and suggests at least 0.3 mm of gap for moving parts. For resin, Formlabs says parts closer than 0.4 mm may fuse together. Print a small test peg before you print the whole figure.

Want the parts in one file? Our free STL to 3MF converter puts several STL files into one 3MF, as parts of one object.

Check the file before you slice it

AI models are made to be looked at, not printed, so check every file first:

1. Open the STL in our free STL viewer and checker. It shows the size, holes, flipped faces and loose parts. Everything runs in your browser.
2. Fix what it finds with the free STL repair tool. It closes holes, joins open seams and turns flipped faces. It does not thicken thin walls, so fix those with the pose or the scale.
3. Look at the sliced layers in your slicer before you press print, especially the hands, feet and face.

Paint your miniature

Painting is where a grey print becomes your character. Keep every coat thin, so it does not fill in the small details.

1. Prime it. The Army Painter suggests holding a spray primer about 15 to 20 cm away, spraying outdoors, and painting when the air is 40% to 60% humid. Thick primer hides fine detail. Formlabs suggests short, quick sprays and says 2 to 3 thin layers cover a surface.
2. Paint the base colors. The Army Painter recommends thinned paint in several thin layers instead of one thick coat.
3. Shade it. A thin, dark wash flows into creases and makes the shapes stand out.
4. Highlight it. Paint a lighter color on raised areas, like the nose and the folds of clothes. For a quick result, drybrush: wipe most of the paint off the brush on a paper towel, then brush lightly across the raised parts.
5. Seal it. Formlabs suggests 1 or 2 thin, even layers of clear coat. A matte varnish protects a gaming piece that gets handled a lot.

A note on other people’s characters

Miniatures of your own D&D hero, your family or your pet are yours to make. Characters from games, films and books belong to their owners. Wizards of the Coast’s fan content policy says it does not allow anyone to sell Wizards-related content without its permission. For a miniature of a real person, ask first, especially if you plan to sell it. Our guide to selling 3D models covers marketplace rules.

Start with a photo

Make the model on the image to 3D page, pose it with the arms in, and export the STL. If you want to change the model in a free program first, our guide to free 3D modeling software shows which one fits the job.