Good morning all! I've put my sculpting course and chainmail tutorial in the courses available to premium members, but I want to make sure that there is useful and valuable content in there that is exclusive to you guys here in this community. What I'd like to know though is are there any topics that you'd like to deep-dive into and get some instruction and direction on? Could be digital sculpting, putty sculpting/conversions could be painting, modelling, terrain building - take your pick! Let me know in the comments and I'll get cracking and start making videos and documents to scratch your itches!

I was asked recently by a good friend if I could offer any advice from the point of view of a professional, commercial artist to those looking to embark on a career in art. I came up with many gems, but the following for me is one of the single most important things that you should take onboard. Mindset, focus, and what people like to call manifestation all point to the same thing: what you believe to be true shapes the actions you take, and the actions you take shape your results. It doesn’t matter whether you think the universe is helping you or you think that’s all crystal-shop nonsense — the mechanism still works. You must decide, in your own head, that your success is inevitable. Not “I hope I make it”, not “maybe one day”… but “this is happening, now let’s build it.” Don’t discount this I’ve studied a lot of successful business people over the years — multi-millionaires, billionaires, founders, creators — and a fascinating pattern shows up again and again. They don’t talk about if they’ll succeed. They talk about how and when. Failure simply isn’t on the menu. Listen to something like The Diary of a CEO podcast and you’ll hear this mindset constantly: relentless belief, long-term focus, and an unshakeable expectation of success. They might not call it manifestation, but it is — unwavering belief driving behaviour until the outcome becomes unavoidable. Your brain backs this up. It has a built-in filtering system called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). Its job is to decide what information matters and what gets ignored. It doesn’t judge what’s true — it looks for evidence of whatever you already believe. If you believe you’re not good enough, your brain will serve you endless proof: slow sales, rejections, other artists “doing better”. If you believe you are becoming successful, your brain starts highlighting opportunities, connections, and openings that were always there — you just weren’t tuned to see them. It’s like being told to look for red cars on your way to work. Suddenly they’re everywhere. Then ask how many yellow cars you saw on that same journey and you won’t have a clue — your brain filtered them out. This is why negative self-talk is poison for creative businesses. You are literally instructing your own mind to hide opportunities from you. And this advice comes directly from experience - I’ve been there and made this realisation the hard way!

Miniatures aren’t viewed like illustrations — they’re seen at arm’s length, under varied lighting, often while you’re focused on gameplay. Because of that, miniatures require exaggeration to read clearly on the tabletop. For male minis, exaggeration is usually accepted without question: broader shoulders, stronger jaw, thicker hands, chunkier silhouettes — it helps them read quickly. For female minis, the same “readability” push often means more prominent feminine features. But that’s where it gets tricky: the visual shorthand that makes a female miniature read as female can be easily interpreted as over-sexualised, even when the actual intent is purely functional and design-driven. It could also come across as objectively ridiculous in terms of them having combat heels and boob plate on their armour and the like, but again it all adds to the visual cues of the model being female rather than a male with a smaller frame. My honest situation: I’ve avoided pushing female exaggeration for a long time and have leaned toward a more subtle style. But I’m not sure that’s always the best solution for tabletop clarity — and I don’t want to make design decisions based purely on my own assumptions. So I’d love your input: What do you prefer in female miniature design? A) Exaggerated for clarity — instantly reads as female on the tabletop B) Subtle / grounded — more realistic proportions, reads when viewed closer C) Mixed approach — depends on faction, setting, or character role And the key follow-up: - What specifically makes a female mini feel “over-sexualised” to you? - What specifically makes a female mini feel “clear and readable” to you? - Are there examples (games/ranges) you think strike the balance well? If you drop an A/B/C plus a sentence or two about why, that’ll give me a really useful compass for future releases. The 2 images are illustrations of my miniatures - the grey one is the "usual" standard of female miniatures I create, and the coloured one is a selection of the "pinups" that I've done to date to highlight the differences. I'd also note that the clothing on the pinups is deliberately scanty for obvious reasons - I'm looking more at the physical proportions than the attire in this respect.

Hi all! We've had quite a few new members in lately which is great but the group activity has been really low. Lets get a bit of focus and start getting you the content that you came here for. I'd love to hear from everyone to find out what you want. Sculpting tips and tutorials, painting guides and tips? Help dialling in your 3d printer or getting perfect supports? Help and guidance for monetising your work? vote in the poll, but lets see your specific needs and wants in the comments.

1. Only uploading to one platform If you only upload to one shop, you’re relying on one algorithm and one audience.Spread wide and let multiple platforms bring you traffic. Honestly, I went exclusive with MMF just prior to the Tribes launch (their insistence, not my own choice) and they pulled a U turn on me and it almost cost me my business! Don't make the same mistake! 2. Thinking “If I upload it, people will come” They won’t. Every platform has its own quirks and discovery systems. You still need attractive thumbnails, good keywords, and consistent uploads to stay visible and relevant on your chosen platforms! 3. Not offering anything for free Free models on Thingiverse, Printables, Cults etc act as funnels. People discover you, follow links and then end up buying your paid STLs. This doesn't work for every customer though as there are loads of people that will only ever go for the free stuff! And make sure that what you offer is representative of your range and the quality that you're capable of - no offering "duds" just because they're free! 4. Overpricing early models If you’re unknown, you need to earn trust. Start competitively, then raise prices as your quality and reputation grow. Don't rely on discounts to make your prices attractive or you'll only make a sale during Black Friday or other seasonal sales! 5. Not having a website Your own site adds legitimacy and becomes your long-term revenue engine. Even a simple Shopify store beats no home base at all. As a minimum, get yourself a linktree page to host links to all your other store fronts so sharing on socials and ads becomes easier! 6. Starting Patreon too early Monthly subscriptions sound amazing… until you’re chained to a sculpting treadmill. Start Patreon after you’ve built a small audience and a predictable workflow. Ideally you should aim for around 6 months of planned releases and then maintain that. I fell into this trap early on with 6 months of releases scheduled, but at the time I was part time and I couldn't sculpt fast enough to replace them in time so I ended up sculpting the months releases on the month in question! customers like to see what's coming up so they know they want to stick around, and it's always hard to keep the trust up when you're late delivering! I've been stuck in that cycle for many years and it's not fun!