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AI-generated miniatures for tabletop printing
From prompt to painted mini: generate a figure, add a base, scale to 28/32 mm, and print it in resin or FDM. What works and what doesn't.
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Quick answer
Can you make tabletop miniatures with AI?
Yes. Generate a figure from a sketch, a character image or a prompt in a clear standing pose, then make it printable: check it's watertight, thicken thin parts such as weapons, scale it to your game's figure size, and add a round base. Resin printers capture miniature detail best, but chunky stylised figures print well on FDM too.
Why AI and minis fit together
Tabletop players often need a figure that doesn't exist: their own character, an unusual monster, an NPC the party met last week. Commissioning a sculpt takes time and money. An AI generator can produce a printable starting point in minutes, especially for stylised figures.
What generates well
- Monsters and creatures with solid bodies: golems, beasts, slimes, dragons with folded wings.
- Stylised heroes with chunky proportions.
- Terrain pieces and scatter: crates, barrels, statues, shrines, rocks.
- Busts for display.
What's harder
- Thin weapons and staffs that break at 28 mm.
- Very dynamic poses with limbs far from the body.
- Fine faces at small scale (true of hand sculpts too).
- Separate parts such as a rider on a mount (generate separately and combine).
Step 1: Design for printing at small scale
- Pose: standing, arms close to the body, weapon held against it rather than out in the air.
- Proportions: many tabletop ranges use slightly exaggerated "heroic" proportions, with bigger hands, heads and weapons. That reads better at small sizes and prints sturdier.
- Describe it: "tabletop miniature of a dwarf cleric, heroic proportions, chunky warhammer held against chest, standing pose, solid".
A sketch helps pin the pose; see how to draw a sketch for AI 3D. For your own character art, stylised 3D characters with AI has tips.
Step 2: Generate and check
In Vi3W, check the image stage first: is the pose compact? Is the weapon touching the body? Then generate the model and check all sides.
Export OBJ for printing (Vi3W doesn't export STL; most slicers open OBJ).
Step 3: Make it printable
- Watertight check and repair. Make an AI model watertight.
- Thicken thin parts. In Blender, sculpt or scale up weapons, staffs and fingers. A thin sword that looks fine on screen will snap.
- Flat feet. Cut the bottom flat with Bisect so it sits on a base.
Step 4: Scale to your game
"28 mm" and "32 mm" scale describe roughly how tall a human figure is, though ranges measure it differently (to the eyes or the top of the head). Pick a reference: measure an existing mini from your collection, and scale your model so a human-sized character matches it. Scaling for printing shows how to set exact millimetres.
Step 5: Add a base
Most games use round bases, commonly 25 mm or 32 mm for human-sized figures and larger for big monsters. In Blender, add a cylinder, size it, place the figure's feet on it, and join or union them. Or print the figure without a base and glue it to a store-bought base.
Step 6: Print
- Resin printers capture fine detail and are the usual choice for minis. Hollowing isn't needed at this size.
- FDM printers work for chunky, stylised figures with a fine nozzle and thin layers. Expect less detail.
- Supports: orient to keep supports off the face; use light supports.
Painting
Prime, then paint as usual. Generated textures don't transfer to a print, but they're a useful colour reference.
Respect IP
Generate your own characters and monsters. Don't recreate commercial miniature lines or trademarked characters.
Need your party's next villain? Generate the figure in Vi3W, then base it and print it.
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