One Dungeons and Dragons fan has gone above and beyond for the community, dedicating the last five years to creating mini models of the almost 2,000 of the game's monsters and characters. The best part is that, much like Wizards of the Coast's recent children's material, these models are completely free to download and use for anyone who has a 3D printer at home.

3D artist Miguel Zavala, who goes by mz4250 on his Shapeways store and profile, has been working for the last five years, creating 3D models on commission for clients, as well as sharing much of his creations with his fans on Patreon. However, as a side project, Zavala has also been creating and posting 3D models of D&D characters, including epic monsters like the tarrasque.

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Since starting off with a few commissions here and there, eventually leading Zavala to pursue a career in 3D art, he has created over 1,900 models that he has made available to download for free. Of course, this didn't happen overnight, and his relationship with Wizards of the Coast, the company that owns and distributes D&D merchandise and materials, wasn't always as on the best of terms. In fact, early on in his career, Wizards initially blocked Zavala from posting his creations, due to the rules of the original platform that they were published on.

nagpa model
kruthik hivelord model

After Zavala moved to Shapeways, where his collection can currently be found, Wizards decided to allow Zavala to continue his work as long as he complied with the company's Open-Gaming License. The license, a program created by Wizards, allows fans to share their creations with the community as long as they aren't attempting to sell or mass market these creations. Thanks to this, fans are able to make custom D&D monsters, share fan art, and in the case of Zavala, create and distribute tools for making the Dungeons and Dragons experience more enjoyable for everyone.

While Zavala does also sell pre-printed versions of some of his 3D models on his online store, the majority of his income comes from commissions and his Patreon. This is likely why Wizards has more or less given the artist a pass on distributing his models online, considering that the designs themselves aren't what he sells, and as long as he doesn't infringe on their copyright. Combine community creators like Zavala with Wizards' own free material, and D&D has never been more accessible to new players up until now.

Dungeons and Dragons is available now, and Miguel Zavala's 3D models can be found: here

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Source: Polygon