I turned my Tiefling Hexblade Warlock (Sinder) into a 3D D&D Mini in 10 hours & shipped it within 3 days from concept to output. Process: 1. Ideation -> Text (3 hours) 2. Text → Image with
(~$2-3 for ~200–350 iterations over 5hrs) 3. Image → 3D model with
(free trial, free credits,2 hrs) 4. 3D model -> HITL 3D Designer ($3, 3hrs) 5. 3D model → Print via a local provider ($5, 1-day rush) 6. Print -> Human to Paint (Free) Total Creation cost: ~$6 With zero background in 3D modeling, I still ended up with a piece I genuinely enjoyed. Core learning: The Image → 3D AI-generated step is still in its early days.
feels very early with its clunky UI, limited input (I could not declare with txt to image what I wanted the back to look like), and buggy exports. On top of that, I still needed a human-in-the-loop to finish the creative process. A human finished the last 20-25% of the 3d model (fixed the back, the orientation, added feet, fixed a stand). Despite all of those shortcomings, I was still able to use the output as scaffolding for my project, so I'm pretty bullish on Tripo AI and the future of image-to-3D models. My dream ui/ux for AI 3D modelling software would be somewhere along the lines of prompting edits to the 3d model with (txt + image inputs). AI art is being canceled right now, but I truly believe it is simply enabling hobbyists & amateur artists (like me) to express themselves with new tools that have less reliance on technicians/executors of creative concepts. Very soon, we'll be able to animate these 3D models in prompt-generated worlds. The next decade of human creativity is exciting. Cost curves approaching 0, Quality approaching reality! Ready player one, here we come! Other notes from Quick Side Quest 1. Humans are still required to deal with the exceptions. 2. Iterating visually > explaining verbally — I could communicate my vision to a collaborator with references instead of the traditional way of giving long instructions and a moodboard. So I went from "here's the peg" to "here's the precise edit I'll need from your technical expertise" 3. The 3D model designer I commissioned wasn't an expert (he literally said, "lol idk how but let me try"). However, because I was able to deliver a clear visual design document and provide a 3D model scaffolding, he was able to build on top of the work with minimal technical effort. Bonus: I also used MidJourney to animate some cutscenes of Sinder, which made the character feel even more alive.