Liz Brager (aka Alchemist’s Attic) creates amazing work. Ultimately these determine the fate and fate of the heroes, but each is a work of art. When she posted that awesome snake house dice video, we had to learn more. We got in touch to find out how she got started making dice and her advice for those just starting out.
how it all started
The year is 2020, and I have just graduated from university, two months after the global lockdown began. I had quit my full-time job at the end of the previous year to complete my Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics (with a minor in Fine Arts), and now I’m in the strange position of being job-hunting with no work or school. did. Luckily, I had saved up some money from my previous job, so I didn’t have to go back to work right away. Instead, I started trying other hobbies, like taking voice acting classes over Zoom, or continuing with old hobbies. play D&D With my family. One of these new hobbies was making resin dice for tabletop games.
My D&D friends from before quarantine were talking about making dice, so I had some extra resin at home from playing around with making jewelry. So, since I suddenly had a lot of free time, I thought it was the perfect time to give it a try.
get ready
I ordered some cheap molds from Amazon, watched some Rybonator videos on YouTube, and got to work. The first dice I made were full of bubbles and didn’t roll well, but that didn’t matter. I was obsessed with the design and pouring process. So I bought materials to make a pressure pot (a pressurized chamber for curing the resin) to remove the countless air bubbles (the air bubbles are crushed until they are no longer visible and the resin becomes transparent).
I debated for a while whether or not I should have the master dice made (3D printed dice). make your own mold) because they were wasteful. I wasn’t going to sell the dice anyway, so what was the point? Selling dice from cheap mass-produced types is usually frowned upon because the designs of the dice are often stolen and the quality of the dice made from them is not as high. But if you’re just making it for fun, it doesn’t really matter. My brother finally helped convince me. He also helped me come up with a name for my virtual shop “Alchemist’s Attic” so I could decide on a fun custom logo for d20.
grow bigger
Actually, I had no intention of selling it at all. It was kind of an accident. Or rather.
I already had an Etsy shop a few years ago where I sold a few bars of homemade soap, mostly to local friends and people who bought soap from me at the annual Holiday Bazaar. . On a whim, I posted two die designs in my Etsy shop: Galaxy Dice and Faux Amethyst. Since I was determined to make them to order, I decided to make a list of 5 available items and leave them there for a while.
Galaxy Dice sold out in one week.
From there, everything just snowballed.
A lot has happened in the four and a half years since then. I have since left Etsy. my own websiteI have made and sold many sets of dice. Some I had a hard time fixing, while others ended up being my favorites I’ve ever made.
assignment
You might think that the most difficult dice are the ones that have all moving parts and small items that are meticulously handcrafted. And they are hard! But sometimes you’ll be surprised by the hardest dice to make. For example, I was once asked to make a solid caramel-colored mold. I still can’t stop trying to get that color perfect. I’ve never understood it exactly.
Sometimes I actually won. I’m still proud of Galaxy Dice when I first started. That design still comes back from time to time (though slightly modified as my polishing process has changed). I often cite one of my earliest commissioned sets as my favorite set, where every die was different and it had a bee theme. This set is what really sparked my enthusiasm for creating mismatched dice sets, where all the dice are different but based on the same theme. I haven’t made many sets like that recently, but I would definitely like to make one. Although complex, it is a lot of fun to make.
make it happen
If you’re reading this because you’re just starting to make your own dice, or are thinking about starting, my biggest advice is to try different things. handle Every time you pour resin It’s like an experiment! Whether things go as expected or not, you can learn something for next time. You may even make a surprising discovery that you never expected. Don’t let the idea that what you create isn’t perfect hold you back from creating things. That’s something I have to tell myself over and over again). Things are never going to be perfect the first time around (or even after 400 years).th!) Try it. I’ve been doing this for a while and I’m still constantly learning from my mistakes.
ask for advice
Also, if you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid to ask another dice manufacturer. In my experience, people are very nice and willing to help. When I first started making dice, I sent a message asking how to get a certain effect with a set of dice that I posted a photo of, and the person wrote a whole tutorial on how to do the dirty pour technique. He wrote it up. That was over four years ago, but I was so moved by that gesture that even all these years later, I still cite it as one of the inspirations for creating dice videos that share the process of making dice. I am.
In fact, I reached out to fellow dice maker The Lucky Merrow when I started my snake shed dice, which I recently posted a video about. Because I wasn’t that confident working in a snake shed. I had used a little bit of it before, but it almost completely disappeared in the resin after the first few tries. I knew she reached out to ask how I could color a little harder.
Snake Hut – If you have trouble finding the dragon skin
Honestly, it was pretty smooth sailing for the snake shed dice from there. At this point, I had enough experience to understand how resins tend to work, and snakeskin was similar enough in concept to cellophane sheets that I thought it would work similarly when putting into molds. processed. I had experience with so-called mica drops (a technique where the dice drip glitterly), and the client decided on the colors, so overall the set was very easy to make.
And this set received a great response from those who ordered it! In fact, I recently contacted someone to send them a video of how to make dice, and it seems like the other person still uses dice all the time. It’s a great feeling to know that something you’ve created is valued by someone.
Sharing is the reward
That’s part of the reason I do a lot of commissions. It’s very rewarding to help others take an idea out of their head and make it a reality. We also get a lot of inspiration from people who want custom items. Based on something, whether it’s a request from someone, various media (I was known for a little while there for my Minecraft-themed dice), or something in the natural world like space or the beach. It’s really fun to make dice.
Lately, I’ve been focusing more on making videos than the actual dice I sell (though I do sell dice, too), but I still love making dice just as much as I did four and a half years ago. If you want to come see what I’m working on next, be sure to check out my blog Youtube channel, online storeor follow me tumbler, facebook, blue skyand Instagram.
I can’t wait to see what you make!
