Dungeons & Dragons’ Open Gaming License, also known as the OGL, allows creators to build on top of a portion of the existing 5th edition ruleset. Even after the debacle from a few years ago, that carve-out continues to pay dividends for fans — especially in the actual play space. There are other benefits, of course, including the boatload of content available from the official D&D storefronts on D&D Beyond and the Dungeon Masters Guild. But elsewhere on the internet you can also find things like free 3D-printable miniatures, including the work of mz4250.
Polygon profiled Miquel Zavala way back in 2020, just after he had finished making his way through the original Monster Manual (2014), creating 3D-printable files of every creature in the book. Now he’s well on his way through the new Monster Manual (2025). His latest creation looks absolutely magnificent.
In an interview with Zavala on Friday, the digital artist said that the game’s new art direction — led by Wizards of the Cost vice president and former Magic: The Gathering team member Jess Lanzillo and D&D’s head of art Josh Herman — has been challenging him.
“The artwork has gotten a lot more dynamic and a lot more action-oriented,” he said. “I think that there are some creatures that they create that I look at this as like, did they know that I exist and they just wanted to fuck with me?”
Outside the refreshed look for the original role-playing game’s 50th anniversary, it’s largely been changes in 3D printing technology that have pushed his skills the most.
“I think the biggest change, obviously, is the fact that resin printing is now a thing,” Zavala said, referring to a new breed of 3D printers that uses ultraviolet light and liquid resin to dramatically increase the fidelity of consumer-grade printers.
“That had to force me to increase the level of detail on the works that I’ve done,” he continued. “In the original Monster Manual release that I did five, seven years ago, it was mostly [designed for filament printers]. The details did not have to be [as] intense. […] Now that there’s resin printing, I had to upgrade everything.
You can find out more about Zavala and his work on Patreon.
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