Glossary — D&D Miniature & 3D Printing Terms

📏 D&D Scale & Bases

28mm scale: The standard scale for most tabletop RPG and wargame miniatures. A human-sized character measures roughly 28mm from feet to eye level. Often referred to as heroic 28mm when proportions are slightly stylized for table visibility.
32mm heroic scale: A common scale variant where Medium creatures are 32mm tall, used by many modern miniature lines. Compatible with 28mm scale terrain and bases.
Round base sizes: Standard miniature base diameters in D&D and most tabletop games: 25mm (Small/Medium), 28mm (Medium heroic), 32mm (Medium/Large), 50mm (Large), 75mm (Huge), 100mm (Gargantuan). Base diameter determines the creature size category.
Medium creature: D&D size category for creatures roughly human-sized, occupying a 5-foot square on the battle grid. Uses a 25mm or 28mm round base.
Large creature: D&D size category for creatures occupying a 10-foot square (2x2 grid). Uses a 50mm round base. Examples: ogres, owlbears, most non-mounted cavalry.
Huge creature: D&D size category for creatures occupying a 15-foot square (3x3 grid). Uses a 75mm round base. Examples: young dragons, giants.
Gargantuan creature: D&D size category for creatures occupying a 20-foot square (4x4 grid) or larger. Uses a 100mm round base. Examples: adult and ancient dragons, the tarrasque.

📄 File Formats & Mesh

STL: STereoLithography file format. The universal 3D printing standard. Stores triangulated 3D mesh geometry without color or material. Compatible with every 3D slicer and most modeling tools.
3MF: 3D Manufacturing Format. A modern, compressed alternative to STL. Smaller file sizes, supports color and material data, recommended for slicers like PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, and Cura. Backward-compatible with most modern slicers.
OBJ: Wavefront OBJ file format. Common 3D modeling format that preserves geometry, UV mapping, and material references. Widely supported by 3D modeling software (Blender, ZBrush, Maya) but not always ideal for direct 3D printing.
GLB: Binary version of glTF (GL Transmission Format). Optimized for web viewers, virtual tabletops, and game engines. Stores geometry, textures, and materials in a single compressed file. Used for in-browser 3D previews.
Mesh: A 3D model represented as a collection of triangles (or other polygons) connected by shared edges and vertices. The geometric structure of any printable 3D file.
Watertight mesh: A 3D mesh with no holes, gaps, or non-manifold edges. Required for reliable 3D printing — slicers may produce artifacts or fail outright on non-watertight meshes.
Manifold: A mesh property where every edge is shared by exactly two faces. Manifold meshes have a clear inside and outside and slice cleanly. Non-manifold meshes are a common cause of print failures.

🧪 Resin Printing

Resin printing: A 3D printing method using liquid photopolymer resin cured by UV light. Includes MSLA, SLA, and DLP printers. Produces fine detail suitable for tabletop miniatures. Requires post-processing (wash + UV cure).
MSLA: Masked Stereolithography. The dominant consumer resin printing technology. An LCD screen masks UV light from a single source onto the resin vat to cure each layer. Used by Anycubic Photon, Elegoo Mars/Saturn, Phrozen, and most other consumer resin printers.
SLA: Stereolithography. A resin printing method using a laser to cure each layer point-by-point. Higher accuracy than MSLA but slower and more expensive. Used by Formlabs and other professional printers.
Layer height: The vertical thickness of each printed layer. Smaller layer heights produce finer detail but slower prints. Resin minis typically use 0.05mm (50µm); FDM minis with a 0.2mm nozzle use 0.06-0.08mm.
Build plate: The flat surface on which a 3D print is built. In resin printing, the print starts on the build plate and grows downward into the resin vat as the plate lifts.
Resin vat: The shallow tank that holds liquid resin during printing. The bottom is a flexible film (FEP or nFEP) that allows UV light to pass through and cured layers to peel away cleanly.
Bottom exposure: The longer UV exposure time used for the first 6-8 layers of a resin print. Ensures the print sticks firmly to the build plate. Typical: 25-45 seconds depending on resin.
Normal exposure: The UV exposure time for each regular layer. Resin manufacturer's spec is the starting point, typically 1.5-3.5 seconds. Determined by an exposure test for each new resin and printer combination.
Anti-aliasing: A slicer feature that uses pixel-edge gradients to smooth surfaces between layers in resin printing. 8x anti-aliasing is the standard recommendation for character miniatures.
Z-lift: The distance the build plate raises between layers in resin printing to allow fresh resin to flow under the print. Typically 5-8mm. Faster lift saves time; slower lift reduces stress on thin features.

🧵 FDM Printing

FDM: Fused Deposition Modeling. A 3D printing method using a heated nozzle to extrude melted plastic filament layer by layer. Less detail than resin but much cheaper per print. Used by Prusa, Bambu Lab, Creality, and most non-resin consumer printers.
Overhang: Any part of the model that extends outward without direct support from the layer below it. Overhangs steeper than 45 degrees from vertical typically need supports to print successfully.

⚗️ Resin Types & Post-Processing

Tough resin: A category of impact-resistant resin formulated for parts that need to withstand handling and minor drops. Recommended for tabletop play. Examples: Anycubic Tough Resin, Elegoo ABS-Like 2.0, Siraya Tech Tenacious.
ABS-like resin: Resin formulated to behave more like injection-molded ABS plastic — less brittle than standard resin, more impact-resistant. Equivalent to Tough resin from a tabletop-durability perspective.
Standard resin: The default photopolymer resin formulation: highest detail, brittle when cured. Suitable for display pieces but cracks under tabletop handling. Avoid for game pieces unless display-only.
Water-washable resin: Resin formulated to wash with water instead of isopropyl alcohol. Convenient for hobbyists, but typically shrinks slightly during cure, affecting dimensional accuracy on small features. Less impact-resistant than tough resin.
IPA wash: Isopropyl alcohol cleaning step performed on resin prints to remove uncured resin from the surface. Typical concentration: 95% IPA. Done in a wash station, ultrasonic cleaner, or bath for 2-3 minutes after the print finishes.
UV cure: Final curing step for resin prints. Exposes the washed print to UV light for 3-5 minutes per side to fully crosslink the photopolymer. Over-curing makes prints brittle.
Hollowing: A post-processing step that empties the interior of a 3D model to save resin. Requires drainage holes (2-3 holes, 2-2.5mm diameter) to let uncured resin escape during printing. Reduces resin cost on larger models by 30-50%.
Drainage hole: A small opening (2-2.5mm diameter) added to a hollowed model so uncured resin can escape during printing. Without drainage holes, trapped resin can cause vacuum suction or post-print failures.

🔧 Slicers & Supports

Slicer: Software that converts a 3D mesh file (STL, 3MF) into printer-specific instructions. Slices the model into thin horizontal layers, generates supports, and outputs a print file. Examples: Lychee Slicer, Chitubox, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, Cura.
Lychee Slicer: A popular cross-platform slicer for resin 3D printing. Known for advanced auto-support generation and the Wall Thickness Adapter feature that prevents thin-feature breakage. Supports most consumer resin printer firmwares.
Chitubox: A widely-used slicer for resin printers, originally bundled with Anycubic and Elegoo machines. Strong manual support placement and standard features for tabletop miniature printing.
PrusaSlicer: An open-source slicer originally for Prusa FDM printers, now used widely across FDM brands. Excellent organic tree support generation, profile system, and support for advanced multi-material printing.
Bambu Studio: Slicer developed for Bambu Lab printers, also used independently. Fast slicing, good auto-support, modern UI. Forked from PrusaSlicer and OrcaSlicer.
Tree supports: A support generation strategy that grows branching tree-like structures from the build plate to reach overhanging features. Uses less material and is easier to remove than traditional grid supports. Recommended for character miniatures.
Light tree supports: Lychee Slicer's lower-density tree support preset. Generates fewer supports than Heavy mode, faster to remove, leaves smaller marks. Use as the default for tabletop miniatures and add manual supports where needed.
Support tip diameter: The size of the contact point where a support touches the model. Typical: 0.2-0.3mm. Smaller tips break during printing; larger tips leave visible scars. Adjust based on resin and feature size.

✨ AI Generation

Concept art: A 2D illustration of a character or creature that defines the visual design before building the 3D model. In BlastMini, concept art is generated first and approved by the user before committing to a 3D version.
Text-to-3D: A class of generative AI that converts natural language descriptions into 3D models. Modern systems typically generate 2D concept art first, then convert it into a 3D mesh. The approach used by BlastMini for character miniatures.
Image-to-3D: Generative AI that takes one or more 2D images as input and produces a 3D model. Often used as the second step in a text-to-3D pipeline after generating concept art from a text prompt.
Prompt: The text description used to instruct an AI generator. For a D&D miniature, a good prompt names the character race, class, key gear, pose, and art style — for example: "a tiefling warlock with crimson skin, golden eyes, leather armor, holding an obsidian dagger, dark fantasy style."
Regeneration: Producing a new variant of a generation from the same or modified prompt. In BlastMini, regeneration is used to iterate on concept art before committing to the 3D model, so users do not spend credits on a 3D model they will not use.
Art style: The visual aesthetic of a generated character: heroic fantasy, dark fantasy, sci-fi, horror, steampunk, anime, historical. Specifying a style in the prompt or via UI controls the look of both the concept art and the final 3D model.

🗺️ Virtual Tabletop

Virtual tabletop (VTT): Software for running tabletop RPG sessions online. Supports digital battle maps, miniatures, dice, character sheets, and shared rules. Examples: Roll20, Foundry VTT, Owlbear Rodeo, D&D Beyond Maps.
Battle map: A top-down 2D map of an environment used for tactical combat in tabletop RPGs. Drawn with a square or hex grid (5-foot squares for D&D). Used physically (printed or drawn) or digitally on a virtual tabletop.
Roll20: A web-based virtual tabletop platform widely used for D&D and other RPGs. Supports drag-and-drop battle maps, integrated character sheets, and dice rolling. Compatible with battle maps generated by BlastMini.
Foundry VTT: A self-hosted virtual tabletop with extensive modding support. Popular for groups wanting more control over their VTT experience. Compatible with battle maps generated by BlastMini.

Looking for more? See our FAQ for answers to common questions, or the 3D Printing Guide for tested resin and FDM settings.